Dallin doesn't remember eating these last year, so this has been a fun surprise for him. "Berree!" he says. He gets so excited sometimes I catch him trying to eat the green ones.
Kyle helps me pick them. He picked all of these by himself.
Digging for gold!
I even had enough to make freezer jam. It was quite a mess.
So worth it. Yummy. I love this stuff.
We took the boys with us and they really enjoyed it. Although it is July, the weather was pretty nice. Most of the time there was a cool breeze.
We also went to go see the movie Brave. Great movie.
So now the boys know who Grandpa Marvin is. And I got to play lots of rummikub with him. :) It was a great visit. Hopefully 4 years won't go by til the next one.
He did a cute giggle along with this.
There is a peacock that roams free there and it soon figured out that we had some food. Kyle and Blake fed this thing for a few minutes. It got pretty comfortable around us until Dallin saw it and went running after it. Then it ran away and flew up and over a fence.
Are we really there? Where pictures always have to have silly faces in them. I guess that is where we are with Kyle. This face came with a bunch of wierd noises. And some giggles too. 2 out of 3 isn't too bad I guess. D for the picture but A+ for the fun we had.
Kyle wasn't interested this year, but Blake gave it a try. I wish soccer came after tee ball. Since Blake had just gotten out of soccer, which is very active and busy, he was a little bored in tee ball. But he still had fun.
The first time Blake hit the ball, instead of running for 1st base, he ran to get the ball he had just hit! It was so funny to watch.
Blake's team was the Indians. The neat thing is that he had the same coach Kyle had a few years ago.
Blake's nickname at our house now is "BEEP" because that is how Dallin says Blake. Everytime Blake would hit the ball, I would clap and yell, "Go Blake!" and Dallin would clap and yell, "Go BEEP!"
Here is "BEEP" on base.
Dallin got bored, and he would wander off a little. My big helper Kyle would go and entertain him.
Ever since Dallin saw our sprinklers come on in our yard, he has been so obsessed with them. No matter where we are, if he sees one, he will yell, "wa wa!" Then he has to stop and inspect them. When we were looking for a spot to sit at the last game, Kyle carried my chair for me. He purposely set it down right in front of a sprinkler so that Dallin would be happily occupied, for a few minutes at least. I told Kyle what a great idea that was and how smart he was for doing that. Kyle said, "The student becomes that master." Ha ha!
Kyle took some pictures for me with my camera. He did such a good job! It was cute to see him walking around with my camera, getting pictures of Blake. I wanted a picture of Kyle taking a picture of Blake. :) Actually Kyle took the one below:
I love my boys! I love summer time!
They had to wait inside while I put it together. Blake couldn't help but peek once. I wasn't doing anything important at that point but I had to sternly warn him against doing it again. After all, it is supposed to be a surprise. He behaved after that.
First Clues!
Running from one clue to the next.
We were all over the place, even across the street at the park.
They had to climb to the top of the big green slide.
They took turns getting clues, but Blake usually had to have big brother read them for him. So there was some team work involved.
And finally, the LOOT!
Totally worth it, they had a great time.
Here are my boys with the cute neighbor kids. Love them.
Kyle was sad to say goodbye to Mrs. Allen. She was a great teacher for Kyle, very encouraging and positive. She did extra special things with her class too like a Dr. Seuss readers theater. So much fun. She is a wonderful lady.
And Blake said goodbye to Mrs. Jones. She is such an amazing preschool teacher, always warm and friendly. Kyle had her for preschool too. Blake will miss her.
Moving on in the world, always changing. These boys of mine are getting so big!
Last year, I wished that I ran with Kyle. A lot of parents did. So I thought this year I would. I figured I could encourage him to go faster and not stop. Little did I know how fast he was! He took right off, and didn't look back. I definately couldn't catch him. I was so proud of him! He did amazing. I wish now that I didn't run, because I didn't get to see him cross the finish line. But it was still neat to be a part of it.
I think this yearly event teaches the kids a lot. They learn physical lessons as well as endurance. It is amazing to see.
Next year, maybe I will run with Blake, and just watch Kyle from the sidelines. He is fast! My kids are lucky to have such great schools.
Soccer! I loved watching the boys do soccer. They both did really well with it.
Blake surprised me with his defense. One game in particular, he stopped 6 goal attempts and stole the ball I don't know how many times.
Here is Blake as he is about to make his first, and only goal. So fun! I think I was happier than he was.
This was Kyle's first attempt at soccer too. I think he liked it and we will do it again next year. Most of the other boys had played before so he had some catching up to do. But he got really good at getting aggressive and started going for the ball more.
I had a little debate after it was all over. There is a very competitive league for soccer here and I considered putting Kyle in it. Knowing Kyle, I strongly feel that he needs a sport to focus himself into. Not just for confidence but also for an outlet for him. He has some natural leadership tendencies in him. But it is very time consuming and I just don't feel that we are ready for that level of competition. Once you start that, it is a commitment. I know those kinds of things will come soon enough. So not yet, but maybe in a year or two if he wants. In the meantime, recreational games are good enough for us.
I wish I had thought to get more pictures with Kyle and Brian still wearing white. I kept thinking there would be more time later but by then everyone had already changed.
Look how happy Kyle looks! What a great smile! Kyle, you are so much fun to have around! You are a good and sweet boy!
It was such a neat experience and I hope that Kyle remembers it very clearly. His little brothers are so lucky to have him.
I am a lucky mom!
