July

 July included a lot of basketball for Rooke: practices and tournaments.  At this particular tournament, Rooke got to play against one of his friend's teams (who is shooting the free throw).  Fun for the guys!  And Rooke's team won =)

Rooke and his good friend, Max, met early on Friday mornings with their dads for Bible study.  I think the guys were most happy to chillax on the couch during the study - ha!

Rooke and Max also went to a basketball camp together . . . too cool.

Rooke won the free throw contest for his age group!

Meanwhile, Gretchen and Lois participated in a musical theater camp.  They were part of 

"The Greatest Showman" performance at the end of the week!

Some tasty garden harvest happenings

Bridgette found out her dear friend's mom was pregnant and wanted to make a blanket for the new baby.  She did it!!  She diligently worked and crocheted the blanket for her friend's baby brother.

Summer blueberries!

Happy Fourth of July

The girls and I joined friends for A Capitol Fourth dress rehearsal on the third - less crowds =)

7-11 . . . Free slurpee day!

Fun guys

Bridgette and Ruth's annual lemonade stand

All three kids practiced with the swim team this summer, but Bridgette is the only one who participated in the swim meets.

Bridgette joined Ryan for a trip to Tulsa to see family and friends.  Bridgette's highlight was the cousin sleepover =)

One of Ryan's highlights is always Braum's milkshakes - ha!

Ryan's the best at finding special treats!

Greece (Part 3)

We loved our days together in Athens!  Our Airbnb apartment was perfect.  We stopped in at a local grocery store for breakfast foods and coffee to make on our own.  The apartment was a 20-minute walk from the heart of the city, which was just right for us to get a taste of the local life but still enjoy the more populated sights and attractions all on foot.  We played a lot of games together during our down time.  Chickenfoot dominoes was the favorite!

My preference is always to walk as much as possible when we travel.  Otherwise we'd miss beautiful sights like this!

Rooke mistake: trying to see one of the historical attractions at the peak of the day.  Our visit to the Agora wasn't at the top of anyone's list, but we did it. =)

More walking in the cooler evening temps

We ventured out one morning to find the basketball court where NBA player Giannis Atentokoumpo grew up playing.  After having the court basically to ourselves and playing for a while, we stopped in at the cafe across the street and met the owner who showed kindness to Giannis and his brothers while they were growing up.  The cafe owner looked Rooke up and down, then said in broken English, "You play basketball?"  "Yes."  "I want a picture with you."   =)

Other travelers commented on Rooke's height and asked if he liked basketball.  Then they told him about a store we should visit.  I'm pretty sure Rooke could have spent hours here - ha!

Gyro pitas for lunch every day!

And gelato every day for dessert!

The e-bike tour at sunset was in everyone's top three memories.  E-bikes are SO MUCH FUN and our tour guide was awesome - such a great way to see parts of the city we wouldn't have otherwise visited.

Heading up to enjoy a delicious dinner on the roof of the restaurant in the shadow of the Parthenon - amazing!

 

Greece (Part 2)

Morning in Lindos: we started with a delicious breakfast at a super cute cafe.  Then Gretchen caught the bug that Rooke had and she needed to head back to the hotel.  She slept it off the rest of the day and, thankfully, was feeling much better by the evening when we landed in Athens.  Both Rooke and Gretchen were especially excellent travelers while being super sick - they pressed on and stayed with the team! 

After breakfast, we spent the morning walking around the Lindos acropolis.  The views were incredible!  And the history of that place blows my mind.

Our friend, Catey, was such a fun traveler!  We loved having her with our family for one extra day.

We flew from Rhodes to Athens, arriving a bit later than expected, but our metro ride to the Airbnb apartment went smoothly.  We dropped our bags and hit the crowded streets with the goal of sitting on Mars Hill as the sun set.

Reading Acts 17 while sitting on Mars Hill was an incredible start to our days in Athens.