July

July was hot, hot, hot! We started out on the 1st with Anna shopping with Bella, and I had book club that evening. Anna added a new babysitting client, the daughter of one of the book club girls, and had a fun evening with her. Erin and I went to CPO on Wednesday, and Anna joined me there on Thursday. Friday, the 4th, we had a fun evening at a Salamanders game, then home for sparklers with the help of the blowtorch. 

Saturday the 5th, Anna and I met up with Aunt Leslie, Logan, Ansley, and Grandma at UNC for a walking tour and lunch, then they came back to our house after. We all went to visit Erin at work, Anna and Ansley went to the pool, and we had dinner before they headed back. It was a really fun day!

 

Bob headed to Sunnyvale on Monday the 7th for a manager meeting, and he got to stay at the infamous Google-owned hotel on campus. Anna had her 3-year checkup with her cardiologist, Dr. Robinson, that morning. They did an echo and verified that the device is still in the correct place and all is well. She is good to go for 3 more years! Finley was back to the vet on Tuesday for bloodwork, which the vet reported to be "great", but said that he needs to continue taking the liver meds for 3 more months. After that, the girls and I checked out the NC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, followed by introducing Erin to (newly-discovered by us on Saturday) Raising Canes for lunch, which she proclaimed to be in her top few favorite restaurants now. 

Anna drove me out to the country for a little driving practice that evening. Anna helped Bella's family move to their beautiful new house on Wednesday while Erin and I were back at CPO. Thursday, Erin and I returned to CPO while Anna recovered from the heavy lifting from the move. We tried to go to the lake on Saturday, but it was closed due to high water levels from runoff from Tropical Storm Chantal the week before.

Bob got back on Friday evening only to head back to the west coast, Seattle this time, on Monday. Finley had his long-awaited dental cleaning that day as well, and it went smoothly. 

Bella slept over on Wednesday, and I had a fun dinner with friends Diane and Michelle that evening as well. Anna and I volunteered at CPO on Thursday. We girls had a pre-beach nail appointment on Friday afternoon. Anna drove me to school on Saturday afternoon to scout out parking spots. Erin stayed busy with lots of work shifts this week, as well as all month long (when she was in town).

Monday morning, we all (including Finley) hit the road for our family beach week! We stopped at Buc-ee's in Florence, SC, and it was less intimidating than last time we went, perhaps because it was a Monday. We arrived in Hilton Head around 3:30pm, made a quick stop at Publix, and camped out near the house until it was ready just after 4pm. We all settled in, unpacked, and started our week of fun with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents! It was a wonderful week! We enjoyed the pool at the house, the beach, rented bikes, took a boat ride on Wednesday afternoon after a rainy morning, and had lots of other family fun! We were in a 6-bedroom house, including 2 kids' bedrooms on the third floor. It worked out great!

We returned on Friday, got unpacked, and had a pretty quiet weekend other than Erin working. We tried to go to the lake on Saturday, but they were not allowing swimming due to increased bacteria levels due to runoff from the storm a couple of weeks ago. It was too hot to go if we couldn't swim! I visited Erin at work on Sunday morning. 

Anna had her 15-year checkup on Monday, and all went well there. Erin was back to work (6 out of 8 days!) that evening. She continued her SAT prep class on Tuesday; she has 3 more sessions before she takes the test on August 23rd. I volunteered at CPO on Thursday, and that pretty much rounds out our month! The last week of the month was another heat wave; it was even too hot to go to the pool!

So, it was a busy and also not busy month, but overall was a good one! Anna has been practicing driving quite a bit and is doing very well. We are looking forward to school officially starting on August 19th, but they each have a "welcome day" the week before. Class schedules come out on the 5th, so they are eagerly awaiting that. Otherwise, we are hopeful for some cooler weather on the horizon!

July!

