It's MID SUMMER, and the days are HOT!
Every single day this summer has been cloudless with temps in the high 80s and 90s in the afternoon.
We have spent many days in water, and Evelyn has spent many afternoons making shaved ice for the neighborhood kids.
However, no matter the temperature, the boys still spend most of their days hitting some sort of ball.
On Monday, I took them to the tennis courts
On Tuesday, we had an outing at the green
On Wednesday, it was soccer in the backyard and baseball in the evening
On Thursday, hockey in the street...
and on Friday, they figured out how to throw a boomerang. Well, I guess a boomerang isn't a ball, but nonetheless, there is challenge, skill and frustration involved, so it counts.
The boomerang was mostly Caleb, who saw a video on line of a professional throwing a perfect boomerang, and he was captivated. He cashed in his saved money for some boomarangs and made it his mission to figure out how to throw a perfect toss. When one boomerang ended up on the neighbor's roof, we decided our street wasn't the ideal setting for this activity.
I found myself in an open field many late mornings watching Caleb's determination and dedication, hour after hour.
Speaking of dedication, the boys ended their baseball season at the championship game! Although they didn't claim first place, they learned and grew so much this season. More than game skills, baseball really stretched them emotionally and mentally, as they had to overcome disappointment, frustration and pressure.
I appreciated being at the games; after a year of Covid cancellations, I do not take these opportunities for granted.
July 18 marked a very important day for Caleb.
At his request, he was formally baptized. Our church had a wonderful little ceremony in the Willamette River as Caleb professed his faith.
John and I were so glad that not all of our kids wanted to "jump on the bandwagon of baptism." Although we can raise our children a certain way, we can not force them to do anything, nor would we want to.
For Caleb to come forward and profess his faith in Jesus and desire to be baptized shows that he truly is internalizing it for himself.
We are grateful.
On a totally different topic....we finally sold the 2006 Honda Civic and replaced it with a Honda Pilot. We gave it an initial launch with a road trip to Idaho.
 |
| Lunch stop at Roosters! |
The kids were especially excited about the DVD player. Although we didn't allow them to binge on movies the entire 6.5 hour trip, it was a treat for some of the time.
I've never been to Boise, and the trip was quite an interesting one.
 |
| There were stretches of dry, hills... |
 |
| with appearances of beautiful streams. |
The land went from the lush and green Columbia River gorge to brown and treeless in a matter of one turn. Recently, Idaho seems to be the popular place of relocation.
I was interested to see it for myself. I found I really missed the greenery and charm; but, I have to admit, it was nice walking around a clean, well-kept city, sans graffiti, broken windows, spray paint and homeless camps.
 |
| The capitol in Boise |
We rented a nice house which happened to come with an out-of-tune piano and a fuse ball table.
It was perfect for our family. We were able to cook at the house, lounge around and watch the Olympics and sleep comfortably in our own rooms.
We didn't see as much of Boise as I had hoped. Walking around a city, finding niche coffee shops and unique restaurants doesn't really appeal to the kids. ;)
John and I realized that the kids' version of a great vacation is ordering Taco Bell for dinner and playing hide and seek in a new and different house.
 |
| Our Boise House |
Vacation also means Water Parks! Hence we spent one full day at Roaring Springs. We arrived when it opened at 11:00 am, and although initially we stood in short lines, we shook from the morning chill that lingered in the air.
By mid day, the sun and heat was in full force, and the frigid water felt refreshing.
 |
| Just tall enough for this ride! |
 |
| Towel man, the promise of warmth! |
 |
| They just can't contain the excitement |
 |
| Never getting lost! |
The next day we visited the Idaho Discovery Center and saw a Titanic Exhibit. It was a wonderful display of artifacts, photographs and storytelling that had our whole family interested.
We just happened to arrive on a day when the "Titanic expert" was "in house" to answer any questions we ever had about this historical event.
We definitely got our money's worth from him.
 |
Afterwards we rented paddle boats in a small stream and nearly avoided dangerous ice bergs ;)
We had a leisurely picnic lunch in a park and shared some food with a very tame tree squirrel and some obnoxious ducks.
In the afternoon we found ourselves in downtown Boise, enjoying a community Olympics event with free crafts, games and activities. We even got on the Boise news!
 |
| Beautiful Boise city center! |
 |
| Making Japanese art |
 |
| Olympic potato sack race |
 |
| City Center climbing structure |
Our final full day was spent at a family fun park that makes my head spin still thinking about it. Our Family pass allowed us to spend the entire day partaking in mini golf, laser tag, rock climbing, ropes courses, bowling and arcade games. Needless to say, the kids enjoyed every moment.
Saturday night I found Caleb crying in his bed. He was sad vacation was coming to an end, and I assured him this wouldn't be our last one. (he cries when Christmas is over too..)
On the way home, we stopped in Baker City at the pioneer interpretive center.
 |
| Looking over the land of the pioneers |
Here we saw an old wagon from the 1800s,
learned about mining gold
and saw actual wagon ruts from the wagon trains that made their way across this land.
I'm realizing that the older and more independent the kids get, the more I savor the intentional vacation time away. The minute we pulled into the driveway, the kids scattered to various parts of the neighborhood, and that was that.
I was left with a dusty dog (who was happy to be home from her Pets Hotel) and a trashed new car. 😬
