We put the kids in a summer camp at Lily's preschool from last year. They had a blast! I was surprised that I wasn't as prepared as I thought I would be to have them gone every morning - summer went pretty quick. I was worried about Jackson being with new teachers but he had so much fun. They made some binoculars out of toilet paper rolls, which they used to scope out the cement truck pouring some cement across the street.
Lily even demonstrated some climbing skills to get a better view. Jackson was so darn excited that he set up his little camping chair and just peed on the grass instead of coming inside....I'm sure the truck driver loved that! They actually went on their lunch break and then brought Jackson a Gatorade - he was pretty excited.
I have been busy with some home improvements, thanks to Mom who gave me the motivation to do them! I got the shed cleaned out - took a few weeks as I filled up the garbage can within minutes of it being emptied Monday morning about 4 times in a row. At the same time I was organizing our storage room, as we emptied it to get *shelves*!! Very exciting!! I no longer have all of our stuff precariously stacked and have to unstack to get to the bottom. Also I was able to bring a ton of stuff from upstairs because our closets were packed. And then came staining the deck. I spent all morning working on this section, went inside, and then it started pouring rain! I was so upset! But luckily it had been so flipping hot while I was staining that it had dried and I didn't have a problem. I am almost done with the deck portion and still need to do the fence and the kid's playset. It's so satisfying to update the house though! I love it, although I wish I could just have one full day to stain instead of little bits of time during Isaac's naps...
We made it to the Rodeo again! I was hesitant this year but when Adam said with his new position he gets good tickets, we decided to try it out. We brought along Jackson, one of Jack's friends with us. We got VIP parking, about 40 feet from the entrance (made it SOOOOO nice when I left to nurse Isaac); free dinner in the VIP Cabin; and box seats! We were in the front row, looking straight down at the cowboys and bulls! It was so much fun, and so much nicer than the stadium seating when you have a baby!
We also went to the Dabney Family Reunion (minus Nathan, Alicia and Eve) in Cannon Beach! Here are the kids at the hatcheries outside of Portland. They love to see those big fishes!
And here is Isaac! Right before my camera died and I didn't have the recharger. So to recap: started out with our gas light coming on right at the Dalles - that was a scary 20 minutes until we got to a gas station! High cliffs on the left and the Columbia River on the right, not much else. Then Dad was very sick; Mom ended up taking him to the emergency room twice. Anyways, enough stuff happened that I had plenty to contemplate about while forming my presidency message for Relief Society. I was also able to run lots on the beach (also a super fun time dribbling a soccer ball with Ethan), go on a bike ride alone (up in Ecola State Park - so green and beautiful and green and quiet and GREEN! and then back home, with a small 1 mile stretch on Highway 101, just to say that I rode my bike on Hwy 101) and with Adam. It had the requisite trip to Tillamook; this year we made it to Haystack Rock to see the starfish (the 1 mile walk with the kids was a nightmare! I need to get Lily more used to physical exercise); Dad's 69th Birthday celebration; and me apparently getting into such a bad mood once that Liz asked Mom if I was pregnant (no). Isaac enjoyed himself with all of the kids running around; Jackson was in HEAVEN digging on the beach with his cousins; Lily was ECSTATIC to be with Brooklyn (Amanda helped them choreograph a little dance to do as a performance for everyone to watch - it was so awesome! Invites and everything!); Adam and I had a wonderful vacation! Thank you Mom and Dad for making such a great time possible!
Our garden is doing well this year. Lots of basil, roma/cherry/grame
tomatoes, zucchini, cilantro, parsley. The strawberries did awesome,
and I am so happy to report the raspberry bush we planted last year has
gone crazy! We get about this much every week from one plant! I
thought it would take a few years. Now if we could harness those grapes
and plums in the back and get the apple tree producing, I would feel
complete. Just kidding. There's always something else to improve.
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