Summer Flings...

Gosh, my summer has been really flying by! I haven't had much time to write, sew, or keep friends up to date with what we've been doing. So I thought I do a post letting you know what we've been up to lately.

I spent much of June taking local day trips with the kids, tending our garden, and meeting up with family in Portland. We took a day trip to the coast, and enjoyed seeing Portland.
In July I've been spending a lot of time at the local pool, both with kids' swim lessons, and cooling off in the heat and playing with the kids.
We also took camping trips to the Ochoco and Strawberry Mountains, and got to see the John Day Fossil Beds, the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City, and I took a trip to Sisters, Oregon for their huge Outdoor Quilt Show.
I had entered a quilt block in a competition there, and won a "Teacher's Choice Award"! Needless to say, I was thrilled!
I had the pleasure of meeting up with a long time friend and her family there, and got to not only spend the day admiring over a thousand quilts, but got to visit with her as well. Lukas has been taking guitar lessons and drawing lessons at the local art center, and both kids are still doing karate twice a week. So we've been busy!!!!

Our garden has really taken off in the hot weather we've been having. I'm starting to freeze the excess. I love snacking right off the vine, or from the earth, and watching the kids do the same. My trips to the grocery store are becoming few and far between. Got to love that!!
As to our solar project, the company making our panels has run into manufacturing problems with the specific panel we wanted, forcing pretty much all of us to use an older style panel instead. The company is giving us an older 240W panel for the same price as the newer 230W panel that we'd ordered, which will also mean more of a tax refund as well. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the state of Oregon is no longer offering tax incentives, but "grandfathered" in all of us who have signed up and put in a down payment, as long as the work gets done by Sept 30th. So it's now up to the contractor. He's predicting we'll be up and running mid-August, so keep your fingers crossed.

Other than the solar installation, August will get us down to Dallas for a week to visit my family there with the boys. Chris will stay here and hold down the fort. So far the fire season has been pretty mild, but recent lightning in the area and state could change that. We'll still be at the pool almost daily, and freezing and canning will be kicking into high gear! Kids start school Aug. 30th, so hopefully by then I'll have a bit more time on my hands.