Willies in the Pool

 

I took the children swimming at Metfield pool yesterday afternoon. The water was freezing! Only Sloane seemed to care. Soren spent the entire time doing his "backflip" and zooming around floating on his back in a life jacket. Reese and Quincy enjoyed the freedom of  being stong swimmers (I am beyond thrilled to be able to use that description for Q, this year!) and stayed almost exclusively in the deep end.  Sloane clung to me for dear life and screamed like a pterodactyl with an occasional "I want my warm! I cold! Mom! I cold! No water, get me my warm!" Any time someone splashed her.  I reassured her of her safety and tried to play and practice strokes with Corbin, but after about 40 minutes I think everyone in the pool had had it with the shrill screaming. Haha! Oh well. We got out and watched from the sidelines, snuggled under towels on a lounge chair. Sloane ate half a bag of pirates booty and some pistachios. 

And then there's Corbin. That kid played. And played and played and played and it delighted my mother heart to see him play so hard for 2 hours straight. He went down the slide over and over again, and made friends with everyone in the pool. A grandmother and I took turns tossing a rubber ball into the pool to the kids who would race to catch it. And when it was time to go, Corbin had finally stopped moving and was found looking quite comfortable in a lounger he managed to Tom Sawyer his way into, while supervising it's owner eagerly gathering up all the pool toys.  

Oh summer. Our bodies are tired tired tired st the end of each day, and our calendar isn't looking very empty like I had hoped, but our brains were SO ready for this break from homework and tests and deadlines.  I'm really thankful for the time to just play together. 

Benefits of Humidity

 

The humidity has arrived. I finally bought a dehumidifier for the basement and plugged it in yesterday, setting it to reduce the humidity in the air to 50%. After 12 hours it turned off because the water bucket was already full to capacity. 2 gallons of water in 12 hours and it was still only down to 65% humidity! 

There are two things that love this sticky wet air: my garden and Soren's hair. Look at those curly locks. All the heart eyes for his little head right now. I can't keep my hands out of his hair. Irresistible. 

 

I picked all of this (plus about 20 strawberries that were eating immediately) on Saturday morning. We'll be roasting and sautéing and steaming and sharing green beans all week! 

Corbin and Quincy in the Pool

 

 

It must be summer if I'm chasing toddlers poolside during swim team practice! Let's go Stingrays! 

Blueberry Morning 2017

 

 

 

We realized this morning that we've been coming to the Blueberry Barn for 9 years. I love this summer tradition, even though it means getting my crew out of bed before 6am.

We picked up grandma Lady to come with us and picked 3 gallons of plump, delicious blueberries. I doubt many of them will make it to the freezer, this year! 

Chihuly at Crystal Bridges

 

This exhibit was spectacular. I want to go back! 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided that Dale Chihuly reminds us of Alastair Moody from Harry Potter. It's more than just the eyepatch. 

 

I was entranced by the short films in the exhibit. I think the process of glass work is even more captivating than the finished products. Really incredible.  I feel very blessed to have mind blowing artwork right in our backyard. Crystal Bridges is a cultural arts lifeline for NWA and I'm super thankful for it. 

Corbin's Baptism

 

Corbin Mac Willardson was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on June 10th, 2017. What a joyful day! 

 

Quincy gave a talk on Baptism and Reese gave a talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost. Soren led the music. Sloane kept it real for everyone and ate a bag of popcorn loudly and made cantankerous screechy objections to anyone who dared to even look at her wrong..all on the front row. 

 

 

 

 

 

We love you, Corbin!  Congratulations! 

Girls Camp 2017

 

It was good fortune that Girls Camp fell during Rob and Lynda's visit to Arkansas. Between 4 grandparents, my babies were so well cared for and I was able to drive 9 young women, including Reese up to girls came and spend the day there and run a service project. 

I hate camping. But I LOVE girls camp! I would have spent the whole week there if it could have been logistically possible. 

I went back up for the last night of camp and stayed from around 7pm until almost midnight. I love my calling in Young Women. I love just knowing and loving and serving these beautiful girls. I love talking to them about their lives and plans for the future. I love helping them work on personal progress. 

I love being part of the sugar creek young women board. 

 

 

During my day at camp, the first years came up with nicknames and I was given the title of MacGyver Meg. I wore it proudly after repairing a totally busted tent zipper, fixing the center support on an easy up tent, helping untie a brain scramble of cords, and finding a way to sew completed hats up without a yarn/craft needle. (Duct tape for the win!) it felt good to be handy. I like problem solving and when I'm not in a season of projects, I don't have many opportunities to troubleshoot. I loved putting on a MacGyver hat for the day. 

 

  

 

 

 I especially loved being at camp with my Reese. What a blessing to share camp with her! She had the best week of her life at camp and I was so happy for her, and grateful to be there to witness a few parts of it. Girls camp was definitely a "crossroads" testimony building week for her. She finished reading the Book of Mormon and shared her testimony for the first time at camp. She came home a girl on fire. 

Here she is looking super cute in her tent that she shared with 3 of the finest young ladies I know: Finley and Delayney S, and Jill G. Love them! Love all of them!