July 2021

July started off with a nice 2 hour walk around the mall with a good friend.  She had been so busy over her birthday that we didn't have a chance to get together.  We talked the whole 2 hours as we walked and then realized we were hungry (5 miles or 15,000 steps will do that to you).  We went to Panera for lunch.  It was a great morning.  I love catching up with my friends.  

That night we were all actually home for pizza and movie night.  That is a rarity.  The pizza was great.  The movie (Luca) was fun.  It was the company that topped the whole night.  

July 3rd Jeremy got his acceptance letter to UNCC.  He is officially a 49er!

Nick made mochiko chicken for a party at his friend's house.  He has become known for his fun and different foods he prepares for the parties.  

The mosquitoes really like Nick.  This is actually a small one comparatively speaking.  

July 4th was a quite day.  We had a family barbeque in the evening and then watch the fireworks that someone was setting off on the golf course.  

July 5th, Nick felt the need to release some of his stress and pent up frustrations.  He went on a 40 mile bike ride.  I got a call about 3 hours after he left asking me to come and pick him up.  He had run out of steam and was waiting in the LNC parking lot.  When I asked him where he had ridden the list was long and impressive (two of the places he visited were Latta Plantation and Rural Hills.)  He was much less frustrated and stressed when I picked him up.  

July 6th I took dinner over to a teacher who had just had a baby.  I held the sweet little thing while they ate dinner and we chatted.  That is what I call a win-win. 

July 8th I finally got to do something I had wanted to do for some time, but didn't want to go alone.  The family came with me to explore the changes that were made to the Mallard Creek Park when the school was built next to it.  Mallard Creek Park was the site of our weekly homeschool Park Days.  It is also where Nick played rec baseball for several years.  We tried to find some of our favorite places in the park and it has changed a lot.  The creek where they used to play is not there anymore.  The trails have been turned into a cross country running course for Mallard Creek High School.  In the middle of the "forest" there is now a drainage pond for the elementary school.  As we were walking I noticed little things jumping out of of the way of our footsteps.  I couldn't tell if they were jumping spiders (EWWWW) or baby frogs (CUTE!). They turned out to be baby frogs!!!  After the walk, which everyone enjoyed and several memories were shared, we went to Andy's Custard for a treat.  I love these impromptu family activities.  

Baby frog - oh so cute and much better than a jumping spider

July 9th I woke up to an oddly quiet house.  Nick was supposed to be up and getting ready to go to school.  I quietly opened his door and asked him if he was feeling okay.  He said he was and asked why.  When I told him what time it was he was out of bed and out the door in record time.  The poor kid has been really pushing it lately and he is exhausted.  This is the first time he has slept in since he started school last August.  He said he made it to school only three minutes late and no one seemed to notice he was late.  He was sure to mention that he didn't speed either.  

July 11th we realized that no one had to work or go to school or ... and we immediately turned it into a BEACH DAY!!!!!!  We left the house at 6 am and head to Kure Beach in Wilmington.  About 9 am everyone was hungry and we were near our favorite Waffle House in Laurinburg.  We were at the beach by 10 and played in the waves until 3 p.m.   The water was perfect and the waves were great!  It was just what we all needed.  We had a late lunch/early dinner at Mackeral Jacks and then headed home.  All of us were a little sunburned, but we didn't care because we had been in the ocean and had sand between our toes.  We Zoomed with my family on the way home and then Zoomed with Steve's family when got back.  It was the perfect day!!!

Steve and Nick dropped their stuff and headed immediately into the water.  

Catching a wave

I have missed watching them play in the waves!

BIG smiles on their faces!

Jeremy took a nice nap on the beach.

I played in the waves for a bit and then took some time to put my toes in the sand. 
I am one happy human. 

Jeremy woke up and immediately joined the others.  

Avian taking a little nap after playing in the waves. 

Jeremy got a little sunburned, but it was SOOOOO worth it.  

Goodbye gorgeous beach.  Until next time.  

Jeremy bought this sticker to commemorate the day!

July 12th Avian and I got to spend the week working together.  We organized the teachers technology and their cords.  It was a fun week.  

