July was a blur. A literal blur. We had some good things and some hard things this month.
The month kicked off with the 4th of July!
The onsie was back! A hat, swimsuit, socks, and even underwear were added to Kam's patriotic ensemble this year!
Miss Beverly was in her party dress!
The boat parade began with Lady Liberty!
This year we watched the boat parade from the dock for various reasons but the kids still had fun and enjoyed the annual lake wide water fight.
They were well armed this year with squirt guns and water balloons!
The Dock Defenders!
The kids did a bunch of kayaking and swimming.
They ate a lot of ice cream!
Eventually the boat was put in for tubing and wake boarding.
That night Beverly did well with the fireworks and didn't seem to have any issues. We did put her in the basement for most of the fireworks show. Having a puppy out at the lake was like having a toddler. It wasn't exactly restful. Trying to potty train her and keep her on some kind of schedule was nearly impossible. Kam slept in the living room with Beverly so that he could take her out in the night. There was too much going on with so many people, fireworks, water balloons, cars, and boats!!
One morning Tyler and I got up really early and headed out to paddleboard and kayak. It was so beautiful and the lake was glass. It was so incredibly peaceful. It was my favorite moment of the holiday weekend. Tyler's too.
The view from my paddleboard.
The view from Tyler's kayak.
He's so cute! I'll follow him anywhere.
I wish I could say that it was four days of bliss but it wasn't. We got some really hard news about two of my nephews and some things that they are going through. My brother's family was in chaos and heartbreak. That was the first issue. The second is that my extended family cannot get along. We do okay for about 24-48 hours...and then it all goes to hell. It is really sad. I have some family members who love to stir up drama. There are general principles of human decency that should be observed and aren't. It is really unfortunate and damaging. In times when our family should come together to love and support one another...especially when some family members are in crises...they don't. And...unfortunately this time some serious boundaries were crossed with things said and done that cannot be unsaid and undone.
A few days later my brother called and asked me to come to Utah to help support him and his family. I got on a plane the next day and ended up staying for a week. I am very close to my brother, Kirk, and his family and I was more than happy to be able to be there for them. I don't have many pictures from my week in Utah because it was rough and emotional. But in between the hard stuff we did find time to laugh and we tried to get out and have some *fun*.
I got to spend a lot of time with this cute little nephew of mine!
One day we went to see my cousin Kellen race his motorcyle at a big competition in Tooele. He moved up to the expert class this year and it was really fun...and slightly terrifying... to watch him! We watched his GTU Combined Race. He won that race and two others!
 |
| Kellen's wife Shelley and their kids Lola and Oliver with Kirin, Kirk, Meki, and me. |
We also ate at a fun Mediterranean restaurant.
Another night we hung out downtown and went out for dinner and dessert. Kirk wanted me to try Pretty Bird. It was amazing and I am craving it!
I also tried Last Course a dessert/ice cream place that my niece Kaiya likes going to and instagramming about...it was well worth it!
You pour the hot caramel onto the chocolate bomb.We got the German Chocolate Cake one and the hot caramel melts the chocolate and opens it up to all the cake and toppings. It was AMAZING!
Some nights we would go to the park or for walks or let Kirin ride his little glider bike. Sometimes we would just drive around and Kirk would show me all of the new sights since the last time I was in town and sometimes we would drive around past our family's old houses and favorite places and share memories.
One of my favorite nights even found us here:
The days were pretty busy with Kirk's work schedule and Meki's work schedule and trying to fit in all of the many appointments they had as they tried to deal with all that they had on their plate. We had many nights of long and hard conversations and good ones too. I love Kirk and Meki and their family so much!
Kaiya was still in Texas doing her ballet internship and while she was gone we worked on a bedroom update to surprise her with when she got home. Kirk and Meki are serious DIYers!! Kaiya loved the white room at our favorite Carol Hicks Bolton store in Fredericksburg so her bedroom was updated in that style. Meki and I spent time antiquing and working on projects. Kirk did the coolest wall treatment which I want Tyler to do at our house. Here are a few pictures of her room when it was half way done:
All the heart eyes for those walls!! Love them!
One day we went to the mall and got Kirin a Build-a-Bear to help him with all that he is going through. He was so cute!
And...we ate at Hot Dog on a Stick which may have been the true highlight of the trip! Cheese on a stick...oh heck yes! We don't have them here!
The mall also had these...virtual reality pods...which I did not try out... but will next time!
Or maybe the culinary highlight was this...Swig. I was thrilled to see that Swig now carries Red Bull drinks! Hallelujah. Energy drinks were definitely needed on this trip.
Those beautiful Utah nights, mountains, and sunsets did not disappoint. Kirin and I went on several walks/bike rides and got to enjoy the beautiful view!!
While I was in Utah, Tyler and Kam took a fun guys road trip to Seattle to go see a Jon Bellion concert. Kam's current fave. They had such a great time and they said that the concert was AMAZING! While I was gone and Tyler and Kam were gone...Reilly came over and helped out with the girls which was much appreciated!!
Tyler met me in Utah the last two days that I was there and then we headed back to Spokane together. He was a nice diversion and is always good to lighten the mood and add some extra fun! It was good for Tyler, Kirk, Meki and I to all be together.
One day while Kirk and Meki were at a bunch of appointments, Tyler and I took Kirin to the fire station to visit Tyler's brother Brett. We had the BEST time!! It was so fun and totally interesting to get a real tour of the fire station and to hear all about what Brett does. He is a specially trained rescue fireman and EMT.
