Escaping the heat (and a whale!)

Okay, okay, I take back everything I said about it not feeling like summer and being too mellow here the past couple of months. Can we just go back to the steady 70 degree days, please? The temperatures soaring into the 100s last week just about did us in. Homeschooling came to a screeching halt, mostly due to my inability to concentrate in the heat, so that left the hot, rather cranky children with a lot (perhaps too much) of free time. Normally, they love playing in the sprinkler when it gets hot out but alas, our sprinkler is in storage. I rigged one out of an old water bottle bottle instead to help them keep cool while Daddy was in college. The rest of the time was at the beach.

When the temperature reached 107, I decided it was too hot to be in the house all together, let alone cook in it. I declared that we were having dinner at the beach and that dinner would be ice cream. My children may have thought I lost my marbles when I said that. K kept asking me over and over again, “Is ice cream really our dinner?” That must have been a dream come true. I love being sporadic like that with them. I think that is what makes some of the best memories. Oh, and speaking of the best memories -  my family and I saw our first whale today! It was on the drive from church in Lincoln City to Newport for our groceries. As we came up on Depoe Bay I looked out at the calm ocean water and saw water shoot up. I pointed it out to everyone and then we saw the whale’s tail come out of the water. I wish we were actually out in the water or on the sand when it happened instead of driving in our van, but it was our very first whale sighting nonetheless!

Thank you for your support and understanding in your comments on my post last week. I felt pretty vulnerable and a bit silly admitting to such a small and silly thing (but boy did it seem huge to me at the time). I am happy to say I have made it out of the pit and am back to my usual self. I have been seeking and finding ways to be a blessing to others with the resources and gifts I have. There is nothing more uplifting than that!