Things are starting to get more back to normal. Todd is feeling better although the healing is very slow. He was so pleased to finally get the clearance this month from the doctor to resume his normal activities. Because of the surgery, he could not go swimming in the ocean. So when Todd came home from the doctor, he put on his suit and went to the beach for a swim. Just because we were starting to get back to normal, something else had to crop up. Our computer died and then I didn't get the email reminder to pay for our domain so our website and email was taken down. We got a new computer, paid the bill and we are back in business. We took Josephine to the computer store to spec out a new computer. At just 4 months old, she is already buying computers. We frequently hold her while we are working on the computer. She might hear keyboards clacking in her dreams.

     Firsts this month: One of her firsts was a bad thing. Poor Josephine had her first sunburn. It was not bad and she did not seem bothered by it at all, but I felt so badly. When we take her to the beach, we usually go in the morning and go home well before noon. This time, friends kept showing up and we were having fun. Josephine was content. We were under a tree and under an umbrella, but I didn't put sunblock on her yet. The doctor said it would be fine once she was 4 months. I just didn't bring her block since we usually were home before it got too sunny. From now on, I put on her sunblock before we leave. Some good news: Josephine found her feet so now she entertains herself by grabbing her feet. Josephine had her second set of shots. She only cried when she was stuck. Even the nurse commented how unusual it is for the baby to not continue to cry. Just like with her first shots, she ended up not sleeping well and being a bit fussy for the next couple days. Our baby weighed 13 pounds, 13 ounces and was 24 inches long. We talked about her starting to eat foods at 6 months. The doctor said she recommends rice cereal or poi. I think we will stick with the rice cereal. We went with Joe and Jodi to the Farm Fair. Josephine's first farm fair was a disappointment. The farm is all about out of the fair. They had a tiny petting zoo of a few baby goats, one baby cow and one tired and hot looking rabbit. There were only papayas and lettuce for vegetables to buy and there were no plants to purchase. It was all rides, dumb games and over priced food. Todd and I split a $3.50 soft pretzel. We walked around once and then went home.

     The reverend (Carol) of our church as very sick this month so many people helped out. A lay minister stood in for the services and she did a great job. Other members made sure all the stuff behind the scenes that you don't think about ran smoothly. Todd and I took Carol's dog, Babe, for two afternoons so she could get some exercise. She looks like one of those little fluffy dogs that would be yippy, but she turned out to be very mellow and well behaved. She got along with Buddy and Louie right away. I think it sort of funny that when the church is in need, Todd and I dog sit.

     We participated in the Kona Coffee Council's Cream of the Crop Festival at the Four Seasons. I entered the dessert contest where you had to prepare a dessert using 100% Kona Coffee. I made my great-grandmother's coffee cake with Kona coffee instead of milk. I made test cakes for a week and then baked for 6.5 hours to make 18 cakes the night before the festival. We needed to have at least 200 sample pieces and we could also sell our dessert. I also got together my table decorations. I used coffee bags, a potted coffee tree and coffee parchment along with flowers from our farm. Todd was very helpful and encouraging (and he helped eat the test cakes). We packed up the car Saturday morning with cakes, decorations and baby supplies. It was boiling hot there. The sun was not out, but it was so hot and humid. I would take Josephine into the air conditioned bathroom to feed her. She was so uncomfortable, but she did not cry or get fussy even once. The other coffee farmers at tables next to us could not believe that she ever cries. We didn't win the contest. Can you believe that the Four Seasons won? It was very unfair that professional chefs competed against the farmers. I later found out from Beryl who ran the event that normally other resorts compete and so the resorts are against one another. This year only the Four Seasons made desserts so they competed with the farmers. We had fun anyway even though I did stress out some. I only sold 2 cakes and a few slices. We gave the rest of the cakes to friends and to the church for Aloha Hour.

     We had some last minute guests stay with us at the end of the month, a couple from California and their 7 month old son. The poor baby got his first tooth on the vacation and I heard him crying during the night. I am not looking forward to Josephine teething. Todd's friends from his old job also stayed with us.

     Happy 90th Birthday to Todd's grandmother, Susan! Happy Birthday to Todd's Mom and Happy Wedding Anniversary to Todd's parents! Congratulations to Charlie on his double grandfatherhood (his son and daughter-in-law had twins, a boy and a girl). Congratulations on the birth of their twin sons to Scott and Maureen. We are really looking forward to our trip to Pennsylvania to see our family and catch up with friends and eat good pizza!