7 glorious days...

...where the weather didn't get over 78.  We had the windows open and the air off for 5 of them.

My morning walks were in full swing when it was 65.  Today is foggy which means more humidity.  It's crazy what a difference 65 and crisp and 65 and humid can be.

Graduation

Jared's twin brother, Jordan, graduated from basic at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma today.  Jared and their mom went to Family Day and the graduation.  This is also where Jared will be going in October.  Jordan will stay there for another month or so for job training.

2013 Blog Book

YAY!

Another summer project done.  Just arrived is our 6th edition Blog Book.

Sahara graces the front because 2013 was her graduation year :)

Best purchase ever!

Canyon has slept in until 8:30 one time this summer.  He is usually up between 6:45 and 7:15 no matter if he goes to bed at 9:30 or midnight.  Of course this doesn't mean he is easy to get up for school.  I think it's because of the daylight.  Even though I put an extra curtain up to keep it dark in his room.  He gets up, dressed, grabs his tablet, lets the dog out and the cat in, and is out on his swing.

He swings and swings and swings!  I have to call him in for food, bathroom breaks, trips to town, and showers.  Even after the sun goes down and he is being eaten alive by mosquitoes, I have to call him in for bed. 

This morning was 65 amazing degrees and Sahara and I went on our walk (while Canyon was swinging).  We came home and had coffee on the patio.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL

New Doo

For the first time ever, we had a pet of ours at the actual groomers. $43 later, this is the result.

Who knew he had smooth hair under all those curls! We like the scruffy look better, but maybe once a year, in the summer, he needs a start-fresh cleaning and cut.

Drills

Jared is back from his second weekend of Drills.  2 more then he is off to Basic Oct. 6th!

Water Play

We have one sad little splash pad in Russellville.  But Canyon had a blast at it.

It was so nice that it wasn't over-crowded and that all the kids there had parental supervision.

His favorite things there are the fire hydrant and this flower sprinkler.

Little Crafty

When cleaning out the kitchen a couple weeks ago, I also tackled the Laundry cabinets.  I found 2 boxes of tie-dye unopened bought who-knows-when stashed in there.  Which was good because Sahara had asked just the week before if we could make tee shirts again.

Sahara decided to go out and buy the shirts and get this thing started.

We let them sit outside for several hours but it was too humid so we brought them in for the night.

The next morning we hosed them down in the tub.

Then washed them twice in the washer.

Ta Daaa.

And when Jared came over we all put them on.  Canyon was confused.  We kept calling it tie-dye so he kept trying to tie it around his neck and waist. 

They look pretty cool!

Baseball / (Golf) practice

Jared and some co-workers got together for some baseball practice.  Canyon and Sahara went too.

It's so hot and humid out I was surprised they stayed as long as they did. Sahara even played and said she didn't do too bad. No pictures of her though, she was the picture taker. 

Here is where the golf came in.  Haha

The Mistys!!

Look who was driving through town from her trip to Nashville back to Tulsa?

Misty Arthur from Greenway High.

Hard to believe we haven't seen each other in 26 years!  Feels like 10.

I met up with her and a friend she was traveling with at Buffalo Wild Wings.  We ate and caught up with each other for about 2 hours and they were on the road again.  Turns out her Grandfather was born in Russellville too.  Small world.  Had a great time!

Whatcha workin' on Sahara?

Those look like some pretty official papers. 

OMG she's been summoned to jury duty. 

Out in the mail it goes. Will she get picked??

She sure hopes not!

Happy 4th

The night before the 4th, Sahara and Jared bought some goodies to set off.  Canyon liked the sparklers.

On the 4th, we were invite to Jared's family's get-together.

Then we headed to the river to watch the fireworks.

Ice cream cups were only $2 with free toppings.  Best deal of the summer!

(Jared is looking really strange in his photo bomb below)

Malaki will not be attending the firework show with us in the future.  At one point I put him inside my shirt to try to calm him down.  He was too wiggly and was clawing to get out and clawing to get back in.  Not a happy camper.

Then on the way home Jared and Sahara stopped to buy more at home fireworks and sparklers. 

The siding, the dreaded siding

Once a year, the siding has got to be cleaned. It's a good 4-5 hour job. With a 30 minute lunch break!

Nobody looks forward to this day. Usually it's a Spring Break project because the weather is cool but not cold. Spring Break got away from us and the siding didn't get washed. So, today was only supposed to be in the mid 80s (which is crazy cool July weather for us, but we'll take it!) so today was the day!

As you can see in the before and afters, it REALLY needs it's yearly bath!

Sweet Pea

Malaki says: There's a kitty in there!!

Black Jack, the stray that has been hanging around for the last 2 years, is actually Black Jackie.  And she has 3 kittens now.  They are so cute, but wild and all 4 freak and run away as soon as you go to see them.  In the evening they come to catch bugs on the back patio and we watch them through the window.  We feed Chloe in the house now and have been doing that for a few months because she goes through so much food so fast sharing it with every critter in the free world.

Malaki is so tense and excited!

Last night, Malaki got out and treed one of the kitties.  This is the darker of the 2 grays and then there is a yellow tabby too.  

An hour or so earlier, the neighbor came over to ask if her daughter could have one of our kitties.  I told her they aren't ours and they are feral.  But now we had one!  I called her back and told her that one had been caught, it was eating dry cat food and seemed sweet.  She ate a ton of food too.

So we nicked-named her Sweet Pea for the time being.

With her purr box turned on, she snuggled up under my chin and cuddled.  Not feral at all.  She is flea and tick free and seems healthy but under weight.  I'm guessing 6-7 weeks old.  We are keeping her for 24 hours until the neighbor is off of work and has things set up to take her.