Perfect Summer Day

Today was a perfect summer day in every way. Third day of our long weekend and what has turned into a mini family vacation.

Recap of the weekend so far. Thursday night Serona and I kicked off the weekend with a late night viewing of the new Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Friday was spent planting trees, doing yard work and catching up on housework, the evening held a family movie night to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. Saturday was spent enjoying our home and yard. Rhiannon and I played a long game of Rummy 500 and the kids entertained us with dances they created. We went for a 3 mile hike at the arboretum and enjoyed all the new flowers and shrubs in bloom. The evening held a kids movie while mom and dad had some time to play games on our own.

Today we slept in, Serona and Ciaran made a wonderful pancake breakfast with some fresh fruit on the side. We took our time enjoying breakfast and relaxing a bit afterwards. Today was a perfect temperature day with not a cloud in the sky and a gentle breeze but no real wind to speak of. We knew we wanted to spend the day outdoors but doing what we were not sure. We left the choice to Sirah who decided on a family bike ride. Serona pulled her in the trailer and the rest of us were on our own bikes. We started down a trail and just kept going until we arrived at a point that would be difficult to navigate without trail or sidewalk and two young bikers. It was perfect timing as Ciaran was starting to tire and we needed to go back the way we had already come. Everyone encouraged and supported each other on the way home and we arrived home with a feeling of accomplishment for what we knew was a good trek.

We got in our car to measure the distance we had travelled and discovered that round trip we had taken a 7.5 mile bike ride! The kids did great and we were proud of them. It was also our first long family bike ride of the year, so we will see how we all feel tomorrow. Everyone commented on how much shorter it seemed than our 8 mile hike of a few weeks ago. We decided to reward the kids with a treat. We headed to a local grocery store and each child got to pick one item to share with the family from the fresh produce aisle. We have very little restrictions, basically you have to be able to eat it as is (so no watermelon, pineapple, etc) but otherwise it is fair game. Ciaran chose cherries, Rhiannon blueberries, and Sirah grapes. We paid for the items and headed to a lake to enjoy our snack watching the boats and people go by.

It was a perfect location, perfect temperature, perfect food and perfect company. Everyone was in a great mood and getting along well. The snacks were enjoyed until they were gone and everyone was sufficiently serensified. We walked along the shoreline, climbed the rocks, talked about the boats, ran in the grass, pet dogs, rolled down hills and just enjoyed the abundant sunshine.

We arrived at a beach and watched the kids take off their shoes and roll up their pant legs to wade in the water. Serona and I exchanged looks and discussed the possibility of them actually jumping into the water. We quietly decided it was fine either way. We were not going to encourage it but if it happened that they decided to swim in their clothes we were not going to say no. I think Serona was secretly hoping they would decide to swim.

They slowly got braver and braver and had more and more fun exploring the water and just before we were getting ready to leave Ciaran said "I am going to get my whole body wet!" and he looked at us and we did not say anything. He did not ask, if he had we would have said ok but he was clearly waiting and looking for us to say no (expecting it really) when he did not get what he was expecting he looked mischievous and headed in, looking back one last time before getting his shirt wet then running out cold and encouraging Rhiannon to join him. She looked at us to make sure it was okay and headed in. She made it about halfway as far as him and headed back to shore. Ciaran however decided it was all or nothing and he sunk down to his shoulders than just started swimming in a long sleeve shirt and 3/4 shorts. Rhiannon decided it was fun and joined him in her full length pants and long sleeve shirt. They had a blast! Sirah waded by the shore careful not to get her own dress wet and content to make sand pies. After letting them enjoy the water some we headed back to the car with dripping but very happy kids in tow - clearly the beginning of summer for us. It really was a perfect fit to a perfect day.

We arrived home for an informal lunch, playtime in the yard for the kids and an afternoon of playing games for Serona and I. The kids chose to watch a movie and then we shared a dinner that Serona also cooked (yummy Sesame Udon Noodles) and then we read from our current family read aloud - a Bobbsey Twins book. We ended the evening with another short family walk, with the older two taking turns on Ciarans scooter and Sirah riding on Serona's back, and swinging her arms walking with us. Ciaran and Serona had a catch in the yard while Rhia rode her bike up and down the neighborhood as Sirah and I played house - she was the mom driving to bible study and getting me a babysitter because she had to take a two day airplane ride. It was a perfect cap to a perfect day. We headed inside right as the sun was setting and the mosquitoes were heading out. We ended with a call to my brother to sing Happy Birthday and a family prayer praising God for all the wonderful things we did today.

