As we were cleaning out the basement in anticipation of school beginning next week, we brought up the 10 year-old tent that’s on its last leg to put down by the curb.

Needless to say, it did not quite make it down to the curb. When I heard “lion training” and “kibbles”, I grabbed the camera, and this is what I saw:

I think Molly is most excited about school starting…give these boys some purpose and structure. Summer break is a good thing, but clearly this good thing must come to an end.

After lunch the other day, the boys teamed up to play Capture the Flag. They run around with swords and lightsabers trying to capture the other team’s flag while at the same time defending their own.

These guys wait for the other guys,

while these guys wait for the other guys.

Then when they find each other, the yelling and attacking begin. It’s a loud game, but they have a lot of fun at it.

What do we girls do while the boys are making all the ruckus?

We eat our Cheerios.

And enjoy the entertainment.

Since we’re on the topic of food on the blog, I thought I’d share Ruthie’s latest delicacy.

Have you ever tried houseplant leaf salad? Ruthie has. It could be considered an organic meal, I suppose.

As I was cleaning up the kitchen after lunch today, I realized Ruthie was alone in the family room…and it was quiet. And as we all know, baby alone + quiet = trouble. I walked in to find her chewing on torn leaves, while laying in the midst of more torn leaves.

We have unconventional ways of pruning plants around here.

Ever since Ruthie began eating finger food, Molly quickly learned that approximately 1/3 of the food lands on the floor, while another 1/3 ends up squished on the chair.

To a dog, this means opportunity.

No longer is scrounging necessary; the tasty nuggets practically fall into her mouth if she is positioned strategically enough. And when the little person is lifted from her chair, another feast awaits.

Next up on the learning curve: Ruthie realizes the reaction she gets from Molly when she drops food on the floor.

This was the subject of a recent email from my mom. She sent pictures of Ruth getting to know her newest best friend at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

It was her first experience with a full length mirror.

“She smiles at me,”

“and gives me high fives at just the right time.”

“Wanna be friends?”

This week was Ruthie’s inaugural Bombs Away Training Session.

She learned the giddy anticipation of clothes dropping from the second floor of the house,

meanwhile posing for a picture with P. Stephen.

Next, after the drop, she learned the fun of rolling around in dirty clothing. (Even Molly gets into the action)

The rest of the time was spent in observation. This is how you sort – first you whip the whites at one person

and the darks toward another person.

As her domestic skills grow by the week, I’m confident that she’s going to make a wonderful housewife one day.

Though this has certainly been a summer of swimming (with family, with neighbors, with friends from afar…), a large part of the season has also been spent working at OneWay’s new facility. It has been perfect for our family because not only are we being challenged to work hard, we are working together.

Every Wednesday morning, we meet at the building and get to work. Derek labors with the boys team accomplishing outdoor tasks–mowing the grass, spreading mulch, pulling weeds, and watering plants. Jake leads a team of kids aged 4 to 8 (including Peter and Jeremy) to carry out indoor tasks such as cleaning the bathrooms, washing windows, and mopping floors. He then takes the kids outside and teaches them a story from the Bible.

See the smiles? Imagine a group of kids enjoying cleaning the bathroom…they really do. They know they are contributing in an important way–if they don’t clean the bathroom, then the job doesn’t get done.

Some of the older girls help an adult tend to the babies and toddlers in the nursery. The ratio couldn’t be better on this particular day.

We are grateful for the opportunity to work with each other and with good friends to accomplish a common goal.

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:10-11)

After weeks of Molly’s hair literally falling out in clumps, and Ruthie rolling around picking up said hair in her mouth, we have declared the family room a Hair Free Zone.

For the people in the house, this move has substantially decreased stress levels; especially for the person responsible for pulling dog hair out of the baby’s mouth. On the other hand, the dog-who-thinks-she’s-a-human does not understand why she’s on one side and her people are on the other.

The poor pup just sits and stares at us longingly, waiting for an Okay signal. Her head gets tired after a while, so she lays it on the cushion, still with her eyes fixed on her people.

Jeremy feels sympathy for her, so he walks over and gives her a hug.

Speaking of Jeremy’s hugs for Molly: there is a fine line between hug and head-lock. As soon as Jeremy purses his lips together is a good sign that the line has been crossed.

But she still loves him so.

“Molly. That is a Hair Free Zone. You can’t go in there. Wait till you’re done shredding.”

In case you ever wondered what books the Johanik family enjoys reading, I have added a separate link at the top of the blog, called “Book List“. It is a fluid list, since we are always adding favorite books to it, but this is a good start.

And because I can’t write a blog post without a picture these days…

The boys have been working on their circus act in the water. You never know when skills like these will come in handy later in life.

Thanks to his size and confidence in the water, Peter by far has the most spectacular flying ability.

It’s a little harder to launch masses like Derek and Jake into the air.

