Keepin' on with the keepin' on.

So, the summer is moving right along . . . coming to a close for those headed back to school, so I hear.
As for us, we are still plugging along with our indoor activities, counting down the days until preschool starts again for Bethany in September...gazing longingly out the back door at our once-upon-a-time downstairs outside play shoes that, much like our backyard, have grown crusty and stiff with the suffocating summertime air sucking the life and memories slowly out of them...
We dream of autumn air that carries with it sweet smells and the possibility of sniffles (but who cares???), whole days spent outside, muddy shoes and jackets, and chilly cherry-colored noses. We dream of green grass, early sunsets, and . . . maybe a few pomegranates from our tree???

But, alas, a good quote that was handed to me today on our ward's Relief Society Newsletter - -

"There is an attitude of tolerating today, even looking past today in anticipation of a better tomorrow. To people so inclined, the better future may never come. The pleasant future belongs to those who properly use today. We need to find the abundant life as we go along. How can we be happy tomorrow if our "nows" are filled with self-inflicted unhappiness and unwise delays? Generally speaking, those inclined to count their daily blessings have more to count because they help make more possible as they learn gratitude. A constant waiting for a brighter future may cause us to lose the beautiful today. Some spend so much time getting ready to live for an unknown future, too late they discover there is no time to live. Very often in our anxiousness for the joys of the future we run away from the very things we are wanting and needing today. An appropriate examination of the passing moment will prove it leads to eternity. We need to constantly remind ourselves eternity is in the process now."
-Marvin J. Ashton, "The Time is Now," Ensign, May 1975, 85


Okay, a little deep for the subject matter, yes, yes, but you get the idea.
I think I can be quite guilty of the kind of thinking he is warning us against . . . so I really liked that quote.

So, instead of talking tonight of the horrible heat, the boredom of the indoors, the days spent cleaning out closets, drawers, corners and toilet bowls...moments spent daydreaming about a couple of days that will be spent in Huntington Beach in late September...
I will keep us joyfully in the present.

Here's some of our summer fun this last week:

JC climbed up high to do some decorating for me.
I don't do a lot of it these days...but I had an idea for these window blinds that we didn't have a window for but I loved anyway...

The kids liked watching.

I should have taken a picture once they were hung. Oh well...someday I'll do a recap of our little projects around the house this year. Especially since I made the obnoxious point of posting a list of little projects we were planning to get done this year. :)

JC got really creative this weekend when the kids were getting restless and I was feeling un-creative.
It involved a shop-vac, our playroom and a bunch of fuzzy little pom-poms.

While he got stuff ready, I cuddled with this guy:

He's a favorite.

Then, the kids spent some time just "rannin around" (Out of the Mouths of Babes, anybody?) with the shop vac in reverse, creating a crazy wind current through our playroom!

JC also got the grand idea to use a squirt bottle to create a sort of intense spray wind.
It's like a blow torch.
Only...water instead of fire.
And non-toxic.
And for kids.
(It appears I'm running out of creativity (and logic) in a lot of areas . . .)

James decided to attempt using the rug as armor.

Will it work?

Nope!
I don't think he was disappointed though...

Then, Bethany watched as JC got his next ingenious idea.

Ben watches preparations from a distance, taking in a nice cool drink...from...the...squirt bottle...

So, apparently, when you combine a cardboard box with holes cut in the sides, a shop vac nozzle fit into one side, a pillow pressed on top to create more pressure, and a bunch of little fuzzy pom poms inside the box, it creates a way to shoot little fuzzy pom poms at your children.
Kind of like...a...little fuzzy pom pom...blow...torch...?
Anyway, I took video of this so I don't have any pictures that do it justice.
But it was fun.

And, lucky for me, part of our routine that has stayed the same over the summer months - - rest time.
You never know how successful it will be or how long it will last but, I take what I can get. They need it, I need it, we all can use a good rest time, can't we?

We also sprayed down the back porch this weekend. It was hot and dirty.

(Well, JC did this while we supported him by cheering him on and letting him spray us.)

Other random bits of our week - -

I took my workouts back up with a vengeance after a complacent couple of weeks and took them to the next level. It feels good.
The Summer of the Second Move-In continues on - - closets are getting cleaned out. That feels good too.
We paid a visit to Evergreen Cottage Preschool and Bethany got to see her teacher for a few minutes, we got to tour the new additions to the cute little school, and I decided that, while Bethany was rearing to go at 3, James is just not interested in preschool yet! Bless that child, he is just as content as can be and I can imagine he will be excited as all get-out next fall when it will probably appeal to him a lot more!
I watched parts of my house fall apart (the office...the playroom...) while other areas thrived for the first time in a long time (the laundry room...closets...) and breathed deeply, smiled, and ignored it all to dance and sing along to "Staying Alive" in my best beegees voice.
I helped plan a lesson for 14 yr olds about the early Saints in Nauvoo. Spent time thinking about how different our challenges are today. Spent time thinking about how much strength these people had and how much of a lazy, whiny, fearful bum I can be. Committed to try harder to honor my heritage. To work harder to keep our foundation firm. To grit my teeth and dig in instead of give up and sit back when something is hard and tiring.
I meal planned until I never wanted to look at food again.
James decided he was no longer afraid of heights of any kind and since we want to keep him in tact, we rearranged our music room. Thanks to some good friends who couldn't stand to see him and his fearless heart in danger any more than we could, we got the organ/stepping stool to a ten foot fall, moved this weekend. Thanks, Jimmy and JC, for being the big strong guys you are!
Bethany and I began to behave a bit like a teenage daughter and exasperated mother far too often for my liking (and probably hers as well). This next week, I plan to get some good chill moments in together and spend some time laughing and playing.
We talked about plans for JC's birthday coming up this next week! And had a Hawkes' Family Dinner for such an occasion (including Miss Bonnie's August birthday as well!)
My sister Katie came in town!!! Just for a few days, now back up to Provo, to take some finals, graduate, and COME HOME!!!! I can't wait.
...I am trying to not think about the fact that, a couple of weeks later, my sister Monica leaves for BYU Idaho...

On that note, I'm ready to move into this next week with a renewed commitment to living in the present.
The sweltering, hot, present. :)