Visit from Great Grandpa

Dan's grandpa came out to visit us for a couple of weeks, and leave it to me not to remember to take a single picture until the last evening!!!

The kids with Great Grandpa


Four generations:


Danny, the kids, and Great Grandpa


I thought the GRAY/CLOUDY sky, with the brightly lit treeline was a neat view

Triathlon

My friend Kaci's daughter, Elly (Jared's age), participated in her first kid triathalon a couple of weeks ago, and I thought it was something Jared and Connor would really enjoy getting to do, so I researched kid triathalons for our area, and found one for the following weekend. Connor was one year too young for the youth tri, but could do the "Splash and Dash" (swim/run) event.

These goggles make me laugh, but they're the only ones he's willing wear right now!


Jared did NOT want to wear the cap, but finally consented, as long as we left his ears out


The boys testing out the water prior to the start of their races (the ducks swimming around in the race area made me laugh!)


The Splash and Dash event was first. They put the three participants in shallow water so they could walk if they needed/wanted.


Connor was pretty bummed because he really wanted to SWIM, so he walked a little bit, and then went out a bit deeper and did his best to swim. I was REALLY proud of him for SWIMMING, even though his hands kept hitting the bottom. LOL


He got out of the water and started running towards the transition area where he was supposed to get shoes on


Blew right past the transition area and headed straight for the finish line, barefoot, still wearing his cap and goggles!!! hahahahaha!


He finished!


The swim portion of Jared's kid tri was OVER by the time I got back down the hill from Connor's finish, so I didn't get any pictures of him (POUT!). I got there just in time to see him out of the water and heading to the transtion area


Out of 21 kids (ages 7-10), Jared was the third one out of the water (hot on heels of the two kids in front of him), but we lost a TON of time battling his shoes. After we finally got them on his feet, he took off for the bike portion


The bike path took him up and around where we couldn't see him, so I snapped an additional picture when he got back. LOL


Just arriving at the bottom of the hill leading to the finish line


He finished!


Jared came in 9th out of 21 kids, less than a minute and a half behind the first place kid (we spent AT LEAST a minute fighting with his shoes, so I'm pretty positive he'd have been in the top few if we'd been a little more coordinated with the shoes!). It was a great first experience for the boys, and we learned a few things for next time. I am SOOO proud of my little athletes for participating and doing their best.

Cousins

We got to babysit my niece, Eva, a couple of weeks ago. We had a good time!


I didn't think to try to take their picture until the very end, and no one was very cooperative by that point! LOL

Boating Fun

Kids and I, along with Charlie, enjoying a boat ride, despite the clouds. Of course, within MINUTES of docking the boat and heading home for dinner, the sun popped out.






First family outing on the boat since my lesson the prior weekend




"DADDY!!! DON'T PUSH ME IN!!"




Jared feeling/looking a little nervous before his first attempt at kneeboarding


starting out on his belly and getting his balance


Got up, first try, and has a giant smile on his face! He loved it


Dan wanted to take a turn, too.


And, no, I was not the one photographing while towing/driving. Those pictures are courtesy of Emily Grace!

Dance Recital 2012 Photos

Connor (I need to call and have her fix this one. She turned his green shirt yellow, and the fake color is up over the side of his neck and his jawline.)




Emily's Monday ballet class (no individual photo of her because they didn't get to order costumes and I didn't want the solo picture of her in her practice leotard!)


Emily's Wednesday ballet class




Em's tap class

Driving the boat!

We finally got the boat set up with a motor and out onto the water. Dan's deal for the boat is that he will tow it to and from the boat launch, but I am responsible for it from there. I got my required Boater's Education Card and asked my dad to take me out and show me the ropes!

Here we go!




apparently Jared told my mom it was too bright to smile


I made a stop for coffee for the grownups on the way


the kids loved going under the bridges!




My dad took me out one more time two days later so I could spend a little time practicing docking it at our neighbhorhood dock. I've got some work to do, but the kids and I have had the boat out several times and we've faired pretty well so far!

We have a tricky driveway for getting the boat in and out of, but we successfully managed it, and are feeling pretty proud of ourselves. Looking forward to boating adventures with my family this summer. *grin*

Hey Mango!

Connor really enjoys getting to see my friend's bird, Mango. When he was much smaller, he wasn't fearful AT ALL. Now he's a little worried Mango will nip at him and doesn't usually like her up by his head, but he was doing really well with her the last time we were over.


Notice, though, how his head is tilted forward to keep his ears away from her beak? LOL

Awwww!

My kids haven't been getting along very well this summer so far, and so it's nice to catch glimpses of the relationships I know are possible! This time, I caught Emily and Connor!


Connor had finished up his half hour swim lesson, and we were waiting for Jared to finish up his hour long into to swim team class. They were giggling together and having a great time.

Embracing Life

I think this picture pretty much sums Connor up: He's embracing life with arms fully stretched out, he's got his sights set on the sky, he doesn't mind a few pretty things along the way, and he does it all with a charming smile.


Granted, if that picture had been taken from the highest point of the fastest rollercoaster, it would sum Connor up a little better... *grin*

I took that picture last week while we were at the "music park" (as it's referred to by my kids) for the weekly Summer Concert Series our town puts on. I snapped these two while we were there as well.


(Here's a nice close-up view of where the little stinker cut a chunk of hair off his head, front and center... UGH!)

Kayaking adventures

Slowly but surely making my way through all the pictures I've been taking over the last few weeks! Jared RARELY lets me take his picture without making a "funny" face, or turning his back on me, so if you've noticed he's barely been shown on my blog lately, THAT'S WHY!

Here's Emily and I enjoying time out on the water:


A seal swam up close to us and stared at us for the longest time before dunking underwater and swimming further away again. We saw "him" several more times from a distance. It was really neat to see "him" hanging out with us!

We took Charlie out with us one of the times. He wasn't too sure of it. I'm sure if we take him a few more times, he'd get used to it, but I haven't decided if I want to mess with it or not! Unfortunately, the day we took him out, it was a really low tide, and before I could pick him up and carry him down to the water's edge, he'd dashed across the beach, sunk in up to his "armpits" of all four legs, and got covered in GOO! I swished him back and forth in the water to get the bulk of it off, but there ended up being a bit of a muddy mess in the kayak and on myself... LOL! O'well, you can't expect to spend a day at the beach/on the water and not get a little dirty and/or wet!


Yesterday we took our neighbor/friend, Cindy, out kayaking with us. She lives right across the street from us and had expressed interest in going! I braved driving Dan's truck for the first time ever, and loading/unloading the kayaks without his help. It all went pretty smoothly! It wasn't a sunny day AT ALL, but it was just warm enough that no one was chilled, and the lack of sun meant a lack of boats (which makes me happy, because there's no idiots speeding along through the narrow end of the bay, and it's much easier to paddle without all the wake and choppiness!). It was nice to be out, and to share the kayaking experience with a friend! Wish I'd thought to take a picture...

Fishin' Buddies

Jared and Connor got fishing poles and tackle boxes for their birthdays last month, and have been having fun down at our neighborhood dock trying to catch whatever might happen to be in the water (lots of seaweed and jellyfish so far!).

This picture isn't great quality because it was taken while my phone was in a waterproof case because I was out on the kayak when I took it:


Dan hooked them up with the "fishing hats"! They've been down there several times now, and have been having a great time, despite not catching anything.