July 13th Steve and I helped one of our neighbors pick up some furniture for their daughter who was trying to furnish her apartment.  We drove to the middle of nowhere in Concord and I was starting to think we were going on a fool's errand when we pulled up in front of a house that had chickens roaming all over the large backyard.  I then noticed the kitten playing in the weeds and decided this place was heaven.  The kids all came out to greet us and I got talking to them about their kitten and chickens which turned into a huge meet and greet.  I was introduced to each chicken.  They knew all of them by name (all 52 of them).  Ari, Jojo and Noah were my guides and the two youngest kids stayed with their mother.  In the hen house we watched a chicken lay an egg and the kids were so excited I got to see it.  Several of their chickens were named after characters in Avatar and Stranger Things and I earned cool points for knowing those two shows.  I thought it was hilarious that they had named their mean rooster Voldemort.  These kids were a blast to hang out with.  I miss the days of homeschooling the kids.  Things were so much simpler then.  At the end of the visit they sent me home with a dozen of their eggs.  When I cooked them up and served them to Nick, he noticed the better taste immediately.  I would love to have some chicken of our own!  Someday.  

I love the different colors!

I got my official offer letter for the Intervention Specialist position at school.  I am excited to get to help the kids be their very best each day at school.  

July 14th was one week before Nick's court date and he was really worried so I called the lawyer to check on things and see if there Ryan had any words of advice for Nick.  I found out that the court date had been postponed until --- February 11, 2022 -- Nick's 20th birthday!  Let's hope it is a good birthday present the courts deliver.  

July 18th we took our pilgrimage to South Carolina to get peaches.  We haven't been for several years and it was time since our freezer was getting low on peaches.  The kids were all excited to go because of the fresh peach ice cream.  This was also a yearly tradition that got interrupted by COVID!!!  We loved the trip and loved having fresh peaches for the next several days while we got all the peaches put up.  I love this tradition. 

Truth!!!

Eating our ice cream in the rocking chairs in front of McBee Farms store.  

July 23rd, Nick finally got his RC car he had earned at work.  It is FAST!!!  Several neighbors came out and watched as he raced it up and down the street.  

July 24th I weeded the yard all morning long and Steve finished the cigar box guitar he had been working on for a couple of months. We got cleaned up and went to the Willet's farewell party.  They are moving to New Jersey to live on some land owed by her dad. They will be missed at LNC, but they are excited about getting to renovate the old farmhouse.  I spent some time making the Cafe Rio fixins and a cake for the following day.  Nick went on a date and had a great time.  Steve took the guitar and let Kev give it a trial run.  It got the seal of approval!  

All done and ready to mail.  It sounds as good as it looks!

Steve carved a dragon into the head to match the box. 

July 25th we celebrated Steve's birthday one day early since everyone was going to be home.  He really wanted to go to the Sistine Chapel exhibit so I got tickets and we all went.  It was beautiful and very interesting.  

That is Steve in the middle looking up and enjoying being surrounded by art.  

The different panels of the ceiling were enlarged and a poster showed where the panel was in the ceiling and told the story of who was depicted and why Michelangelo had chosen that design.  

The detail was incredible.  

This is what Michelangelo thought Isaiah looked like. 
It is nice to have a face to go with this famous prophet.  

After the exhibit we stopped for Rita's Ice (it was REALLY hot outside).  Back at home I had the entire Cafe Rio dinner ready and waiting.  Later that night we had carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and watched the Olympics.  

He is such a goofball and LOVES having us sing Happy Birthday to him. 

July 26th Steve took the day off, at the request of his boss (I love his new boss!) and he enjoyed his day.  I worked the whole day as the deadline for getting the teachers rooms done is quickly approaching and we still had a lot to do.  

July 27th we finally located the source of a weird barking noise that sounded like it was coming from behind the siding initially and then from the fireplace.  Steve rescued a tree frog that had somehow gotten stuck in the fireplace vent.  

July 28th Nick invited Kelsey (the one he had gone out with over the weekend) over for dinner.  We had a great time talking and getting to know her better.  She has several food sensitivities so we were careful to get food she could eat.

July 29th Avian and I went shopping for school clothes.  It was fun to spend the day with them and get what they needed.  

