SPLAT

William's den leader found a mud run in a town about 90 minutes away.  Four boys from their den decided they were up for the challenge and it was a great time!

 William was all clean and ready to go at the start of the race.  I felt bad for the boys because it was ridiculously hot out, but before we knew it they were off!

 The next time I saw William on the course he was covered head to to in muddy water!  He was a trouper though! 

 At this point the boys were pretty much over it.  They were hot and tired!

That smile at the end is so darn cute - even with the drool down his chin.  He got some nasty muddy water in his mouth and kept trying to spit it out. 

VBS

Once again were all able to spend the week at church for VBS.  I was in charge of snacks and all three boys were part of their grade level crews.

 Just as in years past Thursday night was show and tell - a chance for the kids to show off their songs and all that they learned throughout the week.  At first Jack wasn't so sure about going up on stage, but he did and he ate it up!  He might have been half a beat behind the rest of the group but he did it - and it was adorable!

 William and Max are pros at this point.  They both did a great job with their songs as well.

The younger kid groups were HUGE this year!  I was also excited to see the older kids group was bigger than last year.  Next year Max will be part of the youth adventure group, which is a pretty big deal.  They do service and head out on field trips.  I can't believe my baby is getting so big!

Garden Harvest

This was about the fourth year we had a garden and the first year that the deer didn't eat all of it before we could.  Early in the spring we went to Lowes and let the boys pick out some things to plant.  They chose rainbow carrots.  I think the novelty of a purple carrot was pretty appealing. 

Fast forward what fell like 10,000 days and we decided the carrots were ready for picking. 

We had a harvest of four carrots and each boy was able to pull one from the garden.  I think they were all shocked that the carrots weren't bigger. 

All three boys tasted the carrots after I got them all scrubbed and peeled - all three boys promptly spit them out.  I tried one too, just to show them that they were overreacting.  I couldn't do it!  They were totally disgusting!  I have no idea why our carrots were so gross, but I have a feeling the boys will pick something else to grow next year.

We still have tomatoes ripening and three watermelons growing.  Not sure how much longer it will last, but it has been fun!

Strings and Pottery

Max chose to attend strings and pottery camp this summer.  Unfortunately, the times weren't the best and both camps ended up being the same week.  Luckily stings was int he morning and pottery in the afternoon. 

Max loves playing his cello and he was super excited to attend the district strings camp again this summer.  He graduated from a 1/4 cello to a 1/2 this year - he is just growing so quickly!  He had a great time at camp and the concert was pretty awesome.  My favorite was The Lion Sleeps Tonight - it was hard not to sing along :)

I was super impressed with the pottery camp program.  It was an intro to wheel class.  The first day Max was feeling a bit discouraged becuase it was tough.  As the week went on he continued to try and was successful.

On Friday Jack and I went up for his exhibit, not knowing what to expect.  I was blown away!  Max taught me how to throw on the wheel!  With his help and guidance I was able to make a bowl and it was so much fun.

Jack wasn't quite ready to throw on the wheel, but he was able to glaze a tile and play with some clay.  It was a great time and I'm sure we will look into more of their arts camps next year.  I loved watching Max learn something new and stick with it when he didn't get it right away.

William at the Ballpark

 William's baseball team had a special night at the ballpark.  He was able to walk around the field with his team before the game began and it was pretty amazing. 

 Look at that grin!  He was soooo excited!

It was also super hot.  We arrived two hours before game time to prepare for the walk, so it wasn't surprising that we only lasted until the top of the 3rd inning.  All in all it was a pretty fun, but very hot evening!

Jr Golfers

Both of the big boys played in the First Tee golf program this summer.  There was a bit more talking than I think they would have liked, and I think Max felt like he was beyond it, but overall it was a positive experience. 

Max actually played in a drive, chip, putt competition.  I was so proud of him!  The morning of the event he really, really didn't want to go.  He was nervous that he wouldn't do well and that everyone else would be way better than him. 

Grandpa Jack picked him up and they deiced he would go and see what it was all about it.  If he didn't want to compete he didn't have to.  Once he got there he realized it wasn't so scary after all and he decided to give it a try.  He placed middle of the pack overall and was one of the top chippers at his age level.  We are so proud not of how he placed, but that he gave it his all even though he knew he wouldn't be the best.

William enjoyed his first golf exposure and is looking forward to playing through church next year.  He helped Max carry his clubs at one match and it was the cutest thing ever!  At the end of the his First Tee session he acutualy got his own bag of clubs!  He has spent a bit of time out in the yard hitting practice balls and it's pretty adorable

William Serves

 William's den leader organized a cemetery cleanup for the boys. Unfortunately it was a miserably hot day and several of the boys already had plans, so it was just William and Danny.  They worked hard to clear grave makers at an old local cemetery. I didn't even know the place existed!  It was tucked off the outer road and was completely hidden from view.

It's tough to find service opportunities for kids, so I was glad that William could take part.  I was super proud of his positive, can do attitude even if it was 100 degrees in the shade!

A Boy and His Dog

Just too cute not to document :)

Jack with his two favorite dogs - stuffed doggy and Duke.

Creek Walk

 One of Williams scout outing was to a super fun playground that we hadn't been to before, so we deiced it deserved a trip to explore a bit more.  The boys had fun on the playground, but the best part was the creek!

 They spotted more little creatures than I thought possible.  It was all the better since Nonna was with us.  Jack still wasn't too wild about having his picture taken, but he loved every second of it!

 These two could have kept going for hours!  They had so much fun exploring and yelling to show each other what they found.

 I love exploring the outdoors with my boys.  They notice every little thing - as Jack says "I got my eagle eyes out mom"

Wisconsin

Well it's been a while!  Our desktop computer has been dying a slow death and this summer was just so jam packed full of fun that I never got around to blogging about any of it.  Since I see this as a memory book for the boys, I didn't want to just skip all the fun.  So here goes - a whole bunch of summer catch up posts.

First up was our trip to Wisconsin.  We considered a trip to The Dells over spring break, but it was crazy expensive.  A friend shared that the prices are best the week after memorial day so we took advantage and headed up to stay at The Wilderness water park. 

Our balcony looked out over one of the waterparks.  I sent this picture to Nonna and she thought it was fake, but nope it really was that pretty!

 The weather was unseasonably warm, so we were able to enjoy the outdoor and indoor parks.  The boys LOVED it!

 The resort also had lots of fun activities for the boys. . . arcade games, glow in the dark minigolf, go karts, and laser tag. 

We spent most of our time at the resort, but did head out to see a few things around town.

 As always, Brian has an uncanny ability to find really fun, off the beaten path activities for us.  This little petting zoo was super fun!  There were lots of animals to pet and feed.  All three boys loved feeding the goats.

These water pumps were also a huge hit.  William and Jack could have pumped water for hours!

 I hope that William continues to make this face when he tried hard at something.  I just love it!

We also took a relaxing boat ride through the upper dells.  The boat we road on was over 100 years old - and I was a nervous wreck - but it was wonderful!

 We stopped at two locations to explore.  The witch's gultch was my favorite!  The surroundings were just beautiful!  Everywhere you looked there were lush ferns and greenery.  It had an almost magical feel to it and I wish we could have stayed there longer. 

 My pictures do not do it justice at all!  Jack wasn't it a picture taking mood, so we did our best. 

The Wisconsin trip was a great one.  The boys were worn out at the end of each day and we were all able to take a much needed break.  It was pretty much perfect - I mean look at that sunset!!