Captain's Log, Stardate 74024.7

(6/25) Sarah and I went for a walk this morning, and then I settled in to work. Dad had the day off so slept in a little bit, and then hung out with the boys for the day. I worked out in the yard this evening. I got the front all weeded and mowed. That'll last another week or so at this rate. I also broke down and bought some petunias for my planters. The seeds I planted back in March are definitely not petunias, and are not great for hanging planters. They're some kind of toadflax?  I think?  

(6/26) TGIF!! It has been a looooooong week. Sarah and I walked this morning, and then I headed inside to work. The juncos have left the nest so I finally got our kiwi planted and opened that side of the kennel back up to the dogs. The kiwi has doubled in size being in a temporary pot this last month, and was trying to reach under the picnic table to find something to which to attach. 

(6/27) Dad and C went on a Gambler run and went out to Ellensburg and were supposed to come back through Chelan, but they almost got stuck on one of the trails, so decided to turn back. The twins and I stayed home, and didn't do a whole lot. It was misty-rainy today, which put a damper on outside activities. So darn, I was forced to stay inside with my book. I was crushed, I tell you! 

(6/28) Dad worked today, and the boys and I had a lazy day. I read my book and lounged around for a while, then took it out to the treadmill. I definitely didn't need the steps because Sarah and I joined a protest this afternoon put on by a 3rd grader and her family. We marched from Lions Park to Lowell Elementary and back. I believe the count was 107 people. It was bright and sunny out, and I have funny sunburn lines from my mask and sunglasses. 

(6/29) Work day for Dad and me, and the boys were home and played the day away. J really, really wants a flute to play, so he can earn tips by playing beautiful music down at the park (possibly up in a tree?). I ordered a more traditional flute, but it was NOT what he wanted, and he refused to even try. So we ordered a recorder. We can't wait to be entertained.🙄

(6/30) Woo, Meeting Tuesday! I had a bunch of meetings on my calendar today, but thankfully two of them were cancelled. I went for a walk with Sarah and then was pretty much in front of my computer for the rest of the day. Yay for work. 

(7/1) I'm normally off Wednesdays, but got word that something broke with some newly released enhancements at work. I was on the computer taking care of that for a good portion of the day. Luckily we're not going anywhere and it was rainy-yucky out.

(7/2) Dad and I are on vacation starting now. I cleaned the house this morning, and Dad went up to work on cars at Rob's house for a bit, until it was time to hit the road. We have an Airbnb for the weekend called the Shepherd's Retreat. It's up in Darrington on a working sheep farm. The boys are excited about the farm part, but not so much the no fireworks part. Sorry guys, it's a different sort of Fourth this year.

(7/3) The boys were up bright and squirrelly this morning (6am). We packed everybody up and attempted to go on a hike. The trail we were looking for lost its sign, so we just ended up doing a shortie at the North Fork Sauk Falls. It started raining so we came home for lunch. The boys spent the afternoon arguing over who loves the barn cats more. The twins almost started crying this evening thinking about coming home and having to leave them behind.

(7/4) Happy Fourth! We spent a relaxing day at the farm. It was rainy this morning, so we all curled up with our devices after having cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We loafed around and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine. We couldn't see any fireworks tonight, much to the boys' dismay, but did see a gorgeous sunset. 

(7/5) We came home today. The boys were so sad to leave all the barn kitties. They keep calling Jimmy a rip-off.  LOL!  We bummed around home today for the most part, and then Dad and I ran some errands. I *had* to stop for some gravel which meant checking out the plants since I was in the garden center.  Dad grilled tonight, and we ate outside. It was very pleasant--summer can finally start now that's it's 7/5! 

(7/6) Work day for Dad and me, and the boys video-gamed the day away. For the past few days, J has been making blue prints for his solar and wind-powered house, complete with a bird feeder and some wooden flowers for me. I'm the meanest mom ever though--I told him he isn't able to construct this massive house and have a wind turbine in the back yard. He plans to not spend any money, and wants to move out as soon as he's 18. He was asking for additional jobs that he could do, and even tried to clean the bathroom again so that he could get paid again. This evening Dad got a call that Rob was stuck up on Mt Pilchuck, so he and Josh hit the road to tow him out. It was definitely not a relaxing evening at home as we had planned. 

(7/7) Work day for Dad and me today. They said on the news tonight that this is the coldest July since 2002, which jives with what we've observed. We kind of hunkered down for the morning, and then the sun came out for the afternoon. I guess it makes staying home easier?  

