Livin' La Vida Low Key

YO.

Now that summer is officially upon us, I am officially ecstatic.

Most of the time, it seems like a cruel joke that the most wonderful time of the year--summer--is frustratingly short. But the hap-hap-happiest season of all is off to such a perfect start in 2010 that I am hoping to bottle it right up and inhale it next February when I am wearing three hoodies and cursing the latest blizzard.

I am not one for planning or organizing things {or being timely or remembering anything at all}, but I DO like to make sure that I am responsible about having fun.

So, on the first day of NO SCHOOL, the kids and I like to brainstorm a list of our Summer Goals and Objectives.

It goes without saying that the completion of these activities is very serious. I use it as an opportunity to teach the kids about dreaming big and working diligently to reach for the stars.

Of course, it also enables a lot of gratuitous eating and ice cream consumption, so we all win!

One of my goals for the summer was to blog about each of our adventures so when I am 60 {or honestly, next fall}, I can savor the memories and have evidence that the temperature does, in fact, rise above 70.

Sadly, we've done about half the list already (seeing as we've been out of school for awhile now) and I'm already about a dozen blogs behind.

Maybe someday I will dig deep and hire a personal assistant to help me reach my goals.

But for now, I thought I'd leave you with one of the most enduring images of our summer:

I didn't even know what lovely piece of machinery was called a few weeks ago, but apparently it's a manifold. Not sure if there are various types of manifolds, but this one controls our sprinkler system.

Or, shall I say, controlled.

{If pipes and wires submerged in water look fishy to you, then you are on to something big.}

Another blog entitled, "The Trampoline Pit of Death That Almost Ended Our Marriage But Ended Up Being Ok and Even Fun" is needed to fully describe that manifold. Maybe I'll even blog about it someday, but probably not.

{Not because of the emotional pain, but because of the fact that I don't really blog much.}

But now we have an in-ground trampoline, a semi-functional sprinkler system AND celebrated 11 years of marriage all in the same week.

And that, my friends, is not as simple as it sounds.

Ok, for real, sunrise on my back deck:

An oversized mug of perfectly creamed coffee, a sleeping house, and the Word are enough to remind me that knowing Jesus better is my purpose each day.

Plus, I haven't gotten to the part in Genesis where Eve really stressed over her sprinkler zones and the destruction of the manifold when Adam drove over it with a Bobcat.