Some exterior items are in. The garage floor is in. The rough electrical wiring is done. Light fixtures as well as heating and ventilation are also done.
Underneath the porch. Doesn't this scream NORTHWEST? I just love that wood.
July is FUN. Summer is just fun. We started off with picking 26 lbs of strawberries, made into freezer jam and syrup for pancakes. Then after that was done the raspberries came in and again we returned to the farm with hundreds of other people and picked some giant raspberries. They were so big this year and so delicious. I made some raspberry cheesecakes and we finished them pretty fast.
Don't you just love her smile?!! This little one is not so little anymore. She's going into kindergarten in 2 weeks!!! She just had an assessment at her school and did pretty well. We've been working with her using a book that one of our friends recommended to us and she is READING!! It's so exciting. We told her she can't go to Kindergarten until she learns how to read and she did. She had a friend over for a playdate and she was teaching him how to read. It was so cute.
My brother Mike is addicted to berry picking now. He was so good at it he didn't want to leave.
Matt and Shelly are Here
Matt, Shelly, and their three girls moved out to Seattle 2 days before we left to go to Kennewick. The day before we left we had them over for dinner since we didn't want to be all excited that they came and then leave for several days before seeing them. We've been in touch with them -- through blogging and facebook -- for a while and we are super excited to have more girl cousins for our girls to bond with. We've done a lot with them since. Living within 15 minutes of each other helps. We've gone to the beaches twice, blueberry picking and picnicking. The girls love their new cousins.
Tri-Cities Hydroplane Race and Airshow
The first reason we went to Kennewick was to be with Lon, GayLynn and the kids. The second reason was to see our friends the Frasers and to go to one of their games. The third reason was to see the annual Hydroplane race and airshow. Lon's company provided lunch and we brought snacks to share. The kids had fun playing in the water.
Reena kept going further and further out to the water. She has no fear of the water anymore since she started her swimming class...but only as long as she has her monkey ring. She wasn't so happy when we told her to come back to shore.
When a boat came by with treats for the kids and they were throwing them out, Tanner dived for the treat and got it!
I love GayLynn. Besides my husband and my 2 best friends, nobody compliments me as much as she does and being around her is just fun. I often told her that even if she's not my sister in law, we would still be great friends. She's like a big sister I've never had. I'm going to miss not having her up here. I cried when she left if that doesn't say enough.
We treated Lon, GayLynn and the kids to a baseball game. They were sneaky and tried to pay back but we were too smart for that :). Our friends the Frasers work with the Walla Walla Sweets and this was our chance to go to a game to support them. We got 4 free tickets from them to cover for ourselves and Reena and Debrie so we didn't mind treating them and Mike. We had a lot of fun and stayed up late, but it was worth it because the Sweets won.
My best friend Jolynn and I. She is expecting a girl, their second girl, third child. We're so happy for them.
It is quite easy to say that by the end of the night Brie grew to love Aunt GayLynn. When we went to say goodbye she gave her a kiss and a hug all by herself.
Saying goodbye
GayLynn and the kids had to head home. I choked up. The kids were so sad. I'm a baby when it comes to saying goodbye. I choked up and teared up. We didn't want it to end but we are, of course, more happy for them that they still have a job. Now that they're more familiar with the road up here, we hope they will come up to see us more often. We love them.
Lon took us to a flower garden before we left. Then he made us pancakes and we got to taste their blackberry syryp. Yum!! Guess what we'll do with the blackberries we'll pick in Sept? Yeah, blackberry syrup.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game...again!
Yes we loved the Sweets game so much we decided to go see another ball game. That's 2 games in 2 weeks. This time it was the Mariners. We got 4 free tickets from our wonderful friends Marcus and Alejandra Hoskins. Marcus works for Root Sports and gets 4 free tickets at every game. We have wonderful connections. That's 4 tickets at $40 each and $20 parking pass. We got comfy seats and free treats. Our tickets included $32 of extra free stuff. We couldn't thank you enough. The kids had a blast and we didn't get home 'til 11:00 at night but we were all happy because the Mariners won!
We got to pick out $32 bucks of free stuff. Yay!!! Now that's going to make us want to go watch baseball more.
Blue Angels and Cousin Buzzins.
The blue angels and all the marines came again like they do every year. This year was definitely more fun. Dave and Kim's family, Matt and Shelly's family, and our family all got together and had a picnic at the beach near Matt and Shelly's corporate housing. We all walked to the beach with the cousins holding hands, laughing, and having a good time. Lon was able to come out and spend one last time with us this summer and we were grateful for that. I made homemade rolls and jam and Dan made homemade ice cream to share with everyone. We had a blast watching the blue angels and everyone enjoyed each other's company.
Brie loves her uncle Lon. He will be missed. We've really enjoyed having Lon here. We're sad that he is now back in Utah but happy that he is with his family again. It's no fun being apart from your family. We love him and love all the memories we've created with him this summer.
Thoughts and Reflections
Overall July was a good month. Got a job that pays $25 an hour, which isn't too bad. It was the same job I've been having for about a year that I've been volunteering at, but now it is for pay. On Monday I teach the kids, ages 2-10, art, music, and dance. It is the weirdest combination of age group but it's pretty much all the kids at the House of Hope. When I go up to teach, the moms at the House of Hope get a chance to take a break so that is the reason why I have them all. On Thursday I do preschool with the 3-5 year olds and the older kids get to be big sisters to the younger ones and help assist me. It is the only job I could get where I get to bring my kiddos to work with me. Brie is tough to have around while I teach sometimes, but for the most part she's ok. And then got a part I auditioned for which is also great. August has been a little busy so far. I had 2 real estate license review sessions from 6:00 to 10:00 pm and then an exam at the end of the week with a review afterward that went from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Why did I go back to school again?
I love teaching! It is so much fun. But to teach you have to be well rounded and that is a big reason why I want to study real estate's laws and principles. Dan is great at reading and keeping himself familiar with various facts. I call him my encyclopedia. He spends a lot of time reading books and Wikipedia. He knows a lot about many subjects and talks to me about what he learns and that helps him to remember them. I want to eventually teach in college when my kids are older. I learn so many little random facts that I wouldn't know if I don't teach. I've been teaching the kids at the House of Hope about the planets in our solar system. Would I be learning about the planets if I didn't teach? Unlikely.
Things to Remember
2 year olds are very similar to teenagers. They want to do everything by themselves. Very autonomous. And all you can do is have a lot of patience with them and pick your battles well.
Funny Stuff
It's been fun having my brother here. One downfall is now my 2 year old calls me "Thuan" because he calls me Thuan whenever he speaks to me so she does the same.
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