We had a really good visit with Brett and it was so fun to see him in his element! Kirin had a great time too!! After that we had to go to Last Course again so Uncle Tyler could try the chocolate ice cream bombs!! LOL.
We also did the stupid aging app and undoubtedly sent all of our pictures to Russia or somewhere! Not even our nephew Tarren who is 22 would do it...but we did...DEPRESSING!! You can bet I have upped my nighttime skin care routine and collagen supplements!!
Kirk and Meki
Our kids said that Tyler looks like a jovial Santa Claus and I look like a freaky old witch. They are not wrong. Why did the app have to rot my teeth?? Were the wrinkles not enough??? Hello retinols! No more slacking with those or with regular dental care. Yikes! But we did laugh our heads off that night!
Sibling pic:
The next day we managed a quick visit to Tyler's sister Lori at work before we left town:
She's the best!
We made another stop at the cemetery to put flowers on Tyler's dad's grave. We don't often have a chance to do this so we try to whenever we can.
And we had one more lunch before we left town.
While we were gone Kameron did a great job of holding down the fort. He even took the girls out for Starbucks frappuccinos. Ailey had a week of choreography for dance team and then was off again for the rest of the month so that was helpful. It was hard to leave family in Utah but we were happy to get home to the kids.
Kam got a second job to help pay for his mission. He works at a restaurant and at an assisted living center. It is one where my grandma's sister lives although he doesn't get to see her while he is at work because Aunt Marilyn is in the memory care section which is too bad. She is the last of the Miley sisters. It would have been nice for her to have her great-great-nephew able to see her regularly. His boss at the restaurant also hired Kam to come and do yard work at his house and a family in our ward hired Kam to do some construction work. The kid is a hard worker and it feels like he is never home.
We attended the mission farewell of Kam's friend Tyler. Tyler is the one in the gray sweatshirt. He left on a mission to Columbia. It seems like just yesterday they were this age:
This was on their baptism day! It was so fun that they were both baptized on the same day and they were so cute in their new little sport jackets!! Now they are moving on to missionary suits. Tyler will do a great job and his farewell was wonderful and memorable.
The girls and I have gone out to the lake a couple of times to enjoy the sun and water. Summer got a VERY LATE start up here this year. While I was in Utah...mid-month... it was rainy and cold here. The girls were wearing jeans and sweatshirts. We were all very happy when the heat and sun arrived at the end of the month.
I got in some dock reading! Love it!
This has been my favorite summer read thus far! I thought it was really good!
The mermaid tail has returned!! Our girls love swimming around with that crazy thing!!
Well I guess the sun didn't totally arrive because we had a crazy storm one evening when the temps reached almost 100 degrees and it was on THAT particular night that the power went out for NINE HOURS! It was HOT!
Crazy!
And...just when we wanted to be spending as much time as possible at the lake; there was a toxic algae bloom and a swim ban for a couple of days. The toxic algae bloom turned out to be very minuscule and in a remote part of the lake. The water is tested weekly at our lake and has been for decades and it has always been fine. Luckily within a few days we were given the all clear. They even took a sample right by our dock and the water was perfectly fine. What's up with toxic algae blooms?! I don't recall ever hearing about them as kids. Now they are popping up everywhere all over the US. Did we just swim blissfully unaware in toxic algae all the time as kids? Probably.
Miss Beverly gave us a scare this month. She had several days of vomiting and of course it was right when I was leaving for Utah and Tyler for Seattle. We took her to the vet twice...to no avail...eventually she puked up a very tiny piece of plastic and after that she was fine. Good grief. Good thing she is cute!
We have been doing a ton of yard work and it has been so satisfying. My yard is in full bloom and I am LOVING it!! We planted 8 different perennials this year and they are gorgeous. My deck is one of my favorite places to be with all of my flowers. It is super pretty right now. Bryn's little fairy garden is SO darling! She has had so much fun with it this summer! I need to take some pictures. She picked out a little area in the front yard flower bed on the corner of the house. She has worked so hard on it and it is so cute. It makes me smile every time I walk past it.
For Book Club this month we read:
I missed the last two book clubs due to Farm Chicks and being out of town so I was SUPER happy to be back at book club again! This was a great read...or reread in my case. We all loved it.
We also celebrated a momentous day in the life of Ailey which she has given me permission to share. She got her period. This is our family journal/history and so the kids don't usually mind things being shared on the blog because they like to read about themselves. That is the truth. They are very dedicated readers! LOL. So I give you the text message that was shared with Tyler that illustrious morning:
If you haven't watched a slightly horrifying and yet extremely hilarious video called First Moon Party on YouTube...go check it out. I think we traumatized Hunter by making him watch it once. He only has brothers. LOL. Kam is only *slightly* horrified by the video or periods (he will make a good husband one day) due to all of these girls. He also very sweetly congratulated Ailey that morning and gave her a little pat on the back. Ha ha! As luck would have it started on a day of a blood moon (forest fire season)...so we ended up going for ice cream and celebrating Ailey's "blood moon" from which hereafter her period shall always be known. In order to equalize things and in another ironic twist of fate my own period started whilst I was riding a horse called "Big Red". No joke.
As Ailey is a woman now she declined posing in the Scoops Ahoy sign...thank goodness for Bryn! Yes, we have been obsessed with Stranger Things this month and refused to binge watch the episodes all at once. We dragged it out for three weeks and watched it together as a family. So fun! We were so sad when it was over!!!
That pretty much sums up July.
0 comments:
Post a Comment