OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS...

JULY - 2012

Well not really, it was more like...

" drive, get on one plane, then get on

another plane, then drive some more

to Grandmother's house we go"

At the end of July, the boys and I 

went to see Grandma and PaPa Charles.

I was so nervous about this trip, 

because I would be traveling

alone with them, and I had no 

idea how they would be on the airplane.

I prepared for the worst,

but was pleasantly surprised...

They did GREAT!!

I had nothing to worry about.

On the first plane, Grey was by the window

 On the second plane, which was a little puddle jumper,

Luke was all by himself on the left side of the plane.

 Driving to my parents house, we drove through

a really bad Thunderstorm.  I tried like

crazy to capture an image of the amazing 

lightning that was all around us, 

but never caught it.

 I hadn't been to my parents house in almost six

years.  It's amazing how beautiful and grown

their yard has gotten since then.

 Do you think Grandma was prepared 

for her grandkids?

 They live on such a beautiful lake.

View from their yard across to the 

little village of Logan.

We were so Happy to be there.

SWIM LESSONS - 2ND SESSION

JULY - 2012

By the end of the second session

of swimming lessons,

Luke was doing pretty good.

Loved swimming under water, and 

is getting pretty good at the freestyle stroke.

Grey, on the other hand,

I think was just there for the ladies.

 He loved this instructor, can you tell?

She was so good with him.

I think she loved him too.

Still not all that good at swimming,

but definitely not afraid of the water.

But, a really good kicker.

BOWLING BIRTHDAY PARTY

JULY - 2012

Another birthday party first for the boys...

Bowling!

One of Luke's pre-school buddies, Andrew,

invited the boys to his Bowling Birthday Party.

The Birthday Boy had some Mad Bowling Skills.

Luke didn't do too bad either...

 notice, again, the tongue :)

Grey even did pretty good!

The hardest thing for him, was waiting his turn!

All ready for cake!

 Happy 5th, Andrew!!

HMOY AWARD...

JULY - 2012

um yeah... HMOY stands for...

"Horrible Mother of the Year"

Why you ask?

See that nice big scrape

on the left side of Luke's chest?

 Wanna know how it got there?

He fell off the golf cart when I turned a corner.

Yup, fell right off... and I laughed.

Then I made sure he was all right.

Amazingly, he only had this scrape

and no broken bones.

Then, on that same day,

I also did this...

Not very good with my aim

using the spray sunscreen.

Definitely HMOY!!

JULY RANDOM..

JULY - 2012

Found Grey one day, very busy with crayons.

But he wasn't coloring...

 He was making little airplane shapes.

t'Belle got really good at swimming...

 ... then got really good at retrieving.

nothing to really say about this one...

 other then, he loves wearing his goggles.
I don't know why, but this reminds me of
"Lord of the Flies"

When I found this beautiful butterfly,

I thought how cool it was that it

chose my little plant on the porch

as it's final resting place.

 A couple of days later, Marc told me that

he had found it in the yard and placed it there.

Bummer... oh well, still beautiful!

Just love these little undies of his.

 Will be so sad when he outgrows them.

Luke mastered the Art of the...

CANNONBAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!

4TH OF JULY, 2012

JULY - 2012

I was SOO excited for 4th of July this year,

because the boys were finally old enough

to enjoy my favorite firework...

SPARKLERS!!

but they preferred the "Pop-Its"

They did give the Sparklers a try, though...

I put the cups on the sticks to help protect them, 

but poor Luke, held the stick too high,

and got a little burn on his fingers.

So only one Sparkler for him.

Grey however, Loved them.

One of my Favorite photos of all time.

Last year, Marc and our neighbor Jim, bought a 

whole boat-load of fireworks, but never set them off.
 So, this year, we enjoyed quite the show.  

Unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of them,

but I did get this, what I think, is a REALLY COOL shot!!

From the beach, a view of the Full Moon

with it's reflection on the water, 

lights from the marina across the lake,

and lights of passing cars on the bridge.
I obviously didn't hold the camera still,
which is what I love the most about it.

That holiday weekend, we had the Monettes 

come join us for a day of fun in the sun.

Sorry, no pictures from that...

except for this - one.

 Guess Luke had too much fun...

the house is filled with people,

yet he is fast asleep on the couch
right in the middle of all of them.

HAPPY 4TH Everyone!

SUMMER SWIM LESSONS - 1ST SESSION

 JULY - 2012

At the end of June, the boys started

taking swim lessons for the first time.

This is from the first day...

Luke LOVED it, but Grey wasn't much of

a fan for the first couple of days.

By the second week, after practicing

over the weekend, Grey did Great!

Here's a little collage from the first session.

 So Proud of them!

On the last day of the first session,

they had a little evaluative testing

 nice Crack Grey!

Their two favorite instructors,

Miss Michelle and Miss Emily

 We left the first session, 

and went and signed up for the 

next session.

A PUTT PUTT BIRTHDAY PARTY

JUNE - 2012

At the end of the month, we attended

Tyler Monette's birthday party.

This year, it was at a Miniature Golf Course.

This was a first for the boys...

 and they had a lot of fun,

despite the oppressive heat and humidity.

The Birthday Boy

Gotta love the green icing in his teeth

Got this great shot of Luke!

Oh the eyes...

Happy 6th Birthday Tyler!

Can't wait for next year's party!

A LITTLE CANINE REUNION...

JUNE - 2012

The people that we got t'Belle from, also own a house

here in the neighborhood.  One afternoon

when they were there, they invited us

over so that t'Belle could visit with her Momma

and one of her sisters.

She had a BLAST!!

Just a cool shot of their dock

Not only was t'Belle tuckered out from all the fun,

so was Grey

Guess it was a fun afternoon had by all.

EVENINGS AT THE BEACH...

JUNE - 2012

This summer we have spent a lot of week night

evenings down at the beach.  It's not too

hot or too crowded... the perfect way

to end the day as a family.

Sometimes I take my camera...

One particular evening, the boys were really

into jumping off the docks...

and Amazingly, I captured this...

a full out BELLY FLOP!!

and then he did it again, 

and I was able to freeze the action...

It was HILARIOUS!!

Whatever possessed him to just do that,

we'll never know.

But I do know this,

he NEVER did it again the rest of the summer.

Before they started their swim lessons,

this is what Luke thought it meant to put 

his head under the water.

too funny!

My Boys of Summer!

On some evenings, t'Belle would join us...

Nothing like the smell of wet dog!

We so enjoyed our many family evenings at

the beach and look forward to many

more in the summers to come.