Simple Things. . . with a Cherry on Top.

A few weekends ago, on one of the hot, sunny days that have been all too rare of late, George, Jalleen and Devon drove over from Issaquah for the express purposes of: (a) picking cherries, and (b) having a bonfire with marshmallows.  I love this family.  They pour hours into their work at Microsoft, send their child to private school, shop at Whole Foods and Crate and Barrell, and yet drive vintage Honda Accords, are generous with their time and money, and love the simple pleasures of scavenger hunts, picking cherries, and bonfires with roasted marshmallows and colored smoke bombs.  On visits to Aunt Traci's, Devon wakes up at 6:00, dressed in his designer wellingtons, pressed plaid shorts, and polo shirt, asking, "Don't we need to go outside now and do chores?  I'll scoop the horse poop." 

For the Ringers, or at least for Devon, mucking manure is rivaled by few things.  Picking cherries, though, is one of them. 

Simple pleasures...

We road-tripped in the vintage 1990s Honda Accord to the Stutzman Ranch in Wenatchee where we hopped on a tractor-pulled flat bed and headed out to fill our buckets with cherries.

We picked cherries...

And picked...

And ate...

And picked...

Bing cherries...

Rainier cherries...

Buckets of cherries...

 Thank You Stutzmans!

 And Stutzmans' adorable little doggie.  (These are his real ears.  There was no wind!)

And no cherry-picking road trip would be complete without a little  geocaching on the way home...

Of all the trinkets from which to choose...pencils, erasers, trucks, and speedboats, what would an almost-seven year old boy choose?

A glitter covered Santa Clause pin, what else?

Once back in Cle Elum, we BBQed, and bonfired, roasted marshmallows, and set off Devon's leftover smokebombs from the Fourth of July...

And we explored...

And acted silly...

And enjoyed all of the things that money can't buy.

Happy as the Sun

Nothing better to get one back into blogging than a few children-filled, activity-filled (redundant, I know) weekends.  For now, I'll just muse about the Fourth of July weekend spent at Loon Lake with family, mostly the new Keegan family with which my sister and I have been blessed since mom's marriage to John a few years ago.  Nothing profound will be written in the next few screens, but that doesn't mean that anyone reading this can find their own profundity in it somewhere.  Such is it always, in all things. 

Getting these photos posted and a few snippets written is a practical necessity, and a good way to restore the broken relationship that has existed between blogger.com and I for the past several weeks.

So, here we go.  Starting off with summer vacation's four basic needs:  sand, water, sunscreen, and "the cousins."  


Jake, Jenna, Maya, Maddie, Ian, and Emma, or, as they refer to themselves, "The Cousins."



Buckets, shovels, swimsuits, and lifejackets?  Bonus. 

Welcome to the "Rest In Peace" Spa, aptly named given the kick board providing a nice head rest for your comfort while you have your feet washed.

                  

And, in my opinion, a summer vacation isn't a vacation unless it is shared with (well-behaved) dogs.

Even when the dog is relentless about playing fetch:

        

I am thankful for the wonderful parents and grandparents of the six bundles of energy that remind me, whenever I see them, how much I've changed, and how much we all change, for better and for worse, as we tiptoe, march, and often run through school days and summer vacations.



Naptime...with snacks!

Planning the evening talent show.

Tie Die Party.

My favorite part of being at the beach with family is always the evening walk before sunset.  That lazy, end of the day feeling where you are at the same time fully relaxed and completely exhausted.  The sun feels like warm golden honey, but without the stick.  Beachgoers are shaking out wet, sandy towels, packing up coolers.  Children balance against one another, with one foot in the water and the other in a flip flop, attempting to get their feet clean before the walk to the car (through the sand).  (It never works).  The setting sun bounces off aluminum trash cans, casting shadows, and exerting that last burst of energy before it settles under the covers.  It makes for a photo atmosphere nearly as bad as that which existed midday when I took the others, but, it doesn't phase us.  (Yes, I am just making illegitimate excuses for my still developing (tee hee, developing) photography skills).

 

Nancy Jo, Jacob, Emma, Maya, Maddie, Jenna, Ian, Carla, David, John

Of course, no Fourth of July vacation would be complete without sparklers.

And, this year, Uncle David, Maya and Ian shared a bit of Chinese culture with us.  Each of the cousins got a sky lantern.  Each cousin, one by one, made a wish that, if carried skyward in the lantern would eventually come true.  Then John, David, Bryce, and Terry (yes, it took four of them to make it work) would light the sky lantern and set it free over the lake, watching it go up, up, up into the sky until finally it disappeared.  Or, in some cases, watching it plummet quickly, a few feet out, over the lake, disappointed that the wish was not going to come true.  (These are wire free, biodegradable sky lanterns).

According to the elders of Pingsi, the tradition of setting off heavenly lanterns began during the Ching Dynasty. At that time, bands of outlaws frequently raided villages around Pingsi, forcing local residents to seek refuge in the mountains. The heavenly lanterns were signals used by the village watchmen to inform the refugees that their houses were safe again. When those hiding in the mountains saw the lanterns in the sky, they knew it was time to go home.  (Excerpted from Taipei Times (Feb 21, 2005).  Nowadays, people write wishes on them, then send them up into the sky.  The Sky Lantern Festivals in China, they say, with thousands lit and ascending in unison, is magnificent.  Ours was pretty magical though.

Here's to believing, like the five, six, and seven year-olds do:
...in friends forever
...in spa treatments consisting of chilly water, scratchy sand, and a kick board
...in summer vacations at the lake with the cousins that will only get better
...that wishes come true.

Today's new music additions:  two songs by Tyrone Wells, whose music I just discovered: "And the Birds Sing," and "Happy as the Sun."  The complete Life Half Full playlist inspired by/inspiring this blog is at: http://pl.st/p/21722976523.