1. Our beach trip. This is always the highlight. We didn't stay in the beach house this year and it did cause a little bit of inconvience. We all preferred the luxury of cooking our own meals, being steps from the beach as opposed to having to stay in a squishy hotel and drive everyday. Other than that, it was FUN!
Kade finally attempted boogie boarding again this year after having a bad time being pulled under last year, and had a blast! Kyle stayed in the water all day of course, so not lots of photos of him.
2. Brandon learns to SWIM. This is footage on the 5th day of swim lessons. He took off and has been floatie free ever since. We are proud of him :)
3. Our trip to Eagar. We finally made it out to visit our friends the Woolfs. We miss them, and it was good to just kick back and relax in a small town. I drove the boys while Lauren was at girls' camp. It was forever far, but worth every mile :) The kids enjoyed just playing outside in the cooler air. Building forts in the "forest" behind the house, going on bike rides, seeing all the animals (Brandon was in heaven!), riding the pony and going crawdad fishing. Good times!
The kids took their catch to Colleen's house and she helped them take the shells off to cook. I even helped and got way too much information about pulling out the "poop vein" Really, just gross. And no, I did not taste these little fellas. I'm not much of a seafood/fish/water creature eating person :)
Those chickens were pecking my toes as I snapped photos of the kids.
Kade was nervous about this ride.
Brandon's ride made his YEAR!
Such a good time we had. Thanks Linde for letting us invade your house. I have more pictures(of your kids:) That I will edit and mail to you. We miss you and hope to get together again.
4. Green Smoothies. Steve started making green smoothies which consist of mostly spinach and a few frozen fruits to mask the taste. Not nearly as bad as I thought. He told the kids everyone had to drink one a day. They weren't buying it. The only kid who happily asks for his green smoothie is Kade. I love them because I would NEVER eat that many green vegetables in one day, but it's super easy to drink them.
5. Girls Camp and Cheer Camp. Miss Lauren was busy this summer off doing fun things. I technically only have roughly 5 years left with her at home. That is crazy to think about, so I don't think about it.
6. After much begging, pleading, constant daily asking Lauren is the proud owner of contacts and braces. Sheesh, she's expensive.
7. Took a quick hike up at Mt. Charleston. It was pretty short, just right. I didn't even have to carry Brandon. He's pretty lazy when it's a long walk. Wants to be carried and then complains that HE'S sweaty riding on your back.
8. Had a baby shower for my sister Candace. She was expecting her first boy, and now he's here.
Meet Baby Finn. He's so little and snuggly. Happy for Candace and her family
9. I battled pink eye ALL summer. It was the pitts. Don't I look lovely?
10. We were all happy to start up school. The 3 months flew by and we had a great time, but we were ready to get back into a routine. Now that the routine is here, it IS good but it is also very, very Brutal. Especially all the driving and getting everyone to the same place at the same time. We need more evening preparations to be made so our mornings run more smoothly :)
You are lovely, even with pink eye! What a fun summer!
Posted by: Kristin | September 20, 2011 at 06:47 PM
A lot of fun for sure! Yeah, I caught crawdads before, but I couldn't eat them either- tee hee.
Posted by: Jen Reil | September 21, 2011 at 05:57 AM
sounds like a fun summer!!!
and yay for Brandon swimming!!!
Posted by: carol | September 21, 2011 at 08:46 AM
I LOVE it!!!! What a great post! Glad we were in your top ten:) We miss you guys every single day. Thanks again for making the forever long trip. You need to make it part of your summer travels every summer. Love ya to pieces!
Posted by: Linde | September 21, 2011 at 02:00 PM