Fourth of July Fun!!

We had a WONDERFUL time yesterday for Independence Day, as we were able to go to our friends, the Archer's, and have a fun day in the pool, playing games, having a cookout, and fireworks! The kids had a blast and I think they were in the pool for 4 or 5 hours straight! They loved it! Mason was a little stand-offish, but we finally got him in the pool later in the day. I was really excited about my 'fireworks' setting on my camera, so I was able to capture a few shots (ok, a LOT) of the fireworks! Of course, Mason was scared of the loud noises, so he sat with his ears plugged the whole time and eventually fell asleep like that. Ian and Luke liked the sparklers and littler ones, then they decided it was too loud and went inside to play the Wii. Of course... oh well! But we had a great day and the boys were VERY exhausted!

CANNON-BALL! (Luke)

Ian

Darth Mason

My friend, Kim and I.

Darth Mason catchin' some rays.

Of course, Dave playin' with all the teenagers in the pool!

Ian having dinner - YUM!

Dave and Luke

Mason and Mommy

Dave and Brad playing bean bags

CHEESE!

Mason when the fireworks began

Mason during the fireworks.

Luke

Ian

BABY, YOU'RE A FIREWORK!

Fishing on the Fourth!

Dave was SO excited to take the boys fishing at 6 AM this morning! The boys even slept out in the living room, and Luke was even in his clothes, and they got up, got some donuts and headed out to the lake by a friends house! Luke caught 13 fish, Ian caught 9, and Dave caught 2 (only cause he HAD to help the boys with theirs!) The boys were so excited! They love spending time with Dave and I hope this time they spend together lasts and creates great memories for them!

End of June Fun

Last Monday, we took the boys to go see Cars 2, which was fun and the boys did great! This picture is deceiving, because it's the Harry Potter poster, and I forgot to take pictures before the movie started for Cars 2, and then the kids were VERY ready to go and a little cranky, so we couldn't get them together in front of a Cars poster, so this is what we got! hahah! We went with our good friend, the Koch's, and Ian and Gabe were being funny acting out the Harry Potter battle! It was fun!

This past Thursday was pack meeting for cub scouts, and this was one of the only pictures I got before my camera battery died, but Ian got a ton of awards from going to day camp, so he was very happy!

Then, Saturday, we went for a picnic at Lakewood Park with our friend, the Edwards, and had a HOT, fun afternoon with playing, picnic, and some paddle boating and row boating! Even though Jerry almost fell out of the boat, and Corrine slipped off the paddleboat, it was all good! We had a great time with our friends!

I'm glad I am ok with being in pictures now! I'm down 20 pounds since Memorial Day and I need to get in more pictures, especially with Dave. We had a great day!

Cub Scout Day Camp 2011

Ian had a wonderful time at his very first official Cub Scout Summer Day Camp! He went a few weeks ago, and I was able to walk with him the entire week, thanks to my momma for watching Mason! Ian was able to experience a ton of new and fun things! He got to do Archery and BB Gun shooting for the first time, which were his favorite! He got to do slingshots, crafts, dig for dinosaur bones, a couple of crafts, make a walking stick, leaned how to play soccer, learned about tools and their uses, go fishing, learned more about nature and got to do so many other fun things with his friends in his Den! He was pretty well behaved, which I was happy about! Luke also came with each day and attended the Pixie Camp for the younger siblings. He had a very good time also! On the last day of camp we stayed overnight for the family campout... unfortunately, Dave had to take Mason home who was completely throwing a fit about staying in the tent! Go figure! But we had a good time anyway, and it was perfect weather for a campout!
Ian received a ton of awards at pack meeting for all the things he accomplished at Day camp! Way to go Ian!

Mason's 3rd Birthday!

We celebrated Mason's 3rd birthday yesterday in conjunction with Father's Day. Mason wanted a spiderman cake! He really loves Spiderman! And he really loved his cake! I made his cake and although it is nothing fancy, I thought it turned out good, and Mason told me it was 'Awesome'! (that's his new word!) He loved blowing out his candles, and being sung Happy Birthday to. He got tired of using a fork eating his cake, so he just dove right in with his face. Nice. He got some great presents, and loved opening all of them! We got him a spiderman costume and he loves wearing that! He is our 3 year old super hero!

Hiking at Coffee Creek - Summer fun continues....

Last Friday, the boys were bored to death, because we only had a movie night planned for our 'fun thing' to do that day, and the boys said, 'that is at NIGHT... we want to do something in the DAY!' So, after much deliberation, we decided to take a HIKE at Coffee Creek! It was a HOT and humid day, but we persevered! We hiked probably a mile and a half, which took us an hour, and they were beat! It was very buggy and the mosquitoes were swarming! But they had fun! We were all very tired afterwards!

Luke's Kindergarten Play

Last wednesday, my mom, Mason and I, went to Luke's Kindergarten play! He was the RIVER and he did a fantastic job! He memorized his lines and said them really well! It was a play about keeping the earth clean! They also did another play of the Gingerbread Man! He was the Cow in that story and had 2 lines! He loved it... he really did a great job! After the two plays were over, the class did a 'surprise play' of the Gingerbread Man again, but it was to a rap kind of song, and they all wore sunglasses! It was too cute! Way to go Luke! But he is really excited to be in first grade next year! ;)

Luke and his teacher, Mrs. Hargarten.

Summertime Fun Calendar!

So, after hearing my kids complain about not doing anything fun this summer 2 hours into summer break, I decided to make up this fun little calendar! I used my vinyl cutter to make the calendar and the title, then wrote in the dates starting with today. I mounted it on an 11x14 sheet of foam board, and I'm gonna hang it on my wall! I had the kids write the stuff they wanted to do this summer, and we are making little cards that are movable (in case of rainy days). The kids were really excited about it! Now, I just have to stick with it! :)

Luke's 6th Birthday!

On Friday, Luke turned the big 6 years old! How time has flown by! He's finishing up Kindergarten this week and is growing like a weed! He's so tall and fun and VERY entertaining! Luke wanted an Army birthday party this year, so that's what he got! For his birthday breakfast, I made him crepes - his favorite! He also got to celebrate his birthday at school with yummy rice crispie treats and a birthday hat! For dinner, we let him pick his favorite restaurant and he chose CiCi's Pizza! He loved it!
Saturday was his birthday party and he had some great friends come over to celebrate his birthday! It was a perfect day for slip 'n slide and the little pool and water guns, UNTIL the party started and a storm came rolling in! The kids got about 1/2 hour in the water, then we had to get out because of the thunder and lightning! haha! We had hot dogs and chips and fun canteens for their drinks, and we got to eat outside under the car port.
Luke loved his cake that Grandma Beeler decorated for him, and loved all the wonderful fun presents that he got from his friends and family!
Happy Birthday, Luke! We love you so much!

Luke and his brothers getting ready to sing to the Birthday boy!

Luke in his Back Yard Explorer outfit and bug vacuum he got for his birthday!

A visit from my Cousin

Yesterday, my cousin Josh and his wife Amber, came to visit us! They live in AZ, and I haven't see them in about 12 years, I think! It's been a really long time! I used to write to my cousin Josh and his twin brother Matt, when they were on their missions in Argentina while I was in college! It was fun to get to know them back then, and now we are getting to know each other again! We had a wonderful visit and lunch at my moms! I know my Grandma and Grandpa were especially excited to see them and visit with them.