Day at the Beach

 
See more Summer Stock Sunday shots at Robin's place. 

Perfection in a Sunday Morning

Yep.

It was a perfect Sunday.

See more Summer Stock Sunday over by Robin.

Bubbling Over

Do your kids like to blow bubbles? Mine do.

They love to chase the bubbles around, try to catch them and pop them.

There's something a little bit meditative about blowing bubbles, watching them grow and change and float away.

And sometimes they don't work out quite right...they might pop in your face.

But when you're blowing bubbles, you've got to remember to breathe.
And that's important.

I made a big batch of bubble juice (as my kids call it), from a recipe I found at Real Moms Guide:

10 Cups water
1 Cup eco-friendly dish soap (I used the Mrs. Meyer’s soap)
4 Tablespoons light corn syrup
Directions:
Stir well and let set over night.


We refilled old bubble containers so we had the wands all ready.

Summer's Not Over Yet!

A good day at the park means that summer isn't quite over yet.
Even though we're thinking about Elul.
Even though school starts on Tuesday.
Even though it's getting darker earlier now.

There's still time for a day at the park.

What signifies the END of summer for you?

Summer Stock Sunday still has some more weeks left...so check it out over at Robin's place!

What I did on my Summer Vacation

We spent four days in Wisconsin Dells last week. I'm embarrassed to tell you that I've never actually spent more than an afternoon there in my whole life - and I grew up in the state of Wisconsin!

It was a great vacation. We hardly ever left our resort and we visited only half the water parks available to us! We're already making plans for our next trip. (And of course, making lists of things to do differently or not to forget.) We did such a nice job of not over-doing it - we ate most of our breakfast and lunch meals in our room (it had a full kitchen) and we didn't buy into all the hype of all the attractions that we really didn't need. (Even though some of them sounded pretty darn cool.) We also had Uncle Harry with us - he was visiting from Israel and it was great for the kids to spend time with him and just hang out. Yael definitely had him wrapped around her little finger!

The hardest part was taking pictures - I didn't want to drop the camera in the water and I couldn't figure out how to leave it with our shoes without living in constant fear of it getting stolen. So I only brought it to the water parks one day. Anyone have any good tips on how to make this work?

We stopped in Madison on the way home, and had Babcock Hall ice cream on the Union Terrace. (No one wanted to order my favorite flavor - Orange Custard Chocolate Chip - but it tasted just as good as I remembered from my college days.) It was too hot to do anything other than eat ice cream and take a few pictures, and then we were on our way back...

And that's what we did on our summer vacation!

See more Summer Stock Sunday over at Robin's kitchen island.

Not-So-Secret Summer Sundays

Most rabbis I know have a dirty little secret:

We love Sundays in the summer.

Because most of us, for most of the year, have a little thing known as Sunday School. So every Sunday, we're up at the crack of dawn with our enthusiastic smiles on, ready to impart Jewish knowledge and wisdom to the next generation....

But in the summer, we get to experience Sunday mornings. Lazy and delightful.

So today, I made chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes (not together, but separately), drank a cup of (decaf) coffee, read the newspaper, and then we went to a pool party sponsored by my younger kids' day camp. Wonderful!

What is better than popsicles at the pool?

P.S. This is late for Robin's Summer Stock Sunday and early for Tracey's Best Shot Monday.

Early Man

"Seriously, Mom, the fish was this big."

Uh-huh.

See more summertime fun at Summer Stock Sunday.

Best Laid Plans Go Awry

Tomorrow is August.

Where did the summer go? (Yes, I know that August is still summer but...)

All my best laid plans for a summer full of productivity seem to have gone by the wayside. Where are the neatly typed and ready-to-be-edited High Holy Day sermons? Where are the organized files in my office? Where are the long inspiring blog posts waiting in the queue for the busy season? Where is the toy reorganization project and 2nd grade readiness program?

I think they are sitting by the pool and squished up in the sandbox.

I think they're damp from the spray of the hose and dizzy from too many rides on the swing.

They're tired from all the "uppy" and snuggled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

I think they have been left by the side of the road between Wisconsin and Illinois.

I think they might be lost on a long walk with a friend or trampled by the horsey rides at camp.

I think they're buried under a pile of legos and drying on the line with the picnic blanket.

Hmm.

Maybe the summer hasn't been so bad after all.

How many brownies did you eat?