July 30th Steve had another what we thought was a screw in his tire and went to Discount Tire to get it fixed.  SURPRISE!  Last time it was a key and this time it was a bullet casing.  They couldn't fix it and since his other tires had over 60,000 miles on them we had to replace all of them.  It was an expensive day, but the new tires look really nice.  I just hope this trend of puncturing his tires with weird things will now come to an end.  

That night we had a ladies night at the Arias house.  It was fun to swim in the pool at night and get to know some of the other ladies in the ward.  Laura, Monica and I also had fun diving off the diving board and doing cannon balls.  

Bright and early on July 31st we were on the road to Delks.  Avian and Steve wanted to go and I had never been so they let me tag along.  It was impressive and overwhelming.  There was so much stuff in that warehouse.  It was a veritable survival heaven. On the way home we stopped at a flea market and walked around for a bit.  It was a fun morning.  That night both the men and women USA teams won the gold medal in the 1500 relay.  Bobby Finke competed in the 800 and won the gold which hasn't happened for I think they said 37 years.  Thirty-seven years since the USA took gold in that event!  That is unreal!!  It was awesome to watch.  He was in position to possibly take Bronze when the last lap hit and he went into high gear.  He won by almost a complete body length!!!!  There was some cheering going on in the Cannon house that night.  

Just a little fun and some interesting weather trivia to end the blog for July.  Enjoy!!

June 2021

Summer is officially here.  School is out at LNC.   Avian and I will be spending our summer at the school working with the tech team to get everything ready for next year.  

Nick started June off with getting 100% on his air conditioning test at school.  He is really working hard to learn everything he can while at school.  

June 2nd I went to the dentist in the morning and then took Tabitha Tufts to lunch since she is moving to Idaho in a couple of weeks.  I am going to miss her.  It was fun to sit and catch up on everything that has been going on in her world.  With five little girls there is never a dull moment. 

We also found out that our VSP vision insurance did not get renewed.  That part of the paperwork got forgotten so I had to reschedule my eye doctor appointment for later in July.  I got us all signed up for VSP and we are insured again to go to the eye doctor.  

That night I got to have dinner with Sandra.  She had fixed a lasagna and needed some help eating it.  I always love catching up with her.  She is doing so much with her life and there is always something going on.  

June 3rd Avian and I got to work together getting the tech ready for next school year.  It was fun to with her.  

Nick has started his tool collection.  He and the other techs had been sharing tools with the head tech and the head tech got a promotion which meant no more tools.  That is okay!  Nick was thrilled to get to go shopping for tools!!  It is getting real and he is loving it.  He gets to take them to work everyday and use them which makes it even more fun.  

 

June 5th was the day of  parties.  We started off at Elan Booker's graduation party.  I remember when Elan was born and here she is already graduating heading off to college in the fall.  That was fast!  Next we headed to a farewell party for three families in our congregation that were moving - the Tufts, Schmidts and Smiths.  It was a great turnout and we are really going to miss these guys.  

June 7th Avian got their second shot and went to their first volleyball workout of the summer.  It was good for them to keep moving their arm although it didn't help with feeling absolutely exhausted and cruddy the next day.  On a happier note, Steve worked a full day really getting into the data and learning the new data system and he was not exhausted and frustrated and ready to quit at the end of the day.  He was energized and excited because this new company is so amazing and his co-workers are encouraging and collaborative.  It is a whole new work environment and he LOVES it. 

June 10th I learned how to rewire rooms at school for data and phone.  It was fun getting into the ceiling and finding where the wires came from and then getting them to where they needed to be.  I am learning a ton this summer.  

June 11th we spent the day helping the Tufts get everything cleaned out of their house.  Steve and Phil took one last run to the dump.  So sad that this is the end of the Steve and Phil era.  That night we had them over for a final, truly Southern dinner.  They had to have chicken and waffles before they moved back out West.  

June 13th I got to drive the Tufts to the airport.  They are officially no longer North Carolina residents anymore.  I hurried back to church in time to hear Steve speak in sacrament meeting.  He did a really amazing job.  The extra special thing was that all three kids were there to hear their dad.  After sacrament meeting I went to RS and taught the lesson.  I love that the sisters are so willing to contribute to the lesson.  It makes teaching fun.  

June 14th I worked in the morning and then helped a friend, Daquetta, pack for her move from an apartment to a house.  Avian had volleyball workouts.  They are getting ready for try-outs the first week of August.  

