Buddy is up to 45 pounds. What a horse! He stepped on a bee or was bitten by something the other night. I kept calling him and he wouldn't come. He is stubborn sometimes, but he has never ignored me for that long. I then found him under a mango tree nursing his back paw. I felt so guilty for yelling and yelling for him. He survived, but I did call Todd and make him come home. Our baby was sick so I thought he should come home.

     This was a busy month. We started off camping with friends for the Fourth of July. I was apprehensive about camping, but I had a great time. We filled our Jeep with stuff for our two night stay. We had an air mattress, our tent, chairs, tons of food, clothes, Buddy's toys, bed, and water dish not to mention our lights and propane stove. Oh and we had all of our snorkel gear and beach stuff. We ate tons of great food and enjoyed the company of good friends. Buddy got to pal around with his friend, Allen who happens to weigh about 12 pounds. They are really funny to watch. Allen does not back down when playing and he bites Buddy's lower lip and hangs on for the ride.

     We were full with renting in July. For the first week, we had Karl and his family in both the house and apartment. They were visiting for a family reunion. Mark, Martha and their daughter Elizabeth from Texas rented the Tree Top apartment. They had a blast touring and exploring the whole island. They were certainly going to be tired from their vacation. Next we had Lynette, Brian and their son Kai from California in the Tree Top apartment. Mahalo nui Brian for all the work you did. It looks wonderful! Last, but not least my parents, Vic and Tammy visited. The two weeks flew by. I took off of work and actually got to enjoy our farm and the island. We worked on the farm, picking coffee and pruning. Todd and Dad built a coffee drying deck. It was just in time too since we were running out of space on the drying screens. We also went to beaches, shopped, visited the volcano, and cooked and ate and ate. It was so great to have you here. Start planning the next trip for at least a month. You both need more time for relaxing and Dad needs more time to work on projects.

     My mom, dad and I cleaned up the garden. It was time to take out the huge kabocha vines and also clean up the weeds. Some how we have taro growing in the garden. I also have two scrawny looking soybean plants. I hope they make it, but it looks doubtful. Todd planted an orchid in a palm tree and it is about to flower. I should put my orchids outside that are struggling to survive in our apartment. People say to ignore your orchids. I do ignore them. Perhaps I water them once a week. They must be mad at me since they continue to drop leaves and have not flowered since I got them.

     We have some sad news. Tilly our turkey died this month. She was fine in the morning and when Todd went to give her water in the afternoon, she was gone. I am not sure if we helped or hurt by extending her life, but it felt wrong to leave her wounded on the road.

     Happy Birthday to my Dad and my sister, Lee Ann! Once again sorry for the late cards. I just can't seem to get used to the idea that I need to send cards earlier from Hawaii than I had to in Pennsylvania. Todd's parents and our nieces, Jessica and Sarah are coming on August 2. We are looking forward to the visit. I am sure the girls will be so much bigger since we last saw them in November.