July

I love July! I love the heat, I love the 4th, and I just love everything about summer!

On July 3rd we went to a minor league baseball game. Josh's office bought a section of seats and dinner for families. We had a great time, but especially loved the firework show at the end. They played Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel and I loved the patriotic feeling in the stadium!

On the 4th we went over to celebrate with our friends John and Hannah and their cute kids. We bbq'ed in their back yard and enjoyed sitting around the fire pit chatting and roasting marshmallows until the sun went down. Then we lit off fireworks in the street.

I'm so thankful for my friend Hannah.

We've been swimming at my mom's and grandparents on the 90+ degree days. You can't beat the view from their backyard pool!

Sunbathing Nora

One night Caleb and Jen, and Jen's mom (visiting from CA) joined. Caleb and Jen played music for us and we all sang some Disney & Beatles songs, as well as Moon River. It was a lot of fun, sitting on that back patio with the view and three generations, all singing together. 

Our friends John and Hannah hosted a church BBQ at their house the other night. 

Buddies on a blanket.

One night on the way home from the fixer property (I sound like a broken record, but we're there a lot), we stopped at Winco to pick up a few things and the crescent moon was so pretty and the sky was turning pink and it instantly took me back to 1989 when that grocery store opened. My dad took me there one night and it was night exactly the same. The temperature was so perfect you could hardly feel the air. We bought a bratwurst and a pop, which they use to sell out front all the time for $1.50. Anyway, as we waited in the car for Josh to run in real quick I snapped this pic and told the kids that story of my dad taking me there for the first time and what a sweet memory that had always been.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." I remember my Grandma Gayle and my dad saying that when I was growing up. Yesterday I needed to just get out of the house and have some fun with the kids. They often request to walk around downtown, so that's just what we did, and had a great time. And we enjoyed some ice cream with Granddad in the afternoon.

I hope you're enjoying this summer that is flying by much too quickly! xo

June

In June we got to celebrate this handsome guy's birthday!

We went over to Matt and Gina's house and BBQ'ed while the kids jumped on the trampoline, and we devoured this ice cream cake. Josh is 39...  40 is looming in the distance. ;) I often tell him he's killin' it at home and at work... how'd he get to be so great?

The kids wanted to serve him breakfast in bed on his birthday:

And they made him gifts.

We went to see Incredibles 2 movie at the theater that night.

Matt and Gina left for Sisters to celebrate their anniversary, so we got to have Nora for a couple days. She and Selah wore matching top knots to the theater.

My birthday was a week later. I woke up to Josh surprising me with a coffee from my favorite coffee drive thru.

Later that day we stopped by my mom's house to say hello to lots of extended family that were visiting from California. They were sweet and sang me happy birthday and toasted me.

That evening Josh, the kids and I went out to dinner and to a few of my favorite stores. I bought two hand towels for the bathroom that I couldn't resist. It was a great birthday! I'm 38 and becoming more and more okay with that. As Josh always says, "I'll never be younger!" ;)

We hadn't seen our friends Matt and Jana in months, so we joined them for dinner and Spades (cards) one evening. The girls enjoyed painting.

We only make it to Avery park about once a year, but we always love it. The kids climbed the train while I laid on a blanket in the grass and watched the branches above me sway in the wind. Why are those moments so therapeutic? 

And the kids had fun rolling down the hill on their sides while I sent Josh a "wish you were here" pic.

Josh's office had another "Escape Room" day. This time they were put in a harder room that only 15% of groups successfully complete. They were actually put in two separate rooms and someone pushed a button that revealed a window between them so they could see each other and help solve all the clues. They once again escaped the room in under an hour. What a bunch of smarties! Well done!

We had our nephews come stay with us for a weekend in June. We took them with us to the fixer house and the kids played in the back creek and watched a movie while we got a few things done. We followed it up with frozen yogurt, to which everyone agreed was a good idea.

The kids made boats for the creek:

Two bucks eating apples in the backyard.

Helpers...

Ben stepped on a rusty nail at the property, even though I had carefully picked up any I could find. But it has been a construction zone off and on, and I didn't think about flip flop season being a hazard. He had to get an updated shot. He was in the process of rebuilding his Lego Wall-e set and was missing a piece of tread. So we picked up a piece of tread after the shot to distract from the foot, and now arm, pain. :)

This cute girl spent her money on this tiger she had been wanting.

Ben & Jude love legos that have gears, and Ben loved showing Granddad his Lego Technic book one day.

Similar minds.

Gina and I took the kids for a walk one day to see her mom's property near Walnut park. It was a lovely area!

We also took them to a cute park in Albany one afternoon.

It's been exciting to see the fixer house coming together ever so slowly!