On My Summer Vacation I..(Braeden)

Braeden had an incredibly busy summer this year. He was really excited to start trying some sports camps and although I was leery, I let him go for it. He loved them all. It was a summer of growth for him both physically and emotionally as he has become increasingly coordinated and learned to be more independent. It was all very positive and has given me a much clearer picture of the boy he is to become.

This summer he:
1. Went to baseball camp. (No pictures because I didn't want to be THAT mom)

2. Went to several Keene Swamp Bat games (a college level summerbaseball team)

3. Went to basketball camp

4. Took swimming lessons and became a much better swimmer

 

5. Enjoyed a beach vacation and learned to boogie board

 

 

6. Took golf lessons for the second year (The last day they played a scramble and the group played his shot for the last three strokes!)

 

 

 

7. Went to the Drive-in for the first time!

 

 

 

Braeden had a fantastic summer from start to finish. He spent LOTS of time playing with his friends and cousins. He tried new things and gained a ton of confidence in his own abilities. He has discovered new interests and continued to grow in the things that he already enjoyed. I always hate to see summer end, but Braeden was counting down the days until he could go back to school and see his friends and start the first grade. I think he'd agree that the summer of 2013 was a huge success!





Maine 2013

Last week was the busiest week ever for us! We went to Maine, celebrated Maggie's 2nd birthday and brought our new puppy Lucy home. It was a whirlwind, but we made lots of wonderful memories. Our friends rent a house in Wells, ME and invited us to come spend some time with them at the beach. We stayed in a hotel but spent the days playing and adventuring with them.

My kids love the ocean. All three of them run right into the water whenever we go. It was all I could do to get sunscreen on them the first day before they took off and got all sandy and wet. The days can get long with little ones, but fortunately we had our friend's house to take breaks in when someone needed a rest or nap. It was a hit or miss weather week, but we didn't care. We enjoyed the beach in the sun, the clouds and the rain!

Early morning wake up call! Thank goodness our kids travel really well (even when we dragged them out of bed).

 

Brayden and Braeden beach ready!

Strutting her stuff to the beach

Learning to boogie board

They tried to bury Roman

Maggie wanted to get buried too!

 

Beach version of corn hole. This kept them busy for hours!

 

Snuggling before bed in the hotel

 Mini-golf is a must when on vacation

 

The best picture of all five kids.. (maybe next year)

Sparklers!

Photo shoot on the beach at night

 

They jumped in waves until they couldn't feel their hands and feet!

Waiting to ride the wave!

 

Supervising the corn hole game

My beach beauty enjoying an oreo on her birthday

He slept like this through a downpour!

 

We had a great time! It went by quickly but the upside of having to come home was picking up Lucy the next day. I love making memories with my family and it's even more fun to do it with friends!

 

 

Slow Down Summer!!

Where is this summer going? We are having lots of wonderful experiences and enjoying ourselves immensely, but my goodness is it going by in a hurry. The first week after school got out Braeden went to baseball camp. He absolutely loved it and learned so much. I was so proud of him because I didn't know how he'd do playing baseball for six hours a day, but he soaked up every minute and finished the week with much improved skills. His coordination has improved a lot over the course of the last year and it's really starting to show in his sports. On Friday night he had his first golf lesson of the summer and he'll be doing basketball camp beginning next week. He's so excited to be doing all of these activities and I love that he's getting some experience in them all and giving everything a try.

Last Wednesday we went to the 4th of July celebration at the Keene Swamp Bats. It's a local college level baseball team that is fun to watch and has lots of fun activities for the kids. My parents and my brother's family have been going to games for a couple of years and took Braeden a couple of times last year. We decided to try taking Maggie and Evan this year for the game and fireworks and they were great. They didn't make it to the fireworks because the game went so long, but Braeden and I did stay and enjoyed the show. We got home at 11:15.. Yikes!

On the 4th we went to two parties; one for lunch and another for dinner. There were pools at both so the kids were thrilled and spent a lot of time in the water. Braeden has always loved swimming and now both Evan and Maggie are also loving the water this year which is great because our whole family can enjoy the pool instead of Roman or I having to watch whoever was refusing to swim last year. We ate lots of great food, played games and loved spending a summer day with friends. The kids played lots of baseball too at the second party. Half of the kids there had been at baseball camp the week before and enjoyed being able to play together again.

This weekend we have been working on getting our house ready for the floors to be redone and the arrival of Lucy. Not two things that should be in the same sentence, but it just happens to be how the timing worked out. She will be mostly on the kitchen floor for a little while so hopefully the finish will be able to set up before too many puppy scratches begin to appear. Today we had a visit from my in-laws and Jason's birthday party. The boys got to play in a pool again! Good thing too because it is HOT here. We have lots of busy plans for this week too which include Maggie turning 2 on Thursday and bringing Lucy home on Friday! How is my baby already 2???