July 2023

July is here!  I love dressing Percival up in holiday decor.  I think HE likes it too.  

July 1st, Steve and I took the kayaks out for the first time this year.  We went out first thing in the morning and it was calm and beautiful.  Steve's shoulder is still recovering from the surgery so we had to take it easy and we were not out for long.  

Getting everything together for our first kayaking excursion of the year.  

The lake was like glass.  

Back at home, I cleaned the house while Steve and Avian went to the Chef's Store to get more sugar, flour and chicken in bulk.  Nick went for a bike ride and I went kayaking with my friend, Shea, in the afternoon.  It was the perfect day to spend time on the lake.  If I lived on the lake, I think I would spend my whole day floating on the water.  

Back at home, I fixed dinner for the family, spent some time working on the Dad quilt and then ended the day with an evening walk with Steve.  

July 3rd was a cleaning day all around.  We cleaned our house and then went and helped some friends of ours who own an Air B and B clean their place between tenants since they were out of town.  Steve and Jeremy took the 7 bags we cleaned out of Jeremy's room to the Goodwill.  

July 4th Nick and I went kayaking first thing in the morning.  Kayaking with Nick is always an adventure because he really likes to explore.  This time, the water was a little higher because of all the rain we have been getting so we were able to get to places we have never been before.  We found a lily pad garden and the lily pads were in bloom.  It was really pretty and very relaxing.  

Our lily pad garden. 

I had never seen a real lily pad in bloom before.  

The lily pad garden was surrounded by these gorgeous purple flowers which were also full of dragon flies.  It was so gorgeous.

Steve went and did some fishing with the new rod we got him for Father's Day.  Nick went on a bike ride after our kayaking adventure.  Jeremy wanted Steve and me to come with him to a new farmer's market he had found that was close to the house.  They had a great selection of plants and homemade jam.  Jeremy picked out some plants he thought would look nice in the new garden area we cleaned up in the front yard.  We also got some homemade jam.  

In the evening, Nick went to a pool party with his friends and we had hamburgers at our place before heading out to the Charlotte Motor Speedway to see the races and watch the fireworks.  Nick joined us after the pool party was over.  It was fun to watch the smaller cars race around the smaller track.  When it got dark, they opened the gates and we were allowed on the track to watch the fireworks.  It was soooo cool.  This may be a new tradition.  

I thought I was just taking a great picture of me and the kids enjoying the race, but I was wrong.  Check out the lady and her son in the background.  I don't know exactly what is going on but we had fun coming up with stories.  

Nick joined us after his pool party was over.  

On the turf in the middle of the race track watching the fireworks.  

July 5th we got the official notification that Avian had gotten a 5 on both the AP Lang and AP US History tests.  That is the highest grade you can get.  Way to go!  We also went to the eye doctor to get new glasses for Avian and then they went to a party at a friend's house. 

July 7th, while replanting things with Jeremy, we noticed that one of the trees in the backyard had a huge crack on of the the big, lower limbs  It was too big to try to save the limb and we had to cut it down.  I was sad to see the limb go.  I don't want to lose another tree in the backyard.  I decided them and there to get an arborist out to see what could be done about protecting all our trees and trying to save this one.  

Not savable.  

The good part was that Steve got to use his chainsaw.  He is always happy when he gets to use power tools.  

One tree estimate came in at $3,200 for three trees. Let me think for a minu...NOPE!!!   Another came in at $1,000 but I was not impressed with the person they sent out. He told us the tree was a goner and needed to be cut down.  NOPE!! We eventually went with a friend of ours who we trust and who had the right answers and the right price.  For $1,500 they would trim our three big trees and put a brace between the main trunk and the other big limb we didn't want to lose.  YES!!

Because of all the tree talk, I started noticing all the cool trees around me.  On my morning walks I took pictures of my favorites.  

July 8th - Avian is legally Avian Taylor Cannon.  The court papers came in the mail.  Now we can start getting everything changed to the legal name.  They are beyond the moon excited.  All the hoop jumping was worth it.  

On July 10th I got a Chime credit card in the mail and promptly called and asked if this was a promotion they were running.  They told me they only mail out credit cards to people who have applied for one.  I had them close the card down immediately as I had not applied for one.  Three hours later, I had put freezes on all three of the credit reporting bureaus and found that someone had been trying to qualify for a home loan through Lending Tree.  SCARY!!!  

July 13th I went with Jeremy to his dentist appointment and he got notification that he made the Dean's List at UNCC.  It was a good day.  

Jeremy's handy work in the garden.  This is the pizza garden complete with tomatoes, basil and oregano.

Beans, peas and cucumbers.

Watermelon and two kinds of squash. 

Perennials on the ends with a raspberry, tomato and blackberry bush. 

Since Nick has started cooking more, he went out and bought himself a mini fridge since our fridge wasn't big enough to hold all the meals he is making for the week.  He is growing up and buying appliances.  

Oh no!  Mr. Bill!

Magnolia bloom.  

Mimosa tree.  I love the fuzzy leaves and flowers.  

