It’s a little bit busy here these days.
We had exactly one evening where we could celebrate our July birthdays with grandparents.
Of course I forgot to take many pictures.
Month: July 2017
Reunion
In October 2013 we said goodbye to our friends as they moved to Oregon for a “temporary” two-year assignment. We saw them in 2014 when they were home for a visit, and in 2015 we went to see them on our Road Trip.
We did not have any visits in 2016, and that makes this current reunion all the sweeter.
Their trip “home” is not over, and we hope to have more time with them. I feel like a sponge when we are together, as I try to “soak up” as much of them as I can. I keenly remember Jenn’s phone call in 2013, and the secret I kept for most of that day as we waited to hear if it was really happening. And I will likely never forget having to tell the kids the next morning and their subsequent reactions.
Saying goodbye is still in front of us. I’m not looking forward to that. And as we are approaching the four year mark of a two-year assignment, we are learning to count time together differently.
Acts 1:7 – He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
William’s birthday at Dave and Buster’s
Our dear friend, William, turned ten this year and celebrated with a birthday party at Dave and Buster’s. All the kids were invited and we had a lot of fun.
Stewart and Mr. Hoyt…
Tab and Marie…
Katriel and Johanna.
Tab, and Sophia W….
Marie and Nigel
I lost track of how many times these three raced on Mario Karts.
My sweet friend, Marguerite. She is such a blessing to me!!
First swim…
Summer has been very slow to arrive this year.
Our first swim of the year did not arrive until today.
Ouch.
And even then it was too cold for me.
Check out these blue, post-swim lips!
Apparently, other creatures were fine with the temps…
I was not the only one who abstained!
Nigel is 15!!!
How has time flown like this?
Just yesterday, he was fighting for his life.
Tonight he is joking with his family and friend and preparing for a mission trip to Costa Rica.
The heat in the kitchen melted the cake. It did nothing to ruin the amazing taste!!!
Happy birthday, sweet Nigel.
Mount Morris Dam
Our plans to camp this weekend had been cancelled, but I still hoped to do something…
I used my handy TripAdvisor app last night to see what might be around.
I was stunned to see a suggestion for the Mount Morris Dam. A “dry dam” operated by the Army Corp of Engineers, it offered free daily tours and was only 53 minutes from home.
I somehow had never heard of this place, and I certainly had never know the city of Rochester had been frequently flooded over the centuries.
John said sure and we waited til morning to spring it on the kids. While no one had ever spent time pining over never having been in a dam, they were in good enough spirits about packing lunches and heading out to sightsee. Johanna was stupendously joyful. She hopped into the act of preparing lunches. She did a lot to encourage John and I to see it through as the rain started.
As we neared the park the rain stopped. We checked in at the Visitors Center and got our badges and walked through the self-guided museum area.
Johanna excitedly announced that they had a “kid section,” and she and, well, all the other kids enjoy poking around in there.
At precisely 11 AM we started out an our tour with our tour guide Lucy.
We descended down a long paved ramp from the visitor center to the dam.
After receiving a bunch of information while on the deck, we entered in to the damn itself. Photography is not allowed inside the dam as it is considered a military operation.
It was cold, dank, and dark.
We stepped out mid-dam for a chilly view.
The tour finished up as it started sprinkling again. As we begin our long trek back up though paved drive the rain picked up its pace. By the time we reach the top it was a downpour.
We hung out in the visitor center for a little while to wait the rain out.
Stewart made a new friend.
We ate our packed lunch in the car and then headed home.
The tour was free.
Dayspring Disciples 