My view when I arrived at church very early in the morning last week for a rehearsal…

Kenny has been working for months and months on a lighting project for our church and it is close to being finished!  As the resident lighting guy at Village Seven, he was asked last summer to research and decide what kind of overhead lighting would be best for our sanctuary.  The current lights had been there for decades and it was time for something more efficient.  Last fall new sanctuary lights were ordered and because of supply issues, they didn’t arrive until the beginning of summer.  Unfortunately, the wrong lights were sent, which delayed the project even further.  Finally, the correct lights arrived, were installed, and Kenny was then able to get them aimed correctly.  That day, Anna and I happened to be at the church for another event and while checking in on Kenny, he offered her a ride in the lift.  She said it was fun and scary all at the same time.

The kids have been hopping up onto the kitchen counter now and again and it reminds me of when I used to do this in my parent’s kitchen.  Sometimes the kids want to chat while I’m working and sometimes they just sit.  Either way, I appreciate their company.  

Enjoying our local baseball team, the Vibes.  James was in attendance too, but was sitting with his friends from the youth group.  Fireworks follow the game every Friday night in the summer which is always so much fun. They really have the best fireworks show in town!

Kenny has been using his smoker more lately (working from home has made this so much easier for him) and is enjoying perfecting brisket and pork shoulder.  He recently invested in a tool to inject meat which he was very excited about.  

We served pulled pork one weekend to our good friends the Bryants and Bishops (our next-door neighbors) and had such a great time together.  

Measuring the kids…

Anna surprising her friend, Emmy, for her birthday…

James and Caden at an air-soft arena…

Last month, we spent one day in Denver visiting The Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Meow Wolf – an interactive art installation.  The Nature & Science museum was definitely our favorite and I have zero pictures while we were there.  Meow Wolf was interesting and we appreciated the creativity and work it took to build but was a bit of sensory overload for most of us.  

On another day we went bowling and played laser tag – lots of fun. 

Kenny and Anna made California rolls and they were delicious!

Father’s Day fun…

The boys playing basketball…

Anna and I have been playing many, many games of Monopoly Deal this summer which is a much shorter, card-game version of the real thing.  We play three games every day (when it works with our schedule) and record on the calendar who wins two out of three.  Then at the end of the summer, we’ll tally the scores and see who wins!  We’re still deciding what the prize will be.  

VBS at our church was a family affair this year.  Anna attended and invited a school friend to join her.  She enjoyed introducing her friend to her church friends.  James was involved in the youth group’s mission week which included helping with VBS in the mornings.  The 8th graders were in charge of games which he enjoyed.  Kenny designed some fun lighting for the daily opening and closing sessions and worked from the church every morning that week so he could run the lights.  They were so cool and added much to the music and fun.  We all helped decorate the church the day before VBS began and enjoyed transforming classrooms, the sanctuary, and lobby into exciting spaces.  During the week I was the taxi service that got everyone where they needed to be.  What a fun week!

During the afternoons, James and the Jr. High youth group did service projects and also had some fun.  They pulled weeds one day at a nearby elementary school.  The next day was arcade games and laser tag at the Summit.  On the third day, the 8th-grade boys helped an older woman in our church get her yard cleaned up.  James mowed, some boys trimmed bushes and trees, and they all helped stain her fence.  And the last day they all went to Dart Wars.  So thankful for this ministry opportunity for James at our church. 

We sure are enjoying having the kids home from school for the summer.  We’re one month into summer break and the kids have adjusted to staying up later at night, enjoying the nice weather in the evenings, and sleeping in most days.  Anna, our early riser, has hit a growth spurt and often sleeps in later too.  

Every summer I think through some life skills the kids need to learn and then focus on a few over break.  When I asked the kids what they wanted to learn this summer, James replied “Nothing” and Anna said she’d like to learn to cook and bake more. 

So, I promptly picked something for James – learning to do his own laundry – and informed him of this fun new skill he was going to learn.  Even though he wasn’t thrilled about it, he hasn’t complained and has successfully learned to handle his own laundry.  And, the amount of clothes I’m washing every week has dramatically decreased.  A win all around! 

About a week after showing James the details in the laundry room I noticed one day he was wearing sweat pants.  James NEVER wears pants.  It was kind of a cool day so I asked him if he was cold.  He replied, “No, I’m out of shorts.  Have to do some laundry today.”  Perfect.  That’s the best way to learn – to run out of clothes.  Showing your kids how to do their own laundry felt like a bit of a milestone and I stored the memory away.

I’m proud of James and the amazing young man he is.  Lately, he’s been playing drums quite a bit and is taking drum lessons again for the summer.  He has recently researched new drum heads, sticks, and cymbals for his set.  He created a spreadsheet of everything he wants and needs and several prices for each from various vendors.  One of his favorite things to do is to play along to songs.  In the following video he is playing along to a Skillet song, and the second is just a cool drum beat.  

Anna jumped right in with learning more in the kitchen.  So far she’s made chocolate chip cookies and banana bread (with chocolate chips) all on her own.  I was standing next to her, answering questions but she did everything herself.  She’s also mostly made spaghetti, but we decided she needs a little more height and strength to deal with a boiling pot of pasta water.  

After Anna made cookies on her own I asked her a few questions about her new skill.