Virginia Water Sports

Merk went home early, so Dad and I were left to our own devices to keep the boys entertained.

Our first attempt was fishing. Dad's girlfriend Karen lives on an awesome lake and let us use her boat.

Max was more interested in the tackle box than actually fishing.

I know it's hard to believe, but there's a fish on that line. It must have been two inches long. We threw it back.


This one's a keeper!

The next day we took the boys sailing on the Potomac.

It was a picture perfect day and the river was gorgeous. I grew up sailing with my dad so it was great to be on the boat again. The boys were a little scared and were more interested in the bugs than being on a sailboat. All in all, it was a great trip and I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Virginia Camping

Towards the end of the summer, we took the boys to visit my Dad in Virginia. We always do a lot of outdoor things there and the boys love it. Of course, they always love hanging out with Grandpa Joe. Here are some highlights from the camping part of the trip.

Max helped Grandpa Joe do everything. He was a little shadow the entire trip.


I still can't believe he fell asleep that way.



We went hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I love it there. It is definitely on of my favorite places.





I don't know if he was just tired or if he wanted to make sure we didn't forget him.


All tuckered out.

Summer Fun

I know, I know. It's been too long. But what's the point of summer if you can't take some time off?

Here is a not-so-brief recap of our summer so far. Enjoy!

Water fun in the backyard.




Naps!


The loss of a first tooth.


Hiding in a closet during a storm and a dramatic change in our landscaping.


A trip to the beach!!!







Me and my honey!


A visit to the Blue Angels. It was 100 degrees that day but nothing could keep us from the air show.




Luke at his Little League All Star Game.



Fourth of July Parade.



Building Legos. We do this almost every day. At this rate, I think I may qualify for Master Builder status soon.



And that brings us up to date. Only one month left until school starts. By far, this is the best summer we've had and I'm loving every moment, despite the relentless heat. Thank goodness for good friends, swimming pools and slip-n-slides.

Cuteness in a Bottle

Luke had his kindergarten music performance last week. He had so much fun. They sang about 20 Disney songs and it couldn't have been cuter.


Don't you love the ears? I couldn't believe my 6 year old boy, who is very into being "cool" thought it was super cool to wear mouse ears in front of an audience.




We've had such a great school year. While I was so proud of him, I was a little sad to think that this year passed us by so quickly. I seriously doubt he'll be wearing mouse ears in the first grade.

Talent

I know many of you have young children with special talents. Maybe they can already read or are awesome at throwing a ball.

Mine sleeps standing up.




We are so proud!!!

You Did What?

For Luke’s birthday, he got a Star Wars game for the Wii. He loves that game and plays it every weekend. It turns out that I like it too but Luke and I have very different game playing strategies. Luke is more interested in the color of his light saber and fighting the bad guys. I’m all about the money.

We’ve had the game two months and only play it on the weekends, so I was pretty proud of the 300,000 coins we had accumulated, especially since Luke and Merk are always charging ahead and never let me run around to grab up the money.

Well, yesterday, I was tired...bone tired. So when Max asked me if we could take a nap together, I jumped all over the idea. He takes about four naps a year, so I wasn’t about to miss a golden opportunity for some daytime sleeping, which we all know is the best there is.

To occupy Luke, I decided he could play on the Free Play mode of Star Wars. It’s easier for him and he can pretty much do it all by himself. Little did I know what that little rascal was about to accomplish in the next hour.

So Max and I napped and it was awesome. Every so often, I would hear Luke whoop and laugh. I knew he was okay and having a good time so I kept on sleeping.

Then, he comes charging in. He was so excited and kept saying something about Darth Maul. Honestly, I don’t understand Star Wars so it wasn’t enough to get me up, until he started talking about all the characters he had purchased. Purchased? What? That was enough to get me up.

So I go see what he has done. He was so excited he could barely talk, but managed to show me the roughly 20 new characters he bought...with MY Star Wars money. He used all 300,000 of it. You’d think I would be sad, but I couldn’t stop laughing. The clever boy figured it out and once he got started, he just kept going. Sounds like someone else I know.

Now the play money is gone, the kid was happy and I got a nap. All in all, it wasn’t a bad afternoon. But I suspect nothing’s going to get done around the house this weekend because mommy has to rebuild her Star Wars stash.

All That Is Easter

I realize Easter was last weekend, but I just got my act together enough to put up a post. Nothing crazy, just a general lack of enthusiam on my part. Also, with school starting to wind down, it seems like every day I get a note about something that needs to be bought, sent or made for one of the boys. It's exhausting.

Anyway, here is our Easter. We hunted for eggs, had our faces painted, played with small animals and worshiped the rising of Christ. All in all, we had a wonderful Easter season.



We also took our yearly Easter photo. I'm proud to announce that the tradition holds. My kids will not sit and smile for an Easter picture. At other times of the year, they do great. But at Easter, well, it hasn't happened yet. This is a sampling of what we got instead.






What are you going to do? Even though they won't give me a picture, I still think they are great!