Best Month of the Year!!

July in Michigan is usually a beautiful month. Hot some days but then it cools off a bit and you can open the windows for a few days and enjoy warm weather but lower humidity. That's exactly what it's been like. The 4th of July was a beautiful day, in the 80's but tolerable humidity. We went to our friend's house (Mark & Cheryl) and our bowling partners (Bill and Judy) came over too so it was a lovely afternoon spent going to the craft show, swimming in the pool and grilling followed by watching the fireworks right from their backyard.

This past week I spent some time up at school. Monday I helped move the ESL room into a different room. We didn't move furniture, just books and other things from the classroom. It was a hot, sticky job that lasted a couple hours and then we all went to lunch. The next day I was back up there to help paint the girl's and boy's bathrooms as part of our school makeover for Leader in Me. It was hot, sweaty work as the humidity was high. Between the wet paint and heat and humidity, by the time we finished painting the floors were wet! They both look so good though, pink with a green stripe for the girls and blue with a red stripe for the boys! On Wednesday I was back up there again helping my friend Natalie paint and decorate letters that spell Leadership to put up on a high wall. Tedious work but at least we worked in the teacher's lounge which was air conditioned.

On Friday I went over to a friend's house to help her and another teacher paint her kitchen. We had so much experience painting the school we felt highly qualified to paint this girl's kitchen now! During the time spent painting we were chatting, as women are known to do, and the topic of Tyler's job search came up. When I mentioned that he had applied for jobs at the DNR, Mary (the friend's whose kitchen we were painting) said that her brother-in-law was one of the top guys with the Michigan DNR! How fortuitous! She offered to pass Tyler's resume along so that's just what we did! He later called her to tell her he could do his best to get Tyler an inverview! Can't ask for more than that! Thank you so much Mary!! I will owe her big time!

Thursday, Friday and Saturday were gorgeous days. Days I could open windows and go for walks first thing in the morning without sweating! All that changed today. It's been quite warm and muggy and the air conditioned house feels so good! I went over to Cheryl's this afternoon for a little sun and pool time. The sun was hot and the water felt cool!

In other news, Amber, Andy & Quinn are packing some of their things this weekend into a "pod" so it can be placed in storage for a while. Hopefully these things won't be needed for some time. Then on Wednesday the movers come and move their furniture and things they will need to their new "home". I wouldn't say they're excited about the move but at least they will be all moved in before the baby comes. Speaking of the baby, there isn't much time now. Just a little over a week now before the big day! We are all so excited. Quinn even took her "sibling" class on Saturday so she's all prepared for the new arrival.

Tyler's Kroger job lasted one day. He came home that night and said he wasn't going back. Bummer. He continues to search for that elusive perfect job. Hopefully this DNR connection will help! Fingers crossed. Scott's life seems to go along on an even keel. He was home sick with a cold this week but he was still working. I'm sure his co-workers appreciated him keeping his sneezes at home! What else is new around the house? The flowers have been blooming and my back deck veggies are doing great. After purchasing all the supplies to re-do my 30 year old foyer table, H suggested we just purchase a new one. I found the perfect table at Target and a few days later it was delivered and then Tyler put it together for me. I absolutely love it! It's perfect!

Last week we had this salad and the lettuce and radishes were all from the garden. It was delish.

I've also been making doggie cookies and dog food, enough to last while I'm gone off on my adventures in the next few weeks!

This morning I looked out on the pond and saw this!

The babies are all grown up and you can't really tell which are the babies and which is the mommy!

That's it for the week, mostly. This week will be spent around the house, finishing up organizing projects, yard stuff, garden upkeep and then on Friday I'll be going up north with the Bunco girls for the weekend. Lots of exciting things coming up in the next month. But more on that later!

Have a good week!