...Meanwhile Back at the Ranch

"Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?
Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool, or swing in a tree up high?
Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?
Do you march in parades, or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?Is that what you do? So do I!" 

- © 1964 by Dorothy S. Andersen, “Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?,” 

Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 245

With all the busy-ness that summer brings, along with oppressive temps, here's a photo update of our activities, even clear since May:

Mini-Me got her braces off after 4 long-but-worth-it years...

(Left: 6/2008, Right: 05/2012)

We've been grabbing as many moments as possible to stare at the clouds...

Softball wrapped up...

(Yes, #25 is Mini-Me.)

Got me some more effective organizing in...

(Remember 2 summers ago when each pair of shoes got their own clear tote to lavish in?  Yeah, I loved it & they did too, but then I grew to hate it as the shoes took up too much space, and everything else didn't fit in the closet!  So the hat tote got emptied, hats went above the closet, shoes came out of their boxes & into the appropriate totes below, and the shelves have been put to better use!)

Visited Tauna, her family, her chicken coop & took in Madison High's 2012 graduation...

(Love my girls!  Juliann, Shaneece, & Kenya - my first Beehives in YW.  Can't believe how time's flown!)

A week later went BACK to see Tauna, her family & cat + be there for Meghan's wedding in Teton Valley...

(Proof that I do, IN FACT, clean-up decent enough.)

(Loved these kids on the rocks, pretty sure they had the best view in the joint.)

(Mod Podge genius at work on this here milk can!)

(Perfect cake topper: "Two trails become one road.")

(View of the Grand Tetons & Tetonia from the Lodge.)

(Headed back to Tauna's, off into the Eastern Idaho sunset.)

At home, Sullivan Thadeus has been honing his hunting skills...

(Poor Finch, but gosh it was incredible to see that vibrant gold color up close.  Definitely beats the usual mouse entrails & gut piles that normally are at my doorstep every morning.)

More lazy time snagged wherever we can find it...

Summer basketball (with tournaments & league games) has kept us hopping...

(Again, Mini-Me's #25, so that's her in the pigtail braids.)

Willow and I have played & played...

Mini-Me entered a design contest for this year's Girls Camp t-shirts...

(That's where she is this week, so we'll see if she won or not when she comes home.  Speaking of Girls Camp, another cool post about the clever prezzies whipped up for our ward's girls will come soon!)

There's a good possibility that we've been doing a little REI-drooling this season...

(That K2 kids mountain bike is my perfect size -not to mention a phenom price- plus that hat is quite fetching on, and those Chacos are THE most comfortable flip flops I've ever put on.  Then again, they better be for $60!  However, I figure we can go to REI, fall in love with stuff - but THEN get that same stuff for up to 70% less through Mini-Me's dad's company, The Clymb - and that's NOT a family discount, that's the everybody that's a member discount.  You should check it out too!)

Been stealing away for brief pop-ins at the park, amidst a schedule bursting with doctor appointments, volleyball practive, more doctor appointments, dentist appointments, and summer basketball tournaments, it's been more than a challenge....

Funny faces have been made...

Toenails have been painted...

Tissues have been shopped for...

Radishes have been harvested...

Highly (un)attractive attire has been donned while the following went down:

(The boys' kennels were evicted & my deck was reclaimed from all the Fall/Winter/Spring muck.)

(I evicted the pile of weeds above from a dirt patch I'd been reserving for the transplanting of bulbs, during which the weeds unleashed their fury on me in the middle, so I therefore vanquished them below.)

(A compost bin was established - and I cannot be happier about it!)

(I placed a new wading pool & installed a new tarp covering for they boys' pen; couldn't have been better timing since our temps have soared this past week to 105 degrees [f] & above, and this oppressive heat is not expected to relent until after July 20th.  Phew!)

(Mr LKP installed a clothesline for me, HOORAY!!!  Used to hate to do laundry, now I can't get enough of it!  Love saving money on our power bill, and I ADORE that the house isn't roasting with the heat from the dryer + even MORE power bill savings from less need for the AC to run constantly!)

Some macro shooting of Burt the Bush has come about...

Mini-Me turned 15, and only wanted a red, white & blue cake...

(So we grilled burgers, made homemade strawberry ice cream & RWB cake!)

There's been plenty of just watching the grass grow, too...

(It may be baby-fine grass, but LOOK!  We have grass again!)

New-to-the-Ranch species' of creepy crawlies have been discovered...

(Check out that FACE!)

Some incredible electrical storms have been oooh'd & ahhh'd at...

There's even been LKP shoots, some which required frolicking in local corn...

(Evans Family)

(Mr. L)

(My hard-working photo assistant.)

But even more wonderful, the most splendid sunrises have been soaked-up!

Hope your summer's been as full of blessings & adventures as the Ranch's has been.