June comes after May, and May is filled with all the wonderful chaos that is the end of the school year and wrapping up of the various seasons of soccer and ballet and orchestra and all the things. And for us it also marked five months of constant going without any real time away from work since Christmas. We were frazzled. We felt it. Our kids felt it. We needed to just step away from it all. Dave and Val offered that Clifton and I could spend a night at their cabin. It was raining so we couldn't even go do something outdoors if we wanted to. For 24 hours we were unplugged and disconnected from everything but each other, sitting by the fire, reading, napping, drinking wine, napping some more and catching up. It was amazing. Not nearly long enough, but a good start to recharging.
June also started the string of various summer camps -- here is Sarah and her friend Avery at a CU soccer camp. It was hot. I don't know how these kids do it.
Meanwhile Annika was off bowling with some friends from soccer. It's weird that the kids are old enough to just drop them off at a bowling lane.
June 8th picnic to celebrate the anniversary of our engagement in Boulder -- 17 years!
Annika went to a residential soccer camp at CU. She shared a dorm room with her friend Kaia.
They had other friends from her team next door and there was much silliness. As it should be. The moms were joking that it will be fun for them to recreate this photo in five years when they are freshmen in a dorm together.
They did do a lot of soccer too.
Wouldn't be dorm life without cafeteria food.
It's so strange for me to see these girls with their hair down!
Leaving at the end of camp
It's not hard to see why people choose to go to CU.
When you fall in love with someone, you don't even know all the ways you will love them in the future. The fact that Clifton spends his Fathers Day getting a spa treatment from his girls, because it's how they are sure he should be loved, makes me realize what a good man I have.
The next morning they were off to a week at Maranatha church camp in Nebraska -- Naomi as a counselor for sixth graders and Annika as a middle schooler living her best life.
Meanwhile Sarah soaked up all the extra attention at home -- we went into Estes Park for an evening with just the three of us.
Coming home from Maranatha, no worse for the wear.
A belated Fathers Day fruit pizza breakfast!
It's official. Annika appears to have outgrown Naomi
Pool time with soccer besties.
My college room mate Valerie was in Colorado so we got together for an evening to catch up. Hard to believe this friendship is 29 years old.
Hartemink family reunion was in SC this year and someone thought it was a good idea to drive. I might have been that someone. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
Three drivers in the family now!!
We made a stop at KU to relive Clifton's glory days...
Including finding his old house which just screams college students to me.
Quick pic on the soccer field, just in case we have any future Jayhawk soccer players in the family.
The girls thought this was too pretty to pass up.
Day 2 of the road trip: Gateway Arch National Park in St Louis!
It's a not small arch.
We took a terrifying trip to the top. Well, 4 out of 5 of us were terrified.
The view from the top was pretty incredible.
630 feet!
There were some really big court cases (including Dred Scott) in Ye Olde Court House.
Had to take a picture with my girls where Virginia Minor sued for the right for women to vote.
The kids have put their feet in the headwaters of the Mississippi River in MN. I encouraged them to put their feet in the (surprisingly polluted) waters in St Louis. They humored me. Mostly.
Day 3 of road trip -- a stop at Mammoth Cave NP
There is a not small descent down into the largest known cave system in the world.
So much cool history in this cave system and how it was discovered and mapped.
This was in "Fat Man's Misery" -- a narrow passage of the cave.
When the kids are older, I'd love to go back and do some of the more narrow and challenging tours.
Definitely worth a trip if you can.
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