While I still have numerous pictures to put up of FanFest, of Sarah’s birthday, and of other general events of the summer, I thought I’d do a little writing catchup of what we’ve been doing since we’ve returned from Ohio.
*Benjamin went to Vacation Bible School for the first time this year, jumping into it the day after we returned from up north. Meron was in charge of the snacks for VBS and has declared that never again will we go straight from vacation to Vacation Bible School! Things went pretty smoothly for the most part and Benjamin enjoyed himself a lot. He was very active during the closing program on Friday night and when they reprised some of the music Sunday morning.
*We purchased an inflatable pool for the back yard. It’s a rectangular one 10 feet long by 6 feet wide. That means there’s enough room for the whole family in it, something that we’ve tested a couple of times. The kids really enjoy it, though Sarah usually winds up getting bored and swinging or wandering around the backyard for a while. It was nice to go out and get in it after softball practice this Sunday. With the shaded backyard and the breeze that popped up, you could get a little chill even!
*Somehow I brought back a poker game from vacation, which is strange since I didn’t play any up there. We played July 24 and, thanks to a lucky river card when I was heads-up with Ben, I was able to win a game for the first time in close to two years (at least by the official PPT recordkeeping). The next weekend, on the off-week for the PPT, the founders of the league got together for a little informal game. I was able to win that game as well, which should have been well nigh impossible.
So when I saw 15 players at the next PPT event, knowing I was on a two-game winning streak, I was certain that I’d be lucky to crack the top half of the order of finish. However, I wound up again at heads-up, facing Russell this time. It was almost a replay of the game against Ben, as I caught a river card that left Russell with just enough to make the next big blind. However, a chip and a chair really comes into play at heads-up, and soon enough I pushed all-in again. Russell’s call left him with exactly as much as he had left after the earlier hand, but this time he was able to stave off any river cards and get the win. Still, I’ll take two first and a second in three weeks anytime. Now that I’ve written about it, though, I’ll wind up last next weekend.
*My 34th birthday came and went without a lot of fanfare. It was actually a fairly busy day, as I had to mow the front yard, go to softball practice, mow the backyard, then grill the burgers and other items for dinner that night. You all know that I’d have pushed off the mowing if at all possible, but Meron was hosting a Pampered Chef party on Tuesday, and after spending Friday evening in the pool and having it rain Saturday, there was no other option. Our grilled meal, plus pasta salad and strawberry cake, was worth it, though!
*Yes, softball was in there. Even though the church league was mercifully done at the beginning of July (no wins this year, though we led one game in the bottom of the last inning, only to let it slip away), “fall ball” has started up. Hard to really consider it fall when you are practicing in temperatures in excess of 95, but there you have it. We’ve got a real taskmaster running drills who has no compassion or apparent heat issues, even though he’s Canadian. (He’s also one of the few that reads this blog, so he knows I’m kidding. I’m also going to skip any other practice from now on to make sure he doesn’t make me run laps.) Our first game was supposed to be Monday, but a strong rain centered right on the ballpark (seriously, I left work under blue skies and by time I got to the park, it was raining) forced the game to be cancelled. Our next game is Monday at 6:30. Right now, the team looks pretty good. The offense looks pretty solid, so our success will most likely depend on our fielding.
*The second campus for Wesley is taking shape. Which is good, since the first services will be held in a little over a week. This Sunday, the main campus switches from a 10:30 service to a 9:00 service, which will take some getting used to. I’ve never gone to a main service that early, nor church first followed by Sunday School. I’m hoping our small group will grow with people coming for church and sticking around. The service at Wesley Foundation starts August 23rd at 11:00, though the first couple of weeks are sort of practice runs, as the “grand opening,” as it were, will be September 13. As co-chair of the launch team, I’ve spent a lot of time this summer seeing what’s being done and what still needs to be done. I think we’ll be fine, but there are still some loose ends to tie up.
*I’m still involved with/organizing the United Cardinal Bloggers. Our weekly radio show on Blog Talk Radio is a lot of fun, even if it doesn’t have a lot of guests on it. Hopefully during the offseason we’ll be able to snag some of the writers and maybe some of the minor league players as well. I’m filling in tonight and am on the schedule to co-host next week as well.
I have numerous projects running (and most of them get delayed) but I’ll try to get some pictures up within the next month. The kids are growing, as you may imagine, and it’s always good to get that documented!
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