The Whirlwind of July

 Sometimes I think we must be a little crazy. We definitely do not sit around and enjoy nice relaxing times at home (it would be so much easier!). But we do have fun! July was extremely busy for us. I haven't even had a chance to get my pictures put on the computer much less blog about our adventures. I finally had a weekend at home, and I am doing just that. Here is a recap of our month.

As is becoming a yearly tradition for us, we went out for a dinner cruise with our friends, the Davenports. They provided the boat and we brought the pizza! Grant liked being on the boat, he loved the pizza, but he didn't like the tubing. Of course, being the parents that we are, we made him go on it anyway. But he still talks about how we went on "Spencer's boat" and he didn't like the tube. We had a wonderful time though, and are so thankful for our "wealthy" ;) friends who take us out on their boat.

The next day we went to Tiller for a birthday/wedding get together. Paul's sister, Sheila, got married recently, and she was able to come with her kids and new husband. The kids loved the kayak, and Grant loved throwing rocks in the river. Grant loves his older cousins! He plays right alongside them as if he is the same age. And then he talks about them for weeks after we see them. Whenever we say that he is getting big, he says "Like Tyler and Brian!" It was nice to have the whole Caswell family together in Tiller.

And just a couple days later, Mommy went to McMinnville to meet up with some of her college friends. Grant went as far as Salem, and then hopped in the car with Gammy and Auntie Kate to go to Black Butte. Mommy had a wonderful time with her friends visiting all of our old favorite places. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from my mom of Grant's time in Black Butte. He had a blast of course, and didn't want to leave when Mommy came to get him the next day.

Our next adventure was with the Table Rock High School group. Paul and I are leaders for the group, so we get to do all the fun stuff they do! This particular adventure was Rafting Camp...right up Paul's alley. We left Grant with our friends, the Bonners, for one night and then with Grandma and Popin Caswell for the rest of the time. We had a wonderful time with the high school kids rafting, hiking, and jumping off big rocks. I got to see my first rattlesnake upclose and personal...Paul's view was even closer as he jumped back into me to avoid stepping on the snake as it shook its rattle. It was a really fun time, and we enjoyed getting to know some of the kids in the youth group better.

The next weekend we went camping at Tree of Heaven with Paul's family and family friends, the Grantlands. This is such a great place to camp! It is in Northern California (where it is hot!) and right along a river (that is refreshingly cold!). The Grantlands have a couple of boats that we took down the river a few times. Grant loved playing in the river, but he wasn't so sure about rafting. It took him awhile to adjust to it, and then he was okay with everything except the big splashes of water that kept soaking him :) His cousins, Blake and Hailey, came for a day, and they had lots of fun playing together.

Right when we got back from camping, Mommy and Grant got in the car once again and drove to Eugene to meet Gammy and Auntie Kate. Grant stayed with them for a week while Mommy went to Costa Rica! Here are some pictures from the trip, but there will be a complete blog post about it soon.

And while Mommy and Grant were away, Daddy went with a group of Young Life high schoolers into the Marble Mountain Wilderness. I couldn't give you all of the details on the trip like Paul could, so you will just have to survive with these pictures and ask him about it when you see him. He would love to tell you stories!

When I got back from Costa Rica I went straight to Florence to pick up Grant. I realized how nice it was to have some extra help with Grant as I was recovering from my trip, so we decided to stay for a few extra days. Daddy came up for the weekend, and we had a relaxing time on the coast. Once again, I don't have pictures of this time. My camera ran out of batteries in Costa Rica, and I didn't have my mind together enough right when I got back to get that problem fixed. But you can be assured we had tons of fun at the lake, beach, and "shoppy cop" as Grant likes to call the coffee shop.

There you have it. Our crazy July! Now that I finally get it all written down we are halfway through August! August has mostly been spent catching up, but we have had some fun too...more to come :)