Claytor Lakeation

Can’t complain about summer, the warm moist blanket that makes everything ooze sweat.  I wish everyone could see it so brightly!  Every summer we stomp the brakes on the train of practices & productivity and make room for a few other sorts of craziness, the kind best described in a blogpost. 

But still productive in their own right

Building a castle with Dad!

First and foremost, Dad needed a get away to prepare for the academic rigors of watching Mom homeschool 4 small children, so both happily pranced off to Cincinnati, leaving said children in the capable hands of a box of Oreo cookies, and Oma.  We learned a little about navigating the wild west of parenting twice exceptional children, plus the doom and despair of the American library system, and came away with a bunch of games and curricula that may or may not get used in the coming scholastic calendar.  Oh, and 1 picture of us sucking down a milkshake on the way home.

The "nice job finishing 3rd, 1st, pre-K and pre-pre-pre-K" ice cream bribe

The "good luck starting 4th, 2nd,..." milkshake bribe

Lots of dates and get-togethers in between, but let’s not forget the church camping trip!  Remember that one, where we didn’t take any pictures?  Suffice it to say that our kids loved it, particularly the 6 hour sunburn at the lake and the endless circles biking around the campground.  Dad had a chance to play volleyball and share a devo at dinner, and Mom came away thinking that camping was an acceptable practice.  Win!

Parkside camping trip, or something similar

Then there was the week of VBS, VBS, and VBS (here’s to you, Greentown Baptist, First Friends, and North Canton Chapel, your faithful and excellent volunteersmanship).  Also 1 day thrown in of Parkside’s Downpour camp that left our kids soaked with the Word of the Lord.  “Thank goodness for the Church,” said Mom, “it takes more than 1 village for our kids.”

Remember the week of Claytor Lakeation?  Sheeeeesh.  We had a good and hard and wonderfully memorable time with our family, discussing our plans for the near future.  Lots of details, lots of heart-felt conversations, most notably with our kids on the way home at the World’s Best Reststop, the Tamarack Marketplace.  The week was full of emotions over those talks and the funeral of Great-Grandpap Joseph, but we can remember a fun Kauffman family reunion at the cabin, the unity of “sippin’ stuff” at the Moose Lodge, a dirty beach filled with snails, and a rough-seas kayak ride fighting off pirates and dinos with Dad.

Snailing

Fire-lickin' & nose-pickin' in Christiansburg because rain

The bird game, because rain

Lincoln logs, because rain

Ice cream for a rainy birthday

Most recently, Yard Sale Weekend 1.0!  Birthdays, bike trips, best friends and bargains.  Mimi and Grandpap and Marvel visited for oh-so-many reasons, not the least of which was to play 287 games of Sleeping Queens and Set and Sushi Go with restless buddy Ez.  Heidi helped tremendously with the whole setup, and the week ended with the most-anticipated ice cream cake ever, 4 candles for Dimmy, and a massive collection of markers and art cupplies for the dim-do.  Grandpap and Dad flitted off to ride the 100-mile Towpath, a trail of great memories.

Yardsaling crew

Nearly a decade into parenting and we still have all of them!  Elia has discovered the great big world of computer games and has relished in the chance to learn her left and right while clicking away at tried and true 2000s games like Age of Empires and Roller Coaster Tycoon.  She still loves animals, wants to be a vet, but is not as excited to start school again as she has been in past years.  She is diligently learning “esspinyohll” with Duolingo for a few months, and is delighted to tell us how much she likes milk and wants to go to the bus station.  Summer has been a wonderland of trips, friends, and swimming, and when Elia is unentertained she finds a great book to listen to while drawing or crafting. 

Nugget Veterinary: She'll get your goat!

Butterfly escapades @ Beach Creek

Lego Day @ North Canton Library

She'll get your camel too!

Sophia prefers the paper book, perhaps the only one that doesn’t yearn for the Yoto player–she just plows through chapter books instead.  She adores her dance group and has really excelled beyond twinkle-toes ballet, sounds like that will be her thing for the near future.  She and Elia have both been active and perceptive participants in dinner Bible discussions, and we are so proud of their scriptural knowledge and growing attentiveness during adult church (children’s ministry is on hiatus for July!).  Sophers has chosen Waffle House + Home Depot kids crafts as her truly favorite Daddy dates.  Big news–the Bay learned to ride a 2-wheel bike during the camping trip!  Necessity is the mother of learning new skills.

Building a castle with Mom!

The Queen of Waffle House

Ez is learning to be a big kid.  It’s a slow process, and he doesn’t get help from the girls very often, but he wants to explore the backyard on his own, make friends, shoot nerf guns, and watch Dad use his favorite yellow sheet sander in the garage while woodworking.  He is quite fast, and we’re looking forward to seeing First Friends Soccer suck up some of that bottomless barreling energy this fall.  He LOVES board games--I didn’t know it was possible, but more than his older sisters even--and in a few years there won’t be a single one out of reach of his expanding math eyes.  He enjoyed AWANA this spring and looks forward to returning in the fall as well!

One of many spinny things at Dogwood Park

How to win a boy's heart:
1) Let him throw things
2) Let him win toys for throwing things
3) Make it potty-themed

Guuunz

Canton Palace Theater with Mom!

Eating fabric @ AWANA awards ceremony

Dimmy is not learning to be a big kid.  She presently denies any association with her new age of 4, and that’s not surprising.  Despite her chunkity, she lives a Neverland of Bluey, fairy tale dresses and stuffed animals, and talks with the *cutest* speech impediment that will never age.  Despite all that, she has certainly stepped up her art skills just like the others and is coloring and drawing well beyond her years, aided by a vast array of markers and coloring pens that came as birthday gifts.  Her hair still has a mind of its own, and we hope that never changes.

Bath Day 1

I'm 3 years old!

Bath Day 7

Coloring in the lions!

The season is only getting started!  Looking forward to more fun with beach vacations, cookies, camping, s’mores, pools & splash pads, ice cream, cake, candy, lollies and lemonade!  Check it out on the flippity flop.

Mother's Day

Dimmy choke hold