July 19th, we have been busy with getting Jeremy ready for his road trip with his friends at the end of the month.    The tree guys came and got all the trees trimmed and thinned and looking really good.  When they were done I couldn't even tell they had been here they were that good at cleaning up after themselves.  I also got to the point where I was able to quilt the quilt.  So exciting.  

It is a make-shift quilting frame, but it works for me.  

Dad's gravestone was installed.  It looks great and Mom is pleased with the workmanship.  

July 20th Jeremy and I went grocery shopping for a friend who is home bound.  While we were dropping off the groceries at her apartment, a policeman showed up and served her with a notice to pay her rent or be out in 10 days.  She finally opened up about everything that was going on and we called the bishop to see if he could help.  Bishop told us to send him all the paperwork with the amounts owed and he would see what he could do.  I am so glad I was there when the policeman came otherwise we would not have known and not been able to help.  

That night Nick showed the Young Men at church how to do basic maintenance on their car.  He had a great time teaching the boys.  

July 21st, Avian and I went to the Social Security Office to finalize the official name change.  Once the SS card is updated then it will be easier to get everything else changed.  It was a very slick process.  I made an appointment and printed off the to-do checklist and all the necessary paperwork before hand.  We were in and out of there in 23 minutes.  SLICK!!!

On the way home we went to the organic market and got some dairy-free butter and chocolate chips for Tammy's baptism. She has a dairy allergy and I wanted to make something special for her since I would not be in town for her baptism.  

While we were gone, Steve took a load of equipment to the scout office and his Xterra started acting up a bit. He drove straight to Nissan and had Heath check it out.  $700 later we had two new engine sensors.  It was a good thing it happened when it did because Steve could have been stranded on the way to or from Florida in a couple of days.  

I made some red sauce that night and Avian went to a friend's party.  

July 22nd, Avian and I drove to an all-day volleyball clinic in Greensboro.  They worked on all-around skills and it was a good day of learning.  We are definitely going to be ready for tryouts next month.  

Working on setting skills.  

Avian is a quick learner.  

After the clinic, we hurried home to get ready for the Torres family to come for dinner.  Aleena and her family were in Charlotte for the monster truck jam and wanted to stop by for dinner before heading back to Lynchburg.  It was fun to have them in our home and get to know them a little getter.  

July 23rd, we had an early birthday party for Steve since Jeremy would be on his road trip with his friends on the actual day.  We had dinner and cake and presents.  

Happy Birthday!  56 looks good on you.  

July 25th I got to get the gortex covering taken out.  IT STUNG REALLY BAD!!!!  They ripped it out without any warning, which was probably for the best.  BUT...OUCH!!!

Steve drove Jeremy to Florida so that his car would not have to sit in a vacant driveway for two and a half weeks.  Also, the last leg of the trip was coming through Charlotte and it seemed silly to have to drive all the way to Florida just to pick up a car and head back home.  They enjoyed the road trip together.  

Avian and I went to the DMV and got the driver's license name change taken care of.  It was pretty slick as well.  Back at home I put the finishing touches on Mom's quilt and got it ready to mail.  It is my first real quilt and I thought it turned out really amazing!  One side is a representation of everything my dad loved.  The other side is all my mom and her favorite colors.  I call it "Behind Every Great Man Is An Amazing Woman." 

The front

The back

Jeremy helped me get all the colors just right. 

I also got the backyard pathway cleaned up a little bit.  

July 26th, Steve officially turned 56.  Avian had their senior pictures taken.  Jeremy visited the Kennedy Space Center.  I got Mom's quilt in the mail and got Jeremy's tuition paid for the Fall semester.  

Jeremy was not answering any of our texts, so Avian and I sent a proof of life picture and asked him to send one in return.  This tactic never fails.  He responded in minutes.  

July 27th Avian attended a band leader camp in preparation for the following week when everyone would be attending.  Avian is going to be a section leader along with Kennedy.  They will be in charge of the clarinets. Jeremy let us know that he made it safely to Texas.

July 28th was day 2 of band leader camp.  Nick had to drop an engine and replace the water pump.  It was a long day for him but he loved learning how to do a big job. 

That night was out Relief Society pool party at the Arias house.  It was well attended and the ladies seemed to have a good time.  

July 31st was day 1 of volleyball tryouts in the morning and then band camp in the afternoon.  I did more yard work.  Nick and Steve were at work.  Jeremy made it to Washington D.C.  

The best news of the day was that mom found her little brother.  Her mother had a second child shortly after she had Mom and Mom had been trying to find her family for years.  It is amazing what can be done with DNA.  For someone who was adopted and knew very little about the biological family, this is exciting stuff.  

Also, I got a call from Mom in the middle of the day and was a little worried when I answered and she was out of breath and could not talk.  I panicked until Mom said, "The blanket arrived" and I realized she was crying.  We had a good talk and I told her that the blanket was me sending a hug from me and Dad whenever she needed one.  Shaun and Kathy were there when the package arrived and they sent me this great picture.  I am so glad she loved the quilt.  It was definitely made with a lot of love in each stitch.