Summer Time

... and the living is easy. One last trip to the lake before school starts again for the year. The boys and I headed down to visit Grandma and Grandpa at their cabin on the lake for a few days. We avoided the heat of the day and took a late evening trip onto the water. Those are the best days ...

Three boys swimming off the back of the boat ...

Xander saying "cheese" for the camera ...

Sawyer not saying "cheese" for the camera ...

Connor's head and feet above the water in the fading light of the day (he's wearing a ski-belt instead of a life jacket, so his body is lower in the water than usual) ...

Sawyer finding his brave and jumping off the top step of the ladder ...

Watching the approaching sunset ...

There's nothing better than late evening on the water, especially as summer turns into fall.

Back Yard Swimming

Under Construction ...

For the past few months, we've been in the process of building another house. Josh is a builder, so that makes the process a little easier. But he's also building a lot of other houses at the same time, so the process has been a little slower than we anticipated. But it's coming along ...

Under the Weather

You know it's not good when Sawyer actually sleeps. During the day. And is covered up with a blanket ...

Fourth of July

We spent part of our fourth of July weekend at the lake (as you do), and the other part of our fourth of July in town. This year we tried something we've never done before. We took the boys to see a neighborhood fireworks display. A local children's hospital opens up their front lawn as a viewing area for a local golf course's neighborhood display. It was a festival type atmosphere, with lots of families and groups setting up blankets, chairs, picnics, games and simply making an afternoon of it. We didn't attempt a whole afternoon, but arrive about an hour before dark and the show would began.

We packed in our blanket, a few chairs and a cooler with drinks and snacks. We had also picked up some sparklers for the boys earlier in the week, so we brought those along. We were lucky enough to run into some school friends while we were there, so Connor quickly left us to join his buddy H from school. Xander also got involved with some of their activities. Sawyer stuck closer to our blanket and our cooler, but was happy just the same.

Xander loved the sparklers ...

As did Connor ...

Connor and his buddy H lighting more sparklers together ...

And then the fireworks show started. Xander was in heaven. He LOVES fireworks. He kept saying "Oooh" and "Ahhh" after each one. He held up his little American flag and just sat there, totally engrossed, from start to finish.

It's so nice to find activities that the boys really enjoy and can tolerate. So many things are challenging, from noises to crowds to textures, but both boys handled the challenges well and truly enjoyed the evening.