Speedy Summer

I started this post on Monday and finished it on Tuesday. . .

Checking out some classic cars and posing in the shade


The reasons we now have a "2 large pizza family"

Days are turning into weeks, and weeks are turning into months--summer is going by so quickly. Last week was one of adjustment for me, since I kind of "checked out" while my parents were here. I played catch-up all week long, and am glad to have that behind me. Swimming lessons ended on Friday, freeing up our mornings to sleep in. Ahhhh. Braylen's been playing with his neighbor friend almost every day, and at times I feel like I have 4 boys to keep track of. Actually, when he's over here my boys play together pretty nicely. I've had to figure out how to carve out time for Braylen to play with his friend, and how to include Kaleb and Aaron at times. This is new territory for me. Growing up with one brother, I never wanted to play with his friends, and he never wanted to play with mine. Imagine that. Derek's been helpful in this area. :)

Loving this time with Braylen


Gritting his teeth before his ride



Is this fun? Maybe.



Aaron's turn!

Now THIS is fun!

This weekend we went boating as a family, and each boy had his own turn on the torpedo tube. Braylen's loved it for years, Kaleb has feared it, and Aaron's been too little. This time we made Kaleb get on and overcome his fear. He hung on for dear life with a grimace, but he felt so proud of his accomplishment. :) Aaron immediately began rocking from side to side, trying to have a little more "daredevil fun." He even let go and held his arms up! What a brave 5 year old! The water was pretty choppy that day, and sure enough, Aaron fell off during one of his daring moves. Too bad the little guy didn't let go! Derek gunned the boat to force Aaron to let go of the rope, and we swooped in and plucked him from the water. Without crying or anything, Aaron simply said, "I'm done, I'm done!"

Derek and I had the chance to go to a movie Monday night, something we hardly ever do. Thanks to free movie passes and our wonderful family in town, this was a totally free date! :) We saw "The Proposal" and really liked it. Lots of laughter and time to escape from responsibilities. I think it was a great way to start our week.

Kaleb fell off his bike today and scraped his knee up. This happened right before our weekly trip to our friend's lake house. Bummer! Kaleb still went swimming, but climbed onto a water platform in the cove because his knee stung. Refusing to swim back to shore, he called out to Braylen for help. Braylen pulled him back to shore while Kaleb kept his leg out of the water. They were quite a funny sight. Some brotherly bonding occured, because as we drove home Kaleb said, "My brother must really love me because he was so nice to me." Awwww. :)

Random funnies from the past few days:

While describing his favorite car to our chiropractor, Aaron said, "Mustang GPS." I think he meant GT!

Braylen tried to remember what he was going to say, and all he could say was, "It's on the tip of my tongue!" Aaron said, "Well, you must have swallowed it!"

While making cookies with me, Kaleb and Aaron turned everything into an arguement. "I want to do it! No I want to do it! My turn! No! My turn!" I was getting frustrated with them. Then Kaleb said, "Aaron, you have stinky breath." Aaron said, "Well Kaleb, YOUR breath stinks like...like...a dead sheep!" What? Where does he come up with these things? Kaleb answered back with things like "your breath stinks like a rotten banana and cow poop." Lovely.

A major project waiting for me this week involves hosting a birthday party for Braylen's upcoming 10th birthday. We're sneaking his party in a few weeks early, since his big day falls the week before school starts in August. It may have been a lousy pregnancy for me in the heat of the summer, but it sure does provide my son with a fun birthday party opportunity! This Saturday we're taking five 9 and 10 year old boys boating. Aaahhhhh! I figure as long as I keep them fed and in life jackets, all will go well. :) Right?