The first few weeks of July

Dean started a new job this month (woo hoo!) so we spent a few weeks in Portland Oregon. Portland is my favorite city so far. It gorgeous, green and laid back. Seriously the city for me. If I were ever to move back to the city it would definitely be Portland. We had a friend watch our garden while we were gone. Things really exploded, including the weeds. The grass totally died which breaks my heart but at least the veggies did okay. Here are the beautiful onions. These babies dont look all that fantastic but let me put it into perspective. I am 5'2 and these onions are as tall as my chest! Seriously fantastic to check these out!

The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage did really great. We came home to a huge harvest of both broccoli and cauliflower. The cabbage needs a little longer but it shouldn't be but a few days before it is ready too. The sunflowers are as tall as me and going strong.

Here is the whole view of the garden this morning. Its looking a little shabby and honestly it isn't really pretty right now. Everything is crowded by weeds and looks a little dry and blah. I have been watering all day so I am hoping everything perks up tonight.

This is my sister and her youngest baby. We stayed with them while we were in Portland. The kids had a ball and my sister and I spent many hours laughing and being dumb.

Caitlin and my niece. They were inseparable during our vacation.

Lake Oswego. This is where we spent the most disappointing 4th of July to date. There was supposed to be a huge fireworks show over the lake but for whatever reason it didn't happen. So we saw a few from over the lake/mountain and that was it. The kids still thought it was awesome so that is all that matters.

All the kiddos before we went to the fireworks.

4th of July parade in Lake Oswego city. We picked this town celebration because it was billed as family friendly. What that meant was filled with families. Seriously the entire parade was a bunch of families walking down the street. It was actually comical to sit there for 45 minutes while family after family walked by. This is a picture of the only non family related selection in the parade. I think that was the mayor.

The kids ready to watch the parade. The anticipation was building. :)

Overall our vacation was good. We cut it short because Caitlin was just about to hit anxiety mode which is never pleasant. We are all home and doing well. The garden is recovering, the grass is not, the house is a mess and the kids have been outside for hours everyday. Life is back to normal and everything is just swell! :)