The Blanch Herd: Photos from Phones

Sum sum summatime - July was hot and full of fun in the sun (or shade, when we could find it). We have been trying to make the most of this wonderful season in a wonderful place to play. Here are our ordinary, amazing days:

7.6.17
(funny faces on the bench swing at "the library park")

7.6.17

7.7.17
(grape snitcher)

7.7.17
(caught in the act)

7.7.17
(hanging out at our favorite nearby nature
getaway - it's the ditch right across the street
from our house, but it feels like the wilderness
for a few minutes when we hang out in the shade
and toss rocks into the stream)

7.7.17

7.7.17
(heart eyes for this one)

7.7.17

7.7.17
(gone fishin')

7.7.17
(see? there's our house)

7.7.17

7.7.17
(ladybug friend)

7.7.17
(lunchtime)

7.7.17
(or naptime?)

7.8.17
(lovely pastel morning sky)

7.8.17
(the mountains were such a cool pinky-purple
color but this picture doesn't do it justice)

7.8.17
(sunrise on Stringtown)

7.8.17
(sun's up now)

7.8.17
(trying the disc golf course at Wolf Creek -
it was fun, but really poky with weeds and seeds)

7.8.17
(good views from the course, though)

7.8.17
(Nordic across the valley)

7.9.17
(Sunday best by the daylilies - Sam matched!)

7.9.17

7.9.17
(hard to get a "cute" pic of these monkeys sometimes)

7.9.17
(but they're pretty cute anyway, I think)

7.10.17
(got a rare moment of solo hammock time while
both kids were napping (what now?); this was such
an interesting read - I couldn't put it down!)

7.11.17
(sunrises, man - they get me every time!)

7.11.17
(Cal made Min a bike out of pipe cleaners)

7.11.17
(he conquered the big slide! (again))

7.12.17
(favorite)

7.12.17
(zip lock bag ice cream for activity days - always
a hit)

7.13.17
(just had to keep a copy of these cute letters to our missionaries)

7.13.17

7.13.17
(ogden valley open market - shaved ice and
a puppet show)

7.13.17
(they performed "Tops and Bottoms", a garden
story we had read from the library thanks to a
recommendation from Grandma E, so it was fun
to see a show of a story we already knew)

7.13.17
(Sam was dying to sit in these big colorful chairs
so when they opened up he was all over them)

7.13.17
(my BIG boy! (waaaa!))

7.14.17
(I tell ya! July was full of spectacular sunrises and I got to see
a bunch of them!)

7.14.17
(waterslide fun - his face kills me!)

bonus videos!

7.14.17

7.15.17
(she wanted to see the back of her hair)

7.16.17
(strawberry harvest! (you could almost taste
them ;))

7.17.17
(more nonfiction goodness from Gail Gibbons - I love her stuff)

7.18.17
(sunflower season is my favorite color palette)

bonus video!

Callie READS! Like for real!

7.18.17

(it was "magical", as Gregg put it, to watch her do it and see her so excited about it)

7.19.17
(she makes her own toast now!)

7.19.17
(sunset this time - but still spectacular)

7.19.17

7.19.17
(this was looking east - even pretty that way!)

7.19.17

7.21.17
(when you only have one L in your letter set, but
your name has two, you get creative)

7.21.17
(walked on the new Pineview pathway in
Huntsville with my friend)

7.21.17
(Dray invited us to his swimming birthday party and Cal made
him a "button string" for a gift - she was so sincere and excited
to give it to him. I'm grateful he was a good sport about it.)

7.22.17
(sunrise on Stringtown, take two)

7.22.17
(there's a bright golden haze on the meadow)

7.22.17

7.22.17
(sassy sunrise sunflowers)

7.22.17
(Hyde Park 24th of July parade with all the Elwoods)

7.22.17
(candy city!)

