July 2009

July 2009
Photo: Hayden and her Princess cake. I decorate it for her just like I did for the other girls on their 5th birthdays.

From beginning to end, I think we would say that July was the most eventful month of our lives. We started with a camping trip to Detroit for the 4th of July. There were 6 families in all. It was the second day that we realized the spot we had chosen was not a camping site. We were kindly reminded that we needed to leave. So we headed to the Winegar’s and literally camped in their yard with two other families. We had a great breakfast feast and headed home to grab a few things before heading to Hagg lake in Forest Grove to go water skiing and boating. When we arrived, our home was decorated in TP, AGAIN!!! After a long day in the water, we headed back and watched fireworks from the Winegar's. We enjoyed the Summer Reading Program at the Library. We tried out Tangleboxing (given a book with clues at the county’s parks and have to find a box with a stamp to put in the book)for the first time and were able to find all the boxes. Our whole family took a trip to Drift Creek with the staff at the Church. We hiked 1.5 miles down and walked the suspension bridge which hangs 100 feet over the water. As soon as we got home, we headed up to Portland to pick up my sister, Angela and her girls at the Airport. She came to visit with grandma. We celebrated Hayden’s birthday, went to Scotty’s Playhouse , then headed to the Salem Art Fair. The girls enjoyed being in the parade. I started to feel a bit sick, but wasn’t going to miss spending time with my sister and amazing nieces. The next day, we had a yard cleaning day at grandma’s. Many friends came out to help us clean up the front and back yards. I then headed home to decorate Hayden’s princess cake for her 5th birthday. The next morning I headed to the park to reserve space for Hayden and her friend, Carson, to celebrate their birthdays together. It was a great party. Perfect outdoor fun to keep the kids busy. Apparently even the adults couldn't help it. Our friends, Gil and Kimberly, had a cake fight with the green frosting. The next week we went to the Corvallis Water Park for the first time. My brother-in-law, Ted, flew in for the weekend. The next day, we went to Lincoln City for the weekend. My Grandma had rented a place for the whole family to get together. We started at the Outlet Malls. Hayden got her ears pierced. I was pretty ill by then. Angela and Ted blessed us with some authentic Tennessee food. Grandma stayed warm while peering out at the beach. I ran a 104 fever most of the time. We decided to head back home early on Sunday, after taking family photos. When we got home, we found that our hose to the refrigerator water line for the ice maker had burst and flooded our house. Roger and Joshua W. and Donna O. came and helped us to clean up. The next day, the insurance company came in to “take a look” and within 45 minutes had taken all the trim off in the kitchen and started drilling holes in the wall. At that point I was running a 104 degree fever for 3 days. They let us know they were bringing in fans in 15 minutes and we needed to pack up and get a hotel. The Winegar’s took us in for a week while I recovered from pneumonia and Dale prepared for Summer camp with the Middle School. Everything in our home died. The plants, the fish, and our power, so the food rotted. Candles melted to liquid. It was the week we had the heat wave. Our friends, the Pannell’s, took care of our yard for us. Our puppy went into heat. The garden I had planted was in poor shape, but we were together as a family and we made the most of it.