Hello everyone, I am sorry for not keeping y'all more up to date on what has been happening in the Sanford family. God has blessed us more than our wildest dreams and now I want to share with you a little bit of what we have been up these past few weeks in July.
First off we have our annual 4th of July party. This year was a little different for us since it was the first year our brother Garrison was not able to join us. Being a bitter sweet time made it difficult for some of us. But that didn't stop us from having a great time with the friends God has blessed us with.
Food is always a must at parties. This year there was a wonderful buffet line with lots of yummy food. Although I will say there was a lot of watermelon too. :)
After playing sports and talking away the afternoon. We all settled down to listen to why America is a free nation. Dad had some questions he asked and then Ashton read the Declaration of Independence. 
No Summer party is complete without S'mores! 
This year we got a little more extravagant and bought lights for the Volleyball court. We played well into the night and had a blast. 
This year Pastor went all out and bought us some good fireworks! Here is just one picture of the amazing sight we beheld in our very own back yard. These actually went up into the air and didn't just blow smoke! Which is a new concept from our past 4th parties. ;)
Thus ends our 4th of July party. It was a smashing success and we were thankful that the weather was bearable. :) Now we cannot wait for next year!!!
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Next up we have our amazing trip to California!!!! Tiff and Ben have been married for a little over two months now. But since they could not bring out all of their Californian friends to the wedding in IL they decided to throw a CA Reception on the 17th of July. We were invited to come but only a few of us could make it... meaning Mom and I. But since we were going we were able to take two of the McD girls with us as well as Ashton. Thanks to certain people who made that possible. (You know who you are) ;) So off we went, waking up at 2:45am to get to our flight in St. Louis. Here we are looking ever so happy to be alive at this hour.
Our flight into Oakland was canceled and so we were told we would have to stay the night in a hotel and catch the next flight in the morning. But God had different plans and we were able to make a detour to Phoenix, Arizona and make it to Oakland around 10:00pm instead of our original time of 1:00.
We were all very happy to finally make it to CA after having been up for 24 hours straight. This picture was taken in route to CA from AZ. Don't we look happy to be awake in this picture? 
Praise God, we finally made it to Tiff and Ben's house!! Ben took us out to Cold Stone Creamery to get some delicious ice cream and then we headed to their new adorable house to sleep. The next morning we didn't have too much to do so we went shopping with Tiff and we even got to eat at In-N-Out which I must say is very good.
That night the whole Hector family came down to Tiff and Ben's house and we had a lovely meal together in her dinning room. Here we are cooking and waiting for Ben to get home from work.
On Thursday all thanks to the Schroeder family, we were able to got Kayaking down the river. It was great fun getting absolutely soaked and, for Mom and Mel, tipping over and falling in. ;) While paddling down the river we had a great time just hanging out, talking, and *cough* fighting *cough*. All in all it was a great experience! But sadly there are no pictures of this event because of the danger of the water and cameras.
On Friday we woke up and headed up to Mountain Ranch to see the "other Hector's". And to help set up for the big day on Saturday. Once getting there we were put to work setting up tables, folding and wrapping napkins, and decorating the whole beautiful house.
All work and no play, made Jack a dull boy. So we made sure to get lots of play into our day. :) I love these people... :D 
Right before dinner we headed out to take a quick look around the property. Here we are.. not staged for this photo at all. :)
The big day finally came and with 233 people all over the house and yard we had a blast! Towards the end of the day the Schroeder girls and I started a wonderful game of Volleyball. It was boys against girls and we crushed the guys! *yeehaw!* But after that we split the teams evenly and played a bunch more games. Here I am serving for our team...
This is us three girls with two amazingly wonderful people who God blessed us all to be friends/family with.
Two more amazing Hector's get their picture with us. :)
And the two most amazing of all... Tiff and Ben! Mr. Hector gave a beautiful toast to the Bride and Groom and here they are drinking together.
After the party was all over we finished out the night with DANCING!!! Josh C. did a great job calling the dances for everyone. It was a wonderful way to end the day. *happy sigh*
Next day was Sunday and worshiping at the CVP church. It was a beautiful service and Pastor Walker did a wonderful job bringing us the Word. After church we headed over to Ben and Tiff's house to quickly change, eat lunch, and then head out to the beach! :D :D Here we are enjoying the waves and lovely view.
Jess, Mrs. Hector and I had a great time soaking up the sun and just enjoying each other's company. I love those two people. <3
After the beach the Hector's took everyone to a seafood restaurant close by. Not being much on seafood I didn't know what to expect. But now after having a delicious bowl of clam chowder, trying octopus, and some sort of other thing that Ben made me try, I think it is safe to say it was all GREAT! As long as you don't think about what you are eating. *huge grin* ;)
Alas all good things must come to an end... :( Our trip to California was waaayyy too short. But it was amazing!! God has blessed us with friends that feel a lot more like family and I am so unbelievable happy and thankful for that. Before dropping us off at the airport. Thomas (our driver for the day) took us up to a look-out sort of area and we stopped to enjoy the beautiful view. After that he also sweetly paid for Starbucks! Which keep us happy and awake for the flight home. :)
Here is our group, minus Mommy, getting a picture together at the look-out.
Four smiling faces. Happy for the time we had together again and yet sad for the separation that was about to come...
None of this trip would have been possible if my Mother had not agreed to come with us and be our "adult supervisor" for the week. A HUGE thanks goes to her for allowing us to make these sweet memories that will last us a life time. Thank you Mommy!!! Love you!!! :)
And that is the end of our trip.... Although we are sad that it is over we are still so unbelievably happy that God saw fit to bless us to have such an amazing time with everyone in CA especially the New... Young... Hector's!!! Woohoo! :) Now we all cannot wait to see everyone out there again and we are trying to be patient for next May when Presbytery rolls around. Until then life must go on... Thanks for reading!
God bless y'all!
~Melinda
