Eric and I picked Silas and Phoebe up from church youth camp the morning of July 3rd. They both loved camp! They had stories of games, wading in a creek, songs and singing, staying up late, friends, camp pranks, concessions and root beer floats, the bus/van ride, and messages from Pastor Brian Bowerman. We had about an hour car ride to Uncle Ernie's house from the camp. Both kids talked just a little bit before falling asleep on our drive.
At Ernie's house, we enjoyed lots of family time, fireworks, the lake and swimming, fishing, games, and laughter.
Eric and Silas have been going kayak fishing on some ponds near our house. They load up their gear into our truck and fish for an hour our two in the evening together.
One evening Eric and I tried out a new (to us) restaurant called Bone Fish. The food was alright, more expensive than what we would normally pick. I had high expectations but really was let down by what I chose to eat. I had the coconut shrimp, and it was not good. Eric had some sort of Salmon dish. I think he thought it was good, but nothing to write home about. This was a one and done restaurant for us.
Phoebe and Silas got to go to the musical ELF with Popee.
Our dog, Ray, appeared to have a medium sized swollen bump on her nose one afternoon. By evening it had gone down and disappeared. The next morning, she woke up with a swollen eye and swollen lips and face. She looked ridiculous and so funny! Later that afternoon, Phoebe and I took her to the vet. She was given a steroid shot and a Benadryl shot. And, we were given instructions to give her Benadryl morning and night for the next two days. Most likely she was either stung by a bee on her face or even more likely, she ate a bee.
Eric helped his friends, Roby and Cameron, plan and put on the F.I.R.E retreat for young teen boys in mid-July. To read more about it
When the guys were gone overnight at the F.I.R.E. retreat, Phoebe and I enjoyed some delicious drinks from Barista Blenz, shopping, dinner from Panda Express, and watched a movie together.
One of my college roommates, Molly, was in town for a weekend in July. Her daughter was playing basketball here. We were able to meet one morning for catching up and breakfast. The next day I got to go meet her again and watch a basketball game with her. It was SO GREAT to see her! She was one of my best friends during our college years at K-State together. We always had a so much fun and lots of adventures, she, I, and our other college BFF, Summer.
One morning, while passing by Phoebe's bedroom, I looked in and saw our sweet cat, Lucy, laying in the rays of sunshine amongst Phoebe's yarn. She was cozy and lovely. Just a few days after this, Lucy got sick. We made an emergency trip to the vet and after x-rays we found out she had a significant blockage that would have to be surgically removed. A pretty bleak picture was painted while considering her old age (16), condition, and other likely risks, we made the sad decision to have her put to sleep. She was a good cat for our family. We adopted her when Sarah was in 7th grade from the Humane Society. When Sarah's middle school went to all online for a few months (due to stupid covid related things), Lucy liked to sit with her while she was doing online school. I think that she made several appearances on Sarah's computer screen for her classmates and teachers to see during that time. Lucy loved to sleep in Sarah's bed, and we joke that her favorite place to drop a surprise poop or cough up a hairball was Sarah's room. Lucy liked the occasional belly rub, chasing some yarn, or a ray of light. She meowed when she was hungry or wanted to be pet. She tolerated our dogs, giving them the occasional hiss or swat with her clawless front paws. I think that she liked our dog, Gus, the best of out of all of our dogs. We didn't get her as a kitten, but I believe she was probably one of the cutest kittens ever. We will miss her.
We took our annual family trip to Colorado, staying at our family cabin near Pike's Peak in late July. We spent time with Lindsee, EP, Will, Patti, and Jim, and Hunter and Lily were able to join us for a couple days toward the end of our trip. We hiked, shopped, toured, fished, floated, played games, and relaxed.
We got back just in time from Colorado, on July 29th, to make it to church and for Silas to participate in the Fifth Wednesday Sing. This time he picked to sing the song "Speak To The Mountains". He did wonderful!
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