June 17th I spent the day weeding, moving rocks, and mowing the lawn.  The back yard is going to be an oasis when I finally get it all done.  I took a break to help Jeremy get his application done for college.  After some lunch I went back outside and finished the retaining wall Nick and I had started a couple of weeks before, picked Avian up from work and then went to the pool for a bit.  I was exhausted by the end of the day, but it is good to be exhausted.  

June 18th we went to support Devan French at a performance of her new band Tiny Tricycle Poets.  They were really good and we enjoyed having a family night.  Afterwards we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Family nights are the best.  

Devan and her band.  They were really good.  

Steve has been working on his wood creations any chance he gets.  This is a platter made with spalted maple.  It is gorgeous.  

Work in progress

Finished product

June 19th was another work in the yard day.  I was out there all day long (7am to 5pm).  I got the rock garden done for the iris, cleared out Nick's exercise area and got it mulched, and built a new ring around the tree closest to the fire pit.  Steve and I also made two trips to Christy's Nursery for dirt and to pick out plants that will attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.  Lisa was so helpful and we can away with some really gorgeous plants.  Our yard is going coming along quite nicely.  

I think I worked Steve too hard because he jumped at the chance to take a break and go to an Elder's Quorum party.  

I was just finishing putting the tools away when the sky opened and poured rain.  The new plants were happy!

June 20th Nick told me he got another Student of Course pin for Climate Control.  This is his third one.  I love that he is having a good time and getting recognized for his hard work.  

The kids and I fixed a dinner fit for a king for Steve for Father's Day.  We had damnburgers, onion rings, dump salad and stuffed mushrooms. We were all full by the end of this meal.

That night Steve and I went to the airport to pick up Karina (a new sister in our ward visiting the US from Mexico.  She is here for a year as an au pair).  I am so glad that Steve came with me because the airport was insane and I had only talked to Karina once at church and wasn't sure I would be able to find her.  The flow of traffic was moving so slowly that I was able to jump out of the truck, walk down the row of people, find Karina and get us to the truck about the same time Steve was pulling up.  It made things so much easier.  

June 21st I started off my morning going for a walk with Sandra.  She walks really fast and it is a phenomenal workout.  Back at home I spent a little time in the yard doing messy stuff since I was already sweaty.  After cleaning up, Avian and I drove with Jeremy to UNC Charlotte to drop off his transcripts to the Admissions Office.  

June 25th Avian and I drove to Lynchburg to meet up with some friends they met on a Minecraft server.  I was a little nervous about the whole thing so we arranged to meet them at a public park.  Turns out they are very nice girls and the three of them were like best buddies in about 5 minutes.  Alena's mom needed to get home and Alena, Chloe and Avian wanted to keep hanging out so I offered to chaperone.  They ended up talking at the park until it closed and then they all wanted Boba Tea.  I ended up taking them home at 10 p.m. after we had a good chance to plan what they wanted to do the following day.  Avian and I had come up with a list of things to do since the two girls told us that Lynchburg should have been named Lynchboring.  We took it as a challenge.  They were excited about the proposed agenda for the following day.  

Avian, Alena and Chloe -  they are three peas in a pod.  

June 26th Avian and I were at Alena's house to pick up Alena and Chloe at 9 am.  We drove to Hollins Mill Park where we rented canoes.  Alena and Chloe where a little nervous about canoeing so we split them up.  Avian and Alena were in one canoe and Chloe and I were in the other.  Avian and I took the back position since that is the one that steers the canoe.  We had a ton of fun and they really liked it.  

Chloe, Avian and Alena taking a break to chat in their canoes. 

Trying to hold toes??????

After our two hours of canoeing were up (went waaaay too fast!), we decided to go on a little hike in the park.  There was a tunnel you could walk through and that sounded like a blast.  

Alena, Chloe and Avian wanted their picture taken with his really cool tree.  One of the many gorgeous sites while on the hike. 

The path was paved but it was very wooded and felt secluded.  I love these kinds of hikes.  

Heading into the cave.  

After the hike we cooled our feet in the river below the waterfall.  

By the time we finished canoeing and hiking we were all hungry.  Chick-fil-A was the lunch choice because Chloe had never eaten there.  They chose roller skating as their after-lunch activity.  Neither Chloe or Alena had ever really skated before, but they were troopers and got the hang of it pretty quickly.  

