Between Birthdays

Here we are on August 13th--2 days after Braylen's birthday and 2 days before my birthday. Toss in back-to-school preparations and we have quite a lot going on! All 3 boys met their teachers and saw their classrooms today. I plan on savoring this school year with all of them in the same school, because it won't happen again. Watching Braylen check out his 5th grade classroom was bittersweet for me. How fast his elementary years have flown. Aaron's so ready for kindergarten; I don't have any worries about how he'll do. Kaleb's 3rd grade teacher makes school so much fun. I wish you could see what her classroom looks like. I could look all around the room for hours and still not see everything. Tonight while getting ready for bed, Kaleb told me he wants school to start tonight--not in 3 days! Yep, summer's been fun but it's time to head back to school.

But before we do, we've had a lot of fun in August. This month holds so much more than birthdays and the start of the school year. I don't want to forget it! The easiest way to show what we've been doing since August 1st is through pictures.

We played at this cool water park with friends and felt like we had the place to ourselves!

The wave pool was a favorite, but the rest was just as much fun!

The lazy river's not so lazy when Kaleb and Aaron are involved. :)

We spent lots of time playing in this lake. My favorite times out at our friends' house is when our entire family can play on these water trampolines. 6 adults, 9 kids, lots and lots of fun! You can't see it in this picture, but there's a water catapult on the other side of the large trampoline and I got some serious air time when 2 adults catapulted me off the end!

Who's having more fun--Derek or the boys?

Grandma took all the kids to the fair. What a treat!

A 3 seat ride for my 3 boys to fly in

Braylen brought a friend to the lake...he fits right in, don't you think?

And now our summer's coming to an end. With the end of our fun activities comes bored and cranky kids. We've made muffins together. Played the Wii. Read books. Ridden bikes. Built forts. Good grief, we even suited up in flag football belts and played a few rounds of football just because the kids were driving me up the wall in the house. And it was at least 101 degrees when we did that. But I think the craziest thing the boys did to signal we need school to start was collect rocks in the yard, paint them, and glue lego pieces to them. They use them in their imaginary play as boats and tubes zipping through the water (a.k.a. living room carpet). I'm just happy they're entertaining themselves! Derek came home from work and joined in on the fun. If you can call it that. :) Oh summer, we will miss you!!!

11 on the 11th

11 gold dollar coins on 11 presents, 11 years old

Braylen is 11 years old today!!!!! I'm calling him my golden boy, since today is his golden birthday--he's 11 on the 11th. :) August 11th, 1999 was on a Wednesday, just like it is this year. Even though the years keep adding up, I can still remember everything about that day. I look at Braylen and it's hard to believe he was once a 6 pound baby. But he was. And a part of me will always remember him that way.

I decided to keep things simple today. Let him sleep in. Watch him go on a donut date with his grandma. Pick Uncle Eric's present out of the pile for him to open, since I knew it was something he could enjoy with his brothers. :) Fix lunch and get everything ready for an afternoon at the pool. Watch him have fun with his best friend, jumping off the diving boards and diving for rings. Prepare tacos, sweet corn, and watermelon for supper. Watch him open all his gifts and realize he didn't get any toys this year. Go for a family bike ride, dog included, and then come home to some ice cream cake. Summer birthdays are so much fun.

a hot sunny day at the pool!

hard to believe he'll need this hat, but it will get cold eventually

football gloves

My boy is growing up, but I still see some little boy in him. At least when it's just our family. That makes me happy. :) 11 years ago I became a mom. I blinked, and now I'm a mom of an 11 year old. At least that's what it seems like. Happy Birthday to our son Braylen Derek! Always remember to live like you're loved, because you are.

a gift from his brothers: a drawer organizer for his desk at home

11 things to remember about Braylen

1. He loves Under Armour clothing.

2. He'll eat anything.

3. His favorite color is green.

4. He laughs easily and frequently.

5. He has his own room, but sometimes he misses sharing one.

6. He's online more and more these days.

7. He prefers vanilla over chocolate.

8. Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper are his favorites.

9. He's very much a people person, and his best friend is Matthew.

10. He still lets me tuck him in at night.

11. If it's a sport, Braylen's all over it.

Picture Perfect

A week at the lake. Plenty of sunshine and water. My family all to myself. What a wonderful week!

My guys

Check out Aaron's goggle marks

My turn to play :)

"Kings are Good"

Aaron drives the boat

Braylen's catch of the day

Waving to their Mama

Derek's turn to play :)

Trailering the boat

Brotherly love

Even Ginger loved our vacation

Drying the dishes as we clean up to go home

I hope our boys remember these weeks at the lake. I know I will. Someday Kaleb and Aaron won't want to collect rocks at the beach. Someday Braylen won't want to rock out with his brothers at the cabin. But right now they like to do those things. Braylen became Derek's right hand man this week, allowing me to step back and watch my boy do things men do. He also got up on water skis--hooray! Such a fun week at the lake. We waited all summer for this. :)

Catching Up

Before July turned into August, we let the boys participate in a very informal swim meet. Even our little Aaron swam a race: 25 meter freestyle. I was so proud of the boys as they showcased their hard work in the pool this summer. Daddy and Grandma watched from the side while I had a front-row seat in the water with them. :)

Remember the dirt pile? This is what the boys looked like after playing on it. Boys and dirt and sweat. That pretty much sums up our summer. :)

On one particular crabby day, with the boys begging me to take them to the store so they could spend their money, I caved. It's not my money, right? :) We hit the dollar section of one of our favorite stores and I promised to let them pick out their own purchases. Braylen chose gum, since he couldn't find what he was looking for. Okay, that was easy. Kaleb chose a toy tank. Now, the last thing I think we need is more cheap toys. But I kept my promise and said, "Good choice Kaleb." And what did Aaron pick? Plastic toy soldiers. I couldn't hold my tongue this time. We have 200 tiny toy soldiers at home already. Aaron pointed out these were brown and green, not just green like we have at home. With a little more discussion, I decided to let him buy them. Again, it's his money, not mine. But you know what? Those soldiers and tank provided hours of entertainment. See?

So now it's August, and several countdowns begin. The countdown to Braylen's birthday. And not just any birthday--his golden birthday. The countdown to school starting. Enough said on that for now. Pretty soon piano lessons will resume, soccer season will start, and Cub Scouts will begin. It makes my head swim just thinking about it. Vacation pictures to come...