Ten on Tuesday.

1. Summer. Busy but lazy. Perfect.

2. Alla has just finished From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and then Wonderstruck. I think she is wonderstruck! Seriously, Mr. Selznick, when will you be writing another book??

3. The kids are 75% and 80% through their Mama-made summer reading program.

4. Alla has discovered The Parent Trap, which I loved. She's on her second viewing in two days. We'll definitely have to watch the original soon.

5. This weekend we celebrate our twelfth wedding anniversary, and seventeen years together!

6. This is our last week of summer sports. I always look forward to the sideline time watching them play, and visiting friends. But then I'm ready to get our MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday evenings back. Maybe go for an after dinner bike ride.

7. Summer has been perfect weather-wise. Cooler than most prefer, probably, meaning warm days but cool enough to keep the a/c off. Fewer beach/water park days, but less sweltering. Good trade-off I think. We seized a rare hot day this weekend, and hit the water park, where both kids did a lot of sliding, Fisher climbed, and Alla rocked the wave pool.

8. The neighborhood kids have a renewed love of chalk this summer, literally filling the street with the fruits of their drawing contests. We're almost wishing for rain just to give them a clean slate. Otherwise, we'll have to start taking over other blocks.

9. Alla has been taking a knitting class at the library. This new hobby is definitely a summer highlight for her.

10. We are headed up to Breezy Point in August, where the kids will climb the fire tower and fish off a dock with nets. See? Summer = simple.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I've thought about doing a Ten for the past few weeks, but usually by the time I think of it, it's really not even close to still being Tuesday, or even Wednesday for that matter. Summer can be wonderfully lazy.

2. We have our second round of newly-hatched robin babies, so clearly summer is not lazy time for those guys.

3. Lazy summer means to me that we are gathered around the table while the breezes blow in through the screen, book pages fluttering, feeling slow. This is today.

4. The perfect summer dessert is a grilled peach drizzled with honey, homemade whipped cream generously heaped on the side. Must get more peaches.

5. We had a lovely Fourth, starting with a morning canoe on Silver Lake, and ending with taking the kids to see fireworks for the first time. Alla said they were "too pretty for words." Agreed.

6. We of course had our Ron Killins fireworks show at home first, though.

7. Alla started orchestra yesterday, and seems just perfectly suited to this responsibility. I hope that she'll continue to be excited to learn as the days (and years) wear on.

8. Ron and I are nearly done binge-watching the first five seasons of Sons of Anarchy and starting to feel the panic of it ending! At least we haven't watched season 2 of Orange is the New Black yet. Whew.

9. I started the new JoJo Moyes book yesterday and am feeling that this is a perfect summer read.

10. With that, we're off to the library for summer reading prizes, and then the Farmer's Market for (hopefully) something for dinner. These kids sure eat a lot.