Can you tell these skates are used to going counter clockwise?!?

Taking a slushy break.  

Avian took this one and it was one of their favorites from the whole trip.  

After several hours of roller skating and laser tag the girls wanted to go to the mall and walk around.  It was entertaining to follow them and just watch.  We ended up in Belk at one point and the girls each picked out an outfit for each other.  The results were pretty hilarious.  I didn't get to see them firsthand because I was distracting the sales lady, but I heard about them afterwards.  They had a lot of fun.  

This cut out of Dwight Schrute scared the girls when we walked into FYE.  It was very realistic.  

After the mall they were finally showing signs of getting tired.  We decided to get a couple of pizzas and head back to the hotel to eat and just let them talk for a bit before taking them back home.  They talked for a couple of hours before deciding they all wanted another Boba tea.  They wanted to end their day sipping Boba and talking on the tailgate of the truck in the parking lot. 

Perfect way to end a perfect day!

June 27th Avian and I checked out of the hotel and went in search of some nutritious breakfast food.  We were tired of fast food.  We ended up at a grocery store getting yogurt parfaits and fruit.  Once we were fed we stopped by Alena's house to say goodbye.  While we were there Alena's dad took us out to the dog kennels and let us see the two litters of puppies they had.  It was a fun way to end out adventure in Lynchburg.  

One the road home we took back roads to avoid the insane traffic on parts of the freeway.  Also, Avian wanted to drive through the mountains which meant going through Fancy Gap, Virginia.  It is a beautiful little town in the foothills of the mountains!   We also had to drive through a rest stop because Avian said it was not a road trip until you visited a rest stop.  

Back at home Steve had fixed some dinner for us and we got to Zoom with my family and then his family.  These Sunday Zoom calls are one of my favorite things that came out of the quarantine.  

While Avian and I were gone Steve did a lot of woodworking and Nick went to a single's ward pool party in between working and doing homework.  

June 29th I went on another walk with Sandra since she was leaving to go back to Florida.  With all the walking I have been doing I can finally keep up with her!  Back at home I finally finished up (for now) the projects I had started in the back yard.  The iris are all in their new homes and the butterfly bush seems happy in its corner.  Everything is mulched as well and it looks really good.  I have posted pictures below.  

That night was a RS activity.  It was centered around shoes.  Each sister brought a pair of shoes to donate to a local home for battered women and also brought a pair of shoes that had a story attached to it.  I learned a lot about the women that night.  

Steve also purchased his ticket to his 30th high school reunion.  He is excited to go and see everyone.  They have been bugging him to come to one for years.  The last one we went to was when I was pregnant with Naomi.  

And now the pictures of the back yard project.  

BEFORE
There used to be a tree in this corner, but it died so we decided to turn it into a workout corner for Nick.  Steve and Nick had put the bar up earlier, but it was time to finish the corner.  

AFTER
Much better!!

BEFORE
These poor iris had not been separated for years and had stopped blooming.  The bulbs were packed in so tight they had no more room to grow.  

AFTER
Now the iris are in the sun and have room to grow.  The retaining wall just gives it a more finished look. 

BEFORE
The circle around the tree looked huge when the tree was little, but not so much now.  Also, under the tree had turned into a dumping ground for limbs and sticks.  

AFTER
Now the tree had enough room to grow and the retaining wall made it so we could fill it up with dirt to cover the exposed roots.   I also moved the sticks and branches to their new homes. 

BEFORE
Not bad but...

AFTER
...much better now. 

BEFORE
The gardens vegetable gardens were not happy in this location so we moved them (see previous posts for that story and pictures)

AFTER
Now the iris have more room to grow in a sunny location

AFTER
There is a path for enjoying the new plants. 

AFTER
The butterfly bush will eventually fill up the corner and attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies!

AFTER
The path leads out to the lawn.  

AFTER
Our view from the patio

AFTER
Another view from the patio

AFTER
One last view from the patio.

I think you can tell I like it and will be spending more time in the yard now!!!  It feels bigger and cleaner and more functional.  Just the way I like it.  

UPDATE:  The bees, hummingbirds and butterflies are LOVING the new plants.