Here I sit on the eve of the first day of school and I am reflecting on my summer. Bradley and I were talking last night about how this has been, hands down, the best summer ever. It started well with the trip to Disneyland, then a mellow July full of swims and bike rides, a fantastic family reunion, more bike rides, a great wedding, good easy camping, and marvelous over-nighters with friends. I think we squeezed in everything we wanted to this summer. No, we didn’t get to the ocean, but who cares. I haven’t had a summer this satisfying since my senior year summer when I worked hard, played hard and was so tired and saturated with fun and good times.

I am just so in love with my kids and husband right now. Just looking at my babies gives me such joy. I can’t believe that Gigi will be five years old next month. Her long legs stretch and dangle off of my lap when she sits on me and her vocabulary is amazing. She uses words and intonations that are surprising to me. She is beginning to read and write by paying attentions to the sounds she hears. For example: Happy Birthday is written: Hepe Brsde. Invented and adorable spelling. I know it won’t be long until she is reading and writing without abandon. She is beautiful and tan with a lovely singing voice. This is a summer to remember. One of the things that Gigi has said lately is that she wants us to have another baby so that Jude can be a big brother too. I think that speaks volumes: She loves her brother so much that she wants him to experience that love too.

Then there’s Jude. Our gigantic little baby who began eating solid food at four months and now greedily gulps broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, bananas, peas and blueberries. I gave him a taste of hummus the other day. Initially he seemed to like it so I gave him a bigger taste. He began to gag and choke and soon thereafter expelled the entire contents of his stomach all over me and the kitchen floor. Bradley tried macaroni and Jude screamed at him. We forget that he is SO young to be eating in the first place and we need to take it slow. He is just so lovely and it is terribly exciting to give him all of those first tastes of being an eater. Jude smiles beautifully and is sleeping better and better with each passing week. Last night he was up only twice. A great improvement! He rolls this way and that and stuffs his toys into his mouth to chew on them. A definite favorite of his, much to his sister’s chagrin, is Guinevere’s hair. Only moments ago, Bradley was putting Gigi into the crib with Jude and he shot out his fat little hand and grabbed and fistful – all with a HUGE grin on is face. This is the little brother he is.

Bradley and I have had a wonderful summer together. There are highs and lows in any relationship. Those moments when you are simply partners and those times when the sun and moon revolve around one another. Then there are the times when, even after a dozen years of being together and you don’t think your love can grow anymore, it suddenly does and you feel like teenagers around one another. That’s been our August. I just feel so incredibly lucky to not just be married to such a kind and respectful person, but I get the added bonus of him being quite the looker too. Yesterday we were at a playground and I was watching him thinking about how cute he was (that’s language reverting back to high school)!

So, yeah, at this point I am feeling pretty blessed with my family.

Highlights from this summer:
*Getting on our bikes and riding all over Lynnwood and Mill Creek. I had forgotten how much fun going down a hill really fast is and pedaling your hardest to get back to the top of the other side. And so satisfying too!
*Getting my electric bike for some added assistance on said hills. I can cruise at about 20 MPH without pedaling if I am so inclined (though I need the workout too so don’t allow that too often).
*Staying in the beautiful cabin on Lake Pend Oreille near my grandpa’s house in Idaho. We were 60 feet from the most beautiful private beach and the clearest water ever. And the beds were heavenly!
*The family reunion was a blast. Also in Idaho.
*Disneyland (of course) Gigi was way into Thunder Mountain Railroad which was really fun.
*Our backyard pool was wonderful for dipping into after being out riding for a few hours in the hot weather.
*Hannah’s wedding was life changing for our family model as we watched generations of her family and his express the obvious love for the couple and one another.
*Guinevere as a flower girl. She was beautiful! If you want to see pictures and the bride’s account of Gigi, go to http://www.hbadventure.com/blog/ and scroll down a bit to see her. She was lovely.
*Guemes Island for the night made us want to go back and spend more time.
*Our weekend in Bellingham was the perfect cap to end our summer with our good friends Jeff and Michelle and their families. We enjoyed a six year old birthday party, tennis, wine, beer, and a campfire sing-a-long. So good.
*Mamma Mia with my Mama made me love her all the more. Toe tapping and good laughter was needed that day followed up with a good parking lot conversation. Both of us bawling during ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’. Her thinking of me, and me thinking of my own little girl. (Lyrics at the bottom of the blog).

This summer did come with challenges too though:
*MRSA staph infections for both Bradley and I were painful and led to paranoia about germs and bacteria. Our house is incredibly antibacterialized now!
*Bradley’s Grandpa Kobs is really sick and in the hospital long term for now. We are all praying for his health and comfort as he fights his way through his battle with mesothelioma.

Anyhow, I am looking forward very much to the beginning of school tomorrow. I am all ready for my students to come in. Many I know as I had the privilege of teaching them as second graders. So, the best summer ever.
Thanks,
Tamara

Slipping through My Fingers

Schoolbag in hand
She leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye
With an absent-minded smile
I watch her go
With a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I’m loosing her forever
And without really entering her world
I’m glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what’s in her mind
Each time I think I’m close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Sleep in our eyes
Her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake
I let precious time go by
Then when she’s gone
There’s that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt
I can’t deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
Well some of that we did
But most we didn’t
And why I just don’t know
Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what’s in her mind
Each time I think I’m close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers
Schoolbag in hand
She leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile