July 2023

July started off as it should.... 

If I had been smart, I would have taken the 3rd off and enjoyed a 4 day weekend.

But instead, I wasn't smart and I worked the 3rd day of the month and processed owner statements.

Which is the least fun activity of all of all of my options.

The day flew by however.  And because we are getting better at reviewing them each month, this was 

my most sucessful month so far.

Processing owner statements causes huge amounts of stress.  I get no less than 25 calls immediately following the moment I push the button. 

But after 10 months, I am getting SO good at answering the same blasted questions month after month.

I was so excited for the Tuesday off.

And additionally grateful for the 4 day work week.

We drove our truck up to the hill above our house and watched hundreds of different shows at the same time.  This night was by far the best display, I have seen in years.

This was the moon. 

The photo does not do it justice.

It was spectacular

This is Venus

Equally impressive

My inspectors worked VERY hard in July getting the homes ready for guests.

Papa scrubbed so many ovens.

This was heartbreaking to me

It is mindblowing to us that cleaners don't think cleaning ovens is part of their job

That one day we all showed up in matching outfits

On nearly the hottest day of July, the mutual kids decided to have a water activity.

They had a blast and they were all cooled off nicely 

You know you are about to go into the 7th grade when you have to 

get your summer shots.

This little girl has a pain tolerance like no one I have ever known.

She is calm.  She is brave.  She is strong.

As the tradition goes, following shots, you get to go to mall and pick out a treat.

Anything in the mall.

This girl chose to go to Barnes and Noble and get a book.

Not new shoes.  Not new clothes.  A book. 

A teenage romance novel.

And then she sat in the swinging chair with her blanket 

and read for the rest of the summer.

Papa and Nana purchased a new table from a store in West Jordan.

while they were up north in June sometime.

I think they may have had a plan to go up and get it.

But, it kinda wasn't coming together well.

They casually mentioned it to Rals one day and he formulated 

as plan to go up and get it.

He and Papa drove up and back on the 7th

and then we met them at their house with Chick fil A and

had an assembly party.

Peyton is really good at reading instructions and building things, 

she and Papa built the chairs and Raleigh built the table

This was a really fun night and the table looks great!!

This was a little tiny baby lizard that we somehow found in our kitchen.

He was about the size of a quarter. 

We opted to let him stay inside hoping that he will kill all of our spiders

Like this horrible creature

She was gigantic.  She would have killed one of us for sure

One day in the middle of one of my super intense staff meetings, 

my mom spontaneously sent me this text.  I was not expecting it.

And I did a gasp and then I burst into tears.

I did a silent ugly cry, trying not to draw attention to myself.  

Luckily, I was at the end of the table in the corner, where I always sit,

and so I just did a little turn in my chair and tried to gain my composure.

I don't know why this hit me so hard.  

But man...  it did.

I was done for a solid 15 minutes.

Walt came to us one day and said, "I have been doing some

research and I have decided to change my hair.

Here is a photo of what I want and if you could make me

 a hair appointment, I will show the girl this picture and have 

her cut my hair like this".

So we did.

And he has new hair. 

By the time school starts, it will be long enough to be the

legit style he is after. 

I have to buy a 1/2" curling iron for styling it.

But this is the pompador of the 80s that I loved so much.

Throw some eyeliner on the kid and he's Moressey!

I love it.

A couple of Rals' high school buddies came 

to town and invited him to hang out with the for a few days.

They played the new Black Desert Golf Course

Which has gorgeous scenery but is, in it's current state,

is completely overpriced and overrated

Nate Sundloff and Dale Rex

Then at night in 113 degree weather, they played softball

And they were cute and SO funny and fun to watch

just like the old days when we were first married and they were 

much younger

Nana took the kids for snow cones one day

to say thanks for their help with the new table.

July was a great month personally and professionally.

I was pleased with several things that happened this month.

I am not very happy about the heat, but there is not much I can do about that.

I enjoy being in my office and working hard with our team.

We are a good team and we are doing really good things. 

We work well together.

I am SO happy about my little family and how we are growing and progressing.

I am looking forward to August, and the possiblity of a couple of monsoons and the start of football season.  That will make everything start to feel totally better.