Ten on Tuesday.

1. We are happily into our third week of summer here, and the schedules of school have pretty much been forgotten. The kids are sleeping in. Alla in particular is doing this like it's her job.

2. Last weekend Ron and I spent two nights in San Francisco! And then a night south meeting our beautiful twin nieces. They are so cute, I just cannot express the cuteness of two baby girls together.

See what I mean? I even have some great ones of them both laughing at the same time with Mama. Coming soon, as in the next time I get to sit down at the computer!

3. Father's Day, like Ron's birthday, was glorious, and by glorious I mean that the sun shone, no one had to wear a sweater, we dined outdoors. Glorious. Oh, and we celebrated what a great dad Ron is and all that. And saw Jurassic World. So fun!

4. We are headed to the [Air Force] Thunderbirds show in Mankato this weekend, which Fisher assures us is going to be so much fun.

5. The kids are also reading books like it's their job, which really sounds like a fun summer job. If only school didn't get in the way of reading. Hm. Anyway, we have finally got Fisher onto Harry Potter, and he is in the middle of the first book and seems to be enjoying it. I haven't heard yet whether he will continue with the series. Stay tuned. Alla will start a new book at breakfast (this morning it was Circus Mirandus), and by bedtime she'll have it half-read. Clearly I should have picked heavier books. As in tomes.

6. We were supposed to have delicious chicken burrito bowls for dinner, but the crockpot bandit struck again! Do you have this at your house, where you walk in expecting yummy smells but instead you smell, um, just house? Today the crockpot was mysteriously unplugged, last time it was set to 'warm' instead of 'high.' Ah, well, try again tomorrow.

7. The only downside of summer that I can see, and which is an every summer problem for me, is not finding time to run. I am not a morning runner, as in before breakfast or, gasp, coffee, and by the time the sleepyheads awaken it's often too hot. Yesterday I tried to solve this problem by running to Fisher's baseball game. Luckily the location was moved and Ron had to come pick me up mid-run. It was hot.

8. Our summer adventure yesterday was getting a Venus flytrap. Alla thinks it is the coolest ever. I'm going to have to watch her, because she wants to feed it critters all day.

9. We are very much enjoying our deck now! The chairs have been padded so as not to scratch and the pots are sitting on risers to do the same.

10. Our garden is in perhaps its best year ever since the first year or two. I attribute this to my husband building a new frame this year, higher, so there was an opportunity to put lots of new soil and compost in there, and the plants seem to be happy about it. Even the peas and beets we grew from seed are tall and full and lush! Yay summer!