Memories of Summer (to warm us during winter)

I just ran across some photos of our summer fun. In an attempt to inspire warmth of soul, I will share a few memories here.
Rachel is just the right size to ride Pennie since she can carry up to 50 pounds. So Lisa and Amber enjoy saddling her up and leading Pennie with Rachel riding. It is good for us to have a small, gentle horse so that our kids get exposure to horse handling and accustomed to caring for animals. Pennie especially likes to be brushed and I, as the mother, feel a little less anxiety about having the children handle her than I did with the big horses. We have a lot of fun with Pennie and Kalypso.

We also enjoy building cook fires in our little fire pit. We roast hot dogs and marshmallows and watch the fire burn while we visit with each other during summer evenings.

One week last summer we had several cousins come to our home for "cousins camp." We tie-dyed t-shirts, splashed on the water slide, played with animals, did some crafts, and went on walks. The last day of our camp we went to our local ice-skating rink to cool off. Isaac set out to break his record of numbers of times around the rink. I think he made it to 50! The rest of us practiced tricks and got used to the feel of ice skates. We practically had the rink to ourselves. What a great way to cool off in the summer.

Another way we cool off is with the waterslide. It has been a good investment to keep kids occupied and cool during May, June, July, and August. As a privilege, it does not go up until chores are done. So it provides great motivation each day for kids to be responsible.