We have friends who have a beautiful swimming pool in their back yard. For three years now, they have been so sweet to let our family come enjoy the pool. Here’s a picture from three summers ago. The boys were so timid in the water then…

Now? They are all over the pool – diving, having contests, and playing swimming games. It’s awesome to watch. We’ve been away from home most of this summer, so we haven’t had as much pool time as we would have liked. Now that we’re home and settled into some sort of routine, we’ve gone swimming every chance we could grab. It’s been great motivation to get our schoolwork done each day. Ahhh, a fantastic, refreshing reward for hard work – and P.E. at it’s finest. :)

I love sunshine, heat, Vitamin D, and pool exercise. But alas, all good things must come to an end, at least for a time. Tis the time of year for our friends to shut their pool down for the season. This week we’re experiencing cooler weather – and by cooler, I mean that temps are what most people consider perfect. Mid to upper 70’s. Who doesn’t love that? (me, maybe?)  I do – really I do. This weather is gorgeous. I just like 90° best – because I do. ;)

Recognizing that swimming just wasn’t going to happen today, or tomorrow, or again probably until next summer – and because our house was actually a bit chilly (who knew?) I coped the only way I knew how. I baked.

I love everything about summer (like, I crazy love it) – but I do miss baking. So yay for chillier weather (she said with a half-smile and a shrug). Today I got to bake!

Malachi and I had fun making Chocolate Graham Crackers. I’ve been pretty intentional the past few weeks about teaching him cooking skills. He did most of the mixing and measuring himself, then decided that shaping crackers with cookie cutters would be way more fun than simply cutting them into squares.  But of course.

Eek, a few got overdone. My apologies to the blackened bunnies. We will eat you anyway.

Justus and I made a double batch of Dark Chocolate Almond Granola. This is so great to have on hand for quick breakfasts and snacks. The house smelled so good while this was baking!

Summer’s not over yet and you can bet I’ll be soaking up as much sunshine as I can during the next few weeks before…oh, I can’t even say it. La, la, la, I am in denial in my happy, warm place – and that is where I shall stay for now. But yay for all the blessings (like baking!) that come with the change of seasons. I love how God shows us His goodness through everything.

And now I want to hear from YOU. Tell me how you are, how God is working in your life, and what you are thankful for. Go!