August was packed full of fun things. Looking back at these pictures, I'm surprised we fit them all in! I went to girls camp at the beginning of the month. Mom and Dad came to help with the boys and on Saturday we all went rafting. Then as a family we camped at Illinois River, one of my favorite places. We also went with the Jacksonville ward to Lake of the Woods and played for the day in the lake.
August was beautiful this year. No smoke, and it even rained! If only every year was like this. We also enjoyed endless tomatoes!
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| Running in the morning at girls camp |
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| In the bus on the way to rafting. |
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| How the yard evolves. We eventually have removed this pile of debris from a giant bush in the center. And mom and dad helped us cut down a pyrocanthus. So happy it's gone. |
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| picking blackberries |
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| Smokey being cute |
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| my gourds! They are so fun to grow |
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| pumpkins from the garden. I lost count how many little ones I got. A lot. |
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| Rain! |
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| Someone asked me to take a picture of the fireplace. I put it up anyway because it is not always this clean |
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| no more pile! |
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| we got a bunch of railroad ties someone was giving away. Stay tuned to see how we used them |
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| found this pretty on clearance. It goes in the garage for winter though :( |
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| we got a few cantelopes. They were delicious! |
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| bathroom progress. We found this vanity that someone had returned from more than half off! Nothing was wrong with it. |
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| All August. Tomatoes on my counter |
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| blowing cattail seeds |
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| it made a mess |
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| how we watched Jamir during Stake conference. We stayed in the nursery. It was the evening one and the boys were much too tired to be there. |
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| scraped and repainted the hallway ceiling |
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| My pumpkin wreath. I had so many pumpkins |
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| I made this little path with gravel...but plans changed and it was for nothing |
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| I loved my tall sunflowers |
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| oh the mess |
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| camping at Illinois River |
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| the boys loved it |
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| we had the whole site to ourselves. and this beautiful creek next to it |
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| Danny insisted on wearing his goggles |
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| we got to the best swimming hole with no one around. We had it to ourselves for 2 hours before we decided to leave and families started to come |
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| Ben doesn't care for the water much. He prefers to sit in the sun |
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| But Danny LOVES the water |
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| We stopped at a pizza place on the way home |
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| One last walk to the splash pad before they turn it off for the summer |
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| And my beautiful watermelon ready to eat |
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| There is something so satisfying about growing your own food. I love it |
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| the watermelon was wonderful. And the lime wasn't ready :) Our lime tree had at least 30 limes this year! |
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| Ben pretedning to fish |
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| watching the BYU game downstairs with the projector |
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| The little baby raspberry plant even produced a couple for us this year too |
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| Lake of the Woods. Last hurrah before summer ends. |
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| Ben and his friends, Eliza and Joseph. He stayed with them all day. |
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| Lake of the Woods is owned by the church and has a cabin full of kayaks and canoes to use (plus cabins and a kitchen). Family reunion idea? |
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| It was a fun day to take off from working |