We had a month full of adventures in July, and it was wonderful!  The first few days of the month were spent doing final Europe trip prep, plus getting the piano tuned and Anna having Lyla over to swim on the 2nd.  We spent the 4th through the 13th on our fabulous European trip, where we got to tour Rome, Assisi, Florence, Zurich, Grindelwald, and Frankfurt, as well as experienced the magic of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Zurich!  The entire trip story can be found HERE, including a link to the photo album.  Finley did well with new-to-us neighborhood pet-sitter Camden. He didn't even need to use much of the special chicken and rice dog food that we had left!  

Upon returning, Bob had to turn right around and head to the Bay Area for work on the afternoon of the 14th.  He and Finley stayed home to do laundry and re-pack while we ladies spent a fun day in Concord for Elliott and Grandpa's birthdays!  Elliott had a fun family party, and the girls got to take a quick trip to their pool after the party before it started storming.  We had a fairly busy week after that from Monday to Friday, including Anna and I meeting up with old friends who had moved to Colorado but are now back in the area (the Frewerds), Erin attended her second of four teen group sessions for the summer, we hit the gym a few times, Erin did some driving, Erin helped with the final Gibbons Gateway freshman orientation day, Anna had her 14-year-old checkup, Erin volunteered at the library, and Anna slept over at Meredith's house.  Bob had an adventure trying to get back from California on Friday due to a nation-wide (or worldwide...?) technology glitch.  He ended up finding a flight on Southwest through Denver to Raleigh and got back only an hour or two later than originally scheduled.

Saturday morning, we all (including Finley) hit the road for our week in Hilton Head!  We met Grandma and Ansley there and had the most relaxing, fun, and overall fantastic week!  There was a bit of traffic getting there on Saturday, plus a stop at the overwhelming Buc-ee's in Florence, so our trip down was longer than expected, but that was not a problem.  We stayed at a beautiful, renovated 3-bedroom place in Shipyard, in the Tennismaster complex.  It was a bit further from the beach access compared to where we stayed last year, but was still a short bike ride and an easy walk.  Additionally, the place was bigger, nicer, and quieter, so we think this one gets the win between the two.  We have also stayed at Palmetto Dunes (further from the main center but also very nice), a hotel near the main center, and a third place in Shipyard that was nice but doesn't allow pets.  Finley took a day or so to get adjusted, but then was happy to be there and was able to be left alone so we could all venture out together.  

Highlights from the week include:  mass at Holy Family, many bike rides (including to mini golf, stores, ice cream/Coligny shopping, and Starbucks), mini golf at Pirate's Island, lunch at Salty Dog and shopping/touring at Sea Pines, Sea Shack takeout dinner, lots of trips to the beach and pool, and a super fun boat ride through our boat club membership where we got to swim and see dolphins!  It was such a fun time for all of us.

We got back on Saturday, and Erin and I went to see her friend Jeff's summer theater production of Our Town with the McGee ladies and had a great time!  Sunday was church and hitting the neighborhood pool on a beautiful, less-hot-and-humid day.  Bob went back to the west coast on Sunday evening for another week of work meetings.  The rest of this week should be fairly uneventful, with Anna sleeping over at Lyla's and Erin having her third teen group session tonight.  Erin will be at the library on Thursday, and Anna hopes to meet up with friend Bella on Friday or Saturday.  We are in the final weeks of summer, and, with the trips behind us, are now getting ready for the start of the school year.  Erin is excited and Anna is excited but also a bit nervous to be at a new school after 9 years at her previous school.  We are looking forward to a great school year and month ahead!

July! (Erin wrote)

 Erin typed the blog this month! Thanks, Erin! 

July was a packed month with so many fun trips, hard work, and some relaxation time as well! On the 1st, all of the Callaway's painted the bonus room a different color! We are chose to paint it from light green to light gray, and it looks stunning!! We got it completed in one day, which was awesome! 

