So much to post, so little time...

My Blogger account is being a pain in the neck, and won't post the pics I'm sending to it, unless I do so via my phone (which just takes longer, usually).  So, I will have to back-track and post more from this epic summer, one rainy day in the future.  Maybe I can have the tech-savvy kid help me figure out what's going on!
I'm gonna have this year's blog printed to book for the family- I think I'll do that each year, as a family Christmas gift.  It will be fun to look back on.
Until more posts- Happy Summer!

E has grown into his dirtbike this year!

And Mom is inwardly freaking out a little.

The neighbor’s have a rocking fireworks display every year~ we finally got to go!

 
 
 
 
 
 

Biking and Tidepooling at Odiorne with old friends we love:

 
 
 
 
 

Another Sunapee Day with buds (love it there)!

 
 
 

A quick bike trip at Clough Dam~

 
 
 
 
 

Family Day

Mark had one last day off, so we headed over to the local lake as a family.  We were there for 6 hours- on the boats, swimming, fishing(I was the only one who fished; only caught one Pumpkinseed fish), playing catch and Monkey-in-the-Middle(boys), and snacking. Mark brought charcoal and he and the boys grilled hotdogs and marshmallows on a grill.  Some boys from town were there and we offered a turn on the kayak, so they went out on that while Logan went with them on the single.  My favorite part was when we all went out together, and at one point the boys all took turns jumping off their kayaks into the deep water.  They all had life jackets on so it was fine, and we were so surprised that Cam was even willing to do it.  Helping them get back on was funny.  Cam ended up also using the single kayak for his first time, and he loved it, which we knew he would! Fun day for sure! A perfect way to end a fun week.

My first keeper!

Have some lazy boys today after so much fun lately, so they stayed home while Mark and I snuck out to canoe and fish for a bit.  I caught another Bluegill sunfish and then also caught my first keeper- a large-mouth bass.  I will skin/fillet him myself and will grill him for dinner. :) Fun!

Fun 4th!

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays, if not my top fave. I love reflecting on our country's history, and love the feeling of neighbor and brother-hood that the day brings.

We usually stick around locally to avoid traffic, and our small town has some pretty cute festivities.  We sit with buds and watch the parade, enjoying the bustle of people all around.  We usually end up at a local cookout or party, and then we head over to the fairgrounds for fireworks and other assorted small-town fun.  Yesterday, we had a couple of families over after the parade for some, "ice cream for lunch" and then one family stayed to chat, until 5.  We had been packed and planning to go to the lake, but it started raining, so we just chatted and snacked. An hour after that set of buds left, the other set from lunch came back for an easy bbq dinner.  We headed over to the fairgrounds and met up with our other buds, and fireworked-it up.  It was a rainy, foggy, friend-filled 4th. 

Date Day!

The boys are at camp this week, and Mark had today off, so we (finally!) were able to take the canoe out.  We tried a new (to us) pond, and we are in love with it! Mark steered for me for most of the time and let me fish.  I caught 7 but they were all sunfish of sorts...nothing great(but still fun)!  Can't wait to buy an anchor for the canoe and go back.  It's tricky trying to fish and row/steer the canoe at the same time, but it's fun!

Perfect way to spend a few hours!

Joshua Tree

Got tickets to see a U2 cover band, called Joshua Tree, for tonight.  We had a long day of work for Mark and I and VBS camp for the boys, but we were determined to make it to the show.  It was held at Odiorne/Seacoast Science Center, and was a beautiful venue by the sea.  Kids were running around everywhere, dancing and chasing each-other on the dance floor, families sat and listened to the music or danced, and it was just the perfect kickoff to summer.  I couldn't believe how great the group sounded, and they played a lot of old school U2, which is my favorite.  :)

We all made it onto the dance floor with our buds-lots of fun! Can't wait for next year. :)

Powerful quote.

Mark Twain said, "Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." 

I've always liked this quote in how powerfully true it is.  I used to just like it because I felt good about not harboring anger towards anyone; being peaceful despite life's imperfections. 
However, I'm still pretty angry with God; disgusted, even.  Going on 7 months.    Interestingly, that anger isn't affecting God at all, right?  But the vessel the anger is being stored in just feels more eaten-away and weak, every day.  At any rate, that Twain quote is still proving to be powerfully accurate.  

Insta-spam

My kiddo uses Instagram, and I was hopping on his account every now and then, to peek at/check in with what he was posting and viewing.  It seemed fun- the fun filters you can add to pics were kind of neat, and there are some fun "people" that I could "follow" to see their pics.  Have you seen Marnie the Dog?  A rescue Shih-Tzu with a tongue that just sticks out chronically?  Hilariously adorable.

