We have been trying to finish up P's Softball schedule, Vacation Bible School, finishing up quilts, Fairfax party, 4th of July Ice Cram Social at our house, and Softball Wrap up pool party! I'll try and give a brief description on each but pictures are worth a thousand words........
P decided she wanted to play summer softball much to my delight since, I loved playing softball. She stuck with it all season and was really excited for each game, which really made me happy also. This was her last ballgame and really she has improved so much throughout the season. Her Daddy and I were so proud of her.
With all these crazy events going on, I was able to finish the 2 quilts I had orders for. These are the final pictures of the elephant quilt and the John Deere quilt. I was so happy that the customer was overjoyed with how they turned out. They promised to spread the word around about my quilting business and I hope that I get some word of mouth business from this order.
I was able to start a few butternut and spaghetti squash inside for the fall garden. Hopefully my fall garden does better than the summer one. I am having real problems with a spotted cucumber beetle, which has killed 2 zucchini plants and 3 of my cucumber plants.
Last week was also vacation Bible School at our church. The kids were excited to go everyday and learn new things about God. I was unable to help as usual, because of needing to help Mom, but the teachers and workers did a wonderful job during the week. Bible School concluded with a program on Friday night and an old fashioned ice cream social. We had a great time socializing with friends and even got to take or niece and nephew with us for the program.
Every year our friends J and L invite us to the Fairfax 4th of July party. It is held on the Saturday closest to the 4th, so this year it was on the 3rd. It is amazing the house they live in and in the backyard they have a large lake with fishing, paddle boats and a sand swimming beach. The Fairfaxs provide all the food and have huge heated buffet tables for serving. They also provide all the drinks and anything else you could want. I took a chocolate cake since Mama taught me right and told me never to show up empty handed. We ate and then K and the kids went fishing while I visited with the many people that I know there. B caught his first fish, although since I was on the other side of the lake I missed the photo opportunity. I did manage to catch a few pictures of the kids fishing, swimming in the lake and a stunning photo of K, with his endearing smile. The night ended with fireworks over the lake. It was a show to rival most local town's displays.
The 4th of July brought our normal ice cream, cake and fireworks. We have for the past 8 years, invited friends and family over for homemade ice cream, cake and swimming and then we all load up and go to California to watch the fireworks. This is a picture of P and B swimming and getting the applause of S while they show off their tricks. We had a nice turnout and a wonderful day.
The crazy weekend holiday ended with a wrap up swim party for P's softball team. I would like to think that my children are not sheltered, but I have come to realize that there are many things we don't get to experience on a regular basis living in a rural area. I am happy about most things that we are able to avoid (bad behavior by adults, explicit dress or images) but we also miss a few really fun things. This was P and B's first trip to a public pool. They thoroughly enjoyed the pool and playing with their friends. The coach (my cousin) K made hamburgers and hotdogs and the fixin's and we all had a great time together.
So that has been our last week in photos. It has been really busy and really fun and exciting. I love the simple life we live and love to be able to spend time with friends and family. For this I am very grateful to the men and women that fight to keep our country free and give us the choice each morning as to where we want our lives to go.
So THANK YOU Service Men and Women and Happy 4th of July!
Poof!