On the 2nd, we did a morning speedboat with the McGee ladies from 9-1pm, which was a ton of fun! We swam for a while, then Anna and Josie went tubing on our old tube for a long time as well! Then, we had some additional McGee girl fun on July 4th! We went to our neighborhood pool while Bob cooked steak and chicken on the grill, and made additional sides. Olivia and Erin also practiced and performed 2 piano/flute duets: "Ophelia" and "Let Her Go", which were so beautiful! The Callaway girls headed out Wednesday afternoon to Mrs. Karen's condo at Indian Beach! There were two main parts in "The Ocean Club" (where Mrs. Karen's condo was) and we went to the pool for a while in the part that her condo was not in, as well as the beach, and we toured Beaufort for a little bit on Thursday! 

On Friday the 7th, Erin and Gina swam in the sound near our condo we stayed in, and ate lunch. After that, we left Indian Beach in the afternoon, and made it back around 4:30pm for dinner, Erin and Anna going to meet the Weir cats, and adjusting back to our normal routine. Saturday was a big day for Erin and her friends! They went to conquer an escape room in North Raleigh, had dinner at a local brewery in the area, and got froyo afterwards at Sweet Frog! 

Anna and Bob went to help his friend with a computer thing, then went to Mass at 5 while Gina and Erin were at the hangout! Erin and Gina then watched Olivia play the flute at the 11 o' clock Mass on Sunday. Erin had choreography camp at the dance school the following week, then Anna and Gina were off and having fun in California from July 12-16th!! You can read all about their amazing family time in Southern California here. 

While Anna and Gina were in California, Erin finished up her dance camp, Bob and Erin went to Mass at 5pm and did some church stuff, and made pork carnitas for when the Cali girls came back on Sunday evening! On the week of July 17th, Erin had drivers ed! It was Monday-Friday each day from 8:30-2:30 pm, for 6 hours each day to make the 30 hours needed for the classroom portion of driver's ed. There was a local driving school located in Holly Springs, so a proximate drive back and forth. She got to do it with Ella in our neighborhood, along with a few others that she knew there too! While Erin was learning so hard about how to drive, Anna had to babysit two younger boys in the neighborhood on Wednesday, and Anna and Gina helped at a new kindergarten event on the playground, as well as selling used uniforms. Anna finished out her week with Morgan coming over on Friday, then all of us went to a very hot, but fun Salamanders baseball game on Friday night! We had a morning boat reserved on Saturday morning for all of us to recharge and relax at the lake! 

The week of July 24th was a more relaxing week to end the month on a good note, including seeing all of the cousins in Concord on Thursday the 27th! It was a ton of fun, with some crafts, yummy taco lunch, and Five Crowns. We really had a great time seeing everybody! 

We mostly relaxed on Friday-Sunday, and Bob went to New York for work, not fun on the 31st, and ended the month with Erin having her last ballet class at HSSOD before transferring to Cardinal Gibbons for dance classes and other opportunities. Erin said that dance inside and outside of school was going to be too much for her, but had so many teachers throughout the years. Don't worry, she'll keep doing piano and fun clubs at school for her extracurriculars! 

     

July

Well, July was...productive!  We started out the month with the end of Erin's ballet intensive where they put on a performance for the families (they even did some of their own choreography in groups!).  It was also Anna's last day of her second volleyball camp, complete with a scrimmage for the parents to watch and a color run/cookout at the end of the day.  

The next day, we had a fun day at the pool and a cookout with the McGees.  Sunday, we went to what ended up being our only Salamanders baseball game this summer, but it wasn't unbearably hot and we had a lot of fun!  

Monday was July 4th, and we spent it swimming at the lake with the McGees and had a yummy dinner at their house followed by a few small fireworks at home.  

Tuesday, Erin and I tried yoga at the Y which was a lot of fun, and we took Sarah out on a deck boat that afternoon/evening.  

We also started working that week to clean out our downstairs in preparation for the hardwood floor refinishing project beginning on Monday the 11th.

