Summer has been beautiful and fun. I’ve been working on self-talk, so I’ve also been a lot happier than I sometimes am. I have found that I often harp on myself to be more productive instead of paying attention to what is happening in my life. Telling myself to be productive doesn’t actually make me a productive person. But paying attention to life does make me happier.

First, pictures from home. We got a decent sized pool, and the kids love it. The temperatures were very hot right after we got it, so it has been used almost daily. We’ve also had lots of kids over and the yard has been well used. It also is full of flowers, and berries to eat. The garden is doing pretty well, although there is still quite a few pest problems, and the heat has been rough.

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I’ve tried to keep the kids busy so far during the summer. We’ve hiked Little Knull with cousins, gone to Cherry Hill with cousins, went to the poppy fields with cousins, played Minecraft with cousins, and gone to the trampoline park with cousins. (We’ve done a lot with my sister and her family.) The kids have done scout camp, basketball camp, swim lessons, and t-ball, We’ve also gone canoeing and biking at the lake. Not bad for three weeks of summer.

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We also (finally) painted the house, and my husband managed to fall about 20 feet when the ladder slipped, but luckily ended up with a lot of bruises but no other injuries.