All of June

I don’t seem to be able to put up a post more than once a month! It’s been suggested that biweekly would be better…so let’s see what I can do in July. For right now, though, here’s a record of the Gribbles in June.

June 2

June 4

There was an amazing rainbow after a quick rain shower.

June 6

Benjamin had ear tubes inserted. We weren’t crazy about having him go through anesthesia again, but the operation took just a few minutes, and he does seem to be hearing better now. We think he’s even beginning to look toward voices and sounds!

June 8

We had planned to go camping with a group from church at Sky Ranch, a Lutheran camp in the mountains west of Fort Collins. Because Benjamin had his tubes inserted on Thursday, we decided to drive up on Saturday morning to give him a little extra time. As she often does, Phoebe got carsick on the way up, poor thing. She felt a lot better by the time we got there. It turned out to be the cushiest camping we’d ever done—the Bevers and Johnson families camp in style! We went over to the high ropes course to eat our picnic lunch and watch Jason (Mount Calvary’s youth director) and some kids climb around. Phoebe rode her Strider bike—she’s finally old enough to lift her feet and coast! Then we snacked until dinner. Bruce (our Thrivent guy) built us a fire, and there were a few good games of cornhole. After an amazing dinner of stuffed peppers from the Dutch oven, we had a worship service around the campfire, but Benjamin wasn’t feeling too well (his asthma symptoms were acting up), so we had to take turns walking with him. Phoebe slept well, as she always does, but Benjamin had to snuggle in with me. In the morning, we had a big breakfast (more Dutch oven—we should always camp with the Bevers/Johnsons!) and headed home in time for me to do some gardening.

June 9

June 10

June 15

Dave and I were invited to his friend Sara’s wedding. Dave was playing his oboe for the pre-service music, and the Bronskis agreed to watch the kids so we could make a day of it. The wedding was at a lovely, electic venue very close to where we’d camped two weeks earlier. Sara looked beautiful, and the music went pretty well. Sara and her new husband Dave are musicians, so the reception featured their friends playing music. The whole thing was very laid-back and cool. We wished we could stay for the s’mores, cheese doodles, and beer that night! But it was also nice to get back to the kids, who’d had a wonderful time with Marin and Charlotte.

June 22–23

We decided on the spur of the moment to go camping for the weekend, since we wouldn’t have another chance for a while. Dave drove up to Nederland on Friday morning and got us a walk-in campsite at Kelly Dahl. When we finally got there after work and dinner, the campground was full, so it was a good thing he went! We went to bed pretty quickly that night. Benjamin wasn’t breathing too well, and Phoebe was tired too. On Saturday, we drove into Nederland to get some coffee and take a ride on the carousel. We checked out the art festival that was set up, too. Back at camp, Phoebe did some bike riding with another little girl she met, Peyton. The campground was almost like a folk festival; they’ve removed most of the trees because of pine beetle kill, so it’s very open. Kids were running around everywhere. Just before dinnertime, our friends Andrew and Tilley showed up. Phoebe and Tilley went into the tent and played house for almost an hour! We had some dinner and the girls played with the light sticks Aunt Martha sent. They also ate s’mores and danced. In the morning, we all packed up, and I got home in time to do a bunch of work in the garden. The Growing Gardens lady said that I could work the 100 square feet adjacent to my original 100 square feet, since no one else wanted it. I was trying to get that dirt turned over so I could plant summer vegetables like squash, green beans, and pumpkin.

June 30

July 1

I couldn’t resist taking these photos of Benjamin’s post-bath hair.