July's Saturation

Hello All :)

July's Saturation found us experiencing a monsoon of rain in Texas at the beginning of the month, with the monsoon rains following us to Kansas.  We were caught in flash flooding en route to Kansas and then experienced torrential rains in Kansas as well.   Our entire July was a saturation of memories made with family and a busy, busy month! In just a blink, the summer was almost over!  

...this sweet baby, Gimli, was born on the rainy night of the July 4th rains...

...our 4th of July meal with some aunties here from Colorado...the flowers were a belated birthday surprise from the best hubby...

...some fun games :)...

... Fredericksburg fun with the aunties...

...Mayan Mocha, made with house-crafted spiced single origin cocoa powder...this was an amazing espresso drink, iced and with an extra shot of espresso!!!...

...little Gizmo, aka Gizzard, LOL, also enjoyed the day trip...

...loved walking through this old historic library...

...swimming fun with the aunties...

...one of the heavy, torrential rains we had in July...this one caused quite a bit of damage...our house had so much water flooding around it...

...due to the rainy day, a sweet girl wanted to light the candles in the fireplace: why yes, you can, it'll add a cozy element to a rainy day...this kitty was not too sure about them being lit and kept a VERY careful eye on them, haha...

...went to go grab my shoes...well, I see they are already in use :D...

...getting ready to head to Quest Manhood in the Leadership level...this summer camp/course has been such an asset to helping teach our boys practical life skills, survival skills, emergency medical, water survival, financial basics, auto maintenance, plumbing/electrical basics, and leadership skills, are just some of what is touched on.  As well as they are challenged to dig into the Word and put daily healthy habits in place, amongst camaraderie and building friendships, oh, and a super fun, yet eye-opening Secret Church night...here are the photo tidbits that both our boys snapped amongst the several weeks of goings-on and their teams they lead...

...some of the Leadership heading to church...

...Jadon's team at a museum in Dallas...

...basic plumbing skills...

...raft building, canoeing skills, and water survival...

...devotion/quiet time...

...auto maintenance skills...

...ah, ya' know Kirk, you can just smile... :D ....

...early morning...

...just a little Christmas in July fun :)...

...the QuestX(advanced) goes camping in Arkansas...Jadon's sleeping quarters for a few days...

...some of the group that was on the Arkansas camping trip...

...backpacking everything in...

...I think someone got someone's phone, lol...

...night hikes...

...just finished a night mud-run...

...formal dinner: the QuestX group had the privilege to prepare and serve together as a team...

...so thankful we got a fun Rokeyroad Creamery tour and a chocolate ice cream sample...so excited to see this Creamery take off and do amazing things!  This place holds SO many memories for me, so very many!!!...

...cousins :)...

...while in Kansas, Janessa and I spent some time in Manhattan helping finish up some things for my parents to move...Janessa had some fun times with these cousins...

...while also in Kansas, Jason resigned from his job and became an independent consultant in the pet food industry. This is the one business with which he has a signed agreement contract, and it arrived in Texas for me while we were in Kansas. I was bummed to miss this beauty, but what a special and caring gesture from this business! Wow!...

...Nebraska City with the Rokey family: Leid Lodge, Arbor Day Treehouse Adventure, Lewis and Clark Museum, and other fun times...

...$8 for 12 donuts: sure, we can split them in half and everyone can try a Cider Donut...LOL, they came out as MINI donuts...which equated to everyone getting 1 BITE, not half a donut :)... their sign needs to be updated to accuracy!!!...

...Lewis and Clark Museum...Love this place!...

...late night games...

...LOL, yep an inside joke...if you know, you get it :)...

...games with Gma Rokey :)...

...playing with Gma's toys...

...enjoying time at the farm with Gpa...

...Jason must be pretty special to get his own Swedish Tea Ring made for him :)...

...farm pond time with the Rokey's...

...cousin swim time :)...

...what a super fun idea, even if my girls and I were a tad late...such sweet girlie time :)...

...Meyer pond fun :)...just fyi: kayaks seem super hard to paddle through the water, when you unknowingly have a 'leech' that is letting you pull them through the water, LOL...

...a gorgeous Kansas sunset...

...Gpa Meyer's orchard...

...one of the things I miss most about Kansas is the country roads for walking...

...Nessa is learning how to drive a 4-wheeler better...she won't make this mistake again ;P...

...some of the views are so serene and peaceful...

...the Dad's lunch out...Jason enjoyed this one-on-one fellowship and the food...

...helping this Meyer crew chore...' helping' chore became one of the top desired things to do...I think it is entirely the 'wheels' that take one to chore though, lol...

...an early morning chore time with Auntie Elli...

...so funny, when you recognize your second son's hand-me-down shirt on his Aunt and your SIL...love it!!!!...

...Kansas corn...KeKe actually liked doing it...

...the corn crew plus two :)...

...fun and games...

...Triominoes...my new favorite game!!!...

...a 5-mile walk with these two :)...

...more games with Meyer G'parents...

...fishing in the Meyer pond...

...lol, yep, that is one way to clean up the spill :D...

...mustache lickin' good honey cream latte :)...

...Omaha Zoo day trip...an overcast day full of blessings and fun...we had taken the boys to the Omaha Zoo SO many times, and it was fun to take the girls for once...the BEST zoo!!  The quote: "Things are bigger and better in Texas" does not hold true in the zoo realm, lol...I believe we walked more than 7 miles...

...a beautiful bush in the Desert Dome...

...I just have to chuckle with these two, they are either friends or frienemies ;P...

...a couple of cuties...

...this one, twisted her Daddy's little pinky to take her back to do the carrousel, lol, but it sure looks like she loved it fully...

...Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison...another fun place we had taken the boys when they were little...super fun to go and take the girls and enjoy some family coming with us...

...lunch and some chuckles...

...Amelia Earhart Museum... hands-on fun for the kiddos...

...ice cream stop on the way home from Atchison :)...

...part of the bunch that did a 6-mile walk in a HOT Kansas evening...we made it just fine and enjoyed it...it has been decided that all trips back to Kansas we will sneak a 6-mile walk in, if it is good weather...even the youngest kiddos loved it and showed they had quite a bit of grit...

...with all the goings-on, this one couldn't wait for bedtime stories and konked...

...walking some shops on Main Street in Sabetha and saw this towel and I died laughing...my hubby will TOTALLY get this, LOL...with all the comings, goings, and feeling like we were both operating on a revolving door, at opposite sides, communication got pretty staticky. I definitely have the shorter fuse of us two, and I had to apologize more than once...I am thankful for grace, mercy, and forgiveness, and a husband who freely and readily embraces these and lives them out in his life and relationships...

...and two of these feathered cuties came back with us to Texas: Ebony and Obsidian :)...

...we 'thought' we left all these duckies in Kansas, LOL, what comes around will go around again :D...

...such a small thing, but also such a reaffirmation that the next step for Jason's future job is where it is supposed to be...we were going through almost 3 weeks' worth of mail upon getting home and these two were in the pile of packages...it was a joke with one of the businesses that he will be working for if he came to work for them, they would buy him a purple jeep and a cyber truck.  We knew it was a joke, but it really cracked us up and gave us an extra measure of peace...

...the start of school is upon us and the summer is fading...we will see everyone around again soon :)

Quotes for Thought:

"The best things in life are free.  And it is important to never lose sight of that.  So look around you.  Wherever you see friendship, loyalty, laughter, and love...there is your treasure."

~neale donald walsch~

"Life is a series of thousands of tiny miracles; notice them."

~unkown~

"I always wanted to be a hero--to sacrifice my life in a big way one time--and yet, God has required my sacrifice to be thousands of days, over many years, with one more kiss, one more story, one more meal."

~sally clarkson~

"Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder."

~e.b. white~