Seven Quick Takes: Friday, August 7--Summer, never leave me!

These all came from the garden. Yum!

1. I am really soaking up summer right now. I don't really want it ever to end: sunshine, warm days, garden fresh veggies, flowers everywhere, barefoot children, and squishy bare baby legs. It does not really get better than this... please summer, don't go away, ever...

2. This guy is smiling and cooing, and as F (2) says, "He is talking at you!" That is probably the most apt way to describe it: "talking at." And we are getting some sleep at night, at least six hours most night of interrupted sleep is all I need as long as I can have my cold press coffee mid-morning after I have had my hot coffee with breakfast.

3. We checked out a beach at a local county park last Sunday. (The Twin Cities has amazing parks). It was perfect. The water was not too deep, there were umbrellas for shade for the baby, and the bathrooms were about 30 feet from where we laid our blanket. This was our plan for teaching the girls to swim this summer, but we might just have to give in and do lessons at some point. Anyway, the beach was nice and I did some coverless public breastfeeding to kick off World Breastfeeding Week (because everything needs a week I guess) and showed less skin than most of the other women on the beach, so there...

Not a nursing picture.

4. We have had the following conversation at dinner about 5 times in the last week:

G (6): "I still am going to be a nun when I grow up."

L (4.5, and who previously expressed a desire to be a nun): "I think I might get married instead."

F (2.5): "I am going to be a PRINCESS!"

Of course you are, F; dream big. Be who you want to be. You can keep the Disney Princesses out of you home, but your can't take the dream out of their hearts. Actually, we do a lot of princess stories here, just sans Disney.


5. G came out of her room dressed like this the other morning.

Me (wondering if she is going emo): "You know, G, you are wearing all black."

Her response?

"Some nuns wear all black everyday!"

Me: "True. Good point."

6. Back in June, M and my mother took the girls strawberry picking. They came home with 30 lbs of strawberries, most of which we cleaned, crushed and froze. Well, last Sunday (the one before we went to the beach), we made a whole bunch of strawberry jam. So much so that we canned it in quarts and pints. With four kids we have moved up to club size canning!

7. And in case you don't follow me on Instagram, check out these morning glories:

I love them!

That's all folks... I guess this was a photo dump post...

Linking up with Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum!