July started with some hang out time with family and friends. Then the busy summer events kicked into high gear. Scout Camp, a camp at BYU, Girl's Camp, and a fun trip for Mom and Dad (to be covered in another post).
The month started with a family trip to a new Hawaiian shave ice place (Wailua Shave Ice) in Portland, across from Powell's Books. Each of the kids brought a friend. The shave ice was really amazing, with syrups made from organic fresh fruit.
Ouch
July also dawned with yet another freezer fiasco. Seriously, I don't know when we will every learn. We seem to have at least one time a year when the freezer door gets left open just enough to thaw everything within. This is a very expensive mistake! I spent one day throwing out almost all the food in freezer (the picture below just shows the last few things I was unloading. Unfortunately, I had just packed the freezer with quite a few new things, including delicious and expensive Halo Top ice creams!)
Before and after
Bailey comes to town to play Mom
We went to lunch with Bailey to her choice of restaurants (Freshiis) before Dan and I left out of town.
What did I do when no one else is in town??
I had a very unique experience. There was one week in July when everyone was out of town. Aubrey was in Utah at her Habits camp. Dan and Joseph were at Scout Camp. So I spent one week being by myself. It was weird and wonderful, all the same time. I wouldn't want to be all alone for very long, but one week was a great respite. What did I do? I read, I wrote, I did house projects,
I visited with my friend Rachel in Portland and then ate dinner at her house (and we shopped at the Nike store and did makeovers at Sephora),
I hiked to Moulton Falls with friends,
I went on walks, I watched Call the Midwife, I slept in.
What did I not do? I had a hard time going to sleep at night with no one in the house and I DID NOT READ ANY BOOKS. That surprised me so much! I had a huge stack of books to read, but found that I wanted to get other things done. And that was OK!
Goodbye
We organized a party on a Sunday afternoon to say goodbye to the Kartchners (boo hoo!)
4th of July dawned early with a breakfast and program at the church. Dan cooked some great scrambled eggs!
Shortly afterward, Aubrey took off with the McDonnells to do face painting all day at the Ridgefield 4th of July celebration. They worked for the Crusans and each made lots of $$.
Dan, Joseph, and I left to Merrill Lake, on the south side of Mt. St. Helens, to meet up with friends. Because of our extra wet spring, the water was very high, leaving little beach on which to set our stuff! The kids had so much fun kayaking and paddleboarding while the adults prepared lunch and talked.
We left at about 5 to home, where we met up with Aubrey at home and finished up our Cowboy Caviar and pasta salad and then headed over to the Harringtons to join with some friends to make s'mores and then watch fireworks. Joseph stayed with Kartchners and the other families at the lake. Some friends provided a truly amazing fireworks show for us to watch!
Aubrey's July Adventures
Aubrey got to dress as Fiona several times for some Metro events, thrilling little kids by taking photos with them!
Stake Youth Conference was the beginning of July.
The morning after Youth Conference we sent Aubrey on a plane to Utah to attend a Habits for Life camp at BYU with her cousin Sarah.
While at BYU, Aubrey spent at day at Bailey's work at BYUSA.
I love this picture of Aubrey's desk (with the insert from the antique desk we inherited from my parents)
And I love her art wall, with art she has created.
Sending Aubrey off to Girls Camp, the day before Dan and I left to Europe.
Aubrey and Alayna spent an evening watercoloring, and then they presented their works of art to us, complete with artist statements!
Aubrey, Joseph, and I went to Lewisville Park one day with friends. Aubrey had a great time hanging out with the teenagers, Joseph had a great time with his Middle School friends (including some girls from school), and I loved talking to friends and some new families.
Aubrey REALLY loves watching sunsets. She walks many days a week to a viewing spot in the new neighborhood to our west and watches the sun go down over the Columbia River. I walked with her some days and we either talked or read our books.
My plants
This year my garden did great! I invested a lot of effort into improving the soil and fertilizing at the right times (under the direction of my friend Becky), and it paid off. We had wonderful tomatoes and raspberries! Oh, and the flowers in the back yard were great, too.
Joseph's July Adventures
I did my best to give an appropriately good looking haircut. This is the last time I tried doing it at home, and by August we found a great hair cutter Joseph is happy with. Hooray!
Joseph's Scout group went on several long bike rides. On this day they rode 25 miles!
Dan attended Scout Camp with Joseph. In fact, Dan was the main adult in charge of 13 boys for the Scout Camp. Dan did a great job keeping everything going and everyone happy. Joseph had a good time at the camp, which had lots of cool things like horses, archery, rifle range, kayaking, canoeing, etc. He finished 5 merit badges.
We ate lots of fresh produce, which is one of my favorite things about summer, and Joseph was a fan of raspberries.
Joseph got some really grown up looking church shoes. We took this picture to get Bailey's opinion about them.
Joseph went on several shopping trips with me. One day he read this entire graphic novel in the car while I ran into a store.
As a reward for his patience, I got him a Burgerville ice cream cone.
Joseph spent as much time as possible with Alex, before Kartchners moved. They had a sleepover on our trampoline. They ran an extension cord to the outside so they could watch superhero movies most of the night.
More shopping, this time for a new backpack. Joseph had me take a picture so he could approve the look of it on his back. And hanging out at Home Depot and trying out the riding lawnmowers.
I finally capitulated and helped Joseph and Matt do a lemonade stand. They had begged to do a lemonade stand for years. and were so excited! We set them up at the park, where they sold enough lemonade to barely cover the costs of purchasing the supplies and handled the attentions of many middle school friends who are girls.
I love the look on Joseph's face in this picture from Lewisville Park. Despite appearances, he was wearing clothes (a swimming suit) under that towel.
