We celebrated a day early with fireworks, a fire and s'mores, and good company in our own driveway.
At least it wasn't full of water when he put it there...
Either he's trying to eat her sparkler, or she's about to turn him into a newt.
And not to forget the S'mores.
holidays, summer, traditions Ahhh, vacation, you were very much our friend this time around, and parting was such sweet sorrow, as was returning home to mounds of 
laundry and empty cupboards. We spent five days basking in the sun (and one day of clouds) in Holland, Michigan, staying only 115 steps (the vertical kind) from the beach. I love the sound of the waves, the sight of the sunset, and the cool breeze that comes off the lake, not to mention the feel of sand between the toes and frigid (oh so frigid!) water on the ankles. When we visited in May my parents came with us, and this time we were joined by Jon's 
parents for a few days. We grilled, we sipped wine, we walked the beach, we hunted for stones, and some of us even swam and constructed sand castles, sand pancakes, and sand hamburgers (or something of that sort). Calvin delighted in having his grandparents to dote on him, and we delighted in a little extra adult company, plus a little extra alone time, which we filled with pretending to be able to play tennis on the condo 
court, which was, thankfully, rather private. Unbelievably we actually had wonderful weather during all of our waking moments. Though Friday was overcast the rain held off until the wee hours of the next morning when a storm swept across the lake with the violence of driving rain, blinding lightning, and a power outage that lasted just long enough to force us out to eat in order to get our morning coffee. then the clouds cleared, leaving us with two 
more days as brilliantly sunny as the first. Five days was just the right amount of time away, and while we enjoyed every minute of those days, we also enjoyed the thought of spending that next night at home in our own beds. That did not, however, stop us from spending all of the last day soaking up the sun and lake air before heading home just before sunset on the final day. Thankfully it's an easy drive and we have an angel of a child, who handled the whole vacation like a happy, well adjusted pro. And now that the extra vacation laundry is done, real life is welcome to resume.
As in home again, home again, after five delightful days spent in Holland on beautiful Lake Michigan. I will come back and post about the trip as soon as I am able to dig my way out from under the mountain of laundry. How do we produce more laundry over five days of vacation than over five days at home? It's a complete mystery. If you can explain this phenomenon to me, please let me know.
For now, here are a few of our favorite shots, and the rest of pictures are already up in the Holland trip, July 2009 album.
July already? Really? Every other year it seems like by this time 
summer is already beginning to wear out its welcome, with temperatures reaching, and staying in, the mid to high 80s, and grasses and other greenery losing their spring crispness. This time last year we were working like crazy putting in new gardens. In fact, the weekend of the fourth we spent collected rocks from a local farm digging out foot upon foot of clay and sod to put in the rain garden. This year we've barely begun any massive garden work, 
other than the never ending weeding and water and the planting of the edibles, and the temperatures sure haven't cooperated. Only a few days has it seemed warm enought o venture to the lake or fill up our little pool, and I honestly miss those sweltering nights when open windows just aren't enough and I'd like to knock down all the walls to get some air in the house.
So the fourth of July snuck up on us this year. I could have sworn it was still mid June, and here we were, buying leftover fireworks at road side stand along with all the other procrastinators, only hours before dark on the holiday itself. The fourth is especially special in our house because it is also grandpa's (as in Calvin's, not mine) birthday, making a true family occasion. Even more especially special was the fact that Uncle Curtis (as in Calvin's, not 
mine) was in town for the weekend with his friend, Julie, so we got some extra party fun in. We spent the fourth with my Aunt and Uncle (mine, not Calvin's), enjoying a delightful dinner at their house, and we spent the following day at my parents' house, playing frisbee and watching golf with Curtis and Julie. It was everything a holiday weekend should be, and more. Now if only the summer would slow down so we could enjoy it...
More holiday weekend photos in the July 2009 album..
There are many modern, or semi-modern, conveniences that we rely on every day to make our lives easier, safer, and even more full; electricity, for instance, gives us the lights by which we can see what we are doing, run our sump pump and general appliances, and read books together, without the dangers of an open candle flame. For these advantages we have to thank the many inventors and brilliant minds who have come before, and for their loss we have to thank the 
violent hour long storm that graced our area late in the afternoon on Thursday, knocking out the power for 12 plus hours and giving us the chance to more fully recognize their value. We were very fortunate ourselves; the high winds that blew siding off one house and our neighbor's metal patio furniture into the vacant lot next door left our home virtually untouched, and the hail that damaged cars throughout the area obviously did not hurt our car, which was in the garage. And while, as a runner, I have often bemoaned the fact that we live at the top of the hill in the village, as is evidenced by our proximity to the water tower, 
as I watched the water gathering in our backyard, reaching ever closer to our backyard neighbor's house, which is notably lower than ours on the hill, I told myself that the tiring uphill climb at the end of every run is worth the comfort of a dry basement. This, of course, was driven home to me when, 12 hours after the storm, the water still ankle deep in the back yard and our sump pump still impotent without its power source, our basement remained dry thanks to that hill and our location upon it.
And while I will remain always thankful for the refrigerator and freezer that allow me to shop only once a week, 
instead of once a day, and for the washing machine that allows me to spend five minutes washing clothes instead of five hours, and for all the many conveniences which add time back into my day, time that I can then spend enjoying, nurturing, and guiding my growing son, spending some time without the electricity also reminded us of some of the things those conveniences have taken away. As soon as the storm cleared Calvin and I ventured into the garage to disconnect the door and open manually for Jon, 
who was undertaking a harrowing drive home through down trees, power lines, and impromptu lakes, and when we opened that door we were greeted with a wonderful sight - our neighborhood was crawling with people who would normally have been shut up tightly in their air conditioned homes, oblivious to the presence of other human existence on their block. We have friendly relationships with several of our neighbors, more so than ever we enjoyed in our old neighborhood, and when we walked down to the home that we consider to be the social 
hub of our neighhood we found them taking advantage of their new waterfront property status - the high school aged boys were surfing on the new lake in their backyard, and the parents were gathering to enjoy the antics and each other's company in lieu of regularly scheduled TV programs. And while Calvin joined in the water play in the yard and we joined in the beer drinking on the patio I thought, momentarily, how nice it would be if we could have a scheduled power outage every once in a while, just to bring back some of what we have lost