Summer reflections

Summer is obviously long, long gone, but since I consider last summer one of my favorites, I want to take a moment to record some of the highlights I neglected earlier.
I remember last summer being full of small, joyous activities, including:
Playing outside in the perfect PNW (Pacific Northwest) weather with neighbors who've become friends...

@ our first annual neighborhood BBQ & potluck

Getting dirty...

Family time...

Friend time...

Being creative...

Tons of bike riding...

Playing games...

Meeting new friends...

neighborhood cupcake decorating

Playing at parks...

Attending birthday parties...

Aubree with her cousin Gillian 

Walks in the sunshine...

Picking blackberries...

Enjoying concerts...

@ a Caspar Babypants concert (love them!)

Add those activities to the ones I actually managed to record during the summer, and it equals a really great few months.  Of course, there are a few things missing from our summer list, important things like service, sacrifice, and work.  As wonderful of a time as we had, I do see neglecting those aspects as a fairly serious deficiency.  

This would be the perfect time to launch into a great, "back in my day" story.  You know the idea...

"When I was a kid, I lived in a double-wide mobile home with 10 people, on a 40 acre ranch.  We didn't have much money, and we never went on a vacation that didn't involve visiting a relative.  During the summers, we worked hard..."

And all of that would be true, except the working hard part.  Oh, I'm sure my mom worked hard, but I was much more likely to be annoyed that my cousins were out making noise (you know, working), and waking me up before 9 am, than I was to be out helping.  

I've admitted before, I'm naturally inclined to be lazy.  I inherited some of those tendencies from my dad.  I don't want my kids to see me as a poor role model in that area, nor do I want them to grow up with an entitlement mindset, or to miss out on the blessings and confidence that come from hard work, service, and sacrifice.  There needs to be a better balance.  

*******

Reviewing summer pictures, I think I did work hard in at least one area... fresh food. With help and motivation from neighbors and friends, I canned more produce last summer than ever before.  By the end of the harvest season, my pantry was full of applesauce, pears, peaches, jams, and salsa.  The jars are so pretty!

I'd never tried canning salsa before, but doing it with neighbors was a blast.

I think the fruit leather was my favorite (to eat).

Of course, all that produce in the house meant a constant fruit fly battle.  I tried to be inventive in my capturing efforts, before finally realizing that putting saran wrap over a bowl with ripe/rotten fruit, and poking small holes in the saran wrap was hands-down the best way to control the swarms.  

Now, as I watch my family tear through the jars, I feel conflicting emotions... glad because my efforts are filling their bellies, and incredulous that it takes just a few minutes to consume what took so much work.

And we planted a garden (and learned a lot).  

Now I just need to make sure to involve the kids more in these endeavors.