Thursday the 7th, Grandma and Ansley came up for a fun visit, including Ansley and Anna (plus some friends) taking the Safe Sitter class at WakeMed on Friday!  Thursday afternoon was a shopping expedition followed by dinner out after Erin's ballet class.   While they were in class all day, the other 3 girls played some games at home and then did a fun tour of Raleigh - we visited the cathedral, Reynolds Coliseum, and the Hunt Library on Centennial Campus before picking up the babysitters and watching their graduation ceremony!  That was a lot of fun.  We had a taco dinner at home and then hit the pool that evening.  Saturday, we all packed up and headed to Greensboro for Elliott's birthday lunch at Jason's Deli!  That was a lot of fun too!  

Sunday was the final move-out of the downstairs (everything on hardwood had to be removed), and Monday morning, after a stressful stain color decision, we were off to Virginia!  We had rented a cabin at Leesville Lake near Smith Mountain Lake.  Due to arrival time and Bob's work schedule, we had to kill some time in Danville, so we had a leisurely Jersey Mike's lunch and then a stroll around the mall there.  We got to our cabin around 2:30pm and settled in, and I made a trip to the closest grocery store, which was 20 minutes away.  It was a very nice cabin, though it was quite rural, down a long gravel road!  It had 3 bedrooms, a nice patio/fire pit area, and a good bit of land.  We could walk down a trail to a creek and also down another set of steps to Leesville Lake.  The weather was good, though hot, all week, and Finley had a great time checking out the new area and being with us.  That evening, we had burgers and hot dogs on the grill.  Tuesday morning, the girls and I packed a lunch and headed over to Smith Mountain Lake State Park, about 45 minutes away (but not very far as the crow flies).  We enjoyed visiting the Visitors' Center, hiked a 1.5 mile trail to an island, and then had our lunch and swam at a very nice swimming area.  It was slightly less humid than where we live, so it felt great...and the water was a lot cooler than lakes are here!  The swimming area had a snack bar so we got some ice cream later in the afternoon, too.  That was a really fun day!  We got back, showered, and made homemade pizzas for dinner and had s'mores. 

Wednesday, we headed to the marina at Leesville Lake, about 20 minutes away.  It has a small pool which we enjoyed (though the water was cold!), and a nice view of the lake.  We also brought our lunch and supplemented it with some snacks from the snack bar there and got ice cream later.  Hey, it was vacation!  We drove back and then had some spaghetti for dinner.

Thursday, we hung around and packed up until we had to be out of the cabin by 11am.  We drove straight back with a Chick Fila stop at our favorite Danville Mall, and were back to the Holly Springs area by 2pm.  We had booked a night at the Hampton Inn in Holly Springs that night since the cabin was not available, which was fine EXCEPT that Finley could not handle the noises from the other people nearby.  Whoops!  The girls and I had fun swimming, Erin went to her ballet class, and we got Moes takeout for dinner.  Then, around 11pm, Finley and I snuck back to our house and went in through the window to the bedroom.  We went back in the morning and all took turns having breakfast, and the girls utilized the workout room while Bob took some work calls.  We then left just before the 12pm checkout time, got Subway for lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon in our house off the hardwoods while they finished working.  We put a ladder up to Erin's bedroom window so they could get upstairs, and Bob, Finley, and I stayed in our bedroom and the porch.  The crew finished up around 7pm and said we could start walking on the floors in socks later that evening and could move furniture back in 2 days.  Yay!  I also enjoyed attending an Eagle Scout ceremony that evening for a guy who built a gaga ball pit for us at StMM. 

Saturday, we mostly hung out at home and did laundry, and put stuff back on walls/shelves/etc. that wasn't touching the floors.  We had heard horror stories of piles of dust everywhere from the sanding process, so we had removed everything from the pantry, framed pictures, etc. prior to the start.  However, we did not see hardly any dust at all!  This company, Sanitzo's, was absolutely fabulous for the whole process - timely, reasonably priced, and great quality work.  We love how the floors turned out!  Sunday was church and then we took the Tierneys out on the boat in the afternoon and had a wonderful time.  That evening, we moved most of the furniture back in from the garage.  That was a workout!

