Top Golf

The most hideous visual in our town is Top Golf. The surrounding nets can be seen from all over town and I hate it...However, it seems to be quite popular and is a favorite destination for hockey families between games. Our eldest has now experienced this destination and pronounced it quite entertaining and a lot of fun.

Motion X

School starts next Tuesday, so that means our church was busy getting the students ready for the struggles and battles of life as a teenager. Motion X had speakers and music to motivate the next generation to live indepedently from the rest of the world. A huge challenge where communication is not respectful, intolerant of those who think differently, and completely lacking understanding of body language, inflection, and other nuances of face to face communication.

My heart breaks for the youth of today. I would not be a teen again for all the money in the world and today is so much harder than when I was young. There is so much potential in these beautiful kids, I am so happy to be a part of the church which encourages them to live with love.

Sixteen thousand students converged on the BJCC for three days to:

1. Know God
2. Find Freedom
3. Discover their Purpose
4. Make a difference in the World

These youth are a Generation in Motion, moving towards God and serving/loving others in His Name.

Screenshots stolen from Social Media...my little angels are further down...my bad attempt at doing this chronologically...mild fail by this blogger.

Kind of like "Where's Waldo?" but this is "Where's Matthew?"

Each Campus has a color, ours is purple

I was so disappointed to not be serving when Hannah came back from setup and told me about the stage being an X and the X backdrop. This is the 10th year of Motion...it has grown so much in such a short time. 

As part of Hannah's Internship, she helped set up the BJCC for this conference which included 14,000 LED bracelets which were synced to the lights on stage.

Matthew's buddy

And these pictures are Hannah's buddies from her 252 Internship

The 252 Internship name comes from Luke 2:52 "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

The Boy in Motion

The boy is complaining that I am making him clean out the garage. I think it's a fair trade since I drove him to MN, washed a week of dirty laundry, took him to his high school counseling appointment, and I am driving him to Nashville this afternoon.

Here are some videos from his Camp at Shattuck-St. Mary's. I am lousy at video...I have no idea which ones have his great moments and which have his "oof" moments. But...here is what I have if you want to see him on video since catching him in person is a bit more challenging.

The Camp started with me being a bit concerned that the kid from Alabama was not getting a chance...he was on the last line, the last in drill lines, etc. However, I learned the Camp was a mix of 04/05 (hockey is by birth year) and also, by size. M is 04 and one of the taller kids...end of the line for him. However, by the end of the Camp, and winning the games to make the playoffs mattered, to the front of the line he went and he covered the important shifts. I'm good.

My absolute favorite moment of the Camp was a hockey dad stopping to tell me how hard Matthew worked, not just at games but at practice, he gave 110%. I could not ask for more.

July Something

Wow! It's almost August...I haven't blogged but I have lots of pictures, stories, and driving time in the last month since I sat down and made a post. Did I post Lauren's birthday? Did I post the Fourth of July? Hannah's 252 Internship? And now Matthew's Hockey Camp in MN. Whoosh! This week the kids have Motion Conference and next Matthew has a Hockey Camp and then...School Starts!

Lauren's birthday was a bit low key. Dinner at Rosie's (minus Greg who was somewhere in Nevada) and then a little Pinot's Palette for some Impressionism Painting.

THE Birthday Bash

After the Birthday Bash came the Fourth of July. The kids have a sibling celebration (I'll be honest, I'm a little jealous of this but frankly, not jealous enough to go out in the humidity, I'm a desert girl. Southern Summers just kill me). I can't tell you much about their party but we had a great dinner with a patriotic dessert before they left for the Sibling Celebration. Lauren also made the world's best video of her brother. Priceless. Especially, if you knew how shy Matthew normally is...except around family and really good friends.

Take my Breath Away

Yep, Stealing Screenshots of Social Media Posts...Again.

I asked Hannah why she wasn't in this picture and her response was, "I was off petting the dogs." Yep, THAT'S my Girl

Hannah's 252 Internship Squad had a lunchtime celebration

Happy Birthday, America!

Matthew has a wonderful teammate who helped us cut down on driving while Matthew was doing a hockey clinic. His mom took him for some off ice training, a beautiful hike somewhere in Nashville. I have no idea where this is but it is a gorgeous 4 1/2 mile hike.

Finished!

Matthew and another teammate started a Spam Instagram...I still don't understand Instagram Spam...

One part of Hannah's Internship was running a 10K. I got this when she finished. I am so proud of her!

And while Hannah was running a 10K, I was in MN with Matthew for a hockey camp. It turned out      I had a niece in the town next to where the hockey camp was being held so I was able to take a morning hike with her and her girls. It was lovely. 

And since my hotel had a pool...there was a little swimming....

My brother, niece, and great-nieces...Aren't they adorable?

And the Camp at Shattuck-St. Mary's

I'll post some video tomorrow of the Camp but in the meantime, a couple pictures of the quaint little town of Faribault