Treasured Words and Treasure Hunts

Summer is not over. I will not say goodbye, yet. There is summer goodness to soak up still. But school is underway over here.

These last several weeks have been slow and sweet. Enjoying some new produce from the garden: corn, cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, kale, peppers. Our tomatoes, one of my favorites, haven't made an appearance, yet, because our neighborhood's herd of deer love the stems too much. I am hoping and praying that the deer will forget about our garden for a couple weeks so our sad tomato stems will have the strength to bare some cherry tomatoes before the cold sets in and calls a halt to fruit production. Am I asking for too much? A fence around our new garden plot would be handy.

 

I am not always keen at noticing the special words that come out of our children's mouths. However, this month our 4 year old was on a roll, and I caught a few:

At the dinner table: Smiling, "I am going to tell myself a secret. Nobody will hear it,... completely!"

After coloring a butterfly and posting it on the frig: I call down the hallway, "[AF], your butterfly is really pretty!" Matter of fact, she calls back, "I know!"

Finally, randomly she says one day, "When I grow up to be a mom, I am going to be a Rescue Hero." I ask, "What are Rescue Heroes?" She explains, "A cartoon. I want to save lots of lives."

And aren't Sundays the best? They seem to be glowing with goodness, awe, and peacefulness, so often. After lunch this past Sunday, I was lounging on a blanket on the ground under the shade of our cottonwoods when H, our oldest, tells her swinging companion AF, "I love swinging!" Her toes were sailing up toward the tree branches. Shortly following, H adds, "Today is the best! I wonder why." I was feeling her sentiment completely!

A highlighted outing from this month involved a dry prairie treasure hunt that H had suggested after breakfast one morning. It was a welcomed change from the laundry and weeding I had planned. The mission: take the neighborhood loop eyeing interesting finds along the way.

 {here we go a h,hi,king with wa,lking sticks in hand}

 

 {Many flowering weeds, some prettier than others, and loads of grasshoppers were finds. The big blue sky was gorgeous, too.}

 

 {It was a toasty morning. Shade is rare on our loop so we enjoyed what was found for a time on our quiet road.}

{The skin of a basketball, a hubcap, a golf "green" in a horse pasture, rocks--lots of rocks, and an eating utensil were on our treasure list, too, discovered that morning.}

{Dear AD did not have enough strength to carry all the rocks he wanted to take home. His shorts nearly fell off him from the weight, but he gave it a good try.}

 

 {a few of those rocks were put to good use when we returned home}

 

That particular day ended with playing outdoors until sundown. Sentimental for me, for those are some of my favorite summer memories growing up.