There is a time of year that bridges the season of summer and autumn. It's not quite one and not quite the other. The earth starts to crack from the heat and leaves and grass grow brittle, turning to gold. Then comes a respite from the heat and the nights cool more rapidly. The moisture again wells up from the ground, streams, and rivers to coat the green and yellow with tiny beads of water. The spider webs glow in the morning light. The wild berries ripen, mold and fall to the ground spreading more seeds. The flowers wither into something almost alien before shedding their brown brittle petals.  The morning sky is introspective, cloudy, grey with it's thoughts and then in the middle of the day it brightens, like it's remembering to smile. Sometimes the brouillard (fog) rises up and blankets the country in it's mystery only to reveal the hidden by the mid day sun.  The smells of the earth are of dust and heat one day then suddenly wet and earthy the next day only to repeat again. This bridge of seasons, collides, smacking together the carefree days of the kids to the heavy schedules of school, twining around each other until you can't tell one strand from another. It's chaos and a dance. It is eager anticipation for the schedules and the structure to return yet still longing for that carefree day day of running through water at the edge of the ocean in bare feet. It is the need for comfort food such as soups, stews and pies but firing up the barbeque because grilled chicken in a white wine marinade, a salad and fresh bread still feels like a light enough meal.  One day the heat will be gone, and only the thick stews, hectic schedules, and earthy smells will remain. This bridge only lasts a week, maybe two at the very longest and then it's gone.

I love this group of kids.  Job has known Henry ever since they were in chess club together when they were in 2nd grade or so.  They have done stuff over the years and through Henry we met his "hilarious little brother" Jack.  Time moved forward and Lona attended school where she met Jasmine. It took a few months and they became friends. Then Jack and Max were brought into the loop and so the group became bigger.  I think Henry and Job are on the fringes since they are older and there are other kids that come and go in this group but they have fun.  Lona has done the muds to suds for three years I think.  This year it was changed from Hovander to the BMX track in Bellingham. The name changed as well to Wondermud since it is all obstacles and mud.  There are no suds involved. This group of kids trained for this.  Job and Henry were determined to beat the rest of the group and except for Max they did.  There was a painting t-shirt party a week or so before the race and so it was the Poachers (Henry and Job) and the Wharnals (Jasmine, Lona, Jack and Max). I hope this is a memory they can all share for years to come and am looking forward to many more memories with this group.

"Hello."
"Hey do you want to go to the Sounder's game on the way home from Pullman?"
That had to be a rhetorical question. Of course I did because games are more fun in person than on TV. It is something about the ambiance, atmosphere, the energy that pulses through the stadium. Absolutely no question on going or not.  I hung up and started looking for seats.  There were seats here and there but this was a date. I wasn't going to settle for anything and to tell the truth it was about the same price for us to sit where we were sitting and it was higher up. I bought the tickets,we were almost at the center and in the 100 level.  It couldn't get any better, but it did.  We pulled into Seattle with minutes to spare before kick off, trying to find a parking spot. We paid, and at a college brisk walk (a jog for me) headed towards Century Link Field. The minutes clicking by, there was no way we were going to see the first few minutes. yet we did. My camera just at the allowable limit to bring in and yet I still was able to get amazing photos for where we were. It was intense and fun and everything a soccer game is supposed to be like. The frosting on the cake: we won.

 This has been a strange summer.  John and I have done more things without the kids than we have in a long long time. I can't remember why but we were kid-less this day and so to Lynden we went.  I don't think we've ever gone to the Razz Fest but it was fun. A classic car show, street vendors including "ANYTIME TOFFEE!", downtown shops, dutch baked goods and three vs three street ball tournament. We wandered up and down front street looking and talking to people we know and making small purchases. We had no time constraints and no deadlines. It was a fun couple of hours out and felt like a vacation of sorts and a picture of what life is like when the kids have grown.