Let me start by saying that yesterday the heat index for the Twin Cities was 110. Perhaps you remember just a few months ago when I posted this picture from my dash
It has certainly been a year of extremes in MN weather. In April, Harry went to a Twin's baseball game and it was snowing, on Monday he went and it was everything he could do to not get heatstroke. Wonder how this crazy weather pattern will continue.
We have been really busy the last month so my blog entries have been non existent. Here are some highlights from the past month:
AGATE LAKE
In July we went to visit the cabin in Brainerd we stay at once a year with Erick's family. It was lots of fun with plenty of good food, nice weather and time to chill and relax.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Last week our church had vacation bible school (VBS). I was on the mystery bus with (almost) 4th and 5th graders for Monday-Wednesday from 9am-4pm. Each day was a different service project, something fun and all activities were connected to a bible verse of the day. There were water games, trips to the park, a memory board craft, and service for those less fortunate. Bella had a blast and I was exhausted each night.
While I was busy on the bus, Becca and Harry were helping out at the church with VBS. Becca was in charge of arts and crafts in the morning and teaching 2nd graders in the afternoon. Harry performed as "Justin Time", the VBS bus driver each morning in a series of skits to entertain the young kids. All in all it was a very rewarding, yet tiring week. Here's a picture of Bella and the other mystery bus participants performing in a variety show they put on for a retirement home.
FOOTBALL TRYOUTS
In the midst of our busy week of VBS, Harry had football tryouts. On the day he went, it was about 100 degrees for a heat index. Made it a little hard to believe that Fall is around the corner, but he toughed it out with the help of lots of water. Harry had a great tryout. He had an unbelievable standing long jump of....7 feet 4 1/2 inches! To put it in perspective, most of the other 7th and 8th graders were jumping from about 5 feet 10 inches - 6 feet 2 inches. Coupled with his 40 yd dash score of 5.2, he looks to have another great season!
VALLEYFAIR
This past weekend, we went to the local amusement park, Valleyfair, with my sister and her family. It was super hot and humid, but sooo much fun. The older kids went off on their own for a few hours to ride the roller coasters. I used to ride roller coasters, but you know that drop that happens to your stomach on the way down the big hills? Well, I don't need to artificially induce that feeling anymore. As a parent, I have that feeling about twice a week... In addition to the rides, we spent time in the waterpark, and my sister and I dueled it out on some of our favorite carnival games. We did quite well and won several stuffed animals for the kids. Most importantly, the cousins will have memories from the day that will last a lifetime...
There was a sad point in the day when Bella fell, running fast to get back to Valleyfair after our picnic lunch. She landed with a very loud THUD on the concrete. She's a trooper though and shortly after returned to the fun.
As you can see from this picture. The day got to be lot for Erick. We started at 11:30am and ended at 8:30pm. A very full day.
ODDS AND ENDS
Other things keeping us busy: Becca became a referee for girl's lacrosse this season. She reffed for about 6 games and hopes to continue doing it in the future. Look how official she looks!
AGATE LAKE
In July we went to visit the cabin in Brainerd we stay at once a year with Erick's family. It was lots of fun with plenty of good food, nice weather and time to chill and relax.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Last week our church had vacation bible school (VBS). I was on the mystery bus with (almost) 4th and 5th graders for Monday-Wednesday from 9am-4pm. Each day was a different service project, something fun and all activities were connected to a bible verse of the day. There were water games, trips to the park, a memory board craft, and service for those less fortunate. Bella had a blast and I was exhausted each night.
While I was busy on the bus, Becca and Harry were helping out at the church with VBS. Becca was in charge of arts and crafts in the morning and teaching 2nd graders in the afternoon. Harry performed as "Justin Time", the VBS bus driver each morning in a series of skits to entertain the young kids. All in all it was a very rewarding, yet tiring week. Here's a picture of Bella and the other mystery bus participants performing in a variety show they put on for a retirement home.
FOOTBALL TRYOUTS
In the midst of our busy week of VBS, Harry had football tryouts. On the day he went, it was about 100 degrees for a heat index. Made it a little hard to believe that Fall is around the corner, but he toughed it out with the help of lots of water. Harry had a great tryout. He had an unbelievable standing long jump of....7 feet 4 1/2 inches! To put it in perspective, most of the other 7th and 8th graders were jumping from about 5 feet 10 inches - 6 feet 2 inches. Coupled with his 40 yd dash score of 5.2, he looks to have another great season!
VALLEYFAIR
This past weekend, we went to the local amusement park, Valleyfair, with my sister and her family. It was super hot and humid, but sooo much fun. The older kids went off on their own for a few hours to ride the roller coasters. I used to ride roller coasters, but you know that drop that happens to your stomach on the way down the big hills? Well, I don't need to artificially induce that feeling anymore. As a parent, I have that feeling about twice a week... In addition to the rides, we spent time in the waterpark, and my sister and I dueled it out on some of our favorite carnival games. We did quite well and won several stuffed animals for the kids. Most importantly, the cousins will have memories from the day that will last a lifetime...
As you can see from this picture. The day got to be lot for Erick. We started at 11:30am and ended at 8:30pm. A very full day.
ODDS AND ENDS
Other things keeping us busy: Becca became a referee for girl's lacrosse this season. She reffed for about 6 games and hopes to continue doing it in the future. Look how official she looks!
Harry has decided his weekly chore of mowing the lawn might be a good way of making money, so he and a friend in our neighborhood created flyers for a yard mowing service. He has had two jobs already and one is becoming weekly. It keeps him busy and he makes money. Win, win.
Bella finished up her spring/summer swim team session with Foxjets. She really improved a lot on her strokes this last few months. But there is no rest...On her six week break, she wanted to continue improving so we put her in a once a week swim team at Lifetime and a 2x a week camp at Foss to work on specific strokes. At Lifetime, she is swimming 1 1/2 hours compared with the 45 minutes at Foxjets, so when she goes back, it should seem quite easy. Here's hoping!!
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