Summer with the Indians

{my favorite church primary Sunday school teacher, Sister Marsh}

{this is Louie's BIG HUG poised and about to happen}

Every summer the Cleveland Indians host a "Mormon Night" for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They sell discount tickets, have dollar dogs, and this year they even did an uh-mazing fireworks show set to 60's music.  It brewed up the perfect night to celebrate my mom's birthday, and run into some good friends from church, too. 

The stadium has a great indoor childrens' play area, since babes' 7th inning stretch came at about the 2nd inning, and all those extra family hands were so......handy! in making the experience fun for everyone including the babies. Sawyer loved the game. He brought a glove and his binoculars and laughed and laughed as the ketchup chased the mustard around the bases, was crazy about the multi-level kids' play space, and munched his dollar dog with delight. Elouise was ready to move in to the playhouse, loved the company and the cracker jacks, and everyone was pretty excited when we flagged down the cotton candy man. 

The Indians played the Orioles- so fitting for our Maryland-born birthday girl- and she and her sister were singing along with 60's tunes at the end of the game, songs they never really liked when they were young. Something about air hazy from humidity and fireworks, and thickened with family ties, finally endeared the Beatles as, at the very least, hilarious, in the present summer, joy-filled night. Just right for a fabulous celebration.

Beach Life

Things to remember about the beach this year:

• Lula loves sand. LOVES sand. Rolls in it, lays in it, buries herself in it, makes angels with it, eats it, digs in it, exfoliates with it. She and sand are forever bonded now.
• Sawyer is a fearless crabber. He seeks out and chases all kinds of them, whether it's trying to foist them out of their holes or digging little sand crabs out of wet sand to race them with cousins, it was the year of the crabs.
• Sawyer can fly his own kite.
• Pool or beach? Bike ride or movie in the theater room? We could not lose. 
• Family time. Lots of family, lots of time. Dinner and dessert were shared all together every night, and we all got together for a giant family home evening treasure hunt ending at the beach with kite flying and bubbles.
• I finally got a driftwood nativity at Morris Farm Market! I've been wanting one for a long time now, and this year it finally became mine.
• Jeff was dad extraordinaire, swimming, body surfing, and up-for-anything. He is invaluable on vacation, and also, simply an outstanding father.

  

 

All Together at Hare's at Last

  

This year in Corolla, for the first time in ages, all family members but one (who is currently serving a mission in Spain for the LDS church) were able to come to our Hare family reunion. To commemorate, we did like we always used to and had reunion shirts made. We surprised my grandparents with them as a way to honor their commitment to our family.  Gram and Pappap are a light to each of  us; they exemplify enduring faith, love, true giving, obedience to God, and sacrifice. We treasure them and the many opportunities for family memories they've worked hard to give us.

Since they are like lighthouses to our lives, the front of the shirts have an "H" for Hare made with the Currituck lighthouse-the lighthouse we see from the beach home's back porch.  The back of the shirt looks like this:

Which in their own handwriting, is how they sign every card they send.
We love you, God Bless, Gram and Pappap, Moroni 8:3-

"I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end."