Summer

is here in full swing. Hubby has been home for the second week now, cleaning and organizing the basement and building bike racks to hold our growing collection of bikes. It is nice to have him around.

The kids are enjoying neighborhood friends. I love having the kids play together all day, bouncing back and forth between homes. Fun summer nights culminating in a Ya Hala meal shared between two families and kids occupied enough to allow the adults a soak in the hottub. (Yes, all were properly attired.)

I had maybe the best birthday ever. My dear sister and her whole family were in town for an unexpected visit and were able to be here to celebrate my birthday with me. She and I got up early on Saturday for a walk up Mt. Tabor, then a trip to Portland Farmer's Market. The lovely birthday ended with a barbeque here with many members of my family and good friends. Good food, loved ones and chocolate cake- what more could a girl ask for?

I am now on a yeast-free, sugar-free diet. What fun is that, you ask? No fun at all. But I hope to curtail my sugar cravings and step into a healthier eating pattern. But, geez, it's summer and it is so hard to refrain from eating all the fruits of the season. A month, only a month.

I finished my 2 nieces shirts in time for them to try them on while they were here, so the hems would be proper length. The girls are going to look so cute together. Sister #4 (#6 sibling) will be getting married on July 22nd and we are just beginning all of the preparations. It will be so fun to have all of my brothers and sisters and many cousins together for the celebration.

I know my posting has been sporadic. Some of it is the dread of posting pix which for me takes a lot more time. Some if it is having serious musings which are difficult for me to put into words here on this blog. I am not sure how much posting I will be doing here, but will hopefully get into the routine of checking in. We'll see.

Happy Summer, everyone!