july ttmmh

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

~ John Muir

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VBS — A week for kids and circle dances and costumes and learning Hebrew and talking about Jesus when we walked by the way and when we jumped up to play

The little tribe Janaya and I led; so many funny, fun kids in one place

Afternoons when the church was quiet

Playing blitz ball in the field

The evenings when all the cousins were in the kitchen together — including California cousins — and we drank coffee and rocked the baby till after dark

Passing Larry and Betty on their morning walk, sticks in hand

Mimosa trees in pink bloom

Smell of Mrs. Brenda’s laundry detergent on the breeze

Stuffy, quiet Fourth of July afternoon, reading in the rocker and watching the clouds

Cold coffee from Costco and driving around the city

Morning run, the highway lined with wildflowers, a hillside of yellowing corn in the sun, and “His Heart Beats”

Summer Wednesday nights when we pray together

Running 13 miles in a week with Trent and the collaborative playlist that kept us going and that one evening when the sun was red over the highway and made my shadow as tall as his

How my hands smell like herbs long after I’ve left the garden

Sunrise drive westward

Windmills and oil rigs on the Kansas plains, a yellow bandana in my hair

Those first glimpses of the mountains, like blue smoke on the horizon

A Colorado ski town in the summer

Hiking Loveland Pass and the wildflowers up on the heights: daisies, bluebells, and alpine sunflowers (Joel picking some for Natalie)

After a day up in the mountains: hot blueberry tea and an oatmeal bar

Sunset over Dillon Lake when the water collected all the colors in the sky and Mount Tori was pencilled in the foreground

Waking at 5am to hike toward Grizzly Peak, and that first rise when the valley dropped away and the morning sun filled it

Momma and baby mountain goats on the rocks above us

Summitting

Heavy bones, noodles for dinner, and watching “Free Solo” in the cabin

Learning to mountain bike and feeling like a little kid on a big, dirt slide

Bouldering

Blessed chapstick

Storms that rolled over the Rockies and winds that chopped the lake; beaching our kayaks to stay dry under some pines

Leanna’s rain poncho that blew right off

Waking each morning to Bear Bear saying all our names and crunching on Cheerios

Walking the shoreline alone on my last evening in the mountains, with dark clouds on one side and sunbeams lighting the other

Journaling among the flowers

Stars and moon at 4am

Coffee in the van and rain streaming like comets across the windows; Bear sticking his feet up in his car seat

Learning to be at home again

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