July is Over!

Time to take a deep breath!!! WOW what a month!!! Here are some highlights in bullet form for ease of reading!!! Just as a disclaimer--if you go back to previous posts, you'll see that July is the only month we really do anything, so don't think we are super ambitious or anything--we just PACK it IN in July.

• Malachi turned 2 years old and learned 10 new words, bringing his total up to 20 words. Included are: ba-bye, da-da, uh-oh, bubbas, dat, ow-ee, boo, nose, eye, ear, and my personal un-favorite: no . At least it wasn't his first word!!
• Joseph, Gideon, and Samuel ran the mile! They all finished in (personal) record time and got lots of good prizes. Joseph is wearing a green shirt, and Gideon is in the royal blue stripes. Samuel is right next to Gideon, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts. That's Grandpa Melvin behind him pacing him :-)

• Aneesa ran her first 5K since she was 8 years old!!! Time: 28:18 and 2nd place in her division!!! I think that strollers and canal trails are not a good combination for extra speed.
• Our family went to the annual 4th of July pancake breakfast with Grandpa Ray, a wonderful tradition with delicious food. Thanks, Grandpa!!!!
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• Gideon turned 7 years old!!! His birthday was on the 7th day of the 7th month and he turned 7!!! I thought that was pretty cool. We had a family over for dinner, and he got a wooden castle for his birthday.
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• Joseph turned 9 years old!!! In the last year, he has learned everything he needs to know for the rest of his life, and now he shares his vast stores of knowledge with the rest of us.

• Aneesa ran her second 5K for the 24th of July. Time: 27:06 and still with a stroller. I won a 25 POUND SACK of FLOUR!!!!! How cool is THAT?!!!!!
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• Aaron ran his hundred-something 5K and beat Aneesa by a LONG ways, but then came back to help me for the last 1/4 mile. Thanks, Aaron.
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• The entire family worked to finally get rid of the pile of trusses that have been piled in the yard since last year. We found one snake and 5 wasp nests. We also found a pretty good sunburn!
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• Aneesa officially fit into her pioneer day dress and wore it to church. No seams ripped, and the dress is still completely intact. HURRAH!! I have not worn this dress for FIVE years.
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• We went to a family reunion at Porcupine Dam and went SPLUNKING (kind of) . It was really an abandoned mine, but it felt like a cave. Malachi especially enjoyed it.

• I also became an official 4-H Leader and helped my mother-in-law with 4-H cooking classes. Lots of fun, and good eatin'!! It's amazing I fit into that dress at all!

• Aaron turned 33 and is still alive and well. He also completed about three major yard projects this month and the yard is looking a LOT better.
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• We had OFFICIAL VISITORS who SPENT the NIGHT in our GUEST ROOM!!!! It's true, here's the proof!!!
  

• Every single person in our family (except Malachi) picked up at LEAST 250 rocks from the backyard in two hours or less. If only that were all the rocks. . . . . . .

• FINALLY!!! I, Aneesa, completed my La Leche League accreditation process and am NOW an official breastfeeding resource for the world. I knew you'd all be excited. :-) Now I'm going to work on getting some pictures together for you to look at.