A Doggy Summer

Here we are in the middle of July already! Some days I really enjoy summer. Some days I want to tear my hair out and send my kids to boarding school! We're in our second week of morning swimming lessons, Braylen has a full week of evening soccer camp, and our times at home from lunch to supper are relaxing--if everyone gets along. :) Today I told my kids that they had better treat each other as nicely as they treat their friends, or else! In honor of summer vacation, I'm choosing to let the laundry sit in baskets rather than fold it, let the kids "clean" the bathrooms and vacuum on their own, and make snowcones instead of supper. (Supper can be late in the summer, right??)

Fun at the lake, 7/12/08

Aaron's zinnias he planted from seeds

Since last Monday we've had a good friend of ours (Shawn) stay here while he builds my in-laws patio cover. He's not here very much. We see him at night, and he leaves for work before we wake up. But yesterday he took the day off and he and Derek came home with a.......puppy! Shawn lives in Colorado and has been wanting a German Shepherd puppy for about a year. His older dog is getting, well, older. So on a whim he bought the cutest little shepherd pup! We named her Dakota. I am hoping this puppy experience will allow us to get a dog of our own sooner rather than later. Derek's taken to the whole idea REALLy well, considering he's never had a dog before. (Poor deprived Derek!) The boys love to run and play with Dakota. It's a bright spot in our summer. Maybe she will help us all get along with each other a bit better. :)

Our Ring Bearer

Out of our three boys, Aaron is the first one to be in a wedding. Derek's cousin Dustin got married this past Saturday, and Aaron did a fantastic job as the ring bearer! I was thrilled to see him looking so handsome in his tuxedo. He couldn't have done a better job. His best friend in the whole world, his cousin Analise, was the flower girl. When they walked down the aisle, Analise dropped the flower petals and they both said, "Drop, drop, drop..." Aaron tried to step over the petals at first, but then didn't seem to mind stepping on them. The funniest thing happened on their way back down the aisle. As they followed the bride and groom, Aaron and Analise walked soooooo slowly. The bridal party stood at the front of the church waiting to exit, but couldn't leave until Aaron and Analise did! The whole experience was very cute and I will remember it always. When the bridal party arrived at the reception, Aaron saw them enter and said, "Hey, those are the people in my wedding!"

Camping Kid

Last week Braylen spent 3 days at church camp and 2 days at Cub Scout camp! This was his first year to go to an overnight church camp, and he had so much fun. I have to admit, it felt weird to leave him there with strangers. And it didn't help that on his second night there was a storm that came through with 80 mph winds! I had a crash course lesson in leaving my son in God's hands.

On the way home from picking him up, Braylen had some stories to tell us from his time at camp. He started several statements with, "You'll be happy to know..." or "You'll be glad to hear..." His favorite part of camp was the zip line. He also loved riding a horse named "Firecracker." He said Firecracker even galloped a little and "shook himself all over." His best breakfast was a huuuuge cinammon roll and Frosted Flakes. He rode a paddleboat with his buddy Ryan and told us in dramatic fashion that he had to get out of the paddleboat and push it while swimming. Hmmmm... His shoes were covered with squished mulberries, the boy slept in his clothes, and instead of changing his underwear he turned it inside out! I'd say he had a ton of fun and didn't want to waste any precious time on showering or dressing. He went straight to the shower at home and then napped for 2 hours!

standing in front of his cabin

The next day Derek took Braylen to Cub Scout camp and the two of them had a great time. Braylen shot a BB gun and Derek found out he's a great shot! His archery skills aren't quite so great. :) Oh well! They made several crafts with leather, swam in the pool, and even did a polar bear swim at 6AM. Braylen learned how to use a compass, and of course he and Derek roasted marshmellows at their campfire.

taking aim at the target!

While all of this camping was going on, I took Kaleb and Aaron to see the new Pixar movie Wall-E. It was a cute movie! We went out to McDonald's for ice cream afterwards. Aaron tries so hard to eat from a cone but just can't eat it fast enough before it melts. We also went to the city pool for an evening swim with friends. After seeing his 1 year old cousin go down the waterslide with me, Aaron agreed to try it out. I reminded him that last year he did it by himself, but he was still scared of it! Sheesh. All in all, we had a fun time.

This week I've enjoyed having our family back together again. Camps are fun but they also wear us out! We're looking forward to a fun weekend for the 4th of July. Aaron is a ring bearer in a wedding, and I'm sure he will look like a little man in his tux. We've been setting off fireworks at home this week, and we even rode our bikes to a nearby stand today. Braylen's favorites are firecrackers. Kaleb likes parachutes and is pretty good at catching them before they hit the ground. Aaron loves the fountains. I love watching!

One little Aaron quote. On an overpass coming home from camp he shouted out from his carseat, "We can see the whole world!"

Brother of Mine

It's come to my attention that as I compare raising my sons and growing up with a brother, I've painted a pretty poor picture of my dear brother Eric. :) So I will set the record straight! He takes daily showers, he'll boldly do what's necessary to rid his home and surroundings of 8-legged critters, he doesn't blow on my food anymore, and he is an all-around amazing brother! He's also a terrific uncle, adored by Braylen, Kaleb and Aaron. His wife is such a fun aunt to them as well. We are blessed by them! So Eric, is this better? :) Just one more thing: We love you AND your kitties. The only 3 cats in the whole world that are safe around Derek!