Good Bye Summer...

I'm sitting here thinking of what a great summer it has been and how I will miss so many things when we get into our new "school" routines.

* I'll miss sleeping in and being woken up by my precious Braden with that awesome smile and a "Good morning Mommy!" with a big hug.

* I'll miss letting the boys wake up at their leisure and being able to play Legos and Wii until their heart's content.

* I'll miss the awesome vacation to San Antonio and our month in Missouri.

* I'll miss all the fun we have had in the water.

* I'll miss letting Andrew pick out the fruit at the grocery.

* I'll miss the delight in Colton face as he plays with his big brothers nonstop.

* I'll miss lounging in our PJ's.

* I'll miss the unhurried schedule.

* I'll miss lunches out and play dates with a heap of kids.

* I'll miss listening to Andrew, Braden, and Colton's conversations since they have had so much uninterrupted time together.

* I'll miss having all thee boys here at the same time so we can spontaneously bake together or read books or watch a movie together or call friends to get together for lunch or play or take Daddy ice cream to his work.

There will be other summers, but none when Andrew was 8 1/2, Braden was 5 1/2, and Colton was 2 1/2. Thank you God for blessing our summer in countless ways!

USA! USA! USA!

What an Olympics!!!! Tom and I have really enjoyed the Olympics this year and the boys got into it too when they were able to watch it! Tom and I found ourselves contemplating Braden's life if he were to take the road to the Olympics... What dedication, determination, and an example the Olympians have set for us. Being the fair person that I am, I enjoy the hugs and congratulations the different countries Olympians give one another. :)

Our friend, Miss Amy, put together an awesome Mini Olympics for our playgroup. We had a great turnout and so much fun! They did relay races, long jump, tug of war, gymnastic routines, etc... Our tumbling mat and little trampoline came in quite handy. A great way to support our country during the games! :)

Rain or Shine the fun never stops!

Our small group got together after church on Sunday and had a great time catching up! The summer has gone by soooo fast! The big kids had so much fun doing the "Party Jump" off the pool mountain and the babies loved all the snuggle time from the adults. Then a big storm came up, so the kids headed into the garage for a movie, brownies and ice cream, and ping pong. Once the rain came, we couldn't keep them inside! Oh... to have no fear and all the energy in the world! :)

My baby is growing up!

Colton is growing up too fast! How can I make it stop? :) He talks in complete sentences and communicates so well. It is so helpful. He has amazed our friends who have not seen him all summer. He tells jokes, loves to lead us in prayer and doesn't miss a beat! I've got to keep getting those precious kisses while I can.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Fun at the YMCA!

We love the Y! It is a great place to get in shape and have fun! Finally, after waiting until all our vacations were finished, we got to play at the splash park! We have had so much fun with friends there on several occasions. Another great opportunity to use the new rolling cooler and pack a picnic. I'm excited for school to start so I can get back into a regular workout routine at the Y! I gotta get my new IPod up and running too... :)

Launching Rockets

We have had some great family time launching rockets! Andrew got a Hydrogen Rocket for his birthday (Thanks Uncle John and Barbie!) and we set out one night to a vacant lot in the neighborhood. We tried a couple time and it was... "Houston, we have a problem." Bummer, it wouldn't launch. Great opportunity to teach the boys about real life. :) We did have fun playing with the airplane that we launched. Boy can that thing fly! A few days later Tom and the boys had a successful launch of the hydrogen rocket! The Cub Scouts got together and had a model rocket launch last week. Wow can those babies soar... and what a noise! Andrew had a successful launch of his and even let Braden do it once too. Always trying to reach for the stars...

The Jedi Training that wasn't...

Tom and I were so excited to surprise the boys with an afternoon of Star Wars Jedi Training at Space Center Houston! It was publicized that the training would be at 12 and 2 p.m. so we went to church, out to lunch with friends, changed into costumes, and then headed to the Space Center. We were so disappointed to find out they had the training at 11 and 1 p.m. So we missed it! I guess the boys looked so cute in their costumes and so sad that two young ladies offered them their coveted blow up and light up light sabers! So sweet! Then they wanted a pic of our cuties! Thankfully we were offered a refund and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon free of charge! We all enjoyed seeing several of the Star Wars characters and posing for pictures, a preview of "Clone Wars", a real ship and light sabers that were used as props for the movies, and to top it all off, they all participated in a costume contest! About 30 kids had to go on stage one at a time and show off their costume and some of their cool light saber moves! It was a crack up! Colton (aka. Yoda) got out there and everyone was hootin' and hollerin' and he twirled his light saber around in slow motion and smiled. Braden got out there in full Darth Vader glory and did some awesomely fast moves! Then he shared his light saber with Andrew (aka. Luke Skywalker) who took the whole thing very seriously and did some fantastic light saber moves. Needless-to-say they didn't win (the judges went for original costumes, not store bought) but it helped develop their character and we were proud of them. Although no "real" Jedi training, it was still a fun afternoon of Star Wars fun!

"Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Pslam 34:14