Oh, and also these things happened...

So, the part of this blog that is a record for myself of things my family does kind of got understandably sideswiped this summer (and into the start of fall).  The death of my father and what that means going forward is still something I am processing, but regardless, our lives have continued on in busy and interesting fashion, and I need to jot some of it down before I forget it ever happened.

This is essentially "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" without the sad parts and with many photos.  Here we go:

I did post about our trip to the cottage already.  Ian and the kids (including my niece) got to return there for a week in August as well.  I love that the cottage is a summer tradition for our family.

Early in the summer I finally got the appropriate archery equipment for the girls to share.  There are several public ranges in the park system in Milwaukee, and sometimes we'll picnic there when we go out to shoot.

Quinn's still too small to handle the bow yet, so he acts as a human quiver and also retrieves arrows.  The girls are improving quickly and we've been having a lot of fun.  Next summer I plan to get a third bow so they don't have to take turns.

Summer means trips to Leon's Frozen Custard.  (Or, at least, more seasonally appropriate trips to Leon's.)  Aden has discovered the joy of the banana split.

Lots of Noise, Lots of Bouncing, Lots of Quiet

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July!  We certainly did.  And we took note of what things have changed and what things have stayed the same.

We went, as we do every year, to the parade in our nearby park.  Some things about it are always the same: Politicians throwing candy, antique cars blowing funny horns, the lazy band on the flatbed truck, Polish dancers, accordion players, baton twirlers, Elvis....  Missing this year were the racing sausages, and there seemed to be fewer dogs.

Elvis always brings it to the very end!

Aden and her dad

Tramampoline! Trabopoline! (Babble)

(That’s a Simpson’s reference in case you’re worried my spell check is broken.)

We put together our trampoline this week!

(Ian and Aden hard at work in the heat)

We found it on sale on the web and it came with free shipping, so we decided to go for it.  Best decision of our summer.  (Which is now freezing, by the way.  The temperature was 97 yesterday and 50 today, so we have everything out from tank tops to sweaters.  I feel like burning a thermometer in effigy.)

My kids do not like change.  Ever.  Even if it’s good.  So there was a lot of mourning over the fact that the trampoline would be on the octagon shaped part of our deck.  They insisted they need that space because they run on it.  I insisted they could run elsewhere, and that they would, in fact, love a trampoline.


Well, being the impressive psychic wonder that I am, they do indeed like having a trampoline!  I made the mistake of saying to Aden that it seems to have worked out, and she got sad for a moment, remembering the glory days of last week when she could run on the octagon.  Good times.  Gone forever.  Then she went back to bouncing until bedtime.

I like our yard to be a place my kids want to stay.  It’s hard keeping track of three little people when they spill out into the neighborhood in different directions.  The more they are able to do at home the more I’m able to get done at home.  I like having the neighborhood kids come to us so we can get to know our kids’ friends better.  When Ian was deployed it was hard to get to the park because someone was always napping at the wrong time and I couldn’t be both places at once, so we bought the play structure, thus bringing the park to us.  So the trampoline is another way to keep my kids close.  Plus, heck, I’ve always wanted a trampoline and I’m in my forties so it’s now or never.
The downside of where we put it is that it gets covered with seed pods and leaves, but so far the kids don’t care and it won’t be that hard to sweep out.  The upside is it’s in the shade!  No burning hot bouncing surface or added risk of sunburn.

Ian said after the half day pickup when Quinn has a few hours at home before his sisters get back, all that boy’s done is bounce, then sit on the trampoline and look at seed pods, then bounce some more.  We had his friend, Claire, over for lunch the other day, and at first she stepped on the trampoline, found it too weird, and immediately wanted off.  By the end of the play date she was bouncing up a storm.

(Quinn bouncing)

I don’t think we would have gotten a trampoline if it didn’t come with a net enclosure.  When did those become standard?  Because it is so obviously a good idea I wonder why that didn’t happen sooner.  Kind of like wheels on luggage.  I grew up in the stone ages where you had to lift your suitcase to move it, and everyone got hurt at some point flying off a trampoline.  I feel safer with my kids zipped up in the trampoline than I do with them on the ground, frankly.

I asked the kids what they would like to do for summer vacation.  At some point we will visit relatives and friends in Michigan and/or Ohio, but there are no solid plans.  Mona and Quinn both want swim lessons, and the girls will still be taking violin, but aside from that they want to make their own fun.  I tell them every year there are classes in dance and cooking and art at the rec center for only about $10 a session, so they can sign up for whatever they want, but they want freedom more than anything in the summer, and I can respect that.  They want to make a baking soda and vinegar volcano and to learn how to make grandma’s banana bread and I’m scared to guess how many paper creations will be piled up by fall.  And now they need time for bouncing.  That’s more than enough to keep them happy and busy.

I have a feeling summer is just going to fly by.