First

Probably nobody who reads this will already know that I come from a family full of women who have never pierced their ears. As children, my three sisters and I naturally begged for pierced ears because everyone had them and earrings were so pretty and grown-up looking. 

But at some point the begging stopped and life moved on without little holes in our ears.

I honestly never think about my ears these days.

Well, my youngest and soon-to-wed sister has been thinking about hers. With her wedding just around the corner, she recently decided she'd go for it.  She's become the first one in the family to do it. It feels like a big deal and it feels mundane at the same time.

In the photo she's about to have her ears pierced. She's talking it over with the sales girl who will do it.

Meanwhile, my girls were completely taken in with the consumer wonderland aspect of the shop.

They had just about every kind of dress up thing a little girl could want.

It all went well and only a few minutes later we were at the other end of the mall where my sister selected some makeup, just another finishing touch for the big day.

An Evening at the Botanical Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden has a summer concert series. After 5 pm admission is free and folks begin to arrive with picnic dinners. A few hours later the music starts.

We spent the evening checking out a new exhibit of "tree houses".  There were quite a few neat designs, and all included lots of wood scraps, bark, etc.

The kids liked this one. Here they are on the inside:

Here's another one, a freestanding play house with tree-bark siding.

Soon, we were off to the Children's Garden.

It's one of the kids' favorite parts of the Botanical Garden; full of hands-on, climb-upon exhibits for kids.

This little watercourse illustrates how locks and dams work. In the past, there were boats there too. The boats were gone this time, though.

Then we were off to explore the caves.

Last stop of the day? Snowcones.

Ah, summer.

Roast

It's awfully fun in the summer time to roast marshmallows. That's what the girls did with my dad mid-week.

They'd already roasted hot dogs for all of us for dinner. It was late, well past bedtime, when we remembered about the marshmallows. The coals were still hot, but not too hot--in other words they were perfect.

I should add that my family doesn't grill. We camp.  That's why they're gathered around coals in the dutch oven on the back patio.

Art Camp at Laumeier

We're trying a lot of new things this summer, specifically we're trying out day camps. There are lots to choose from in St. Louis, and this week, the kids are doing an art camp at Laumeier Sculpture Park.

In addition to all the normal summer camp things (nature hikes and games and trips to the swimming pool), there are daily art sessions. The kids get to paint, collage, sculpt, etc. during the camp.

I'll have to post some pictures of their projects later on.

It'll be an adventure trying out this camp and a few others. Still to come are camps at the zoo and the city park near my parents' home.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

One of the highlights of the summer will be my sister's wedding. On Sunday, she stopped by with her fiance, who happens to be extremely good with children. That's fortunate since there are so many in our extended family.

He explained the rules of monopoly to my kids and their cousins and kept the peace during the game that followed.

His overview of the rules included several reminders that you have to pay the price listed on the card, and you have to pay it immediately rather than installments made over time. Apparently there's a new version of monopoly where you can negotiate and pay little by little. I'll have to play that kind of monopoly some time--maybe one of my nieces or nephews will teach me.

First Birthday

In our big, extended family there are a lot of summer birthdays. The first of the summer is my Moms.

Here she is with all of her grandchildren.

It's amazing to me, the number of circumstances that led to all of us being together on her birthday. I can't help wondering if it will ever happen again, wondering how many years will pass between now and then.

The Flights

During the summertime we fly from Beirut to the US where we rest, recreate, and visit family.

This requires three planes and four airports over about 24 consecutive hours. To get through it as comfortably as possible, we pack very light-weight carry on bags which include some fun stuff (like magazines and snacks) and some practical stuff (like a tooth brush and a change of clothes).

Change of clothes comes in handy when your luggage gets lost and you have to survive with nothing else for a few days.

And when the magazines fail, it's good to have electronic back-up plans.

This year, flying was easier than it has ever been. The kids are so big, so good at doing the airport thing. They're such great travel buddies and they seem to get better and better every year.

Still, our layover in Paris was a real low point. I got on the wrong bus and ended up on the wrong side of the airport and undoing that error was tricky. Then, during the first of several security checks I discovered that cough syrup had spilled inside my carry-on, my daughter had stashed a gooey half-eaten pear in the bag with her i-phone, and that the Beirut Airport had neglected to issue me baggage claim numbers and I had neglected to notice.

All that, and still, still this is the easiest it has ever been which is completely awesome and it makes me absolutely love my life.