July 2014 at a Glance

I love the green, warm days of summer. I love that we don't have to wear coats, and that I can be outside as much as I want to be. I also love to take pictures especially of my children. It has taken a lot of years for our yard to mature and fill in, but it is becoming easier and easier to find lovely little places for pictures, projects, games, relaxation and more.

Here are Charity and Breanna with big smiles under the trees.

We also love and enjoy the rain storms. That light gentle rain that is so fun to be out in and play in. Sometimes it's not so light. As you can see in July, last year we had some fun playing in the rain.

Beth and Melodee love the summer because it gives them more opportunities to spend time with their horses. You can see how much they love their horses from the pictures below.

This last summer we had a new experience. It was a lot of fun to go with Alisha as she tried on wedding dresses in preparation for her big day. Some of the dresses she tried on were a definite no! The one she chose in the end she had liked very much in the beginning. It was simple yet beautiful and suited her wonderfully.

This one was a top contender. It was a beautiful lace dress that she liked very much.

Here she is in the dress that she chose. What a lovely bride she was preparing to be.

Back at home, everyone else was preparing to enter as many items in the Pivot County Fair as they could. I don't remember how many entries we came out with in total, but they were pretty determined to get the award for the family with the most entries in the fair (which they did by the way!)

As usual they did very well in receiving awards. The Pivot County Fair is a wonderful way for the kids to develop and share their talents. Not only can they do that, but they always find huge returns on their investments.

Here they are showing off their favorite exhibits and ribbons. Beth's overall favorite was a photograph of her horse. She had some beautiful photography entries as you can see.

Melodee also loved her horse picture. Another of her favorites was her pinata. She got a lot of prizes and was very happy with the results again this year.

Myles worked very hard on his exhibits. This year he created a wooden gun and some crossbows made with paint sticks and such. In this picture you can see him also displaying some of his artwork, a scratch art piece that he had done over the last year.

Myles enjoyed creating his wooden gun for the fair so much, that he decided to make another one. Before the month ended he had another one made. Here he is showing it off. The trigger moves and has a clip in it for elastic bands. What an amazing device.

Charity had some awesome photography that she entered as well as a sequin bird picture she had made this year. She was very pleased with her awards and prizes.

Naomi has been taking an art course in school by distance. She entered her favorite art piece in the fair, a collage with a time theme which was her favorite entry this year. She did a beautiful job. She also had many other entries including photography where she placed first.

Here they are with their total accumulated ribbons. They did silly face pictures this year, it's almost like they forgot to smile, but whether the photo shows it or not, they were very pleased with their accomplishments.

At the end of the month we celebrated our second phase of Chad's birthday. The first phase was celebrated a week early in the mountains. This time Naomi surprised him, coming home with another gift and a delicious ice cream cake after her new job orientation. We have such sweet and thoughtful children. We decorated the room and made it ready to have a wonderful celebration. The gift was a game set for outdoor games and was quickly put to use and enjoyed. 

Naomi

Beth

Charity

Melodee

Myles

Breanna

July was a month where we were incredibly blessed to have so many family projects and activities to enjoy together. There is so much that we love to do.  It was a happy, productive and enjoyable month. I think the days spent with my family are the best part of summer. It really doesn't matter how much time I get to spend outside, how many flowers I grow, how many projects I complete or anything else. The best parts of my summer are ALWAYS without doubt, the days and moments that I spend with my family.