Coffee Break–Volume 186

A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, learned, tried and remembered.

It’s summer so my “weekly” writing has become more of a “when there’s time for it in between lazy pool days, activities and vacations”.  Bear with me as I unpack a month and a half worth of our goings on–this might a be two cups of Coffee Break.

1. Mother’s Day AND My Birthday. These holidays always happen within about a week and Super Rockstar was busy making them very special for me. For Mother’s Day he and my boys made their own cards for me–Hallmark can’t ever quite express it the way they feel it. It was such a good day–and I enjoyed being spoiled and loved on.

And then for my birthday I got to spend my day just how I wanted to–a morning hike with a cinnamon roll and coffee, a scavenger hunt (with very tricky clues) to find my birthday box stuffed full of treats, snacks, new clothes, flies (for fishing), and so much more. And then we got to go out for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse (our family favorite). Turning double nickels ain’t so bad at all.

2. The Air Force Thunderbirds. Here in Colorado Springs, we get to enjoy a special treat every late May. The United States Air Force Academy graduation always includes the Air Force Thunderbirds putting on a fantastic show to see. Since Super Rockstar’s workplace has front row seats–they host a picnic every year for employees to come and enjoy. They flew right over our heads a couple of times rattling our teeth and making us deaf, but it was so awesome. The boys also got to see Super Rockstar’s new office while we were there.

3. Summer Break Begins. The boys finished school May 23. I don’t think words can describe how thrilled we all were for it to be done–it was a tough year for both of them.

They absolutely love sleeping in, lazing their way through the day and not having to do a single math problem (except calculating how many popsicles they can eat). I have a tradition of buying them things–like water guns, water balloons, and have lots of summer fun stuff waiting for them when they get home on their last day of school. This year I purchased a snow cone maker and it’s been a huge hit.

I try to get our above ground pool set up by Memorial Day but this year we decided to relevel the patio first–which as with all of my projects–took a bit more time and effort than I thought. So, it was a race to get it done. Setting it up and filling it takes a full day–thankfully the boys helped me this year. We have to add a lot of hot water too (I attach a hose to our kitchen sink faucet) since late May is technically still winter in Colorado. That way we’re not turning to human popsicles as soon as we step in.

The boys attempted a sleepover in tents one night. There was a lot of set up and planning and gear, but noisy neighbor dogs and someone shooting off fireworks (which sounded like gunfire) brought them in around midnight.

Morgan’s been enjoying his airsoft target shooting and Grayson started summer football practice with some 7 v 7 games–he even scored a couple touchdowns.

And, since it’s us–we’ve been watching A LOT of movies–in the theater as well as at home. One of our traditions is to go to Summer Movie Clubhouse at Cinemark Theaters. They show favorite kids movies each week for really cheap and it’s a great way to get out of the house and get out of the heat.

4. Solo Gig at Cave of the Winds. Super Rockstar got to play a solo gig at Cave of the Winds Memorial Day weekend. Morgan was working, but Grayson and I got to have lunch and enjoy listening to him sing. It’s such a cool place to visit and a great way to spend a day. They have guided cave tours, awesome attractions and activities–like climbing walls, ropes courses, and the exciting Terrordactyl ride, and a fantastic gift shop and cafe. They will feature live music in the cafe all summer long and Super Rockstar will be back in August for another solo gig.

5. Civil Air Patrol Encampment. Morgan has long been wanting to get his private pilot’s license. He joined Civil Air Patrol a little over a year ago and has gotten to go on many what they call “orientation flights” where he gets to fly with a pilot and also gets the experience of “taking the wheel” so to speak. He also goes to weekly meetings where they learn a lot about aerospace, along with things like practicing drills and ceremony and doing physical fitness training. They offer many paths for young cadets including one leading to a private pilot license. But, to get there, all cadets are required to attend an Encampment. What is Encampment? I’m so glad you asked. Encampment is a boot camp of sorts where for 7 straight days 100 cadets from all over the U.S.A. are awoken early, have room inspections, get yelled at a lot and spend the entire day hoofing around to PT, drills, classes, and various other activities.

He was NOT looking forward to this. We had to sign up way back in March and he consistently begged me every day leading up to not have to go. But we stuck to the commitment and dropped him off June 5th where we were not allowed to hear from him (no phones, phone calls, letters) for seven days. That was the hardest part for me. Thankfully it was held nearby–over on the Air Force Academy at the Prep School.  Also, I got to sign up to help serve some of the meals, so I got to at least see him and make ever so slight eye contact. I found out later that they were not supposed to talk to anyone during meals and only allowed to look at their food. They did post a lot of “proof of life” (as I call them) photos of all the cadets in their various activities on a Facebook page. There was no smiling. At all. So, it was hard to measure how he was doing. Was he absolutely miserable? Was it tolerable? The agony of the unknown was killing us.

One eternity later we got to pick him up. It was so emotional for all of us. Not only was he happy to see us, but he was excited to share all of his adventures from the week. He got to fly in a C-14–with the back opened up. He got to experience VR simulators. He got to tour the Air Force Academy. He had a lot of good (and hard) experiences that pushed him way beyond his comfort zones. Does he want to do it again? H. E. Double Hockey Sticks. NO! But he feels very proud of himself for finishing it. And that’s worth the price of admission to me.

6. Father’s Day and Camping. Super Rockstar got to enjoy the good life on Father’s Day…for a split second. He got to sleep in, go to church, and the boys made him great cards with plenty of insults (their love language to him) –I especially love the one from Grayson (who lovingly calls him “fat boy”).

And then by noon it was over. He had to do Daddy stuff–like getting us packed to go camping.

We go to a place outside of Lake City every year and my parents got to join us this time. We enjoyed lots of kayaking and fishing and though the afternoon winds made it a little tricky, we still had fun. Also–we learned that the water is REALLY high and fast this time of year (we normally go in July). There were a couple of times out on the river where I was convinced, I was just going to be stuck there in the rushing water forever–the current so fast that if I even tried to scoot my foot it seemed I was going to do the splits or be swept down a mile of river. Plus, in fly fishing–it usually works best for the fly to float at a nice leisurely pace to attract the fish–not go by like an Indy car race.

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We did have a bit of an adventure on our way home. Just a mile or two heading down Monarch Pass toward Salida, we lost a wheel on our camper. At first, we thought it was just a popped tire that we could replace. But learned that the entire assembly had fallen off somewhere along the way. Thankfully we were able to pull off the road safely, get it towed to town, and a repair done by the next day. Though it was not a great experience, God was good to us every step of the way.

7. Movies and Shows to Watch–Episode 94.

8. My Favorite Memes of the Week.

   

As always, I would love to hear from you. I hope you have a great week (or another month and a half–we’ll see)!