Makes you think all the world's a sunny day

August has arrived, ushering in some very August-like temps, so we kicked on the AC for a couple days. (Many people around here, or at least so we've been told, don't have air conditioning. It's usually dry, and often breezy, so it's really not bad without it. I digress.)

However, the haziness of this heat has brought about some beautiful sunsets.

 Now that our around-the-house projects are (somewhat) manageable, we've started exploring the town and neighborhood. Although there aren't as many kids per capita here as in our old neighborhood, M & A have already met a few new playmates to help pass the time. Beyond that, there are plenty of kid things we've come up with to fill our last two weeks before school starts, like:


1.) Play Croquet!


I like being yellow. It looks like I'm whacking at a giant egg yolk on the grass.





2.) Or, make up your own clubhouse with some old curtains and a cluster of three tall Poplar trees.

3) Bike, scoot, or walk on down to Cougar Country Drive-In for a Huckleberry shake.
*As endorsed by Andrew. Mmm-hmm!



4) We also made tie-dye t-shirts. (Are we going full hippie or what?!)  I had bought a craft kit for them from Target several months ago and promised the kids we would make them this summer. With the summer clock ticking, we finally did it, and they turned out much better than I ever thought a $5 kit ever would. Far out!








And, we ventured out on our first hike, at a park just 10 miles north of town, called Kamiak Butte. More about that in another update, but here's a sneak peek from that lovely day, as I snapped a shot from the car: