Ms M Turns 6, Swim Lessons, Grandmas Home, Triathlon

Our last July birthday has come and gone. Ms M is officially 6! We had a fun and crazy day. RB ended up going to scout camp since they needed another leader so he was gone for the day. MJ and Lil were at their cousins. So we didn't have a lot of family there. But with the two friends that came, and with our neighbor friends over, it ended up being a good sized group. My coworkers had a a day at the beach. We had fun kayaking in others kayaks, and playing in the sand. 

When we got home we opened presents and had cake. 

The family bean bag came too. Super big, and super excited to have here for the fun dungeon! 

Movie on the big bag. 

Ms M's big ball got a hole in it the first day she had it. We had fun turning it into a swim cap, or gloves. It was funny! 

We had our annual family get together for the 24th of July fireworks. We were able to have some friends come with us too this year. Plus we got to get our daughters and a cousin to come home with us. It was a great day evening. Perfect weather! 

The next day, Wednesday, we had swim lessons, our neighbors that moved came to visit, and the kids played and played. 

14 kids all at our house. Crazy fun! 

The next day the cousins went to grandmas. There they played at the splash pad, and went on a hike. They did a lot of service for grandma too which is great. 

On Friday I got ready for my triathlon and we got to see some old college friends. They were in town visiting family and we were able to have a big picnic at the park. I didn't get any pictures but it was good to see old friends and get caught up with them. 

Then Saturday, RB and I got up EARLY and were off to Burley, ID for my third triathlon. My only goal was to beat my old times and I did. The 26 mile bike ride HURT! I wanted to quit and cry and quit again. But I kept going. I made it! I was happy with my 11 avg mile for my run. I had a potty stop and that messed with my actual race time, but my watch said most of my miles were in between 10 1/2 and 11 min. In all of my trainings I was between 11-12 min. So I made it. I lived. RB was a HUGE support, cheering me on, and being there at the finish line for me. 

Lastly, RB finally got his burger picture hung. It looks good on our wall! 

Cousin Swap & Odd Ball

Our 17 1/2 hour trip home was on MJ's birthday. That is why she got to open her presents before vacation. While at grandmas we had her dessert and sang to her. I can't believe she is 13! We have an official teenager in the house! 

One of Lil's gifts came in the mail late. It's a pop socket for the back of her phone. She really likes wolves, and yin yangs. This combines them both and she loves it. 

It's good to be home with our toys again. Buddy Boy and Ms M decided to spend some of their money on some Rollerblades. Now four of them have them. The littles can Rollerblade better than their older sisters. They practice a lot more. 

The only thing that grew in our garden this year was weeds and zucchini. And we have plenty of both. So the kids helped me make some zucchini bread. We love that stuff! 

Meet Ron, aka Ronald. This is Lil's special toy. She loves Ron. One of the kids got Ron stuck on our neighbors roof. So I went over with a rake to get him down. After a few swipes this is how he was stuck. I had to laugh. Just hanging there by two paws. Hehe. 

This is RB and I digging holes for our new deck. Our good friend has been coming over for an hour or two every few days and helping us build it. 

We weren't sure if the cousin swap was going to happen this year and luckily it did. MJ and Lil had so much fun with their cousin! They did so much: a hike, swimming, the jump zone, a laser tag game area, Pickleball, and I'm sure I'm missing something. They loved it! Then they came here and didn't really do anything. I felt bad but we played a game and then they just wanted to play and hang out. So we let them. 

While they were gone for some of the days we had two extras. We had some dear friends move and their girls were good friends with my kids. So for Ms M's b-day she wanted her friends to come and stay with us. So they got too! They had so much fun playing, and playing, and seeing fireworks (twice), and did I mention they played! They had a great time! 

MJ and Lil left and was replaced by Mayo (MJ's nickname given to her by the Em-A-Nator) and another Lil. :) 

City days fireworks. 

RB and I have never been to the cannery. It was four hours of hard work. Not hard physically, but hard because it was mundane, and monotonous. I got to work with two wonderful sisters and had great conversations with them. That helped pass the time. I added green beans, or took out beans from the cans and weighed them again. Once they met the weight limit I put it back on the line. RB was outside and couldn't hear or talk to anyone. It is loud out there. So it was a longer time for him. He made sure no leaves or twigs were on the line and he pulled them off if they were. Then he swept. When we left at 8:30 they had already canned 84,000 cans of green beans! They were hoping for a 100,000 can day. That is cans of beans going to help people that are struggling financially, or are in a natural disaster and need food. So much good is coming from those canneries! The churches welfare program is AMAZING! After we finished our shift we were starving. So we came here so RB could enjoy the crab-fest!