My July

Hullo again. I've been missing you sooooo much. My trusty blog, you.
Yeah, I know it's only been a month since my last post, but I do believe that's a record-long silence for me.
I have so many things I want to chat with you about, Blog.

I neglected to make any notes at all on my calendar about the sorts of things I did each day of July, so I feel like I'm grasping at straws here.
Without further excuses I'm going to try and recount the month as precisely as possible. If I leave anything out, oh well.

July 2-
Ryan's parents hosted a pre-4th of July party in their backyard. It was a nice relaxing evening, if I'm remembering correctly. It seems so long ago. Plenty of food and good company. And I even made my customary sugar cookies.


July 3-
My dazzling friends Suzy and Natalie were in town. Suz lives in Idaho Falls and Nat lives in AZ. They are two of my fun chums from high school. Same cluster of buddies as Renee and Maria. =) We all met at Suzy's parents' house for snacks and catching up.

I couldn't decide which picture to add here, so I included them both. From left: Suzy, you-know-who, Natalie, Renee, and Maria.

I love these people!
We all had our kids with us, so we only got to hang out for a couple of hours. The evening went by too darn fast, and I was bummed when the time came to disperse. But I was grateful to see them at all, so I shouldn't whine.
Renee's family moved to Florida a few days after this, and ever since then I haven't felt complete. =/
I went to Winco later that night by myself. When I got to the checkout line I waited behind a nice looking guy. (Because it was the shortest line, why else?) I stood there scanning magazine headlines. As it would turn out, the guy ahead of me was checking out more than just foodstuffs. ;0) As I proceeded to the bagging area, he was standing across from me bagging his groceries. To my total astonishment he said, "You're a very attractive woman." Wha??? First of all, I don't know if I've ever thought of myself as a woman. A girl, a gal, a person, a mom... but-- a woman? That is a first. Sounds too mature. All I could do was smile unassumingly and thank him. It's a rare treat for me to get a compliment from a stranger. :) I wonder what he'd say if he saw me wearing that red and white gingham party dress!

July 4-
We (Ryan, the kids and I) went to a Lytle party involving lots of cousins, aunts and uncles, and friends of uncles. Ryan's cousin and her husband own all the Torch Lounges (bikini bars) in Idaho. Basically, they're loaded. They have a beautiful, humongous property in Eagle, with picturesque ponds and a pool and an outdoor kitchen. That's where the party was, in their spacious backyard. It was nice while it lasted, but we left in time to go meet my brother and his family down at Ann Morrison for the fireworks. I don't like to miss the official fireworks display. A grand time was had by everyone. Not that there are any photos to prove it. ;)

July 5-7
Erin, Gavin, Megan and I took early Thursday morning flights to Arizona for Grandpa McCaleb's funeral, which happened on Friday the 6th. It was so good to spend uninterrupted time with them for a few days, even under the less than happy circumstances.
I plan to write more about this in a separate post.

I really don't remember much of what happened between the 7th and the 17th. I'm sure it was extra summery, though.

I do have a few photo clues that represent this otherwise forgettable gap in time...

My cheery kitchen windowsill flowers. The contents of the pot on the left were all dead at one point, except for one or two blossoms, so I nearly threw the plant away. Instead, with a bunch of my special care, it kind of came back to life. Most of it is truly toast, but there is still enough beauty there to make me super glad I didn't trash it.

Jane painted that cute pink and green pot, and Cora painted the one on the right. Both of those pots started out with one little flower when we planted them. Look how much they've grown. =)

Is it silly that I take pictures of my flowers each step of their lives? I've taken more of this one since this photo shoot. The new buds just keep forming every day. I love it. I've actually considered sitting by the window all day to watch as the blooms unfold before my eyes. I haven't, but I'm always checking on their progress whenever I pass. Call me the crazy flower lady. 'Cause that's what I am. Gimme some flowers!!!
This next photo is from August, but I feel like now is the right time to share it. I want you to see how precious these flowers look when they're just about to burst forth.

Awwww...




For a long while my netbook has had a problem staying plugged in. The metal nubbin that penetrates the side of the computer won't stay in unless I hold it exactly in place, which is reeeeally irritating. I'd hold it in ever so steadily with my left hand while typing with my right hand, which was not an ideal situation.
I'm pretty sure it's an internal issue and not a matter of needing a new cord. Ryan suggested I strap a large rubber band around it to hold the cord still. I ended up utilizing a stretchy yellow cotton headband. And it worked! Yay. =)


July 17-
Erin and I met at Meg's house in the evening to watch a DVD documentary about the creation of the Beatles' Vegas show, Love. We ate Papa Murphy's pizza, and cookies (choc chip with sprinkles, made by me) as we watched. It was very interesting. No, extraordinary. (Said in George Martin's cool British accent.) So much work and time and serious talent went into the making of Love. Simply a.ma.zing.

