July 2014~by Beth

July always begins with the Independence Day celebration.  Again the children rode in the bike parade at the Pine Island parade.  This year Stephen joined the troops riding his new (thrift store new) bike that he got for his birthday the week before.

Emma, Johanna, Abby and Stephen

After the parade we had two families over for games and a cook out.  After they left the children decorated the driveway with chalk art while waiting for it to get dark so the boys could set off fireworks.  In our area we don't drive any where for the big stuff.  We can see huge fireworks exploding in the sky around us in at least 5 or 6 different directions.

right side of the driveway

left side of the driveway

  In the evening our a.c. for the back side of the house went out.  Jon watched a bunch of youtube videos and figured that the capacitor had gone bad.  We replaced it on Monday and sure enough, the air worked again.

After the 4th, the children completed their summer golf program with a party.  Here are a few of our players.  David, Christiana, Charity, Emma, Johanna and Abby participated.

Christiana, Emma and Abby

This month could be summarized by the word: PROJECTS.  We fixed several car issues, including Jon fixing the a.c. on the Rodeo with junk yard parts.  With that work being done the driveway got pretty dirty so the girls are using the pressure washer today to clean up, now that the car work is done.  We also did a ton of painting.  It started with some water spots on the ceiling in the entry way that came from driving rain the previous summer and got under the ridge pole.  But, trying to paint the entry demanded that we also cover the living room and kitchen as they are one ceiling.  As long as we were at it we did the kitchen walls as well.  That was a major project with all the prep work, but we had all the children helping, and it looks so clean and nice.  Next we tackled the boys' bedroom.  I have never liked the dark blue in there, and we chose a lighter gray to change to.  Of course, painting in there made "clean up the room" necessary.  We washed down the beds, turned mattresses, washed all the bedding, cleaned up the computer area, closet and shelves.  It looks so nice now.  We also did the baseboards and trim with the eggshell color we use on the trim in the rest of the house.  That same week we also painted the window seat, and the trim below it, and the boy's bathroom.  They never liked the yellow in there, and we got a gallon of mistint paint from Sherwin Williams for $2 in a nice, light blue.  Jon and I did that whole job ourselves.  The next day was cow appreciation day at Chickfila, and we all dressed up for the event.  Here we are.

Before

 

 

The next week the girls all got their hair cut by a friend of ours.  The older three wanted longer hair so even though they got a lot cut off, it does not looks like it in the picture.  But Johanna donated her hair and we cut off over 12 inches of her hair once it was all trimmed up.  She looks so cute.

After