Life lately, late July 2023

Looking back at my recent posts, I realized it has been a long time since I wrote a little post about "life lately." I've written about things in our life, yes, like Cooper turning four, a visit to our friends in Bloomington, a visit from my family, a trip to the beach and the one year anniversary of my mother-in-law's passing, recent knitting and other creative projects, and some updates about our garden this year. But I haven't written a post with the little mish-mash bits of life since early June. So here I am now, playing a little bit of catch up.

We visited a big, local water park! It's a park Nicholas and his sister, Katelyn, had season passes for a few years, so it was a very nostalgic place for them. I hadn't been to a water park in at least fifteen years(!) so it all felt very fun, and we just took turns doing things or holding or playing with the little boys, between the four of us adults (my father-in-law and sister-in-law came with us). Many hours in the sun and tons of fun. Cooper absolutely loved it.

We went to a friend's house for treehouse play and muffins and coffee.

Cooper enjoys making "cozy spots" for his little brother. These DeVries boys sure enjoy being cozy.

We did a little exploring at the farm where we get our raw milk, and then came home to make homemade hot cocoa with that raw milk.

On a day that Cooper went on a special day date with his Aunt Katelyn, I stayed home and took a nap with Finn.

I went on amoothie dates with both boys.

Fourth of July was fun this year! We grilled hamburgers and I made sourdough hamburger buns. And I also made an apple tart with sourdough crust, an apple crisp, and some homemade raw milk ice cream. Probably over-committed in the kitchen, but it was all delicious! And that night, Nicholas took Cooper to see our town's fireworks show for the first time.

We picked wild black raspberries! Last year, Cooper and I found some bushes on one of our walking routes, so this year, we kept checking until saw they were finally ripe again. Most of the berries didn't make it home with us, and those that did make it were eaten immediately upon our return.

I've worked on a few puzzles in the last month. My favorite one was from Loré Pemberton, a sweet seaside scene. Cooper has been enjoying puzzles lately, too. And both boys absolutely love the CD player–even Finn knows how to turn it on and press play. They love to run around in circles and dance together.

Nicholas and I went on a date to see the new Mission Impossible movie. We went to a 4:20pm showing and my father- and sister-in-law watched the boys. We really enjoyed the movie and I knit for nearly all of it, which was fun! I made sure to bring my Musselburgh hat, since I don't have to look wat it while I'm knitting it, other than occasionally glance down. We don't do a lot of dates with just the two of us, so a movie together felt extra special and fun.

Nicholas made a new desk from butcher block, sanded a million times, edges and corners routed, and finish applied. I'll take some photos of the finished project soon! It turned out exactly as he hoped it would.

We've spent weekend days at my FIL's house, sitting on the swing, catching toads Nicholas and Cooper, and admiring daisies, which were a favorite of my mother-in-law.

We made pickles with cucumbers from the garden (so many cucumbers)!  We dog sat for my FIL and SIL when they went on a long weekend trip. Cooper took pictures on my phone, including a few that have surprisingly good composition, and some that just make me smile because I'm not usually in front of the camera. We visited the county fair with friends. We visited the park with friends and the boys played while my friend Kathleen and I knit. I got a new blue and white striped dress that makes me feel pretty. We had fika (a lot).

The boys have played with their daddy, helped him with projects, wrestled him and played "wild mans," and ran to the door to greet him after his Chicago work days.

After a stretch of several nights with late bedtimes, we stayed up late, catching fireflies, playing in the yard, seeing the last light filter through the trees in the backyard. And in the spirit of some later bedtimes in the summer, we recently bought a fire pit. We had our first fire this past weekend, which was so much fun.

These are the days of homemade pickles in the fridge, hydrangeas just beginning to bloom, catching fireflies, making first waterpark memories, stealing sweet moments with just Nicholas and I, falling into bed tired and happy and grateful.

Thank you, God, for these days, right now. These very days we're living in.