My superheros

Nothing quite like putting on a cape and becoming a fearless warrior! Maybe I should get a cape?

VBS #2

Yep, we went to a second VBS. The boys were looking forward to this one all year long since they went last year with their 3 buddies. The week was compressed into 2.5 days. The boys loved learning new songs and making some new friends. I've been getting my aerobics in every morning as Nate and I sing (and dance) to the theme song which requires a lot of jumping around. Each day was very full day 9am-4pm. On Friday Nate fell asleep in the car on the way home and didn't wake up till 7:30am the next day. They finished on Saturday with a final session, BBQ and helping pack school kits for other kids who might need them. It was a buys weekend and took a few days to recover from all the excitement.

Company Picnic

I guess one of the perks of being retired is getting to go to the union picnic. We went with Dad and had a blast at Oaks Park. After eating at the BBQ Dad and Ken took the boys to the rides. They had fun. Logan was not so sure on the boat one which simulated choppy waves. I think the Motorcycle one is always a favorite. The boys both went on the roller coaster and neither of them cried!

My little helper

Some woman is going to thank me someday.

Safari time

We took a road trip south again to check out the safari. This time we brought Oma and Papa Jim with us. We stayed at a hotel in Eugene on Friday night and then headed to the safari on Saturday. Friday night the boys rode their bikes around at a park and found a fountain to drive through. It was great fun! We also went swimming at the pool (mostly in the hot tub) and the boys opted for spending the night with their grandparents. What a deal!!! The safari itself was fun. Since it was the elephants birthday we were able to celebrate by eating cake with him. Thankfully they had a sheet cake for the people instead of the watermelon/baguette cake George was eating. After getting Nate's face painted we visited the camel and the petting zoo. We also took an excursion out to the giraffe to feed him. By the afternoon we finally had a chance to drive through the park and most of the animals were sleeping in the shade. But we did get to watch as another group fed the bears. Another fun trip!

July 4th

We always like to hit the parade to begin the holiday. This year we walked along the parade route all the way to the beginning. It was quite a hike but well worth it. We connected with our friends and then got our face painting done and balloon swords. The parade began shortly and the candy began to fly! The boys were so excited. I love how Nate was so focused on collecting the candy. Logan tuckered out after a while and enjoyed snuggling with Uncle Stevie. After the parade with had a BBQ with friends and then on to another friends house for a firework display. This is really the first year the boys have watched fireworks go off.... and they loved it! One of the dads asked who wants to see fireworks and every one of them threw their hands in the air! Nate and his buddy Benjamin had a good time.

Papa's Birthday

We love him so much!!!!

Home Ownership Joys

Our days (and money) have been spent on house projects this year. We finally began addressing our 800 gallons a day water leaking out our sprinkler system at the new house. It was supposedly an easy fix. But with the Miles family any project seems to mushroom pretty quickly. Many hours of digging and trouble shooting and 20 feet of new pvc pipe we have decided to 'bypass' wherever the leak is and get the system up and running. We've enjoyed some helping hands too of course! Simultaneously we are undergoing some upgrades to our old house including a new roof and re-siding the house. The situation has been a bit delicate between the contractor and our renters who are night owls and would rather the work be done after 10am. The contractor has done his best to accomodate their requests but the project took twice as long since there were such strict time constraints. Additionally they have found dry-rot that needed to be repaired. So it's not good for any of the parties involved. For now we have decided to postpone the siding part of the project so everyone can cool off. Oh the joy of home ownership!

Seattle Fun

We took another road trip to Seattle to watch our cousin play soccer (unfortunately I didn't get any pics of Laurel). After the game we played in the pool, went to the park, and went to the Aquarium. It was a fun filled weekend.