It's July in the Pacific Northwest... which means that the summer weather arrived right after the 4th of July. It's a running joke that summer starts on the 5th of July, but that's usually pretty accurate. We're a third of the way into it and it really feels like we're in the swing of summer things. The a/c is in, the shades have been pulled far too much the last few days, the freezer is stocked with Otter Pops, ice cream and ice disks for our shaved ice maker thingy. We are weak. We are wimps. Our weather took about a 40 degree swing in 3 days time. From 60 to 100... that's tough on the body.
Anyway, here is just a peek into what's been going on:
Karleigh turned 6 1/2 on the 1st. I like to mark the "half's" for her since there's so much other stuff, with the holidays, around her birthday. She has really grown up so much!
We spent the 4th of July at our house again this year. Even when it's only 60 degrees, there's still anxiety being away from the place with all the fields + fireworks. My parents came down and we all headed out to the farm where we go pumpkin picking. They were celebrating the 100th birthday of the farm (ours is 101 but who's counting!?!). They had the log house open to walk through, some logging photos, the black smith shop running, a hay ride to a steam logging exhibition and then a woods walk. The big kids loved it, my parents seemed to enjoy themselves, Stella slept through the whole thing so we, for sure, file that in the win column. We spent a good 4 hours there and then headed home for dinner and fireworks.
With the sun shining bright and the temperatures on the rise, I was finally able to dry diapers outside on the line. I find it such a calming sight - it is possible that I'm nuts, I know - and the sun is like magic for brightening and whitening and doesn't cost a cent. However, after the inserts were dry, I did tumble them in the dryer because dang they were crunchy!
We also got the inflatable pool set up for the kids and they are thrilled to have it up again. Sadly, Karleigh hasn't gotten to use it as much as she has wanted because she's been sick for the last few days. She had a chest cold combined with allergies then on the 4th complained of her tummy feeling yucky but said that the Tums I gave her helped. She ended up a full blown sicko on the 7th and now, on the 10th is finally on the mend. She threw up so much, lost at least 4 pounds and managed to pull a muscle in her hip from all the rolling over on her side to throw up. She's moving pretty slow because of that and her totally worked over stomach muscles but the attitude is one thousand times better so she's on the upswing.
Stella's gotten to enjoy the pool a few times too once the sun goes down behind the trees. There's just something about tiny bathing suits that makes me so happy!
And today here I sit, reflecting on not only the last 2 1/2 years, as we approach the due dates for the boys... Collin's tomorrow and Eli's in a few weeks... but also the last 11 years as Jim and I celebrate our 11th Wedding Anniversary today. It's a day that I remember so well, like yesterday almost, yet the shock sets in a bit when I look at how young we looked - not that we're THAT old now - but to see our little flower girl now a high school student, our ring bearer a legal adult and all the other changes that have happened in the lives of not just us but our wedding party, it does put it into perspective.
Happy Anniversary to the greatest husband. I'm not sure that anyone else would have been able to go through this journey with me without so much as a hiccup in the relationship. I'd have to say that our marriage is very blessed!
