The Earth Is Actually Slightly Farther from the Sun During

The earth is actually slightly farther from the sun during the period when the Northern Hemisphere is having summer.How can this be explained?

A) The sun grows more powerful on a half-year cycle.
B) There is a six-month lag phase between sunlight being absorbed and lost.
C) The tilt of the earth presents the Northern Hemisphere in a more perpendicular angle and this increased sunlight per surface area more than offsets the decrease from added distance.
D) There must be some mistake in measuring the earth's orbit because if the earth was farther away, we would be cooler.
E) During the summer the Earth is actually closer to the sun even though the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun.