July was an excellent summer month. For the first time in recorded history Louisville went the entire month of July without a single day above 89 degrees. We had no 90+ degree days the whole month. We also had regular rain and all the lawns and flowers looked great without having to be watered. It was a good month for outdoor activities. The kids swam several times per week and I played a ton of golf.
For the 4th of July we went over to Mike and Pam Korzeniowski’s and grilled burgers. Their son Chris became friends with James at school this last year and they are nice people. They have a daughter Ally who is now friends with Sharon and a younger daughter Kascha who has become friends with Stella. All of their children are sharp and well-behaved. Mike Korzeniowski works at Humana, who is my largest customer right now. Mike was born in Poland and his father was a leading scientist when he joined the Solidarity Party. Mike and his parents were eventually “encouraged” to leave Poland and he has some unique and interesting perspectives. He is also a very accomplished software developer.
It rained while we were there but that didn’t stop Mike and the kids from shooting off some fireworks. I stood and watched and tried to make sure no-one blew their hands off. I am blessed in that my kids aren’t as dumb with fireworks as I was. We used to shoot roman candles at each other and toss lit fire-crackers. Bottle rockets were rarely launched from bottles. My kids are pretty careful and the girls were content to watch the boys do the lighting which was just fine with me.
On July 9th – 13th we went to see Mom and Dad in Kansas City. We had a great time there. I was able to see Garth’s apartment in the city and visit with Garth a little bit. On our first day (Thursday) we went to the Tiffany Springs Aquatic Center and let the kids have at it. It had a large diving pool, swimming area, kiddie area with activity center, two large water slides and a circular area with jets where people floated in inner-tubes. We spent most of the day there and then came back to Mom and Dad’s and had steaks.
The next day (Friday) James, me, Dad and Garth played the Outlaw Course at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex on Smithville Lake north of Kansas City. It was a very nice course. It was a beautiful day with cool weather and a good breeze. In fact, the 10th hole has a green that is basically out in the lake and surrounded on three sides by water.
With the way the wind was blowing hard right to left I intended to toss my first shot out on a line over the right edge of the green. I pulled the shot a little so that it was on a line to the left half of the green and the wind blew it about 50 yards left and into the water. On my second shot I lined up 40 yards right of the green, hit a little bit of a push and the wind didn’t quite grab it enough and it ended up in the deep rough to the right of the green. It reminded me of Robin Williams stand-up routine on golf, complete with Scottish accent.
On Saturday we all went and played Putt-Putt Golf in an artisan community that I can’t remember the name of. It was a nice little town and we had ice cream afterward.
On Sunday we all went bowling and it was really fun. I had never bowled with Melissa before and she was pretty good. In fact she beat me handily because I couldn’t figure the damn game out. Dad had a game in which he bowled 8 strikes in a row. In that game he finished with a strike in the 10th frame and had spares in the frames he didn’t have strikes in. I can’t remember his exact score but I think it was a 267? Maybe he will post a comment and correct me if I am wrong. He said it was the best game of his life. It was kinda weird because it was in the middle of me and the kids littering the gutters with really ugly bowling skills. Mom did pretty well considering her back and she bowled every game with us and stuck it out til the end. It was fun and not terribly expensive and Melissa and I decided we ought to take the kids bowling again when we get back in Louisville.
Monday we had to leave early to get back to Louisville for the beginning of pre-season football practices for James. He was back in plenty of time and the trip home went smoothly. The kids are getting to be better travelers after having gone through a period where they weren’t so good. I think it helps to leave really early or to leave after supper so they sleep a good part of the way.
The last big event in July was Sharon’s 9th birthday. We took her to Incredible Dave’s and invited the Korzeniowski’s. Sharon, Kayleigh, James, Ally, Chris and Kascha all did the indoor bungee jumping. All the kids played games and gathered coupons that they were able to redeem in the gift store. Stella played on everything she could get to. It was a nice time and all the kids had fun and were tired out by the end.
Sharon received many nice gifts for her birthday. The Korzeniowski’s gave her a nice journal and some crafting tools to decorate it with. Mom and Dad gave her a ruby and diamond pendant with a matching necklace. I guess the ruby is Sharon’s birthstone which I hadn’t known before. Melissa and I bought her a skateboard, some books and movies that she had been wanting and I couldn’t help spoiling her a bit with a motorized scooter that she had been wanting. She is really good on it. It runs on a rechargeable battery and goes about 11mph. It is pretty kewl.
Here is a slideshow with all the photos for July.
The first photo in the slideshow stars my second-cousin Chase Harris. He is demonstrating some of the fine motor skills that run in our family.