What the First Half of July Looked Like

Brandon turned 19 this month.

It was lame to not be with him on his birthday.

But when we chatted with him,

we found out that he has a girlfriend, Allie.

They met at the chocolate factory and have been 

friends since the fall. Not sure exactly when it 

turned to "more than friends."

Two days after we found out about Allie,

Andrew's mom sent me this pic of B and Allie who had

driven up to Salt Lake (to buy sugar gliders for Allie's sister!)

and had made a surprise visit at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Fun!

(Last time we talked to B, he said they weren't dating anymore...

Didn't have enough in common. He said he has to find a girl

who climbs and/or listens to rap so they have shared interests.)

For FHE one night this month, we went to a nearby cemetery

to take pictures of gravestones.

It's a service that can help people find their relatives online. 

 

It was a fun way to spend some time on a pleasant evening.

C and W had "Girls Camp in a Box" this month.

It was FANTASTIC.

Each of the girls got a box with five manila envelopes,

along with some other supplies.

(Smores ingredients, cake mix, frosting,

a cute little jar, sidewalk chalk)

The envelopes were labeled for each day of the week.

There was a theme, activities you could do,

journal prompts.

There were Zoom firesides two nights.

And a virtual talent show one night.

On Friday, the girls from our ward were able to 

gather with Bishop and the camp leaders

to roast their smores and have a testimony meeting.

Both girls really had a good experience.

So grateful for all the work that went into

this unique camp experience.

Whitney's cupcakes:

Spaghetti with a meatball and salad.

Caroline's flower cupcake.

Journals

The theme was service one day.

The girls were supposed to write inspiring messages 

for their neighbors. 

We went down to the walking trail at the end of our

street and decorated.

So fun!

One of Caroline's besties, Ryleigh,

has already moved twice in the last three years,

to Nebraska and then closer to us, down in SC.

Now they are moving back to UT.

We met up in Davidson NC to say good-bye.

We had a picnic lunch at a park.

So fun to visit.

Then we stopped for frozen custard at Whit's.

Yum!

While we were in the area,

we decided to stop at Lazy 5 Ranch. Yes! 

Oh my gosh. Every time we go, it's a different experience.

This time I was terrified that a longhorn was going

to gouge the side of the van!

They get so close!

Luckily, there was no damage...

just lots of drool left on our windows. Ewwww....

Emus. are. so. creepy!

DISCLAIMER:

I think I am the worst videographer that I know.

It is laughably bad.

Be warned. :)

The bisons are intimidating

I thought that mountain goat (?) looked so regal sitting up there.

Care Bear LOVED feeding the llamas!

I had lots of big animal noses in my face!

I couldn't believe how BIG the ostrich was!

He's GIGANTIC.

Like, he towered over my van.

This guy had the coolest horns!

Flexing the X

Everybody wants a water buffalo...

This baby llama was the CUTEST.

So was the baby zebra.

Please stay away from my van!

Oh, these little piglets were cuties, too.

So much fun.

It was exciting and scary and cool.

Caroline and I loved it.

I was talking with Destiny about how much O loves

the series Fablehaven. Both Whit and O have read it

multiple times. This is what our volume two looks like.

Whoa...

It rained four times in the first two weeks of July.

And we happen to be out walking THREE of the four times.

What is up with that????

Usually, we were just walking around the neighborhood,

so it was no big deal. We'd just head home.

But this evening, we were out on one of our longer walks.

And got stranded out in the rain.

It was hilarious.

Fishing at April and Ben's lake!

Andrew caught one!

Andrew and I had the best time playing Pandemic Legacy.

It is a different version of the Pandemic game we play at lunch

every day. It is WAY more complicated, but also more exciting.

You play it through a year, starting with Jan and going through Dec.

There are plot twists! In a board game! Who knew?

We had to tear cards up. (Gasp!)

Your characters could die.

One of the disease strains mutated and turned

people into "Faded Figures". (kinda like zombies.)

It took a lot of brain power to keep up with all the

twists and turns, but in the end, we LOVED playing this game.

You can only play through the year once because

 you've made so many changes to the board and cards.

We ended up with a grand total score of 720,

"Disaster Averted." That's the second highest outcome.

We were SO CLOSE to Legendary Achievement!

We returned to church this month!

After worshiping at home since mid-March, our stake

was approved to begin a phased approach to meeting

together again. The girls and I attended, but Andrew

wasn't able to.

I LOVED being back with my ward family.

Or at least the few of those who have returned.

Our attendance is capped at 99,

but we had less than 45 people there.

The girls didn't love it.

Whitney said it felt very stiff and formal

with all of us wearing our masks and social

distancing. Caroline missed the social aspect

of church. It was weird not being able to talk

and hang out with your friends. She also didn't

realize that we would only have a shortened

sacrament meeting, no Young Women's or

Sunday School classes. After church, we discussed

our experience and decided that we would attend

church every other week and then continue to

worship at home every other week.

I think it will be a great compromise.

Brandon's other big news from this month:

He bought a car!

Grandpa Sweat helped him scope out used cars in SLC

and they found a STEAL on this VW Passat.

B LOVES it and is so excited.

We're thrilled for him that he will have more

mobility and freedom now.

(Also more bills...he was shocked at the

$200 price tag to register it...)

I thought it was SO cute to get this photo

from him in a text. Since he has only had a BIKE

for the last year, he could only grocery shop

for what would fit IN HIS BACKPACK.

He was EXCITED that he could use a SHOPPING

CART. And buy an ENTIRE GALLON of milk.

Wow, the things I take for granted...

We've kept up our new tradition of having

the girls each cook a meal every week.

Caroline branched out and made us 

Beef and Broccoli one day.

It was DELICIOUS.

But she didn't like it...

Last month, some critter ATE all my

lily blossoms and I was SO sad.

This month, I finally got some beautiful blooms.

They make me happy every time I walk out

the front door.