I love the summertime. Inevitably we go to family parties and the kids run wild have a great time. They have a lot of different adults around who think they're really cute and will give them whatever they want. And they've learned to work the system. After you get a brownie from your mom, you go and ask your grandmother. And then your dad, and then your grandfather. Eventually you've eaten a week's worth of brownies and you're not even old enough (in the case of Sam and Yael) to actually recall how many brownies you ate.

How many brownies do you think each of them ate?

David - I think 4.

Sam - I think he had at least 3.

I caught this one on camera and I know there was at least one more.

Just a side bar - this photo my father entitled "Future Metorologist."
Yes, she's checking if it's raining.

See more Summer Stock Photos (any other brownies?) and more Best Shots here.
More about the party and why we were holding it later...and more about BlogHer eventually too.

Oh, and P.S. Haveil Havalim is up over at Jewschool. And it's great.

What I've Done at Summer Camp So Far

Now that I've got things working again (certificates, blogger?!) here is a quick update of all the fun we're having at summer camp...

We welcomed Rick Recht to a concert on Wednesday night. He was great and the whole camp had a fabulous time.

My husband (on the right) and our friend (and colleague) Rabbi Eric Siroka of South Bend, Indiana, at the Rick Recht concert.

Ahem, um, you know you're a blogger when you ask someone to take their picture with you so you can post it on your blog. That's ME with Rick Recht and his son Koby.

My own little camper, deep in contemplation of a blade of grass.

My middle guy, on a horse. This was a huge highlight for him, and he keeps asking when we can go back.

In preparation for Shabbat, our campers created a mural of words of praise and thanks to God. It came out really cool. Eventually I'll get to pictures of the finished product.

Celebrating Shabbat, a hug from Ima.

Our all-camp Shira, song session. We are usually indoors but this year experimented with an outdoor song session. The bugs were bad but there was so much more fresh air! Videos coming soon....

And my littlest camper, dressed up for Shabbat.

Whew! A quick recap as I run to teach my Hebrew group. Today's lesson: opposites.

What are you up to this summer?
P.S. I haven't had time to read it but I hear Haveil Havalim is up over here.

A Swinging Good Time

One of the delights of the summer is quiet Sundays spent with my family. While I do enjoy Sunday School, it is nice to have a little break over the summer...

It hasn't really warmed up much around here, but we ventured out in the sunshine to the park this weekend.

That last one is my favorite - go see others' Best Shots from the weekend. Happy June!

Summer? What Summer?

Robin has started a new weekly photo meme.

Ever one to join in, I've contemplated her meme for weeks.

But the summer hasn't quite cooperated. We had a few nice warm days maybe two weeks ago. It seemed real enough that we took out all the shorts and sandals.

Then it went away....and we haven't seen hide nor hair of summer, even spring, really, since....

Instead, I now spend each morning locked in a small battle with my children who are insistent upon shorts (or in Yael's case, a skort). The other morning, I just gave in, and offered leg-warmers to go with the shorts. They were so excited...

And this, folks, is summer in Chicago.
Shorts, leg warmers, and sandals.

Ya can't beat it.


Go visit Robin for some far better more pictures of summer fun.

What I Did on my Summer Vacation (or...13 Reasons I'm not Blogging)

1. Reading Daniel Silva's newest book. And the new Artemis Fowl.
2. Catching up on the books I'm supposed to be reviewing on my blog!
3. Fishing

4. Watching my kids spray each other with the hose.

5. Being silly

6. Teaching David Hebrew.
7. Working on the PTA newsletter
8. Watching crazy silly television with Ellie.
9. Meeting donkeys.

10. Painting

11. Hanging around

12. Snacking

13. Napping. (Maybe that was just the kids. Naps for the ima!?)

What are you up to this summer?

See other lists of 13 here. (Although I'm way early, aren't I, for Thursday 13. Oh well...)

Skateboarding on the Grass....

Did you know that you can skateboard on grass? And on your belly?

That is, if you're 6 and 2 years old.



This was one of those parenting moments when I couldn't think of a good reason to say no, even though that was my gut reaction. So...I said yes. And then I went for the camera, because they had so much fun.

I feel like those moments come up the most in the summertime, when things are fun and crazy. Today, for example, we were playing with the sand and water table. It's really just a water table this summer, much less emphasis on the sand. The boys started to "spill" on each other...and then it got a little more, and a little more, and then even mama got into the act with the hose! Because I just couldn't think of a good reason to say no. Kids and clothes are washable....

What have you said yes to lately?

See some great pictures here at Mother May I...