C’mon in, it’s time for another monthly wrap up!

This month was full of adventure for me. I have been looking through Middle Age colored lenses, and so many aspects of this month felt Medieval even though they were just every day events. I went on side quests, spent a ton of time outside, and did a lot of creating. Most things didn’t go perfectly or smoothly, but I guess that just adds to the “adventure” aspect, right?

But before we get into everything that has happened in my life this month, let’s review some media I’ve been enjoying!

Media

Assassin’s Quest

I binge-read and finished Assassin’s Quest at the very beginning of this month, and if you want to talk about “Side Quests”, this one was an epic adventure. Assassin’s Quest was another five star read, I can’t choose between this last book in the trilogy and Royal Assassin. Fitz was such an impulsive character, I swear he thought he was invincible. Which is a crazy assumption considering nothing has ever gone in his favor, literally ever! But this installment focused on my favorite characters: The Fool, Verity, and Kettricken. And Nighteyes of course, but after the first book, I can’t handle getting too close to pet characters. Why Robin Hobb, WHY?

I rated the first book a 3.5 just based off of emotional damage alone, but this trilogy as a whole is a 6 out of 5 star from me. I have not read anything that has made me feel like being a book fiend as a teen has for so long, and this did that for me.

Ship of Magic has just now been available to pick up from the library. I have a one track mind so I couldn’t bring myself to read anything different until my hold was ready to be picked up, hence only reading one book this month.

Kingdom Come Deliverance

I mentioned Kingdom Come Deliverance in my R.E.P.O.R.T., and I am still slowly working my way through it. Actually, I think I am barely anywhere in the game as of right now. I have been focused on being outside and running around, and by the time there is a good moment to sit down and play it, I have been tired.

Dylan has already finished the second game, and I plan on getting a good chunk in while there are some rainy days during the last part of this month. I am just so bad at video games, even though I really enjoy watching them. I get so lost I make myself dizzy spinning around, and combat is not much better. I have already restarted the game once because I realized I made some really dumb choices that would have made my difficult medieval life even harder.

It just makes me realize I wouldn’t last a week left to my own devices in Medieval times. I’ll stick to my make believe Medieval fantasy, the real thing would do me in.

Life

July was full of Sonic drink trips and a weekly Waffle House dinner ritual. I always get a coffee with Splenda, and hash browns with onions and sometimes jalapeños. Dylan has been getting some variation of their Cheesesteak, whether it be in a melt or in a hash brown bowl.

Also, why are the handles on Waffle House mugs so small? I look like a gremlin holding the mug in this photo.

Camping

The weekend after July 4th, Mom, my brother, the dogs, and I went on a camping trip! There was some rain in the forecast, but it ended up only being rainy the first night. We woke up on Saturday and the campgrounds were able to load up our kayaks and bus us up the Illinois River.

Tori is a great kayak rider. After the first dunks she had during our trial run before camping, she finds a comfy spot in the back of the kayak and chills out.

The float back to the camp site was about an hour and a half, and we stopped once for a dog potty break. Tori got wet and immediately had the zoomies after, running through the grass and rocks.

After we got back to the camper, we set up a campfire and made some s’mores with chocolate covered mint cookies. They were amazing! I tried to bake a potato in the hot ashes and my potato ended up crunchy, oops.

Hanging Laundry

The belt in the dryer broke, and we had to hang our laundry for a few days while it was being repaired. Just tossing it over the fence seemed to do the trick, there weren’t many other options.

More Outside Moments

After returning my library book, the traffic was so good that I stopped to get a snow cone. The one in the photo is wedding cake flavor, but I’ve discovered strawberry cheesecake may be my favorite.

Northwest Arkansas has been experiencing a heat wave, and Tori loves being outside. I’ve been trying to spend more time outside with her, but it has been HOT! Even if Tori is panting, she still won’t come inside sometimes, so I had a little pool day with her. I used the blow-up balloons from her birthday party and added in her favorite ball to play with as an enticement to get in.

Other than that, I’ve just been giving her a spray with the water hose. After spraying Tori, I go around the house and spray the plants. My brother’s banana peppers have been getting big! I picked this one thinking it was going to be spicier, and it wasn’t. There are a few new babies growing on a different stem.

If I go over to Dylan’s for dinner, lately I have been coming back home to a guard frog on the gate. They take shifts, I’m not sure if I have seen the same one twice, yet. It has been a lot of fun finding them each night and taking a ton of pictures.

It has been nice weather despite the heat, so I also spent a day working on this blog post on the front patio!

One Last Kayak Trip for the Month

On July 26th, Dylan and I woke up early for a sunrise kayak trip with the pups. We packed the kayaks and dog supplies the night before, but I had forgotten the paddles and had just remembered before we got to the lake. Even though we had to turn around and do another trip, we still made it to the lake at the last parts of the sunrise.

The lake entrance wasn’t crowded, and it was super easy to get everything set up and get the dogs in their life jackets. When we bring the dogs to the kayak, we loop their leash through the handle and clip it to their life jacket, so even if they fall in, they won’t be too far to grab.

This was Rue’s first time on a kayak, and I think she did good. Dylan was not as impressed, I think Rue thought there was an exit, and there was not! She would be relaxed until she saw Tori and I, and then try to get into my kayak for the lake treats I had brought for them.

I thought it was funny, at least! Rue fell into the water five or six times, probably more. Tori fell in twice near the end, but she just laid back and relaxed either at the very front of the kayak or in the spot behind me.

I took a ton of photos, because the rising sun made everything so pretty. Being out before the sun started to bake us was also nice, and the water was warm. We saw herons, turtles, and a lot of fish making ringlets in the water.

We kayaked out to the dam and then turned around and headed back, the whole trip was about an hour, which was a good enough test of Rue’s patience after taking a good few dunks.

While we were loading and strapping the kayaks in the bed of the truck, Tori locked the doors with the truck running. I was sure she would press the unlock button and we focused on the kayaks first. After failing at getting Tori to unlock the doors, she laid down in the passenger seat and took a nap.

We were eventually able to get back in and head home after calling the non-emergency line. What a morning, we were over the day before 9 am.

Readers’ Favorite Post This Month

My Favorite Post This Month

Conclusion

I had a pretty eventful July! There were a lot of outside moments so far this summer, which is always needed after a cold winter and a spring full of allergies. Next month, we will celebrate Dylan’s birthday! I have something sweet planned which I will hopefully be able to share, as long as it turns out. Lately, things haven’t really been going according to any sensible plan, like my Battleship tactic I tried.

You’re telling me this layout didn’t grant me a win? I will try to win a game in August, by honest means or not!

From July 31st to August 2nd I will be on a weekend trip with my Dad, Stepmom, and little sister, so I will start the month off with another adventure. Those photos will be included in August’s recap.

How was your July? Did things go slightly off the rails like mine did? Let me know, and I hope you are all staying cool in this heat!