The next week was more back to normal - kids went to the dentist, Bob went to Colorado for work for a few days, I had book club, Anna watched the neighbor cats, and Erin had 4 afternoons of piano camp! 

 She enjoyed the camp quite a bit - it was just her and a high school girl and the teacher.  Erin had teen group on Monday where they smashed stuff to relieve stress.  Both kids had colds for a couple of weeks this month, but they got over them without incident.  We had a fun afternoon on the boat with the Waltons on Saturday, despite a pop-up storm that the kids and moms did not appreciate!  

Sunday the 24th, Bob went to California for the week for a conference, and we ladies held down the fort at home.  The highlight of my week was purchasing our new digital piano!  I decided that with Bob working from home and having so many calls in the evenings with his west coast people, that we needed something that we could play silently with headphones and not try to juggle practice his calls in addition to Erin's homework and dance schedule during the week.  So we had a fun trip to Raleigh for that, brought it home, and assembled it!  

Erin had a checkup at the dermatologist on Wednesday and got a new ointment to try for her eczema.  

Thursday the 28th, we girls had a really fun adventure at Go Ape in Raleigh.  Erin had been there with her teen group last month and Anna was begging to go.  So, we all went and faced some fears and had a blast!  It was a really fun place with lots of cool ladders, bridges/obstacles, and zip lines!  I guess it's called a "high ropes course", but I am not sure.  Adventuring really isn't our area of expertise!  Ha!  

Bob returned on Friday, and we had a busy day on Saturday moving Anna from her bedroom to the former guest room.  The guest room is bigger, has its own bathroom, and has better air flow in the summer.  So, that was a big job, but she is mostly settled in, and I always enjoy a chance to purge (6+ trash bags' worth!).  Sunday, the 4 of us and Finley went out on a boat and had fun until another storm popped up at the end.  We are feeling jinxed by summer weather lately!  I was hoping the morning time slot wouldn't be as stormy, but I was wrong.  We had a nice visit with Liz and David here that evening where we grilled some food and caught up on life.

Anyway, that was July.  Throw in some workouts (the girls have been doing a great job of working out at the Y with me this summer, trying different classes and working out on their own!), trips to the pool, and friend time, and we stayed busy.  We got some things done around the house that we had been wanting to do, and we survived the hottest month of the year!  We also did some prep for school.  We are hoping for a good year ahead!

July!

I am writing this post a little early because we have a super fun and exciting adventure coming up next week...Utah and California!  We are super excited and ready to go (almost)!  But first, July!  It was, as usual, hot!  We stayed busy with a variety of activities.

We started out the month by finishing up the week of volleyball/ballet camp.  That feels like a very long time ago now!  Erin had a performance on Friday afternoon which was very nice.  She really enjoyed her experience at the summer intensive and was also most interested in the all-girl aspect of St. Mary's (haha!).  Anna was very brave in trying volleyball for the first time and enjoyed her camp, but is still unsure about trying out for the school team.  She still enjoys soccer quite a bit and has kept her skills up this summer with a Thursday night futsal (indoor soccer) clinic.  I also enjoyed touring Raleigh that week with all of the comings and goings, and even checked out the Alexander YMCA on Hillsborough Street to work out twice between dropping Anna off at 12:30 and picking Erin up at 3:00.  We also had a variety of ice cream treats that week to celebrate the girls working hard!

Anna enjoyed a day at the lake on the 4th, Bob did his usual weekend cooking, and we ladies played with some sparklers that evening.  

Bob and Anna and neighbor friends Kevin and Nina and Lily went to watch the Holly Springs fireworks on the evening of the 5th, which they enjoyed quite a bit (including the Dairy Queen stop before)!  