I signed up to get a an account myself, with the kiddo's help.  But I soon realized that it's kind of rubbish.  I was told that if I take a pic that doesn't use a filter, to add "NoFilter" to the pic.  I was kinda feeling like most of the pictures posted were "filtered"...kind of...fake. I can see how as a teenager it would be really fun to use, and actually, it's causing my kid to take more photos (something I was nagging him to do, pre-Instagram).  But it's not for me- it feels like just another method to be mindlessly addicted to a stream of online chatter and "noise."  These days, I need more real-time, real-life, face-to-face friendships.  More time with people who I can be me with- "no filter."  I want to take more pics and share them in just the format they were seen and taken, not jazzed up with some cool tint, or cleaned up to look extra artsy or perfect.  It's just where I'm at.  I need less online spam and more real-life fun.  If you want to hang out, "text me." ;)  And I'll keep checking in on my kid's Instagram account the "old-fashioned way."  :)

Here, fishie fishie.

Did our annual fishing day with Babci, on Friday.  We left our house at 5:45am. It was rainy and cool when we left the dock, but the rain stopped and it ended up being cool and lovely.  This was our first time mackerel fishing as a group- and it was way more fun/busy.  There isn't even any bait! We just use a "jig" which is a hook, and jig the pole up and down in the water to attract the fish, and catch them.  The jig only goes down a few feet into the water, too, so even though mackerel fight and swim side to side to break free, reeling them in is fun but not too hard.

Mackerel swim in schools, too, so all of a sudden everyone will be catching and reeling one in, and it's a flurry of activity trying to get the flopping fish off the hook and into your cooler, without getting a hook stuck anywhere.  Between the six of us, we must have caught 75 or more.  Some were small (and we had more than enough), so we ended up donating a ton to the boat for bait for another trip, and we also tossed some back overboard.  Our coolers were overflowing.  

We had the crew take the heads, tails and guts out, and Mark and I ended up spending hours when we got home, grilling and then trying to de-bone them all, which was a painstaking process.  We quit on a lot of the fish because they just had too many tiny slivers of bone that were impossible to get rid of.  I peeled and boiled a bag of potatoes and sauteed onions and made a ginormous pot of fish stew, half of which is frozen for later. 

Beach Day

We had our first family beach day on Mark's bday.  It was low-key and lovely.  And ended in eating lots, and lots, and lots of salt-water taffy.

Graduates!

I am so behind on updates.  The boys all completed their school year and did a super job.  All A's for Logan for both semesters of his VLACS courses.  All As and B's for Elijah's VLACS, and a solid A for his online writing course.  All 3 of them did fantastically on their other schoolwork, and all 3 did amazingly well on their end-of-the-year standardized testing.  When their test results came back, we all whooped with glee.  :)  The co-op classes, and longggggg list of extra-curricular activities, workshops, and field trips they attended, plus sports and music stuff, all made for a full year.
The 7th year of homeschooling is complete and I love my little graduates.

Yay

E has played keys for the youth group band for a couple of years now, but he just auditioned for and made the regular worship team, at church.  I'm still not attending but I will go occasionally, just to hear him play.  The church has so many talented musicians and they do a lovely job. E has been at one campus now, the smallest one, for a few Sundays in a row.  He will be at one of the larger campuses coming up soon, and if he ends up getting to play at our "home campus" then he could be playing in front of up to 800 people, each service.  Music is an important part of how many feel close to God, and I know that playing keys is something that makes E closer to God, so I am happy.

Annual fun ~

Our town's annual 5K was another great one.  We usually volunteer (this year I did registration and Mark just helped by biking with the lead runner for the kids 1 mile run), and usually we all run, but this year I just cheered on.  It's always a great time for the boys and their buds, and having new runners do their first 5K is always awesome.  Cam came in 3rd for his age group, Logan had a PR (we think) and Elijah was 4th for his age group - a lot of kids run this, so it's some great competition!  Can't wait for another fun race next year.

Bravo

The boys have finished their weekly music lessons for the summer! All 3 of them are improving every day, and E and C's piano recitals were wonderful.  E was at 2 recitals, and he played a different piece that he composed, at each of them.  For the first recital, a bunch of folks stood up at the end for him, while applauding.  We've had recitals for I think about 6-7 years now, and I don't remember that happening, ever.  It made me tear up, big time.  Logan's playing is going from "yeah, Logan, that sounded...better..." to, "Wow, Logan, that really sounded good!!"  Proud of all three of them.  I wish I could play an instrument, but I am glad my boys can, at least!