A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, learned, tried and remembered.
Does anyone know what happened to July? I remember that there was a beginning, but someone must have pushed the fast forward on my life, because my head is spinning at the thought that it’s almost the end of August. So, travel back in time with me, to hear all about our July adventures:
1. Kansas Trip. Traveling to my folk’s house for 4th of July has been a long-standing tradition of ours. We absolutely love it for several reasons:
a. Scott City. This has been our lunch stop for each and every trip to Kansas as long as I can remember. They put in a fantastic playground many years ago and it’s always a fun stop–even in the ridiculous heat. They had a blast goofing around and even reenacting some of our favorite photos from long ago.
b. My hometown. We love seeing my folks, my sister, Steph and brother-in-law Todd, having steak and homemade ice-cream, lunch at Anchor Inn, and perusing through the antique and toy stores downtown. This year we also got to drive to Topeka where Steph and Todd just moved to their new home AND see my niece Amy and her husband Zach and meet their beautiful new baby boy, Aiden. He’s an absolute delight and I just love seeing what wonderful parents Amy and Zach are (Note: He is currently unavailable for public photos–the paparazzi is relentless). It’s also pretty cool to see my sis as a grandma.
c. The Parade. I love a good 4th of July parade and Hutchinson Kansas does not disappoint. There is everything from the Shriners, to horses, to tractors, and even a mobile outhouse. The best part is the oodles of candy and even popsicles given out.
d. Fireworks. This has become quite the event each year–getting bigger and better with way more epic tank battles, strategic blowing up of the carnage, and of course–sparklers. Also, I’ve never seen so many of the neighbors shooting off such large fireworks. We just took our chairs out to the park in from of my parents’ house and enjoyed a 360 view of awesomeness.
e. The Pool. My hometown has a really nice public swimming pool with fantastically cold water and diving boards that the boys enjoy jumping off (over and over and over). We soaked in the sun, and all came home with sunburns.
2. Baptisms. Both Morgan and Grayson made decisions about giving their lives to God by accepting Jesus as their Savior several years ago. But both of them have been hesitant about making it public by being baptized. We never pushed, but just made sure they knew anytime it was available at our church and what was involved. On our drive to Kansas, Grayson asked when the next baptism at church was. It just so happened there was one the Sunday after we got home from our trip. He immediately said he wanted to and Morgan chimed in that he was ready as well. We found out that the registrations had already been closed (they have to prepare and such), but thanks to our good friends Pastor Birky and Lynn Whitesides–they helped make it happen. It was an absolute thrill to see my young men make public professions of their faith and express their desire to live for God in front of our whole congregation.
3. Super Rockstar’s Birthday. He had to work most of the day, but when he got home, he got to enjoy reading the cards we all made him (Grayson’s are getting more and more epic), do a scavenger hunt for his birthday box and enjoy the truck load of treats, snacks, and gifts inside. We also got to go out to Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner (this is all our favorite) –which included a giant dessert. So, we saved his birthday cake for the next day.
4. Top Golf. Super Rockstar has been to Top Golf a couple of times with work related activities, but this was the first time for the rest of us. The boys had put it on our Summer Bucket List and I’m so glad they did. It was an absolute blast. They have so many “games” to choose from–my favorite was the Angry Birds ones. The food is really great too, but kind of pricey. We will for sure be back though.
5. Solo Gig at Boot Barn Hall Patio. Super Rockstar got to enjoy playing another solo gig–this time at Boot Barn Hall Patio. It was an absolutely gorgeous Colorado evening, so many good friends came, and we all enjoyed hearing him sing and play guitar.
6. Camping at Mueller. Our second camping trip of the year was at Mueller State Park (it’s near Divide, CO). We absolutely love this place. It can get pretty crowded, but the campsites are so clean and most all of them back up to the forest and have fantastic views. We drove over to Eleven Mile Canyon to fish–Super Rockstar caught one, I enjoyed casting my line and gawking at the gorgeous scenery, and the boys climbed rocks, waded in the river, and Morgan shot at pretend targets with his airsoft rifle. It was so warm we didn’t even need waders–the water temp was glorious. We also got to enjoy campfires, eat s’mores, watch movies in the camper and had an absolute blast.
7. Movies and Shows to Watch. Just click to link to read our reviews of what we watched.
8. My Favorite Memes of the Week.
As always, I would love to hear from you. I hope you have a great week (or month or two).