That week was pretty quiet after the busy week before.  The girls visited the dentist on Tuesday and got good reports.  Erin still doesn't have her 12-year molars, so braces talk is still on hold (whew).  Anna enjoyed a movie outing that afternoon for Caroline's birthday.  Saturday the 10th, we ladies went back to the Alexander Y's indoor pool while Bob cooked meals.  Anna even took the swim test and passed to earn her black band!  Sunday the 11th, we had a really fun trip to a park in Greensboro for Elliott and Grandpa's birthdays.  Finley got to go too and he had a great time too!  

Monday the 12th, Erin and I met up with friend Margaret and her mom to talk national parks in Utah, and I hosted my book club that evening.  We had a fun day on Wednesday too with Olivia and Josie coming over!  We had pizza, did crafts, and went to the pool.  So much fun!  The rest of the week was fairly quiet (and hot!).  The girls and I had a blast swimming at Jordan Lake on Friday the 16th. 

Sunday the 18th was the last day of Operation Feed Thy Neighbor, the program that Bob helped start and run for 69 consecutive weekends at StMM.  The grand total of meals served was 31,084, and they raised $38,966 in donations to fund the ingredients for these meals.  Wow!!  We had a fun family celebration after they returned from the site that we all enjoyed a lot!  

Erin had a fun visit to friend Carson's house on Monday the 19th, and Anna and I got pedicures while she was there.  Thursday, we helped with a fun party at church to celebrate now-Msgr. Staib's 60th anniversary of priesthood.  He had retired last summer, but we were not able to have a party until now.  We Callaways helped with kids activities for the party, which was lots of fun!  

Erin and I enjoyed visiting with friends Vera and Gillette and their moms for Vera's birthday at her pool on Saturday the 24th.  Sunday, I helped sell used uniforms for a new kindergartener event at school.

Monday-Thursday the following week, Anna went to tennis camp at Sunset Ridge with Sarah, Rory, and Caroline.  It was HOT, but they powered through and really enjoyed pool time after lunch each day!  Erin got together with some school friends on Thursday for Lindsey's birthday and had a really fun time painting pottery!  Tomorrow, we are looking forward to seeing friends Dave and Kristen for dinner and continuing preparation for the trip.

So, it was a good month...hot as expected, but we got through it.  We spent a lot of time at the pool and also visited the YMCA pool a couple of times.  We have been enjoying watching the "2020" (postponed) Olympics in Tokyo this week.  As far as covid goes, it still drags on.  Currently, North Carolina has 60% of eligible (ages 12 and up) people vaccinated and are pushing for more.  The "delta variant" is spreading quickly among people who are not vaccinated.  It seems like younger kids are still a ways out from being able to be vaccinated.  We are still waiting for regulations about the upcoming school year, and still hoping this ends as soon as possible!

July!

Well, July was a really eventful month, even though we didn't plan for it to be!  It started out on a very sad note with our wonderful neighbor friend of almost 9 years, Tom Tierney, passing away suddenly the night of the 1st.  He had been sick, but this was still not expected.  We spent a lot of the month of July helping to entertain kids, hosting visitors for them, organizing a meal train and making food, setting up an Amazon wish list for household items, dog sitting, etc.  The funeral was on the 8th at the new Holy Name Cathedral, and was truly beautiful.  The luncheon was at our very own StMM, and we helped to arrange, set up, and clean up for that.  It still doesn't seem real and we are all so sad, but we are trying to help Kate and the kids keep going as much as we can.

Other than that, we had Olivia over on the 1st for a sleepover and playing, Anna enjoyed reading to a therapy dog at the library, we had a subdued but nice July 4th cookout after some time at the pool with 2 neighbor families and then enjoyed some small (but numerous!) fireworks at a house in the neighborhood.  Friday, Anna went to a craft class at Michaels with Caitlin.  Sunday was the visitation at the funeral home, and Liz and David were so nice to come hang out with the girls and Finley during that time...even after David had gotten bitten by a squirrel earlier in the day!





After the funeral, it was more back to normal for us...we had the usual summer activities of dog walking Murphy, dance classes, and reading tutoring. 