July 18-
It was cub scout day camp, and I had to be there for about 3 hours. The best part of the day, the thing that made me glad I went, was the middle aged man in charge of the archery station. Kinda short guy, maybe my height, slightly pudgy, glasses-wearing, serious demeanor. One boy shot an arrow right in the center of the bullseye. The man decided to come up with a cheer, or a song, to recognize the scout's skill. He proceeded to shout, in a raspy tenor voice, "bullseye boy! bullseye boy! Huh! huh!"
Each huh! was accompanied by an eye-opening forward thrust of his hips. His arms were at a 90* angle, pulling backward with each thrust. None of the scouts or anyone else knew whether to laugh or cry. =) It was quiet until everyone quickly went on with what they were doing. I so wish I'd had a video camera. It was really funny.

July 19-21
The fam and I went camping with Ryan's family, up to Anderson Ranch Reservoir. We stayed 2 nights.

Here's Cora with her huge green hood enrobing her helmeted head. She was getting ready for a 4-wheeler ride.

She looks like a cute Martian.

Heehee. =)


Ryan's niece (20-something) made a teepee between some trees. There was a rope supporting the structure, but other than that it was all sticks and greenery.

Here's the back of it. I was impressed!


July 29-
A random after church shot to show how big my baby Oliver is getting.



July 30-
I took the kids to the special spot at the Boise River behind the MK nature center. I've been there 3 times in the last several weeks, taking Oliver and assorted cousins along with us.

It's just a fun, shallow inlet that's perfect for little kids to play around in.

Cora, Jane, Oliver, and Cora's friend Keisha.




That's about it for July. Unless I think of something else to add later.

Party Dresses

Renee's birthday was June 27. I decided to throw her a little party. I wish more of our mutual friends lived in town so it could have been a bigger, better bash. Renee's husband Quinn was already gone working in Florida by then, and Maria's husband was working that night, so I thought the best plan would be to have both Renee and Maria come over with their kids and we'd all celebrate together.

So I put up some happy decorations.


Prepared the piñata. . . I hung it there so it could double festive decor. That's not where we broke it. It's funny I should mention it though, because long ago Renee and I thought up the perfect way to serve dinner. . . stuff it in a piñata and fasten it above the table, then proceed to beat it, catching any falling food on your plate. We didn't do this for her party, nor have we ever actually done it, but we've always wanted to.

. . . And figured out some food.

Who the heck is that by the stove? And what on earth is she wearing?

Well, here's the thing. . . I couldn't see any reason to have everyone walking around in normal hum-drum clothes at the party, so I provided an assortment of party dresses, etc. for our guests to put on upon arrival. I told Maria ahead of time to wear her muumuu, and she gladly obliged.

Soon we were all in the backyard. I asked Cora to take a few pictures of the three of us. Little did we know, she took advantage of the situation and snapped one before we were completely ready.


Or ready at all. . . Ha! I don't know why I'm sharing this. Sorry, I had something wedged between my chompers.




I bought this masterpiece at Goodwill some months ago. It was one of those moments in my life when I felt an overwhelming gratitude for being in the right place at the right time. A tender mercy, if you will. I hadn't been to a thrift store in a while, but out of the blue I went one day. And ended up finding something that all along, no matter where it originated, was destined to be mine. I tried it on and it fit perfectly.

I love wearing stuff like this, but I'm not completely confident about it. I put it on before anyone got to our house, so I worried that when I answered the front door it wouldn't be Renee or Maria; but a neighbor or a salesman, in which case I would get red, sheepish, and giggle a lot more than would be comfortable for anyone involved.


The kids all played on the trampoline.

(I'm currently using Cora's camera because Oliver has made mine inoperable. =/ The date stamp on her camera is a day slow for some reason. It really was the 27th.)


When Oliver noticed everyone slipping into costumes, he ran upstairs to get his Thor suit.


Renee looked so cute in this fancy frock. I got it at Goodwill a while back as well. Goodwill is my good luck charm!


We ate pizza, fruit and veggies. And chips and salsa. And candy. I had several dishes of it out in honor of National Candy Month. =)



In Renee's home there is a decorative tile on display that says "Don't forget to pray". One of her daughters (who was probably 7 or 8 at the time) was aware of its presence, and at some point it came out that she always thought it said "Don't forget to party".



The birthday badge I got for her matched perfectly, and I didn't even know she would end up choosing to wear this dress.

Maria had her baby boy almost 5 weeks early on June 13. Thankfully he was strong and healthy, weighing 5lbs, 12oz. They named him Rixford, a family name on her husband's side. He'll go by Rix.

While Maria was feeding the baby we did a few birthday themed Madlibs. They turned out pretty funny, as always. Renee, Madlibs and I go waaaaay back.

