july happenings: house updates, no camp week, braces off

i can't believe that july is coming to a close already! apparently when you go on a two week trip and move houses within a month, that month will feel like a blur. whew!

here's what's new on the house front: we are starting to feel more settled in our new place after almost 2 weeks of living here. we still have some purchases to make like a bigger dining table, a bunk bed for the kids, etc. but we are making progress. it's been so nice to have internet for the last week! we have a breakfast bar in our kitchen and did not have any bar stools, so i was on a mission to find some inexpensive ones. i pulled open facebook marketplace and the first ones that came up in my search were perfect and a great price. i went to pick them up from a woman in capitol hill on monday night. i'm really happy with them! 

thatcher and the kids have been busy weeding and planting in the backyard. here is a picture of what it looked like before we moved in...pretty sad and neglected. 

and here it is now. 

both kids love pulling weeds and planting seeds, so it's been really fun for them. and i enjoy having a few minutes of peace inside in the evenings ;) 

here's what else has been happening since my last post: last friday thatcher and i got to have lunch with our family friends kathy and garry who used to live in portland, but moved to south carolina two years ago. we hadn't seen them since before they moved, so it was really nice to catch up. the kids were in camps that day, so it was just the four of us. we went to "green leaf" for vietnamese near thatcher's office, in the international district. then we walked around downtown for a bit.

one of ashford's preschool buddies lives right across the street from us now, which has been awesome. we've been having lots of play dates with him. he will not be at the same school for kindergarten this fall, but i'm sure we'll still see him plenty after school starts. 

the kids had no camps this week. we don't have too many of these weeks this summer and i have to admit i'm thankful for that. they wake up in the 6:00 hour every day, so it's a lot of hours to fill. it's a challenge getting my work done, keeping them busy, playing mediator for their bickering all day long. i'm done by the end of each day. i have one homebody and one who likes to go go go. i'm a much more happy and patient mother when i get just a little break each day. i'm thankful that i am able to spend so much time with them, but it's also really hard. 

we did lots of fun stuff during the week. we went to the zoo, had some play dates, went to maple leaf park and bf day park. it hasn't been especially warm this summer. highs around 70-75 most days. and upper 50s in the mornings! 

on thursday azalea got her braces off! she only had them on for 7 months (though she also had an expander for almost a year). she will get a retainer on monday that she is supposed to wear 22 hours a day. i'm hopeful she won't need more orthodontic work, but we shall see! 

how does she look so much older in only 7 months?! 

today we are leaving to go camping! i don't think i have camped since i was about 16 years old. wish me luck! we're camping for one night and also doing a night in a hotel in the mountains. should be fun!