Because Science

Our church does these backyard family gatherings after the evening service throughout the summer. This particular one spoke to my science nerds.

At first glance you may see this periodic table of elements chart and think that Lijee is just at home in my bedroom, but he is actually at church.

Professor Zeke was busy mixing some crazy concoction.

Country Time

Summer wouldn't be summer without a visit to the grandfolks'. At least that's what the kids told me.

I scheduled time for a mini-photo session.

The boys weren't as into it as I was.

But I can always talk Daisy into pictures.

We also had some fun cousin time with Reika.

I caught Koko resting.

I also sat down and eavesdropped on the humming birds.

Grampa took us out to check out the longhorn they lodge in the pasture for the summer.

It does city kids good to spend some time in the country.

Abe With The Ring In Jamaica

Fifteen years in!

My bestie and I celebrated 15 years of wedded bliss. We celebrated with our favorite people, which happen to be the people we created.

To celebrate we played Clue. Not even the real deal, but the Simpson's Clue. #keepinitclassy

It's not about what we did on the 28th of July, 2018. It's about what we did on the 28th of July 15 years ago, and what we have done since. I'm pretty satisfied with it.

The Things We Do For Our Kids

If Disney is the happiest place on Earth, it's possible that Hurricane Harbor is the nastiest. But we have free passes with our Six Flags, so I go with the kids once a summer.

The day started good.

But sometime after lunch attitudes took a turn south. This picture was shortly after Mommy lectured them on acting entitled.

This is really what their attitudes were. For real, the staged picture was the smiley one.

On a happier note, we played a lot of games this summer. Ticket To Ride was a family fave.

Elijah often wore his new hat.

Divin' Into Summer

Put your hands up is you love summer!

 Another summer, another round of swimming lessons.

 The bigs worked on diving off the blocks.

 The first day Zekers went he told me he lost the ability to have a family when he landed on the water. #LOL

 Cannon balllll!

We're In The Money

In an effort to keep my children entertained with something other than screens, we took a field trip to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or the BEP. There are only two bureaus in the US--one in D.C. and the one right here in our own backyard. As a matter of fact, if you ever have a bill with 'FW' on it (and chances are you will because there are only 2 facilities) that was made in Cow Town.

The kids were not impressed, but we did learn a bit of trivia.

Eli: They don't cut the bills out, they put it on one big sheet of paper and then they cut it. They have a big sheet of paper and let it dry for one day.

Daisy: Some of the things that the money is made out of is the same things as some parts of blue jeans. Bills are called notes. To make sure money is high quality they hire people to test and make sure that it is laundry proof, chemical proof and crinkle proof. There's hidden things in dollars that make it harder to counterfeit.

Zeke: Presidents are ugly. There is only one female on currency. They do microprinting, which means there are tiny words on money. There are 2 types of printing--the mean back and normal. The machine that puts colors on money can do up to 14 colors but now they only do 3. There are rating scales when testing the quality of bills. There's a machine that has these little plates of metal that is engraved with the outline of money; they put ink on it, brush it away, put paper in the machine, 20 pounds of pressure is put on the paper and the ink goes onto it.

Trish: There is actually a job to wash money in a washing machine to test it for durability. A note can be creased 4,000 times before it tears. You are not allowed to bring your phone/camera in. Hence the only picture of the day->

There are two floors of interactive exhibits and displays showcasing the history of paper currency and the intricacies of the currency production process. The 2nd floor is an enclosed suspended walkway over the production floor. It appears to the layman that there are random piles of bills everywhere at different stages of the printing process. I know there is a method to the madness, but it looks very unorganized. Just sayin'.

The BEP first began in the 1860s to pay the costs of the Civil War. It was a tiny set up in the basement of the Treasury Department. In the 1880s it acquired its own building in D.C.  and modernized the equipment.

A fun fact for my Mom: the BEP produced stamps in the 1890s. After 111 years, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing quit the production of stamps.

It takes approximately 4 weeks to produce a note from the start to finish, from blank paper to finished currency in the vault. It costs 5.5¢ per note to make a $1 and $2 bill and increases up to 14.3¢ for the $100 bill. The FW facility produces $34 million in currency per hour. The daily production rate is 19 million notes per day, averaging $822 million. 

Burnin' Sermon

While the big boys were camping in Colorado, the three of us were singing and dancing our little hearts out at MusiCamp. Monday was dress in black, which represents the sin that we all do because we're human.

I got to help with the 1st/2nd grade camp, which was super fun to work with Lijee. Here he is doing a song with basketballs.

I was able to sneak away for brief moments and catch Daisy practicing her choreography  for the special dance team that she auditioned for.

Highlight of the day--snack time.

Tuesday was red day, for the saving blood of Christ.

Tuesday night was dress as a cow and get free food at Chick-fil-A. Daddy's not home and Mommy's all about not cooking dinner.

White day on Wednesday for being washed clean.

Free slurpees on 7-11!

Jammy day! Green for grow more like Christ, and your body grows as you sleep. Plus, by Thursday we're all tuckered out!

Lijee getting ready to practice his solo.

Friday! Yellow/gold day, to remind us of the ultimate goal where the streets are gold--heaven.

Every day I talked about the armor of God and dressed up Mr. Josh. Then we sang a song about it.

{to the tune of Happy Birthday}

Breastplate, be-elt and shoes.  Shield, helmet and sword.

That's the armor of Go-od. It's a gift from the Lord!

Soul on Fire was about a new recruit for the fire station. He was confused because it was a very different kind of fire station.  They did not fight fires you can see with your eyes; rather, they learned to call on Jesus to ignite a holy fire in each of our souls.

 

Soul on Fire was about a new recruit for the fire station. He was confused because it was a very different kind of fire station.  They did not fight fires you can see with your eyes; rather, they learned to call on Jesus to ignite a holy fire in each of our souls.

 Daisy had a short solo describing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo in the firey furnace and how they came out unharmed.

 Part of bows, when giving the glory to God.

 The dance elective was Daisy's choice for the afternoon. They performed a cool dance to a song from The Greatest Showman.

Next up was Biggy Boo in Sermon On The Mound, where a rookie was trying out for the Eagles. He quickly learned many lessons on the field but the biggest changes took place in his heart as God taught him about playing on a team, spending time with the "Head Coach" and suiting up with the armor of God.

 my little rookie

 Getting ready for his short solo,

which he knocked out of the park.

 "I didn't join this team to sit on the bench.

 I'm going deep, I'm swingin' for the fence!"

 Daisy is so proud of our little slugger.

 So is Mommy.