Redo

This week Merrick got to have a redo of his FSY experience.  It's not that he didn't have a good time last year, he did, but he also came home with a heart condition that put a bit of a damper on the week.  When we found out that he could go again this year, even though it was not his year to attend, he decided he wanted to give the experience another try.  Luckily, he was able to find a kid in our church that was also anxious for a redo of his experience from last year, and he convinced him to go.

Merrick left Monday morning and I am happy to report that he had a heart condition free week.  He reported that, while he missed the experience of going with lots of people knew from our ward and stake, he still had a good time.  He has good experience with his roommate, Quin, and he found some kids that he enjoyed hanging with.

We were very busy while Merrick was gone, I just don't have any pictures to prove it.  The first three nights we had a party or gathering everyday. Monday, we had a potluck "happy hour" with our neighbors from our old house.  Tuesday, we had extended family dinner (Lundy Sunday Funday- Tuesday Edition).  Maude left on Thursday for her move to San Diego and Brendon came to town to help her, so we moved family dinner to catch everyone while they were here.  Wednesday, we had a ward BBQ.

Also this week we spent time at the pool, had three separate play dates, went back to school shopping, and I started painting our baseboards.  We certainly were busy.

Merrick will be home for less that 48hrs before he heads out on his next adventure.  He and Jeremy are leaving before dawn tomorrow for High Adventure in the San Juan Islands.  They will be incommunicado with little to no cell reception.  The girls and I will be having girl time and will be trying my best not worry about Jeremy and Merrick.  We'll see how that goes.

Visitors Part 2

This week we continued to party with Grandpa and Lollie.  On Monday, C.C. had horseback riding lessons.  We then went to the park and did the story walk that Elsie has been begging for all summer.  We rounded out the day with the church Primary Family Home Evening.  We went to the temple for a video and scavenger hunt and then to the park for pizza and popsicles.

On Tuesday, we went to the beach at Fort Stevens, near Astoria.  This has become a favorite beach and the kids, once again, enjoyed jumping off the sand dunes.  The water was really cold, but that didn't stop any of them from going in.  Elsie, in particular, had to practically be dragged out when it was time to go.  We finished the day with a trip to the battery at Fort Stevens and then to Astoria.

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Wednesday and Thursday were both a little more low key.  We were all nursing sun burns, and tired from our day at the beach.  We did some baking, shopping, crafting, shopping for crafts, and hanging out.  Grandpa and Lollie also took the kids to the movies while Jeremy and I both worked for a little bit.

Thursday evening Grandpa and Lollie went home.  We were all sad that the party had to end and it was back to real life, Oregon summer real life though which meant we still spent Saturday afternoon at the river.  If I've said it once, I've said it a million times, Oregon summers are magical.

Visitors

 This week started like any other, with summer school, errands, and trips to the swimming pool.  Mid week, our visitors, Grandpa and Lollie, came for a visit and it has been a non-start party ever since (well a non-stop party for some of us, Jeremy has unfortunately still had to work).

Thursday and Friday, C.C. decided to still go to summer school.  That allowed us to have a slower start and then plan something fun for the afternoon.  Thursday we went mini golfing and to 7-11 for "Free Slurpee Day".

Friday, we were trying to stay out of the sun because Merrick had a baseball game that night.  We decided to stay cool at Dave and Busters.  Elsie was thrilled that she had Grandpa there to ride all the motorcycles rides with her and the girls did a new VR game.

Friday evening we went to Merrick's baseball game, the first game of the state tournament.  The game definitely did not go the way we wanted, but we were glad that Grandpa and Lollie got a chance see him play while they were here.

Yesterday, Saturday, was a very busy day.  This weekend was the Old Time Fair.  We started the day with the parade.  The girls, quite literally, got more candy than they could carry.  We then went down to the fair and walked around and Grandpa looked at the cars in the classic car show.  Elsie was very disappointed that we didn't have time to ride the rides, but we had yet another baseball game to attend.

Saturday afternoon was, as usual, spent at a sporting event. Again, the second (and final) game of the state tournament didn't go as we hoped, but it was a great game.  Merrick made some amazing plays at first base.  He routinely makes a not very good team seem decent with all the saves and digs he pulls out.  Obviously, I am not the only one sees it.  After the the game, the Varsity coach for the high school associated with the team we played, stopped to talk to Merrick and told him that he is welcome to come play for him at anytime.

After the game, we went down to the river to cool off and paddleboard.  We tried to convince Grandpa and Lollie to paddle, but they were content to just watch.

It's been a busy few days with more to come. We have several more days of fun ahead and I can't wait.

Fourth of July 2024

Summer is in full swing over at the Clifford's and we are certainly keeping busy.  This week, C.C. continued her summer school fitness class and she had her first horseback riding lesson.  While all future lessons will include riding time, this lesson was a "ground lesson".  She did some grooming and learned how to lead and control the horse with touch and commands.  She is very excited for the next lesson and getting to start riding.

I also started remodeling our master bath this week.  It all started when our disgusting 70's light fixture burnt out.  Rather than spending money on specialty bulbs for a hideous light fixture, we decided to buy a new one.  That started the ball rolling.  I decided to strip and re-stain the vanity.  That has been an endeavor, but it's almost done.  They next steps will be new countertops and a trough sink, but that's on hold for just a bit until I figure what I want to do for the countertop.  I guess that what happens when you start demo before you really have a plan.  I'm just hoping to at least get that part of the bathroom done before I head back to work.  Here is a work in progress photo after I spent hours sanding the face of the vanity.

This week was also the Fourth of July.  We started the day at the river.  We took the paddleboards down and figured we would stay for a few hours and leave before it got too busy.  Well, I guess we were having too much fun because we ended up staying for 5.5 hours and had to pry the girls away at that.

Once we got cleaned up, my parents came over for dinner.  We grilled steaks and made s'mores and had a special 4th of July dessert.  The kids were also excited to do little "pop-it" firecrackers with my parents.

After dinner, my parents decided they weren't up to fireworks and headed home, but we went back down to the river.  We moved locations a few times to get the best view of all the different fireworks, but sat along the shore and down on the dock.  I can't believe how many amazing fireworks we were able to see from all the people lighting off along the river.  It felt like the perfect hometown Fourth of July.