Our Summer -- July

There was lots of activity around The Pine in July.  It was enough just having Bex back home! But we had some more fun anyway!

Our June ended with a fun party to wish my friend Cynthia a happy retirement.  It was bittersweet, knowing she would be moving to Tampa within a week or two.  As of today, she's happily ensconced in her new home, venturing out to find the perfect grocery store, a church that fits her preferred worship style, and I KNOW she's gathering new friends to be a part of her ever-growing family.  Thankfully, with the technology of today, it takes just a simple phone call to hear that precious laugh!

When Bex got home from camp she had to test the newly created "Rainbow Float" she had heard so much about from CJ!

While Bex was at camp we had a HUGE thunderstorm come through The Pine.  Mr. Fix-It and I stood outside under the carport and watched God's fireworks.  At times, it was too amazing for me and I sat in the van and watched!  We watched lightning strike this tree across the road from us.  It sizzled with a bright pink/purple light for several seconds.  These pictures were taken the next day as we went to investigate the damage.

You can tell where the bark was just peeled off this oak tree.  Absolutely amazing!

So what would July be without fireworks on Independence Day?  This year we went to the Talla Antique Car Museum for the festivities.  The festivities weren't bad for their first year.

A couple of our favorites here.

LOVED this one, it was HUGE!

On July 11, my sweet niece, Natalie, took the plunge into matrimony.  Here's a pix with Natalie, her dad and mom (Mr. Fix-It's sister), and her sister Caroline.  It was a beautiful wedding of fairy-tale proportions.

Natalie married her prince, Stephen, in the Monticello Opera House.  Here are the men from the wedding party before the wedding.  Stephen is the handsome one with the white bow-tie (2nd from left).

Here is the beautiful wedding cake which represents the girlie-girl that Natalie has always been.  She loves anything "Victorian" so the opera house and the cake were just right!

Here's a picture with Bex and Natalie before the wedding.  Bex dress looks weird with the handkerchief hem...so don't ask about it.

The next week, we headed off to Gainesville for team volleyball camp at the University of Florida.  As much as I'm NOT a Gator fan, I looked forward to this week because it meant I could visit and hang out with my family.

These girls are part of the team that rode with me and Bex to Gainesville.  (L-R) Sarah, Savannah (Cha-Cha), Emily and Valerie.

The team did well at camp (even though it was NOT a very good camp!) and finished the week earning Third Place in their division.  (That's what their fingers are showing "third"...) The blonde in the gray shirt in the front is Coach Q, she was their coach for the week. (Bex is 2nd from the right)

Another good thing about having volleyball camp in Gainesville is that Mr. Fix-It was able to come, bringing a friend's boat, for the weekend.  We sent the other girls home with another mom and spent the weekend in Chiefland with my crazy brother's family.

Here's a pix as we were on our way to the Suwannee river for the day. Bex with the bug-eyes, CJ, and CJ's oldest sister, Tiffany.

Did I mention that the "crazy" doesn't fall far from the tree?

Couldn't leave this picture out.  Here you see the much drooled over Camo Croc's.  These are Bex's dream shoes!  They finally arrived the week before camp...she was a very happy girl.

Here we are at the Redneck Riviera!  It's a sandbar in the middle of the river, about 3 feet deep so the kids can get out and swim to their hearts content.  You can see our pontoon boat on the right, with our friends (the Feagle's) boat on the left.  Before the skiing started, we had them parked all together so you can easily go from boat to boat.

This is Bex, just getting up on the ski's.

Here's Bex skiing up a storm!  She has such good balance, she's a natural.  As we were headed home, she skiied all the way back to the boat landing (about 15 minutes)...she was TIRED!

Here's Mr. Fix-It relaxing as he is skiing slalom.  You can see the pieced together "ski rope."  Somebody forgot to pack the ski-rope.  Being the resourceful folks we are...one was quickly improvised.  The handle was a wooden dowel someone had.  It was funny because the handle kept getting shorter and shorter as the day wore on because it kept breaking. 

Here's Tiffany skiing.  Don't worry, you won't have to endure a picture of Meggy skiing --that ain't gonna happen!  I'm WAYYY too old for that!

 

Here's Uncle Chuck, the faithful boat driver for all the skiiers.  Just look at those pink legs!

OOPS!  Another picture of Bex and CJ!  How did that get in there?









Well, a LOT more happened in July...but this hit the high points.  Of course, attending my friend Tammy's baby shower for her #7 was a lot of fun and I got to visit with some friends I don't get to see face-to-face very often...that was a high point too!

Next up will be our August fun...

Stay Tuned!