We had a fun pool day on Thursday the 11th and met Anna's friend Kacey at the library later that day for a really fun ice cream making event!  The next day found us at another library for an owl/birds of prey presentation which included a hawk, a falcon (I forgot they were so small), and 3 owls (great horned, barred, and screech) who visited as a part of a rescue organization.  Erin endured all of the younger kids who did not respect these grand creatures as much as she does ;)  Bob had a successful trip to Boston Tuesday-Friday of this week.



Saturday the 13th, Anna had a tennis lesson with some school friends and we went to church that evening.  Sunday was a fun party day in Concord for Elliott and Grandpa's birthdays!  We even got to go to Elliott's pool and had such a great time!  On the 15th, I stained the new deck walkway that Bob had done a great job replacing over the week of the funeral.  We also met Kate's friend at the pool and helped watch some of her kids for a few hours there.  That afternoon, the girls tried a new 4-week dance class through the parks and rec department.  We didn't realize (bad mom move) that it was a segment of a year-long class, so the other kids had been in the class all year and were preparing for a summer performance.  Whoops!  The teacher let them stay and they have enjoyed trying something new for these 4 weeks.

We had a fun time on Tuesday the 16th swimming at the Lorenzetti's and weighing in on their new house paint color decision (she had a lady there putting samples on the siding).  We had a fun outing to the dance store and craft store on Thursday and Anna played at Mitchell's house for a couple of hours while Erin and I worked on making the teacher birthday cards for this coming year.  The piano got tuned on the 19th in preparation for a fun year of making music (as Margaret says) ahead!  Saturday the 20th we cleaned out the dining room to prep for painting it, and got our weeklong guinea pig houseguest from Ella.  We also had a fun family dinner at the Hickory Tavern and enjoyed lower humidity after some rain earlier that week.

Monday the 22nd, Anna had her 3-year checkup with the cardiologist, her best buddy Dr. Robinson.  They did an ekg and echo and all looked good!  He has moved to WakeMed and we got to see his new office in the Apex Healthplex, which is super nice.  Erin was under the weather that day with some kind of unknown issue (headache?), but she was able to lay low and felt better that evening.  Starting Tuesday, Anna tried something new - the morning camp at Sonshine Gymnastics with Laney!  She had a blast 4 mornings this week, plus 3 the next week...and also got to see Sarah and Mitchell each twice as well.  The camp sounds super fun and they had tons of activities.  Other than that, it was the usual events this week...Bob was in Boston 3 days, and we got the dining room painted on Friday.  It looks soooo much brighter and nicer!  We tried a new furniture arrangement and will see how it goes.

Saturday the 27th was a busy day - more tennis, but just Anna and Kacey this week, then I got to meet friends Whitney and Melanie for a late lunch and had a great time while Bob and the girls set up for the Knights installation dinner...then we all plus Finely went to the Black Dog Bottle Shop here in Holly Springs where Finley's rescue group was hosting an event.  We saw some adorable puppies for adoption, but the wounds are too fresh there! 



After all that, Bob had the installation and dinner.  Sunday the 28th was Erin's first time as an altar server, and she did wonderfully!  We were really proud of her and all celebrated with donuts after. 



We went to a fun neighborhood night at the Salamanders game that evening and sat by some friends. 



Monday we swam again at Enzo and Luke's, Tuesday was a mostly quiet day at home, and Wednesday we had a fun play day with Sarah here between camp and dance class.

So, that was July!  It had many happy times and some sad times, but overall it was a good month.  Finley behaved himself fairly well...he is still growing and has his crazy time in the evening, but he is a very sweet boy and is slowly becoming more trustworthy and seems to be learning the rules (somewhat).  Most notable for him this month was the gradual ending of him sleeping in the crate at night.  He definitely still goes in it when we leave during the day, though.

We are looking forward to some excitement in August - a super fun trip and school starting!  Yay!