Last month I
said I hoped we’d get some heat soon, and we have! We’ve had a couple of
90+ degree days, and we’re supposed to get more this weekend. It will be
a perfect time to stay in the pool!
Here’s the news
from my family since last month.
The Mickles,
Sommers, and our family took a quick weekend camping trip 6/21-23 at Hamlin
Beach. Unfortunately, I had double-booked myself and neglected to write
it on our family calendar so no one knew when they scheduled the camping
trip. So while the family was enjoying the park and the beach on
Saturday, I was at a barbershop conference at Hobart College in Geneseo,
NY. I spent the day singing with my quartet and getting advice from
several different coaches on how we could improve. It was very challenging
and fun, and I learned a lot, and I think our quartet will truly be better for
it. I got to join the family on Friday night and Sunday morning, so I got
a little camping in, but not much. They all had excellent weather and
enjoyed themselves, even without me if you can imagine it.
Hannah and
Kevin hosted our Independence Day get-together on 7/3 at their house. We
could see our town’s fireworks pretty well from there, and the food, games, and
fun together beforehand was great.
On 7/4, we made
our annual trip to Krull Park in Olcott, NY, for the Rhodes family reunion
(Krista’s mom’s family). It’s always good to visit Lake Ontario, and the
grandkids got to participate in the parade there before we met up with the
extended family for lunch. We always like to follow up the meal with a
walk through the park to the amusement area where the kids can enjoy the rides,
and the adults can enjoy watching them.
My sons Zach
and Levi have become big fans of the Seattle Sounders (Major League Soccer),
and they discovered that the Sounders were playing against the Columbus (Ohio)
Crew on 7/6, and that is only 5 or 6 hours away. So, they decided a
weekend road trip was in order, and they and I and a friend of Zach’s named
Lucas did so. We left Saturday morning 7/6 and drove to Columbus to watch
the Sounders defeat the Crew 2 – 1. Zach had bought me a Sounders scarf,
and he and Levi had jerseys. I wore my Seahawks Steve Largent jersey
(closest I could come), so we looked like good fans. We weren’t the only
Sounders fans there by any means. There was a whole section of very rowdy
(AKA drunk) Sounders fans there too that apparently travel from Seattle for
every game and also connect with local Sounders fans in the away cities.
The stadium wasn’t too full, so to make our experience more fun, we moved to
the rowdy section part way through the game. I like the way soccer fans
do a lot of singing during the game, although a lot of the words they used are
not words I can repeat. We stayed in a hotel after the game, and returned
home Sunday. It was tiring, but still an unforgettable experience.
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| Lucas, Zach, and Levi at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center near Erie PA |
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| Ready for the game! |
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| The view from our first seats |
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| Now we're in the rowdy Sounders section |
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| We won! But you can't read the scoreboard so... |
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| ...now you can |
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| Post game fireworks! |
Last week was
VBS at our church. My kids are all too old now (wow!), but Zach, Jem, and
Levi all helped in various roles. I went a couple of times too to lend a
hand wherever I could. We had good weather, and hopefully God used our
efforts to build His kingdom in these young lives.
This month’s
birthdays were 7/10 my brother, Gary, and 7/11, granddaughter Ivy’s 3rd.
Hannah and Kevin also celebrated their 6th anniversary on 7/13. We had
Ivy’s birthday party with our local family on Sunday 7/14. Ella and Cody
made grilled chicken dinner with Krista and others contributing sides, and we
had cake and ice cream for dessert. Yummy! I really enjoy good
food, so it’s very convenient for me that a lot of us live close and find many
excuses to eat together.
Enjoy your
summer, and I’ll talk to you all again in August!