7.22.17
(seriously - that's a TON of candy)

7.22.17
(we just finished off the easter candy, so my guess
is that this haul will last us till Christmas - if it's
not all handed out to our three trick-or-treaters
first)

7.22.17
(there's a little carnival thing with booths and
games and rides and food after the parade at the
park by the church and Cal got her first face paint)

7.22.17
(she waited so patiently for her turn in the train
ride (pulled by a four wheeler around the field/
parking lot)

7.22.17
(later that afternoon it was sprinkler time on
Evy's trampoline)

bonus video!

tricks

7.22.17

7.23.17
(Blanchards on Sundays)

7.23.17

7.23.17
(ready to roll to church)

7.23.17
(waiting for Gregg to finish up in the office, I got to enjoy
this painting on the wall of the church - I love the view
of the valley, though maybe not super accurate to the pioneer's
view since the reservoir did not exist in the early days when the
valley was settled)

7.24.17
(dailystrollin' and snappin' weed pics for id from
my sister. she says this one is Wand Mullein
(she's pretty sure) I just love the cute little yellow
flowers)

7.24.17
(and this one is Showy Milkweed - I hadn't noticed
these before today)

7.24.17
(moody morning on the north arm)

7.24.17
(almost bloomin' sunflower)

7.24.17
(this one was open)

bonus videos!

dailystrollin' on the big hill

(they didn't want to stroll today)

big hill, continued

(I was really trying to catch Sam yelling, "Dowie, I beat you!"

as he ran up the hill, but he'd never say it when the camera was

rolling, of course)

running sammy

(I was so close on catching it this time, but alas, it's mostly just "Dowie"

which is still cute, so turn up your volume and pay attention at the beginning

for that. ;)

7.24.17

7.24.17
(the loveliest hollyhocks everywhere at this house
by the park)

7.24.17
(we had a yummy dinner with Gregg's sisters and their families
at his parents' house before it is no longer occupied by Blanchard
family members for a while (Laurel and Bret have been living there
for a couple of months until the renters could move in, and
Paul and Kim are already on their mission, but they are in this
pic if you look closely on Gregg's phone in a google hangout)

7.25.17
(lots of duds in this week's library bag, but one winner was
Rhoda - she reminds me of Callie and her rock-loving ways)

7.25.17
(another winner - I loved the art and the clever
evolution/increased counting on each page
without using any words at all)

7.25.17
(the library had one last hurrah for the summer
reading program with the firemen and a big truck
to see/touch/learn about - can you spot Cal right
up there at the front with all the big kids?
(hint: she's wearing a light blue shirt))

7.25.17
(they had an ambulance, too - and this was not all
the kids who were there; it was kind of a madhouse)

7.25.17
(big steps for those little legs)

7.25.17
(testing out the backseats with her friend Miles)

7.25.17

7.25.17
(ready to roll)

7.25.17
(I went to the eye doctor for the first time in 13
years and picked out new glasses - this was choice
A (and the one I ultimately chose))

7.25.17
(choice B, the runner up. And wow, do I need to
work on my mirror selfie skills. Or maybe not . . .)

7.26.17
(Cal drew this computer one day in the car - I just
decided to take a picture of it (on top of my
own computer, so meta) before it made it into
the recycling bin)

7.27.17
(a little Thursday disc golf adventure at Nordic
Valley)

7.27.17
(a truly lovely evening for a hike up a ski resort)

7.27.17
(happy to be in the shade)

7.27.17
(our high-point, the midstation)

7.27.17
(the views were lovely)

7.27.17
(the golf? not so much - all the holes we "played"
were zigzagging across a black run in waist
(or higher) deep grass - we nearly lost a disc
forever, but ended up finding it and calling it quits
on our third hole)

7.27.17
(it was pretty steep in places)

7.27.17
(on a trail again, and not throwing any more discs)

7.27.17

7.28.17
(I made Mel's Best Blueberry Muffins with fresh blueberries
that were on sale at the Market (I skipped the lemon sugar
and blueberry syrup and they were still divine - as you can tell
from the bite marks in multiple muffins; Sam just couldn't help
himself))