JULY 2026

Happy July! This is my absolute favorite month of the year. Is it because it's my birthday month? Maybe. Is it because I don't have to work any of the days in July? Doesn't hurt. Is it because it's super sunny pretty much every single day and I get to lay in the sun for hours and hours? ABSOLUTELY!

This July 1st was kicked off by hitting a couple of wineries with Amber. I had such a blast and it felt really good to toast my favorite season (pun intended).

Doesn't this girl look like she needs some time off?????

You know how you hear of new restaurants that you're meaning to try, but end up at the same places you've already eaten at before? With the beginning of summer now upon us, I told Teague that we should create a list of all the places we want to visit and commit to trying one each week. I'm calling it: Summer New Food Venue. 

First up: Javi's Breakfast and Lunch. We had this new breakfast/lunch spot open very close to us and Teague had been wanting to try it for awhile now. He looks so excited!

This year was the 250th Anniversary of America's independence. 

We celebrated with hotdogs, chicken nuggets, and lots and lots of snacks

I always appreciate that we dress on theme

Myles' very first July 4th!

After our family party, Presley and I went over to the Wag-strands to see how the Hiddenbrook neighborhood celebrates. They celebrate with a bouncy waterslide

 and an illegal firework show where Presley threw down some cherry bombs and enjoyed her very first sparklers

During Teague's vacation week, we crossed off an item on Dylan's Summer Bucket List: a roadtrip to Seaside and Astoria

Maddox opted out of our adventure

We had a fantastic lunch at a local brewery

We hit the local arcade where we enjoyed Teague and my favorite game: Fascination!

Presley attended a few open gyms to keep up her volleyball skills over the summer

Dylan hit the drive-thru at Sonic and made a last minute decision to try one of their famous shakes. 

Due to an unfortunate accident, the shake never made it past the parking spot in front of our sidewalk. With no rain in sight, we enjoyed this visual reminder for weeks.  RIP Sonic Shake

My birthday dessert at Milk Bar

Here is a beautiful birthday bouquet from my girl. I was spoiled by everyone today: a pink reading cushion & giftcards by Teague; Dutch Rebel & candy from Dylan and Nothin' Bundt Cake and energy drink from Maddox. Love my family!

S'mores cake....it was so good!

Presley invited Tyson to join her at Crossroads Students (Youth Group) for a whiffle ball tournament. He did amazing!

Sisters in Christ

I enjoyed some nachos from another Summer New Food Venue: the Vancouver Food Pod (I can't remember the specific truck name)

Here was a cute Facebook post from the past I snagged from Dylan's 2nd grade teacher

Presley was invited on a camping trip with Tyson's family at the beach. She had such a fun time

Mid-month I drove over to Bend for a girl's weekend. We hit the Melissa Ethridge/Wynona Judd concert

did some paddleboarding

Mt Bachelor

ate ridiculously amazing food

honored one of the hosts with a custom swimsuit

played lots of games

swam in the pool

and enjoyed Balloons Over Bend. 

I was so grateful to my hosts for including me in LezBend Weekend (Teague's nickname, which they absolutely LOVE) for a fabulous time!  

 

I had to leave for home @ 6:15am on Sunday morning for 2 reasons:

1) the highway from Bend to Gresham was getting torched by wildfires and closing down to the public; and 

2) to drop Presley off at the church for High School Bible Camp! 

This is her absolute favorite event of the year

During the week, Maddox joined us for another Summer New Food Venue: Ranch Pizza. It was absolutely incredible; by far my fave venue so far

Can you believe I finally got a pic of him???

The day Presley arrived back from camp, the Daily Strands puzzle from the NY Times celebrated my fave Leo

I had a get-together with some of my work peeps where we enjoyed a Make Your Own Pasta Salad bar. So good!

Well, sadly, that's all I have to show for July. I have a mere 5 free days in August before heading back to work. 

Thanks for checking in and see you next month!