Once Upon A Time...: July 2022

Hey, all! Yes, I've been absent again... *hides*

Life has been crazy busy. Many changes are happening in my life. Two of my older brothers have moved out of state to Idaho and another older brother will soon be joining them! That will take all three of my big brothers several hours away. Thankfully my family makes frequent trips that way so I will see them off and on. That's one reason I've been absent. I've been absent in more ways than one! I've made several trips since my N.H. trip earlier this year.

Another change happening in my life is that both of my best friends started dating in the last couple months. I didn't dare share about it until they shared it for themselves but... Liberty (The Elegant Cowgirl) did share with you all so now I can talk about it. I'm super happy for her! Byron and her are wonderful together.

As hard as it is to get "left behind" I've been happy for the changes in their lives. Plus, Liberty and Byron have been super inclusive and have made me feel loved. <3 I don't deserve such a wonderful best friend who still makes time for her childhood sidekick even when she's dating.

Another life change... I graduated! I was both happy and sad to put the textbooks away. I love learning and I actually plan to retake some of the courses I took during my last year of school because I enjoyed them so much. But I am enjoying the freedom that comes with graduation. I've started to work a little for my dad to get a modest income.

Now for some pictures. As I mentioned I've been on several trips since my last post. I've been to Idaho several times, the Coast for a few nights, a camping trip, and South Dakota. But if I shared all my pictures of all those trips it would be WAY too many. So here's just a glimpse into it all.

Beach Trip. My dad kind of "surprised" us last minute about this trip to the coast. It was for work but I enjoyed it. I've always loved the beach and I have so many happy childhood memories there.

It was colddd.

On the way to Idaho to help put on a cousin's wedding.

The wedding was beautiful and I was so happy to be so involved. I was nervous doing flowers since I had never did them before but they turned out.

Back home to enjoy the beginning of the beautiful PNW Summer.

Gunnar... My good old puppy dog. <3 I call him "my hound" even though he isn't pure hound. He has lab coloring and a hound build. He acts like a hound and goes from high energy on the hunt to lazy naps in the shade. But I love him for it and affectionately nickname him at times as "my hound" and "Lazy Bones".

This was bright and early one morning as we headed out for South Dakota. This is me and "my buddy boy" that first morning on the road. He's my youngest sibling and the sweetest little guy.

I let Matthew, "my buddy boy", take a selfie and that's what he did!

Roadtripping gives you lots of time for coloring, word puzzles and reading.

We made it! We visited The Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Bear Country U.S.A and Laura Ingalls homestead. We made many family memories there!

Kylie (one of my best friends) stayed with us in South Dakota. It was amazing to see her again. Here we are looking out over the lake we stayed at.

Home again and enjoying one of my favorite past times in the Summer. Four-wheeler ride.

Down to our local frozen yogurt place. I love it there. They have dairy free so I think they've got Liberty hooked.

Liberty and I went to town and had a blast. I "stole" this picture from Liberty. Actually she sent it to me.

Playing my favorite board game.

Liberty's family invited me to tag along on a day trip to the beach. Only we never went down to the water! *shocked eyes* *laughs* It was a blessed trip all the same and I loved visiting all the shops.

While I was at the coast for the day with Liberty's family we visited a cousin's home. And our cousins own a baby raccoon! I fell in love with the little guy.

Riding around with Liberty and Byron is always fun. I guess I enjoy being "the third wheel". *grins*

Liberty and Byron invited Emily and I along for a hike early Independence Day morning. Hiking is always fun and the view was breathtaking.

We rode up the mountain in the bed of one of Byron's friends' trucks. This is the view out the back as we come back down the mountain again. It was a ton of fun and we sang hymns the whole way back down the mountain.

Independence Day was a blast. We celebrated the birth of our great nation with family and friends, ate good food and of course, shot off fireworks. Crazily I didn't get any pictures of the fireworks, I must have just been enjoying them too much.