Wrapping Up Summer

It's always hard to say goodbye to summer. We love all the big adventures as well as all those fun little things we get to do, like camp outs with friends - Celine, Mary, Emily, Michaela, Alexa, and Sav...

a glimpse the morning after;

bowling;

strike!!

Not a bad afternoon for us bowling enthusiasts!

What a crew!

Enjoying an evening with friends at the Hughes' house before they moved. We were so sad to lose another family!

Noah and his buds, Jack and Gabe.

Cute little Levi!

Cookin' up some tasty smores.

Marshmellow face!!

Dates at Menchies with Sav...

and Xander.

We saw a lot of great movies this summer but we didn't see The Hulk...

or Trolls. But it's always fun to pose in front of the signs!

A trip to Barnes and Noble for new books and fraps - Mom's treat!

It broke my heart that Savannah did zero reading this summer but the boys read enough books to earn a free book in the library's summer reading program. As an extra reward I took the boys to get a cupcake from The Cupcake Flavory!

The highlight of the boys' summer was when they saved enough money to purchase an X box. David had told them that if they saved half the amount, he would kick in the rest. Ugh, more electronics but I couldn't help but be proud of them for saving all that money themselves.

Last day of summer - a trip to Rita's! A fitting end to another spectacular summer!!

David's Special Day

On one of the last days of summer vacation, which also happened to be David's birthday, the kids and I headed over to Hammerman Beach to soak up a few more "beach" moments as well as hang out with our fun friends.

The boys got right to work building their massive sand village.

Xander relaxing in the sun!

He also enjoyed spending time with this little cutie, Paul.

Sav hangin' with the girls.

Noah loves splashin' around!

A team effort to move the big log.

Oh, Noah!

Our fun bunch!

Xander and Drew had a blast throwing the football and hanging out together. The Cowarts are moving at the end of the year and we are really going to miss them, especially Drew who is one of Xander's close friends.

Noah, Gabe, and the log.

Savannah found herself a little buddy.

After a fun morning at the beach we met up with David and the Wines at Brooms Bloom for some birthday ice cream (and soup for David).

After eating we had to pose for some fun pictures in the beautiful sunflower field.

The sunflowers are absolutely beautiful!

Me and the birthday boy!!

My cute boys!

Time for some presents!

Because it was the young men/young women swim party the night of David's birthday celebrated his birthday dinner on a different night. We took the whole family to Sakura which was so much fun though a bit pricey.

The kids loved catching the shrimp!!

Me and my No who couldn't seem to stay in his seat for very long.

Another birthday in the books!

We Are Ready for Some Football!

Since they were little guys both Xander and Noah have wanted to play football but that was never something I was going to allow. Finally I agreed that when they hit middle school, if they still wanted to play, they could play. And now I'm left asking "How did middle school get here so quickly?!?!" Even though I was highly nervous about the whole thing I stuck to the agreement and in August Xander started his first season of football for the Emmorton Bucaneers!
Tryouts started the day after we got home from Cincinnati but he had to miss the next few days because he was at scout camp. Because of that as well as the fact that he had never played before we just assumed that he'd be playing on the B team. Imagine our surprise when we found out our Xander had made the A team! He was super excited, especially because he was on the same team as his best friend Devin. It was a bit of an adjustment having 2 and sometimes 3 nights a week of practice.

And the bruises he was getting...ugh! I was definitely NOT prepared for that!

After a couple weeks of practises the boys had their first scrimmage. Xander was all smiles to play in an actual game against another team.

There he is - number 14!

He was definitely one of the bigger kids on the field so his coaches had him play both offensive and defensive line.

The Bucs played really well in their scrimmage and we had high hopes for the season.

My cute football player!

Xander and Devin - best buds!