All the kids gathered around to watch baby Rix get his diaper changed.



He's so tiny and so adorable!

Maria was getting ready to take her kiddies home to bed. Poor Rix had endured his circumcision earlier that day. Maria had forgotten that it was scheduled for the same day as the party, so she warned us that she might not be able to stay long. She stayed for a couple of hours, and we were so glad! It would have been a huge bummer if she couldn't make it at all. She and Rix were good sports. =)
Before she left we gathered 'round to break the piñata.


It was Cora's idea to have it dangle over the banister. We tied it to a long rope, creating a pulley of sorts. It's always more fun swinging at a moving target.





Cora whisked it out of Jane's reach.


Candy everywhere. I didn't catch any pics of the cascading treats because I was too busy enjoying the situation, but I think Mary (Renee's 8-year-old) was ultimately responsible for its demise.


After all that excitement we went back outside to fill up some water balloons to jump on the trampoline with. I keep wanting to abbreviate that and type ''tramp", but it just never looks right. =)

Hazel is a month younger than Oliver. They've been such good buddies.



After the kids got a turn, Renee and I got to try.

It was a blast! We only used like 5 balloons 'cause we were sick of tying them by then. Cora did take a video of us jumping, but it was kind of anticlimactic (like this pic) since there were so few balloons.

At the close of the evening we sang "Happy Birthday" consumed an ice cream cake from Cold Stone.

It was yummy. For her present I gave her a box of Aplets and Cotlets (as a sentimental joke, but she really does like them!) and a mini golden Idaho potato keychain so she can remember us when she's living in Florida. And some earrings that Oliver thought looked like bombs. =)

Well, I think the party was a success. Cora and Jane kept saying how fun it was, so I really felt accomplished.
It was one of the last times we got to hang out before the whole Dittman family moved clear across the country. This is their 12th move in 12 years of marriage, so I have high hopes that they'll be back this way before we know it. =)

Oregonian Vacation, Last Day

The first part of our last full day at the coast was spent at the Seaside Aquarium. We'd initially wanted to make the drive to the more impressive one in Newport, but we decided we'd spent enough time on little excursions already, so much that the kids were sick of the car, so we settled for this one. It wasn't bad.


We fed the seals. Look at those eyes.



They were so cute.


I don't know what Ringo was smoking when he said he'd like to be in an octopus's garden. I can't think of anywhere freakier. Imagine getting mauled by an octopus. . . No thanks.



Sea creatures are so peculiar.



And fascinating.

I can't help but wonder how it would feel to get strangled by a seastar.

After the aquarium we wandered back to the hotel. Cora, Jane and I wanted to walk to the nearby shops to pick out some souvenirs. Ryan and Oliver stayed behind to relax.

We looked at a few touristy stores. Both the girls chose stuffed animals; Jane got a cute red crab, and Cora got a grayish seal.

Then we went into The Buzz, a fantastic candy store I'd seen the first day. I knew Ryan wouldn't want any part of it, and I didn't want to feel rushed if he'd been waiting outside, so that's the main reason I planned a mandatory outing with just the girls and me. =)


They had a copious case of various enticing treats. Notice the top row. My brain thinks the tag for 'stout truffle' says 'trout truffle'. I should have excitedly asked the lady about those.
Can you guess which one I picked? Although the trout option was mighty tempting, I settled on the pink cupcake truffle. It. was. delectable. So creamy and heavenly inside. Not overpoweringly sweet. Just right. I wanted more, but I refrained.


Look how cute!

Cora picked a sizable peanut butter cup and Jane got a chocolate covered s'more.

Look at those fat tubs of circus peanuts! I'm kind of kicking myself for not grabbing one. I wonder if they taste any better than the bagged variety.

Like a kid in a candy store...

It was raining considerably all day, so we ducked into the carousel mall to eat our chocolaty treasures. Then we eventually made our way back to the hotel.

We'd passed these beauties several times, and at last I paused to capture them on camera.

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out. It got late sooner than we knew it. Hungry, we drove around in search of food. I think it was 9-ish when we decided to eat at DQ.

Then, once again, we went back to the hotel to begin wrangling our belongings together so we could depart for home fairly early the next morning.

We did hit the road sometime before 8:00, and on our way home we took a slight side trip to stop at the cemetery where Becky's grave is. =( She is buried next to her brother Ben. Her parents had a stone made with both of their names together.

It was raining quite a bit, though you can't tell.

It says "brother and sister" on the bottom. And that's a kitten with a ball of yarn above her name. It still makes me so sad to think of everything she didn't get to do before she left. I had so much hope for her. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year.

We had a safe, uneventful drive home.

The trip to Oregon was a good one. We had fun and got to see some marvelous expanses of nature.