End of Summer

Last night, just as it was getting close enough to bedtime for me to be counting the minutes, Craig relented to Ryder's whining and said he'd go outside with him.  As soon as she heard that, Camille began pointing and crying, "Side!  SIIIIDE!"  And then Kendra and Colton decided that they needed yogurt drinks (which the kids are only allowed to drink outside, because they are somehow the messiest things ever, second only to granola bars).  At this, Craig told me I was coming outside, too, and we began spraying Off! on everyone.  (I HATE bug spray, but once I realized everyone needed baths anyway, it didn't really matter if they got even smellier beforehand.)

Craig had spent hours on Saturday hacking down our overgrown jungle of a backyard and making it feel tame again, so we made our way to the now-accessible trampoline and decided to do some jumping.

Now, if you would have told me to put five kids and two grown ups on that trampoline all at the same time, I would have told you that that was a terrible idea.  But sometimes we defy all sense and reason and manage to have a lot of fun anyway.  The kids bounced all over, Camille crawled around giggling maniacally while we tried to keep her safe.  Craig took each kid individually and bounced with them however they chose-- some laid on their backs while he bounced them as hard as he could, others chose to hold hands and jump together.  Whatever they did, everyone had a great time.

Family trampoline time at dusk, on the penultimate night of summer.  It was a smelly, giggly, magical moment.  It was exactly the kind of time I hope for with my big family.

Totally worth every mosquito bite I got (despite the bug spray).