July

How is July almost over already?

It's been a month of swimsuits, splash pads, sprinklers. Mountains, hiking, camping, and lakes. Morning adventures and lazy afternoons reading. Homemade ice cream, street fair food, chips and salsa, frozen berry lemonades.

Just about as perfect as July gets.

We took the kids to a fair the other night, and Christian really really wanted to share everyone's food, starting with Ellie's ice cream,

And then on to Dad's street corn.

He also polished off my smoothies and tacos as well as the crumbs left in Nick's bag of doritos. 
(It was a dinner of champions, let me tell you. Ice cream, french fries, doritos, tacos, smoothies, and corn. We're great parents.)

 Summer evenings are my favorite. The sun goes down and it gets so cool and calm outside, and our sunset view is something else.

Christian has discovered the fun of selfies.

His little tongue kills me.

Kent and I have spent quite a few nights this month painting the basement. We're getting really close to getting the paint finished and then we'll get the electrical all finished up. 

 Nick and Ellie "helped" a bit too.
Ellie liked to write her name and draw big smiley faces with the paint.

I really am looking forward to these rooms not being such a dusty, paint-dribbled mess.


We've been here for six months now, and there's still those hidden spaces that need to be unpacked/organized/finished. 
The hall closet was first on my list. This closet is thirty-inches wide and five feet deep. (And if there'd been any way to shuffle this in the floorplan to make it less awkward before we moved in I totally would have!)

We definitely need to get some legitimate shelving in there, but for now, this is MUCH better.
And yes, I've caught myself opening the closet when I walk past just to remind myself how great it is to have it cleaned up.



In the few final days of July,
Christian found a precarious new place to sit.

Between painting the basement and watching Poldark (LOVE this show, by the way) Kent and I have spent all the rest of our evening time pulling weeds out of our grass. The grass is growing in and looks SO great, we sprayed the weeds and most of them died, but they still need to be removed to help the grass grow in thick and strong like it needs to.

It's an achingly slow process. Our first attempt, Kent and I spent two hours out there and only weeded a ten-foot square in the yard. 
We've spent so much time weeding this week that we're actually dreaming about weeds while we sleep at night. Not even joking.

One afternoon I was out there with the kids.
 Nick refused to help me with the weeding, but was anxious to make sure I still felt the love while I pulled weeds alone anyway.

He sat out there by the sign while I weeded and turned it as I moved around the yard, making sure the note was always facing me so I could still read it.
Thanks, Bud.


It's been super hot this week (okay, okay Texas and Vegas friends.....I know, I know....) 
But it's been too hot to play outside much, so instead we cool off at the splash pad with friends.

and this goofy baby boy found yet another unusual place to sit:

Goodbye glorious July! We'll miss you!