Last Weekend

I positively love this child.

She spent last weekend with me.  

We spent some quality mother/daughter time on the scaffolding.  We talked and we laughed.

 and we got just a little silly.  Because we both know the introduction to the backyard circus book. 

She encouraged me that we should make a porch swing.  And that we could make a porch swing.  And that we could make the good porch swing, as opposed to the simple porch swing.

And we spent some quality mother/daughter time with power tools.  We talked and we laughed and we maybe cried just a little.

Because no one sinks a screw head  like us.  But at the end of the long weekend we had a porch swing.

And a reminder of how much we like each other.  And a realization of how much we miss being together.

And then we took an ussie.  Cause we are great.

Perfectly Clear

No sand pail list this summer.  But I liked the idea of keeping a list of things I did.  Let's add these to the list:
1.  Kayak in a crystal clear mountain lake.
2.  Jump into a crystal clear mountain lake from a diving platform.
3.  Watch 4th of July fireworks reflected on at a crystal clear mountain lake.
4.  Photograph the sunset over a crystal clear mountain lake.
5.  Bring home a rock from a crystal clear mountain lake.

Spectacular

 I've seen some pretty spectacular sunrises and sunsets this past month.  I don't stop and take pictures of them all.  But sometimes they are particularly more spectacular than usual.  And then I have to roll down my window and snap a few pics.  This one was the sunrise on my way to work. At 65 mph.

 These were a sunset on my way to the late movie in the little city.

 The STP was driving, so I took about 35 pictures of this one.

 Okay, maybe I took closer to 50, but I deleted two of them.

 This was the sunset on the 5th of July at the lake.  I have some of from the 4th of July, but they aren't as good.

 The STP took pictures of the sunset on the 3rd of July and posted them to FaceBook.  Trust me, it was spectacular.  So at sunset on July 6th we were driving east through Montana and the STP asks about the sunset.  I glance behind me at the few golden edged clouds to the west and say, "I've seen better."  And then God Himself says, "Oh, really?  Game on."

And then every cloud in the sky turned some shade of pink.  Except the very tops of them which turned golden and glowing.  I mean 360 degrees of Montana sky.  And then the clouds touched the earth.  And the rain was pink and purple.  And then the sky turned every shade of yellow, orange, and red.

And then the sun dropped low behind the mountain and shot glory rays heavenward.  And finally the STP just pulled over so I could snap a few pictures.  And we were both laughing at my 'I've seen better' comment.

And then as the colors faded, the dark clouds in the east touched the ground again.  And God Himself sent a few bolts of lightning through the sky.  Bright bolts that split the sky top to bottom.
And by then I was giggling like a little girl.  Like a little girl who had just lost a tickle fight with her Dad.  Pinned to the floor, wiggling and giggling, forced to cry 'uncle'.  "Uncle Bob", I gasp in between giggles.
God Himself says to me, like He said to Job:
“And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’
    told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’Do you know where Light comes from
    and where Darkness lives
So you can take them by the hand
    and lead them home when they get lost?
Do you have an arm like my arm?
    Can you shout in thunder the way I can?
Can you pull in the sea beast, Leviathan, with a fly rod
    and stuff him in your creel?
I give.  God Himself wins this one.  And He shares the victory with me.  Spectacular.

Flat Alex Goes to DLBC

Kodachrome

Kayaking at Dickey Lake, Montana.

Give us those nice bright colors

Give us the greens of summers

Make you think all the world's a sunny day.

Oh, yeah.