July to September 2024

July 2024

RV Trip: Colorado Springs (Continued)

The RV trip that we took to Colorado Springs started in June and continued into early July. The kids really enjoyed visiting Garden of the Gods and climbing all over the rock structures. Carol enjoyed being able to spend some time with her sister.

Visits from Family

We got a visit from both Carol’s sister Laura and Nana during the month of July. They visited for the day and we swam in the pool.

Carol’s Retreat Weekend

Carol went back to a retreat center called Timber Creek Retreat House that she had been to once before down in the Kansas City area. It was an enjoyable and relaxing weekend to unplug and unwind. The hiking trails were full of pretty wildflowers.

Cheer Practice

Jenna has continued to participate in a cheer class, which is a great way for her to work on her strength and coordination.

Goat Yoga

A local area goat rescue organization occasionally hosts Goat Yoga and Carol and her friend Heather went together.

Random & Silly Pictures of the Month

Lounging in the hammock, Jenna gets a haircut, Grant needs a haircut, Dogs on the bed, Nate’s new glasses, Thanks USPS!, cuddling the one-eyed dog.

August 2024

Martial Arts Practice

Jenna watches a show on Youtube about Ninja Kids and decided she wanted to try her hand at Taekwondo. She stuck with it for a while, but then decided that “it wasn’t her sport” and wanted to stop lessons until she was a bit bigger.

RV Trip: Lake McConaughy State Recreation Area

We decided to take a summer RV trip, but didn’t want to go too far away. So we took a trip to Lake McConaughy near Ogallala, Nebraska. The trip was going pretty well until just past North Platte on I-80. That is when there was a loud explosion noise and shaking. Carol quickly pulled over and we determined that we had blown both right rear tires. After much effort, we found a gentleman that was willing to come out and put on a spare for us. Unfortunately, after getting the spare put on and getting back on our way, the spare blew out a few miles down the road. After much additional effort, the same gentleman was able to find two used tires and come back and put those on the two good rims that we had left. We were able to get to our campsite, but it was much later than planned and it was dark and raining. We found our site but it had inches of water on it, which made getting the RV set up for the night difficult. But things went well after that. We met some nice people, who helped us get our kayaks down to the lake in their Jeep, so we wouldn’t have to drag them there and back each day. It was a nice lake and we enjoyed our time there. On the way home, we had to stop for a few hours at a tire repair shop in North Platte to get all new tires and one replacement rim (which we had to buy from a third-party and bring back to the tire shop). The folks there were very helpful and the trip home was uneventful (whew!). After this trip, and the issues that we had on the Colorado RV trip, we decided to be done with RV travel for the year.

Bike Camp Refresher

A while back, Jenna had attended a bike camp to try to learn how to ride a bike. The folks from that group were back in town for a race and had a quick refresher for the kids. Jenna did pretty well!

Random & Silly Pictures of the Month

Jenna’s first day of 5th grade, Grant’s first day of 11th grade, Nate hot tubbing at night, big spider in the garage with babies on its back.

September 2024

Labor Day: Platte River State Park

Over Labor Day weekend, we decided to make a day trip over to Platte River State Park. It isn’t too far from our house and we had never been. It is a place that Nate had been to as a child and teenager. It has a couple of cool lookout towers and playgrounds. We ate a picnic lunch there and did some exploring and hiking.

Firepits in the Backyard

A great summer activity is to have firepits in the backyard. Roasting marshmallows is always fun!

Kitchen Cabinet Repair

Carol was unhappy with the way that the kitchen cabinets were showing wear and tear, so she found a great product to apply that covered up scratches and made them shine. She also decided that she wanted to add handles to the cabinets, which they had never had before.