The evening of the 4th we had our friend, Amy from Phoenix, Mary Jo, & our next-door neighbors over. We enjoyed dessert together & fireworks!

Amy & I slipped away to the mountains the next day. We stayed in Cripple Creek & enjoyed relaxing, good food & a mine tour. 

While we were away & Anna was at a ballet intensive, James & Kenny drove to Denver & found James a new cymbal & drum stool. With the number of hours James plays in a week, it is time to replace parts of his drum set. Here’s to more drumming!

In June, Anna spent four days at LAUNCH camp.

LAUNCH is a unique opportunity for middle school girls to recognize their unique purpose and identity in Christ.  Hiking, crafting, games, food(!), and honest conversation, all in a small intimate group.

The camp is held every year for one week in June & one week in July, & only ten to twelve girls attend each week. Anna & some of her bible study friends all decided to go together this summer & they had such a great time. Each day consisted of a hike – some were hefty hikes – discussion together, meals & crafts. The leaders were all teachers from another campus of our school & they all love Jesus & loved our girls so well that week. 

Anna was a little unsure about the one overnight to Breckenridge with the group, but she faced her fear & had a fantastic time. We’re so proud of her willingness to try something new & make new friendships. Some of these girls she met at Launch have become friends she eats lunch with every day at Jr. High now. We’re so thankful Anna had this opportunity this summer. 

This summer, Anna had three weeks of Ballet Intensives that included contemporary, pointe & jazz, and one week of a Worship Workshop. Guest artists were brought in & the girls worked very hard, learning & progressing quickly with dancing most of the day. 

At the end of June, James’s drumline was asked to march in a neighborhood 4th of July parade. Kenny & I headed to a friend’s house in that neighborhood & watched them march by. Everyone gathered at a nearby park afterward for ice cream. It was a great time!

Moving into the more relaxed days of summer was a breath of fresh air for all of us. Sleeping in, more dinners together (yay for no evening commitments over the summer!), eating on the patio, & playing outside together in the evenings. I love the simplicity of summertime meals – grill some meat & veggies, add some fruit & chips & you have a meal. And we enjoyed all kinds of outside games together – pickleball on our street, throwing a frisbee, kan-jam (a frisbee game), spike ball & ladder ball. Many nights after dinner, the kids jumped on the trampoline while Kenny & I enjoyed sitting out back talking & watching the kids. We all love those nights. 

Picking James up from band camp at the end of May I caught the drumline playing from the field to the band room. 

In early June we traveled back to NE & attended a family reunion with my parents. We enjoyed seeing so many family members on my mom’s side of the family. About 80 people were in attendance & we later counted that we were missing about 80 people as well. A big family. 

My mom’s parents – where this big family began. I’m so glad my aunt brought their photo to the reunion. It seemed strange without them there. 

While in NE we spent one brief night staying with my parents & did get to the shop to see Dad’s garden. James had on nice, new, bright white tennis shoes so he borrowed boots from my dad. And Anna borrowed a hat from Grandpa. Two goof-balls. 

After returning home, we noticed our frig wasn’t working properly. Thankfully, with a second frig in the garage, it was no big deal. Kenny got to work troubleshooting & after disassembling both the frig, then the freezer found the problem. Ordered a rather inexpensive part on Amazon & fixed it himself. I was SO proud of him! 

Kenny also outdid himself with our strawberry patch this year. Every year the squirrels & rabbits eat everything before the berries ripen. This year he fashioned a net over the top to keep the critters out & we harvested a bowl of small, juicy, sweet strawberries! They were fantastic! 

Father’s Day!

Some of Kenny’s favorite foods: Steak, grilled peppers, watermelon, potato salad & carrot cake!