As we tucked the kids in tonight both Serona and I were overcome by how blessed we are and how great our family really is. We have great kids who love one another and encourage each other (course they can fight just as well when they want), a peace in our home and we enjoy spending time together. Tonight we talked about inviting others over and decided we just wanted to enjoy our family - that is what we have been doing all weekend and we did not even have to go away to do so - we have been enjoying each other here at our home and at some of our favorite places - a perfect way to start the summer. Days filled with being outdoors together, biking, walking, oreos, potato chips, ice cream, lemonade, grilling, yummy berries, sunshine and all the special things that set summer aside for us.

Summer is a time of "Yes!" for us, a time of enjoying the extras and the little special things. A time of drawing together and exploring God's creation, of being more athletic in all we do, of late bedtimes, flexibility and fun. If this weekend sets the tone for our summer I can say it will be a great one! Hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend as much as we are!

Blessings,
Tenniel

30 Year Anniversary

The movie has been out for 30 years today. I can't say I recall anything from its release as I was just 2 years old. Now being the oldest with three younger brothers I am sure Star Wars crossed my path somewhere along the way but I do not recall it. For me the world of Star Wars came much later in life, when I met Serona. So for me this is my 12 year anniversary or so.

You might never know that if you came to our home and spent any time here, you would likely assume that it has been a lifelong passion of ours. I suppose it has been part of our family since the beginning. You see I had a very clear and easy choice to make when I got married. I could either embrace Star Wars or hate it for the rest of my life. I chose wisely.

How could you tell this? Well it might be the decorations in our family room, wall to wall star wars posters, it might be in the replica lightsabers that many come over to play with, it might be the many star wars toys my son plays with, the several collections of star wars dvds and cds on our shelf (yes I believe we own every version), perhaps it is the collectors Star wars figures that hang up as decoration in my master bedroom, or the two huge tubs of Star Wars toys and collectables that no one is allowed to touch. It could be the entire 4 shelves of bookshelf space dedicated to Star Wars novels.

Really though I think there is no doubt anymore when you see the photos. There is no hiding from fandom when you see our entire clan outfitted in hand sewn authentic costumes made by Serona. When you see us in front of an Xwing taken on our Walt Disney World vacation (yes of course we went Star Wars weekend) or the family portrait taken the night of the opening of Episode 3. But in case there is any doubt there is undeniable proof of pictures of our daughter on the star wars website, images of our family caught in star wars documentaries and the numerous news clips we have been part of at conventions and opening nights.

So now you know our dark side, we are deep star wars fans. Tonight we will be have a home screening of A New Hope, possibly with our neighbors, which version we are watching I do not know yet - that is Serona's call. So yes we are celebrating a movie that came out when I was 2 years old but it has become a large part of our lives. I am thankful that I have embraced Star Wars, it is a part of who we are, and a fun part at that. We enjoy it and over the years I can almost compete with Serona at Star Wars trivia pursuit. Note: I said compete - not beat - and he still has to answer an entire card to win the game and I still lose, but at least I get some chips now.

Amazing to me that a simple movie has touched so many lives and affected so many people in the ways that it has. Of course it is a saga and more than a movie to many people, for us it is good family fun and a way to pass on part of Serona's childhood to our children and to have good family fun together. If you have never seen the movies why not start with one tonight.

Blessings,
Tenniel

Alexandria Library

Another one for the "One never knows what this crazy clan will do"...This morning we were headed to church and after a series of events realized we would be quite late - we were on the road there and realized it would be nearly halfway over before we arrived so we made the decision to keep driving and have a family service.

Rhiannon read from her bible and we took a Psalm of the bible apart verse by verse and talked about it, which was wonderful and useful. Then we played and sang praise songs as we drove on. We just kept driving and driving with no real purpose in mind, a rather often habit of ours. After a few hours Serona saw a sign for Alexandria and decided we should go to the library at Alexandria to say we had been there. We talked about the great library and what happened to it.

To my surprise Rhiannon remembered quite a bit about it and was wondering how we would drive there without a boat and wouldn't it take quite long to get to Africa? Then when she realized what we were doing she added "Wouldn't it technically be lying to say we had been to the library at Alexandria when in fact we had not?" We continued on and had some purpose in mind now (even if it was random to begin with). We arrived, took photos and discovered it was closed so we headed home.

On the way home we stopped at a store and let each child pick out one item to eat and share with the family for the drive home and it would constitute lunch (loosely defined I guess). We ended up with rolls and cheese, pretzels, Cheetos, powdered donuts and chocolate pop tarts along. We picked up Gatorade and some coloring books for the kids, a new Casting Crowns cd to listen to and headed back into the car for a peaceful and enjoyable long car ride home.

We had a great Sunday even as we redefine the meaning of Sunday drive with a roundtrip 7 hour car excursion to see the library at Alexandria - which became our destination by random association. What did you do with your Sunday?