July 2020

Hello Fellow Quarantiners!  As has been the case for the last 3+ months, our world is still challenged with COVID-19 and all the ramifications that go along with it.  As of this date, there is no vaccine or cure.  Official proclamation from the state has decreed that students will be going to school online only which may be the safer call, but is not what anyone wanted to hear.  We Rakoz's have decided to make the most of our summer and got outdoors as there is little else to do.  Here's some pics of our July.

Here we are on a hike to Pool of the Winds.  We did quite a bit of hiking which got the kids out of the house and getting some exercise.

We did a small hike out at Lacamas Lake with the Denbos and celebrated with our first Menchi's trip of the summer.

I tasked the kids with some projects this month.  In this pic below, we are organizing the kitchen and each child had a specific area to purge.  They didn't complain about the task too much and I believe I achieved my goal to teach the kids that if they helped to organize certain areas, they couldn't claim not to remember how to put things back correctly.

The 4th of July gave us perfect weather.  I tasked the kids with activity games for the guests.  The pic below was Dylan's game, but I still don't know what the game was......?

I got to see my dear friend, Angie, who threw a fabulous party to celebrate her oldest son's graduation.  We don't see each other often, but I cherish every minute and authentic conversation I have with her.

One hot day found us at Lewisville Park with our summer adventure friends, the Suvas.  We first did a 2-mile hike, then hit the rapids with floaty toys.  I had the hardest time getting Dylan and Presley out of the water!

Don't let this smile fool you....this girl was sobbing with fright by the end of our float! 

My friend, Michelle, and I got an amazing opportunity to enjoy an afternoon post-cancer-survivor retreat on the Columbia!  Deb Hart runs a non-profit that brings survivors out on the river to enjoy her boat and water accessories.  We went on my birthday, which was not only 80+ degress, but I was able to check off a bucket list item-paddleboarding.  I had an amazing time.

We even got a wonderful gift bag at the end.

My sweet friend treated me to a bday drink to end a fabulous day.

Vacation Bible School looked a lot different this year, but I was very proud of Presley for attending her daily Zoom meetings and completing her crafts.

Angie and I took a hike through the Wildwood Trails in Portland.  This girl is so much fun every time I'm with her!

Another task I gave the kids was to sell the family tent on Craigslist.  If they assembled, cleaned, and posted the ad, they could set the price and split the money.  The assembly was the most entertaining part by far!

Here's Maddox waiting for the pickup.  They sold it for $125-

Another super hot day found us out at Lewisville Park again testing out our new inner tubes.  They worked beautifully.

At this hike, we went to Moulton Falls outside of Battle Ground.  The weather was awesome.

I took Presley for a haircut (she thought it would just be a trim) where I was looking for about 4 inches to be cut off.  She courageously agreed to layers and absolutely loves her new teen-ish hairstyle!

That's it for July.  Enjoy this awesome weather and continue to stay safe out there.