It’s a close call for the sister in this family. For years we’ve known about her love of dogs. This extends to other animals as well, such as birds. She found this fledgling stuck in a parking lot a couple weeks ago.

She was told not to touch it, so she picked it up with a stick and moved it to safer ground.

When we visited my cousin and his new daughter, Ruth appeared to be more excited about their dog than the baby.

But when given an opportunity to hold the sweet one-week-old, she gladly held her in her arms.

Hmm, little people can be cuddly and fun to play with too. This fact was confirmed when we celebrated a friend’s second birthday, and Ruth was reluctant to leave when the party was over.

Not only that, but the two-year-old was reluctant to have her leave.

This year, Peter began what Jeremy likes to call “big boy science” with a thick textbook, tests and experiments.

Yesterday was the first day of experiments, and the younger two were excited to put down their own schoolwork for a while and observe.

And he greatly enjoyed teaching them what he had learned.

I thought Jake would be glad to know that Peter is going through the same General Science book that he had gone through, so I texted him a portion of the video.

He got back right away with his own science experiment from that day:

What Peter can look forward to, perhaps?

We are off to the races for the 2016-17 school year. Like last year, we began in stages.

First off the blocks was this kid from 1,030 miles away, who has been in class for two weeks already. Although this picture was not taken on his first day of school, I like it so much that I am declaring it as his first-day-of-school photo.

Next to get underway were these students.

Derek: 10th grade
Peter: 7th grade
Jeremy: 5th grade
Ruth: 1st grade

And, alas, nostalgia got the best of me and thus we pulled out Jake’s fathead for old times sake.

As you can see, Molly can hardly contain her excitement over the school year ahead!

This picture has been on my phone lock screen for a few months.

The other day, I heard giggling in the back seat of the car. I looked out my window and saw this:

These kids will do anything for a laugh.

We dropped Jake off at the Air Force Academy June 30. Originally, we were not going to see him until Labor Day weekend. But after nearly six weeks of very limited communication, we were itching to see him earlier. Well, we made an uncharacteristically (for at least one of us) spontaneous move and flew out to Colorado to watch the Acceptance Day parade, knowing we would only be able to spend 2 hours with him.

First, we spotted him from afar.

Acceptance Day is significant because it marks the official acceptance of the freshmen (fresh off of basic training) into the cadet wing. The parade was full of symbolism. The freshmen stood at one end of the field, facing the sophomores, juniors and seniors at the other end of the field. Then squadron by squadron, the freshmen marched toward their new cadet squadron.

All 40 squadrons then marched past the school’s superintendent and other leaders. Jake is in squadron 22: the Raptors. To spot him in the video, he is third row from back, on the side closest to the camera.

Once the parade was over, the announcer told parents we were free to meet our cadets on the parade field and observe them have their shoulder boards put on. We didn’t waste any time!

It was quite an emotional reunion–all three of us crying and hugging! We caught up with his classmates and watched the upperclassmen put on the shoulder boards.

Some things haven’t changed–Jake is given a hard time about his height wherever he goes. One cadre hoisted another up so he could reach Jake’s shoulders,

then they just told him to stoop down.

We were able to meet some of his new friends, and in some cases, their parents. This was important to this mama.

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Jake was allowed to show us his room. Walking on the right side of the hall…

Doors remain open at all times until bedtime.

We were blown away by how fastidious this once–how shall I put it–lackadaisical child had become in a few weeks. We pulled out a sleeping bag from home so he would have some cushion as he sleeps on the floor each night. As we pulled it out of the bag, hair from our beloved shedding dog fell out, and Jake–without batting an eye–rushed over to his cabinet, pulled out a lint roller, and rolled the hair off of his pants.

He even does hospital corners!

Jim enjoyed the organized closet.

We relished every minute of our short time with Jake, and have no regrets on making our impromptu trip to Colorado Springs.

With the change in family dynamics, as well as the imminency of his sophomore year and all that it involves, this guy has been more introspective lately. He enjoys spending his time in solitude either outside with a fishing pole in hand or at the keyboard in the basement.

Ruthie looks forward to the start of her brothers’ new sport seasons; to her, new teams mean new friends. First, she looks for girlfriends. And if she doesn’t find any, she looks for friends of the canine sort.

This particular nine-month-old German Shepherd took quite a liking to Ruth. Off the leash, he followed her everywhere and retrieved every stick she threw.

We’ve had a smattering of home maintenance jobs that have been saved for the summer, when the laborers are off of school.

This week we are staining the fence.

Derek prepared for the staining by powerwashing every slat. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.

With four workers, we anticipated the staining to take two to three days.

We underestimated the determination of these workers, for the entire fence was finished in one day!

They parsed out sub-jobs to one another; the boys were each responsible for staining certain portions of the fence, while Ruth had the important job of brushing the dirt off the bottom, then getting down on the ground to stain the bottom.

The end result is beautiful!

The second part of Jake’s basic training has taken place on the field, so to speak, in a place called Jack’s Valley. The basics have been tested daily physically, mentally and emotionally. They take part in things such as an obstacle course, an assault course, experiencing what tear gas feels like, and shooting automatic weapons.

Jake’s letter home reported that he had just returned from the firing range that day, having enjoyed it. The fact that he did well was no surprise to us; in fact, it led my mind to recall all the target practice he’s had to this point.

From BB guns

to bow and arrow

to today.

We experienced a major thunderstorm the other day, with one lightning bolt after another crashing nearby. It was both spectacular and terrifying at the same time, knowing the immense power of the lightning and how very little control we had over where it hit.

Derek spotted billowing black smoke after one such lightning strike about a block away. We learned later that a home down the street was struck and started on fire.

Thankfully, no one was hurt. However, between the damage from fire, smoke and water, the house is a total loss.

It is a heartbreaking sight. After walking over to see the house, we returned home and had a good talk about treasures. Peter said that seeing the house reminded him of a Bible passage they had just talked about in Sunday School from Matthew 5:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We have been praying for the family of the home every day, that God will provide for them and comfort them; keeping in mind that our own possessions could be gone today without warning.