Last half of July

We had some friends stay with us for a sleepover. They were given full family privileges, including weeding the garden.

Fortunately swimming is the reward when you have finished.

The slide was enjoyed again.

They also helped Matthew stock up supplies at the chicken coop.

Being too noisy, we had to spend time outside so that Philip could still get his work done. There was a lot of talk about tornadoes, since we were given an alert. We didn't have any come nearby. Fortunately.

Melanie gave out sewing lessons.

July is garden month.

We kept on top of things in the garden for July, at least.

For something different to do, we would go biking to a walking trail, bike along the trail, pick up some free water somewhere near, and then bike home and go for a swim.

One day we had a family of skunks run through the yard. We stayed well away, and hoped they'd settle down somewhere not in our neighbourhood.

Hotter weather means time for lots of pool maintenance. Scrubbing the pool is a weekly chore, as a minimum. And vacuuming it. And shocking it. Repeat. Repeat.

Going back up the trail to the "potato garden". It is very steep.

We collected potato bugs. This is my first time seeing them. Kinda gross looking. The chickens enjoyed them though.

Down there in the weeds is our potato garden. And somewhere in all the weeds is also a black construction fence...it was a lot easier to see it when they put it up in the spring!

Every now and then we play with old toys that seem all new again. Nothing like playing under the table!

Such fun times (until Mom gets annoyed and wants the floors all tidied up).

Oh the corn is looking good. The raccoons are keeping an eye on it too. Apparently.

Grubby little monkey washing up in the kitchen--that's a common sight here.

Matthew looked up a great item for me when I was complaining. An outdoor oven, so I could bake lasagna outside in the summer on propane without making the house all hot(ter) and stuffy(er).

Melanie got a painting session going with her siblings. We got all sorts of wooden craft items and paint for free from people who were moving, so the kids could do as much as they like.

Daniel liked the Russian doll idea.

Evelyn decorated a small container to put small things in (maybe hair ties and clips...which maybe she should use, instead of just store in her room :p ).

Jennifer decorated some candle holders.

She was done before I came by with my camera. So there she is, the painter herself.

Melanie bought some fabric that she hopes to turn into a quilt for our neighbour who has been giving her some riding lessons (free!) in hopes to have Melanie experienced enough with horses to have her take more responsibility when she is away on holidays. The challenge will be to buy fabrics that match with the piece...so far no luck.

And the current quilt that Melanie is making.

Philip started working on blocking up the rolling doors into his workshop. We had a couple who asked if they could move in to our "basement apartment" after they got married. So we decided to make that doorway a little more sealed off. Then Philip can use his noisy tools and smelly paints and oils without feeling guilty every time.

We had another sleepover. This time the kids all went biking with me. On our usual route to the trail and back.

The swimming was amazing after all that hard work!

Finishing up their painting projects.

Matthew, still busy with Air Cadets online, is trying to design an airplane that will fly.

He doesn't have the right equipment, and then not enough time either because he is all of a sudden allowed to sign up for a week on in person training which FOR SURE we'd like to do!! Yay!

Because we only have two sewing machines and one surger, we eagerly snatched up a free sewing machine from a friend that was moving. Matthew got it running after a bit of tinkering.

I actually got around to painting Daniel and Evelyn's room. We'd picked out a blue one shade lighter than they had chosen.

And it looks a lot darker than we'd expected it to, so we are glad that we didn't take the darker shade!

When Nathan is not working (which he is doing a lot of this summer!) he is tinkering on his dirt bike in the garage. He decided it was time to make a workbench instead of being on the floor all of the time.

He can lay out all the parts on the table and keep them from getting all dusty and dirty.

He plans to hang a lot of tools on the wall between the windows, it's a work in progress at this point. It's nice to have things get a bit more organized!