Summer Days

This summer is flying by. I have things that I was hoping to accomplish this summer, but they never seem to get done. The days go by in a blur, but I do try and make sure we get something fun in for the kids on most days. Here is some of this week's fun. We went to the arcade, CC went out with some friends, we went to a party in the park put on by our friend's company, and kept cool in the sprinklers, pool and river. Not pictured here are the dozens of hours spent at the baseball field this week. Today is the last day of the state tournament though, so soon baseball season will be behind us.

We continue to battle with Carrigan not feeling well multiple days of the week, so we try and make the most of the days she does feel good. We have a functional lung test this week and are hoping for answers or at least a path forward.

Market and More

 It has been a crazy week! On Monday, I was going about my normal business, when I found out about an opportunity to go to pick cherries on Tuesday. It had to be Tuesday, because they were likely cutting down all the trees on Wednesday to make room for more pears. Also, the orchard was an hour and a half away in Hood River. I quickly rearranged my schedule and made plans to go out the next day.

On Tuesday morning, Elsie and I headed out with a guy from our church to go pick. It was a long day of driving and picking in the sun. We ended up with probably close to 100lbs of the most beautiful cherries. We also got to experience some amazing views along the way.  We got home on Tuesday afternoon. I was exhausted and unsure what to do next in dealing with all the cherries. I had a baseball game to go to and then I found out that Carrigan got approved to have a booth at the farmer's market in town then next day.

To say that the next 36 hours was a whirlwind would be an understatement. We had 2 baseball games, one over an hour away from our house. I was running all over town to collect things CC still needed to get ready for the market. We had to be at the market super early to get set up and make sure we had everything we need since it was her first one. We rolled right from that into the market itself.

The market was an overall success. We had several people we know come by and support her. She also got really positive feedback from those who came by. She ended up making $205, although she poured most of that into supplies for this week's market.

Crunch time didn't end with the market. When I got home, the pitter I had ordered had finally come so once the girls went to bed, Jeremy and I spent an hour and a half processing cherries. We were a well oiled machine and pitted and prepped for freezing what would end up being just under 8 gallon sized bags worth of cherries.

With the market and the cherries behind us, I could finally finish preparing for my Stake Primary Activity on Saturday. We had a primary "Pioneer Trek to the Temple". We started at the stake center and played pioneer games, made butter, and made candles. We then walked to the Temple and participated in challenges and obstacles along the way.

While I was at my activity, Jeremy took the girls to the West Linn Old Time parade. CC was not feeling well, but was a good sport to be out there so that Elsie was not too shy to go out and grab candy.

I try to tell myself that someday life will slow down and I will miss these times, but right now, I just want to take a nap.

4th of July 2025

Summer rolls on and this week we were able to celebrate the 4th of July. This year all festivities, and most of the week for that matter, revolved around baseball. In addition to 4th of July, this week was also the WL Big Bang Baseball Tournament. This meant that we not only had a game everyday, but we also had to volunteer to do admissions, snack shack, and the scoreboard. On top of that, Merrick started practicing with his new basketball club team. We don't seem to have any shortage of things to keep us busy this summer.

As for the 4th, we continued most of the traditions we have developed over the last couple years. We started the day at the river paddleboarding. We like to get there pretty early so we can get parking and can be wrapping up by the time its getting really crowded. The river didn't disappoint this year. It was an overcast day and on the cooler side, but the water was warm enough and it didn't feel cold out on the water.

When we all had our fill at the river, we headed home for a late lunch and to get ready for some baseball. I'm not sure spending hours at a baseball game is really how I wanted to spend my holiday, but there is something very American about it. In any case, that's where we were. Unfortunately, we did not pull out the win.

After the game, we grabbed some pizza for dinner and headed out to watch fireworks. Merrick went out with Colvin. They rode scooters and chased fireworks around Pete's Mountain. As for the rest of us, like last year, we went down to the Cedaroak boat ramp and went down onto the dock to watch the fireworks. There were many houses along the river putting on displays. We would just turn ourselves in whichever direction fireworks were going off at the moment. Eventually, the girls got too tired, and even though the fireworks were still going strong, we headed home.

It was a fun-filled 4th, not one soon to be forgotten.