We went to the County Fair this year because Hazel had some art work on display and we wanted to check it out.
The kids' favorite part was probably the petting area. Hazel stroked this llama for-e-ver. Gemma and Jack were mesmerized by the darling baby goats.
My favorite part was watching the Alaskan pig race. It was funny.
Todd thought he could beat the system and grab the $100 that was hanging at the top of the rock wall that no one else could climb all the way. He came close, but no, he didn't succeed.
Gemma is such a sparkling, funny person. She brings our family lots of laughter and I'm so grateful she's one of us.
Jack attended a week of Cub Scout day camp and totally loved it. He hiked and dug in the sand at the lakeshore and learned to tie knots and performed a goofy skit.
We finally got some raspberries in our garden! We're still not sure what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong; we've got two boxes and are only getting berries out of one of them. But we're sure enjoying what we are getting! Hopefully next year will be even more productive.
Our garden has kept us in constant supply of tomatoes and cucumbers. I've been enjoying delicious, fresh salads and sandwiches with them all summer long.
Our plum trees had a bumper crop this year and we had to figure out what to do with all that tiny, tart fruit. We decided to try fruit leather, and I think it was a good choice. It's tasty! We were busy with the process for two weeks straight, though, so I'm glad it's behind us.
The plums are cherry-sized and cling to their pits, so they're a bit of a pain to work with. We must have picked at least 20 gallons of them over the course of the two weeks. I'm not kidding! Then we washed them, boiled them, used the hand mixer to knock the pits loose, strained all the pits out (this was seriously the worst part of it all), pureed them, added peaches to them to sweeten them up, and then poured the puree into the dehydrator, which would run for about 14 hours a batch.
When they were done drying, we'd peel them off the trays, cut them into 8ths, roll them up, wrap them up, and bag them for the freezer. Then we'd pour more puree on the trays and set it running again. It was kind of insane! We all celebrated when we finished our final batch. Also, we're hoping the birds will eat more of our plums next year.
The kids earned free passes to Six Flags through a reading challenge at school, so Todd took a day off work and we all played hard all day. Gemma wasn't tall enough to ride the truly crazy roller coasters, so Todd took one for the team and rode them with the big kids while I took Gemma on some tamer rides. But we spent a lot of time all together as well. There was plenty to ride and to see that everyone could take part in. We even watched a dolphin show and a tiger show.
We had our final weeks of swim season in July. All the kids swam well and made some great progress from their stats last year. Gemma never once rested on the lane line during a meet, and everyone shaved off time. Jack was invited to participate in the Championship meet swimming backstroke and breaststroke. We got smart and started setting up our shade tent next to friends, so every meet was a party. Our kids put down their books and started drawing, playing dolls, and playing games instead. It helped pass the time better for everyone.
Todd planted 18 tomato plants this year. I don't know what we were thinking. It's been crazy. We had to add checking the garden to the kids' daily chores, and no one likes picking all the tomatoes. We've been giving them out to neighbors left and right, but we can't eat them fast enough. I've been making freezer spaghetti sauce with the insane surplus. It better be good!
We got together with the Hopes and Dixes for dinner and no one took pictures?!?! We had delicious tacos and loved our time together.
Jack, Adam, and Jonah had a summer reunion at Jonah's birthday party. I just love his good friends.
Jack has also been going to a weekly chess club. 20-30 kids meet and play different variations of chess for a couple of hours. He loves it.
We spent a long weekend at Lake Tahoe for a Bonner family reunion. Everyone made it out except for Kelsi's family.
My kids were thrilled to spend time with Luna. She remembered us and was sweet and fun to be with.
We spent Friday at the beach. The water was beautiful and not as cold as I had expected. The kids all got in and played hard. We brought our body boards, even though there were no real waves to ride, because we knew the kids would love using them to float around on.
Kenley, Carli, and Jack made a sweet mini golf course.
Missy brought volleyball, and just about everyone played at some point. It was a fun day.
Saturday we went for a hike to Angora Lake, where we kayaked and cliff jumped.
Then we drove along a crazy narrow, windy, and crowded mountain road to see the beautiful Glen Alpine waterfall. Todd took the kids on a climb and then helped them slide down a section. All the kids loved it. I was a little bit stressed watching it all, hoping no one would get hurt. Thankfully, all was well.
It was fun to be together with everyone. I'm thankful to have married into such a great family.
Sunday morning we parted ways. We went to church in South Lake Tahoe before heading home, luxuriating in our four hour drive home.
The last week of July, Hazel and her friend Kate participated in a volleyball clinic at the high school. They are looking forward to fall season.
We celebrated Harry Potter's birthday with ice cream and a party for Todd's primary class. Everyone came over for pizza, zip lining, and some Hogwartian games.
