What Happened to JULY???

I am not even sure where to begin as to what happened in July or why it took me so long to get off my ass and post a blog.

For starters, Alaska as a whole is having one of the worst summers in history. We have experienced rain, rain, more rain and very gloomy overcasts days. Today is August 1st and we are on our second day of sunshine (in a row) in a month. What can I say it is pretty sad. Gloomy days make for gloomy faces and challenges in finding things to do to occupy a very active 4 year old. Thankfully we had the "occasional" break in weather, in which there would be a few hours with no rain or drizzle. So during those breaks we would make the most of them.

We had a wonderful July 4th, celebrating with friends and families. We put on a great potluck BBQ, followed by a very low key fire works show thanks to me. Fireworks are only legal for sale and use out in the "Valley". So I decided, since we were staying home for the 4th I would make the drive out there and get some for the kiddos. I spent over 3 hours at a slow crawl driving out to Willow, Alaska so Sara and some of her friends could have some fireworks. Though they were nothing spectacular the kids had a blast.

Sara's soccer season concluded this month on July 17th. Despite all the nasty weather, she had a good season. She loved running around and playing with some new friends.

My in-laws paid a visit to Anchorage for just a few days to pack up their motor home and head south to Seward. There they met their life-long friends, Russell & Valerie Dunn who traveled all the way here from Australia. Mom and Dad have known this couple for almost 50 years. I found that fact alone to be very rare and very special. After the four of them toured the Homer and Kenai Peninsula area; I finally got to meet them for the first time after hearing about them for years. It was a real pleasure to spend some time with them and get to know them better.

Since the Dunn's departure on the 28th, Mom and Dad have spent the rest of their time visiting with us and tying up any loose ends from when they sold their Anchorage home this summer and all the details that come along with it. They will be leaving tomorrow to go to their new home in Gilbert, Arizona..."where there are warmer temperatures and the sun is shining". We have enjoyed all the time we got to share with them and will miss them very much. Sara truly enjoys the time she gets to spend with her grandparents (as do we); and we will look forward to spending more time with them this coming Christmas. It will be nice to just get out of the winter cycle and hopefully get in some sunny days in Arizona.

During all this visiting, Sara attended her first Camp; through ADT (Alaska Dance Theatre). She absolutely loved it. Though she was not feeling 100%, due to catching a cold the first day; she was able to tough it out during the week and finish off by performing at her very first dance recital. All the kids worked very hard to perform their interpretation of the "Big Fish". Not only did she spend the week in camp dancing and working on their "show"; but also made some wonderful crafts and most of all some wonderful friends. Dancing is something that Sara seems to be passionate about; so if she still shows interest we will try to keep her going in classes this winter and spring.

That is pretty much all for now. We plan to do some more camping and fishing prior to my Dad making a visit on August 20th. So more photos are sure to be published...hopefully one of Sara's first Salmon. Keep your fingers crossed.

Instead of posting pictures in this post, I decided to attach my first video of Sara in her dance recital. Enjoy!!!