Canning Summer

As a slightly-more-emotional-than-other-people woman, I often find myself wishing you could can happiness, the way you can peaches or tomatoes. There's something wonderful about pulling out that mason jar full of sweet, home-canned pears in the middle of January, and being able to sink your teeth into a piece of summer that's been tucked away under your stairs for six months. 

Wouldn't it be great, on a day when I'm feeling run-down and discouraged, to pull out a jar of good feelings and give myself a few spoonfuls? 

Well, we have been having a lot of fun around here lately, and I'm trying hard to store these carefree, happy feelings, so that I can pull them out when I need them. 

While Autumn remains my favorite season, Summer is a close second. I love the long, lazy days, and all the outdoor activities that bring people together. This post may seem eclectic, but that's something I love about Summer -- so many things going on, and people to see!

For instance, our cousins came up from Fresno to stay with us for the night. It was a short visit, but very fun. It made me miss the days when we'd pull all-nighters at each others' houses (well, except that I'd fall asleep after 5 minutes), playing rock band and video games until we passed out. (Some of us sooner than others.) Now, Jess and Bubba are expecting a baby! What a blessing to be able to have our families grow up together. 

 Here is a reenactment of blowing out the candles. Cal didn't get why we were pretending to blow out already extinguished candles. Bubba was a good sport though. Look at that conviction!

 It may not look pretty, but that's yellow cake from scratch, covered in homemade chocolate frosting. 

Guess who started preschool this summer?

More on this later.

We have been very grateful to have a pool at our complex. It's such a lovely temperature, especially when our apartment is pushing 80 mid afternoon. Cal and I come down here often, and it's a nice escape from the heat trapped inside. (As an aside, I don't get NorCal-ers and their 'no-air-conditioner-needed' policy. If I hear "but we have such a mild climate" one more time... People, it's still nice to be able to control the thermostat in your own domicile!)

As always, it's so nice to live in such close proximity to my Aunt Heather. She is a wonderful auntie to Cal, and always comes up with the best activities. Here we are picking ollalliberries (which Hef turned into the BEST ice cream):

And here's the Giants game she treated us all to:

 We had such a great time -- it was hotter than we expected.

Cal loved all the junk food treats he got to munch on, and Heather bought him his very own baseball hat. Here he is doing a weird smile for the camera (at least it's not his crazy smile anymore!):

Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, and this year, Cal really caught the spirit. At our weekly Park Day, Cal got to pass out red-white-and-blue popsicles that he brought. He really likes to share these days (I'm not being sarcastic--loves it!), and made sure everyone got a frozen treat. 

He was so proud of the fact that we had treats for everyone that he insisted on carrying the popsicle-filled cooler to the playground. I'm surprised that he could even heft it, but he persevered, and had a delightful time offering them to all the other kids.

We had a fun pancake breakfast with our congregation, and Reed sang the national anthem with a Men's quartet as the scouts raised the flag. They sounded great, and I love that you can tell who was in Men's Chorus...the two on the right, standing so straight and tall, with smiling faces. Sister Hall trained them well! :)

I was one proud wifey!

Ah yes, the flag cake. I know this is pretty much an entry-level Fourth of July dessert, but I don't think I ever made one growing up! So this year, I decided I'd do it. Cal insisted on helping with the fruit placement, so it got a little hard for me OCD-wise, but we had a great time, and it was delicious, too! Plus, we got to enjoy it at a BBQ with friends.  :)

We've been making several trips to Ikea lately. (I'm on a quest for a larger dining room table.) The last trip, Cal was anxiously trying to get my attention, and when I finally looked down, he had put a pencil behind his ear. Haha! He looked so...managerial! We're not sure where he got the idea -- Bob the Builder, maybe?

I love spending time out in the sun during Summer days. It's so wonderful for my mood. While Heather was in Canada for the family reunion (which unfortunately we had to miss this year), we were tasked with watering her garden. Cal is obsessed with water (as you'll remember from this post and this post), and was ecstatic at the charge. See the cute green watering can? Another amazing birthday present from Auntie Hef!

In fact, we have a lot of "Cal-sized" tools around our house, because he really likes imitating me. Here's a shot of him with his little rolling pin, making pizza dough with me. We like having our work stations close to each other.

We've been to the beach several times; it's always so fun--good for Mommy and baby alike. But my favorite part about beach day? The car ride home:

You can't buy this feeling. Well, I guess you can, it costs one day at the beach.

This week, I took Cal to the Model Train Society's weekly mall display. I didn't know how much he'd like it--you never really know with kids, even if they are normally interested in an activity. Kids are just unpredictable. But as we walked in, Cal's noisy chatter died instantly, and he just sort of stood there, hushed and amazed, before racing down the ramp toward the displays. 

I only got two pictures, because I spent the next 30 minutes holding him back from the tables. He wanted to climb right up on top and get in on the action!

There were even little buttons to push on the sides of the tables, that made train whistle sounds, or lit up different parts of the sets. It was awesome!

As you can see, we've been busy with a variety of fun summer activities. I am so happy where we are. I feel like we have a great group of friends. I'm learning more about the positive things that are offered in our city, which gives me a greater sense of community (something I have lately realized is very important to me -- thanks a lot, perfect Redlands childhood). And Cal and I are figuring out how to deal with each other. He's talking more, and we're both more cooperative with the other. It's giving me hope that I could eventually have more children (I'm not joking...that's been a huge doubt for me). 

And through it all, I'm canning. I'm storing these experiences, and saving the memories for those long, frustrating days when you just need a spoonful of Summer.