(7/8) Oh my goodness, we have a teenager!  Happy birthday to C!  Being a weird year, we couldn't have a party, but I did score a Polar Pizza (cookie crust, cookie dough ice cream with cookie dough crumbles on top) from B&R for dessert, and we had wings from B-Dubs for dinner. C's computer has been on the fritz for a week now, and everything they've tried to fix it hasn't worked, so he was resigned to the Xbox for the day. So a day of ups and downs.  

(7/9) Today was a work day for me, and Dad was off. Dad tried one more Hail Mary to get C's computer back up and running, and it didn't work. It's so weird -- all the components work on their own, just not together. Anyway, he went and purchased C a computer with the exact specs on C's dream list. C had also purchased a mic and fancy headphones with his birthday money. He is one ecstatic kiddo! We let all the kiddos play into the evening to make up for a bust of C's actual b-day.   

(7/10) Work day for me. Last day before vacation! It was therefore 72x longer than your average Friday. But we eventually crossed the finish line. 

(7/11) I took a smorgasbord of Zumba classes this morning. I did like 20 minutes from each instructor and called it good, and then went down to enjoy my book and coffee. Dad went over to Rob's house to work on cars, and the boys and I were homebodies for the day.

(7/12) We had a pretty lazy day today. Dad made up some white chicken chili and D was ecstatic that we could finally make up some cornbread. Goofus! 

(7/13) Sarah and I went for a walk, and then I came home to help get us packed for camping. We have a site down by Mt Rainier. We started to pack and realized we have way too much crap, so ended up taking two cars down. The site was gorgeous with a creek running along back, and the White River just beyond that. We got a new mammoth tent and had fun assembling it. We got there in time to sit and relax before dinner, and of course had s'mores for dessert!

(7/14) Wow, that was a cold night. I don't think I got much sleep until the sun came out this morning. I managed to get a few hours, but the guys were up and having breakfast before I stumbled out. We decided to go rock hunting on the Little Naches, and then "hiked" around Tipsoo. It was too early for all the wildflowers, and there was still snow in patches. J thought that was fun in his flip flops! We all bundled up a bit more tonight in hopes that we'd be a little warmer.

(7/15) It was at least 10° warmer last night, but J was up with the birds at 5a. He did settle back in so we could sleep a little longer. As is tradition with us, we were up, had camp broken down, and were home before noon. We unpacked, showered off the dirt, and had a pretty quiet afternoon. Dad picked up sushi for dinner. Yum!

(7/16) Sarah and I went for a walk this morning. It was humid and gross today, and when I got home, D pulled the silverware drawer allll the way out and spilled the contents on the floor. Once I had picked that up, and got a load of dishes going I took my monster headache upstairs for a bit. Dad went up to Rob's to work on cars, so it was just me and the boys hanging out today. Dad and C made shrimp fried rice and gyozas for dinner tonight, and we all loved it!

(7/17) Poor D complained of a stomach ache last night at bedtime, and I figured it was just due to eating too many gyozas. I found him curled in front of our door this morning. He didn't want to wake us, but had gotten sick in the night. Poor bubs. He felt better as the day went on, thankfully. 

(7/18) It was toasty today--I went for a walk around the lake and returned in time for Zumba. After that I listened to a book while perusing the interwebs. Rob and Mel came over this afternoon to look at a couple of cabinets that we're planning to offload as a part of a garage re-do. With the gym closing nearby, it makes sense to augment what we have. Anyway, they came bearing a gift of a huge bag of blueberries, so we had breakfast for dinner tonight. 

(7/19) Dad went back to work today. Vacation is never long enough! I slept in a little, and then took my book and coffee out to the treadmill for some QT. I got the lawn mowed and edged. It got hot out this afternoon, and Dad brought home grilling stuffs. We ate outside, and enjoyed the shade. I go back to work tomorrow (from home)--I'm not ready! 

(7/20) Back to the grind for me. Sarah and I met for our early morning walk, and then I settled in to work. The boys and I spent most of the day trying not to melt. It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow, thank goodness!

(7/21) Sarah and I went for a walk this morning, and then I came home to work. I had lots of meetings today, but it makes the day pass. I took the twins down to the lake this afternoon, and was irritated to see how closely packed everyone was. I told the boys we could stay as long as they could stay away from everyone, and they did a great job. I picked up Slurpees as an afternoon treat.

(7/22) It was drizzly this morning, which made for a pleasant walk. I was off today, and after my walk I came home, made breakfast, and then curled up with a book. Dad had to work today, and the rest of us stayed home.

(7/23) Today is a work day for me, and I kicked it off with a walk with Sarah. Dad is off, and the boys have another day of video gaming ahead of them. And with that, I better get to it.