Company and Other Developments :)

We have had a marvelous month with lots of special developments, birthday celebrations, and COMPANY!!! We love to visit with friends and family and having them in our home is always a delight.

Following my Dad's departure July 5 - we went back to work on the house, hitting it hard. Tim sealed all the wood in the great room and started flooring in earnest.

We celebrated Tim's 44th birthday on the 11th simply (he doesn't enjoy big parties) with a nice dinner and some time relaxing as a family.

We had our ConfiDance July 12 which is ALWAYS a blast!!! We have learned several new dances and the participants are getting so good at the ones we already have learned we are going to have to step it up, learning more and more new dances every month. We were able to dance about 14 dances this last month --- HUGE improvement in our skills since we started in February. We thought accomplishing 8 dances in an evening was remarkable!!!! We are starting to plan our Winter Regalia which will be loads of fun. It will be even more exciting to see everyone dancing in Regency attire :)

Thresa and her husband came to see us the 13th and 14th. It was really wonderful to see her. The older kids and I had seen her the weekend before we moved to Montana and Tim since his graduation. Too long....

It was really delightful to see her and to meet her husband Steve. She looks as beautiful as the day I met her and I enjoyed getting to catch up a little. Thresa is a very gifted conversationalist - it was wonderful to visit with her about numerous topics. Her husband was FABULOUS!!! SUPER nice to my kidlets - they are excited about getting to know their Uncle Steve better. Rebekah and Judah drug Thresa and Steve everywhere, showing them all the things they marvel at from the baby goats to the baby chicks, to the flower garden and the bees. Steve and Thresa treated us to a dinner-out which was extremely nice and even had the waitresses sing to Gabrielle for her 13th birthday.

Did I just say that?!?!?! We have TWO teenagers - AAAGH! Time has flown.

This last week Timmer went back to working on the house and I am scurrying about trying to keep things relatively on course in the house and in the new house. The great room looks SOOOO beautiful!!! Tim finished up the hallway this weekend and is getting started on Gabrielle's room. Gabrielle and I are hoping to move most of our belongs while Tim, Elijah and Josiah are at Summer Camp with the boy scouts. They are headed to Melita Island on Flathead Lake the 28th.

Elijah and Josiah spent the weekend at Bannack for the annual Bannack Days (a western ghost town brought to life with reenactments, etc.) They sold snow cones for the Boy Scouts and just had a lot of fun. We decided we needed a break on Saturday and quit work to zoom up to the lake. It was Bekah's first time at the lake (she even went out on the tube) and it was a great time for all of us. Sunday we drove out to Park Lake (what a great place to camp) and spent the day with another family who we greatly enjoy and respect.

Overall a really restful and refreshing weekend!

Things are going to be pretty crazy the next ten days or two weeks as I look towards moving! Can I slip in a HURRAY!?!?!?!? I will try to keep you posted.