Summer Days Ending

We were tempted by a little cooler weather to brave the bike trails. We loaded the kids, the dog, the bikes, some water and ourselves into the car and drove over to the bridge, a section of the trail spanning a local highway. We unloaded and the kids and dog were off. We were off to a slower start than they were but managed a nice even pace through the light of the setting sun. The corn stood tall on every side of our walk shielding us from the golden rays of the retreating guardian of daylight.

The kids were fighting and racing along the trail while the dog chased after them and came back to us. He ran back and forth from the cycling children to the gently ambling parents. We were able to let him run off leash most of the evening until few fellow cyclists and walker passed by. We then called him over and put him on leash until all of the other traffic dissipated and we were left alone with our own group. Jack the dog ran and ran all evening chasing the children and then checking on the parents. We tried our best to tire the puppy out but he has resolved to run every minute of his life, wherever he goes. There appears to be no limit to his source of energy, no boundary to his kinesis.

Shane and Sophie have done some experimenting this summer. Shane has done the classic volcano powered by the acid base clash of vinegar and baking soda framed in the Star Wars diorama from the volcano planet where Darth Vader was born. He poured the red vinegar into the tubes and watched as the foaming lava oozed from the volcano and nearly wiped out the light saber duelers at the base of the mountain.

Sophie has nurtured caterpillars into butterflies. She has taken the caterpillars and placed them in their home until they formed chrysalid. She watched nearly every day until the butterflies broke free and began flying around their little home. She released them into the world after giving them much love and sugar water. We were all fascinated by the process.

Savannah has started fall soccer with the local recreation league. She has been working hard in the goal and on the field.  She has spent most of the recent days with hopeful anticipation of school starting again. Her soccer skills have been improving while she has prepared for the challenges of another school year, with new friends and new teachers.

 

Shane has begun a long journey toward the x-games. He has been tearing up the skate park on his BMX. He has been training hard trying to master the bunny hop and jump the ramps in the park. He tried skateboarding and found it to be more than he was prepared to do. He felt the BMX tricks were closer to his abilities. He has been all over the skate park breaking in his nerve to try bigger and better tricks. He has not crashed hard enough to break anything but has crashed pretty hard a few times.

We have been back to the shut-ins for a day of water play. The cool water was a treat and sliding through the chutes made the river more exciting. There were a few scrapes and tumbles. Over-all it was a place where the heat made the visit more enjoyable.