The rest of July!

So once again, I don't have any super cute photos to share... sorry, but hopefully soon!
In the last few weeks we:.....
Got my new pressure Canner! Thanks so much everyone for contributing!!! I have canned two quarts of my Chili and 2 quarts of chicken.  I am SO excited to be able to add safe foods to my food storage :) It is thrilling and terrifying at the same time to use it!

THen we took Chaunster to the aquarium to see the sharks.  I don't think he was dissapointed! My kids have been there before, but just like watching a favorite movie- it is is stil just as much fun again and again.  We pet stingrays and baby sharks. drove through a tunnel of sharks on a train, and ate lunch with some 200 lb groupers watching us.  They have a HUGE white Tiger behind a flimsy glass wall. you are only about an inch away from the tigers jaws, as he paces up and down watching you.  Okay maybe it isn't so flimsy, but when I saw the tiger jump on the glass wall in front of tanner when he put his palms up on the glass, my momma bear instincts kicked and I grabbed him.  Tanner wasn't so happy with me, but lived to tell the tale. The girls were still brave and rode the lighthouse drop ride, chaun was too scared to go. 

Then Cristine turned 9!! WOW! She is getting so grown up!  Ty got her an I-POD shuffle, declaring she was now big enough to appreciate it and care for it.  He was right and it showed on her face when she opened it! She squealed with joy at finally being deemed "old enough".  Then she got to have a princess birthday party with another friend.  THey played "pin the kiss on the frog", "The Princess and the pea bed roll" and a princess challenge where they had to make a modest princess dress out of toilet paper, balance books on their head, wear high heels an drace across the kitchen.  The girls were so good at the games, we ended up getting done quite early!  Cristine is such a sweet girl, how we love her to pieces!

I got a "mini claw" like grandpa westovers to weed the garden. Then I braved the 100 degree temps and set out to weed my yard that had turned into a tropical jungle during our vacation.  I found that if I  turned on the sprinkler on top of me so I stayed wet- it was bearable! The kids had a blast until we uncovered a monster fire ant pile under one of my bushes. thousands swarmed all over- so I had to take the fire ant killer to it- then wait it out until they were gone, unfortunatly they just moved and tanners foot found them later and got bit 11 times. Ouch! but I finally got rid of them and my yard is now weed and ant free!

Ty and Chaun are both doing good at work, and they are both very very busy.  Chaun gets covered in a gooey "Mud" and has to change clothes at work and then clean them later at home.  He has a picture with him covered in the gooey mess - you have to ask him for it. Ty worked on some cool circuit boards for gramma and grampa earls bat caves.  It amazes me to see him put the tiny parts together, and do all the designing.  He is also very very close to being done with his ultimate bike computer.  He has the boards nearly done and is working on getting the outer cases made.  Amazing!

We hope y'all are surviving the summer heat!