While Bubbie’s launch could be much higher, Jim wisely holds back. Just wait till next year.

Meanwhile…

Molly has been working on her own circus act: splash the water and catch it in the mouth.

Here, Jake illustrates what may be  going through Molly’s little brain during this swimming activity.

…this is what you would see in our swimming pool.

Last week, our family night was spent running through the sprinklers. The weather was hot and humid, and it was a fun alternative to swimming…I think the boys were especially excited that they didn’t have to change out of their clothes into swim suits.

The lawn thanked us too, since up until now the only grass that had been watered was the perimeter around the pool.

After jumping through a few times, Derek asked Ruth if she wanted to join them. She gave it some thought…

…but decided she would rather play the role of cheerleader.

Then they got creative and played sprinkler golf

and sprinkler baseball.

The wetter they got, the more excited Ruth became.

And just to add more water to the fun, Jake pulled out the super soaker.

Wet.

Wet.

Dry.

Well, kind of. But it could be considered a good way to maximize space.

After some rearranging and disposing of items, the boys now have a new room in which to play games and read. And the bonus: in the event of a tornado, they won’t find a safer retreat.

Hopefully you’re not weary of seeing pool pictures here. It’s telltale of what we’ve been doing this summer!

Knowing that Ruth’s previous swimsuit was getting a little snug, Grandma took advantage of a great sale on baby swimwear. Ahhhh…cute and comfy.

The boys thought that goggles would complete the outfit, but Ruthie didn’t exactly agree.

She then joined Jake for a ride on his inner tube. Oldest and youngest. Affectionately known as the bookends.

They looked on as Derek and Peter played King of the Inner Tube.

Poor inner tube.

After all the horsing around, the pool occasionally needs to be topped off.

As Jeremy convalesced on the couch yesterday, we held church at home. Jim tasked the other three boys with teaching the Bible lesson. They were each to pick a passage from the Bible, read it to the family and discuss. The reason I’m sharing this is because, given each of their personalities, the passages they chose couldn’t have been more appropriate.

Peter went first. He chose to read the story of David and Goliath.

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”  33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”  34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

Did someone mention armies? War? Little good guy conquering the big bad guy? Peter was all over it.

Jake went next and shared the parable of the sower. The science of it just makes so much sense, after all.

3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear.”

Derek finished by reading the story of Jesus walking on water.

25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28″Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29″Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Derek’s personality came out when he then taught us about how this story reminds him of the importance of having faith in Jesus, particularly faith the size of a mustard seed, which is very small. And he also reminded us of a story we learned in history a couple years ago about the early Coptic church who saw a mountain lift from the ground as they prayed.

As amusing as it was to see the boys’ differences come out in their story choices, it caused me to be thankful to God for the many different lessons He teaches us through His word. My prayer is that these kids’ hearts would always be fertile ground for faith and courage to grow.

Boyhood and Beyond – Practical Wisdom for Becoming a Man by Bob Schultz. If you have boys, I highly recommend it.

Jim and I have been reading through it before giving it to the boys, and we agree that this author does a great job combining biblical wisdom and common sense to urge boys to become men of God. In the book’s short chapters*, he addresses things like authority, temptation, leadership and fear, among others.

(*short chapters = appealing to boys)

I must admit I teared up when I read the chapter on preparing for a wife. Here’s a snippet:

God designed perfect classrooms for marriage training. They are called little sisters. Hopefully, you have one or more of these little girls around your home. If you don’t happen to have one, an older sister or your mother will do…Why is a little sister a good classroom to help prepare you for marriage? Because little sisters love big brothers. Their eyes light up when they see their brothers come into the room. Little sisters are a brother’s biggest fan club. If you are going to work on a relationship with someone, it is easiest to begin with someone who already loves you.

…with a 4 year old is never routine.

Uh, Jeremy? Are you planning on wearing the helmet while we walk?

What better way for a dad to spend Father’s Day than swimming with his children?

We spent the afternoon with my parents and brother’s family, and when the weather proved to be good for swimming, the dads and kids hopped in.

There was lots of throwing of children in the air.

Some landed more painfully (i.e. horizontally) than others.

They also created the fastest whirlpool this pool has ever seen.

Hold on tight, Ruthie…

Poor Molly didn’t understand why all the other kids got to swim and she did not. One word for you, Molly…claws. They don’t get along well with pool walls.

I am thankful for the dads we celebrated this day, and even more grateful for God, the Father who loves His children perfectly.

That Ruthie, she’s going to be alright. Ever since we bought a baby boat for her, she is enjoying her newfound independence in the pool.

Her little legs motor her around as she pursues after her brothers.

But on this particular day, what drew the most laughs was when she found the watergun.

During her exploration of it, she appeared to be cocking it,

chasing her brothers with it,

and eventually riding off into the sunset with it.

Yes, she is all girl…but not one to mess with.