First week of August

One of the boys' most enjoyed summer treats is sweet corn!  I don't know how they do it, but they can each finish off at least two ears of corn in one sitting.  Aunt Jodi's mom invited us out to their farm to pick sweet corn one night.  Henry and Walter loved exploring, checking out the hogs, and climbing.  Henry thought it would be a good idea to wear his shin guards and mis-matched shoes for our visit to the farm!

 And then on to dessert - chocolate gold medals from Gramps and Grandma L.

A group picture on the last day of soccer camp.  Afterward, they held a "campout" dinner of hot dogs, chips, and pop.  Each morning that week, Henry asked if the campout dinner was that night.  When Friday rolled around they both jumped up and down shouting, "Yeah!  It's the campout dinner tonight!"

Henry is in the front row on the far left (one child in).

Campers vs. Parents (and Walter) game.

A quick brother hug.

A turn as one of the many goalies.

Receiving his certificate from the coaches.

Gifts from Across the Pond

The day after Mimi Megan and Grandpa and Grandma L got home from their vacation, they drove out to see the boys (and maybe Nate and I, too).  Mimi Megan and I took Walter to the pool while Gramps and Grandma watched Henry at soccer camp before they came to the pool.

Our friends in England were so thoughtful and sent these cute knight and king pencils.  Henry and Walter immediately started using them to put on a few plays for our entertainment.

The knight stuff was hard to resist...especially for Nate.

What are these two so happy about?  Yes - that's ONE chocolate bar they're holding! 

Walter is a little less fuzzy in this one.

"Easy, easy..."  Henry overseeing the chocolate opening.

I think this is how chocolate should always be sold!  I won't tell you how long it lasted at our house.

Soccer

At the end of July, the boys tried out a Taekwondo lesson one afternoon.  They looked mighty handsome in their uniforms so I need to get a picture of them to share.  After their lesson we had a great afternoon with Mimi Erin (Mimi Megan and Grandpa & Grandma L were visiting friends in Great Britain).  We went out for pizza, went to Target, and stopped at DQ for ice cream.  We sure had fun!

 

The next week, Henry went to a soccer camp that is run by a few local churches in our area each year.

Showing off his shin-guards...pretty tough, huh?

 Of course Walter had to do his own modeling (silliness), too.

A few soccer pictures.  He liked "getting in there" so much that he actually just walked away from his goalie responsibilities so he could run and chase after the ball.

Gymnastics and the Beach

A "first" for us this summer was Henry being old enough to participate in community classes.  In July, Henry went to a gymnastics class twice a week and an art class at school for a few days.  He also tried out soccer for a week in August.  It was fun to see the enjoyment he got out of trying new things.  He was the only boy in his class but it didn't seem to bother him - he added a little spunk to the class by dancing while waiting in line and pretending to jump in a pool (even held his nose) when he practiced the various  types of jumps. 

The last day of gymnastics was an obstacle course where they could do some fun stuff and demonstrate skills they learned over the month - backward somersault.

He loved this climbing and sliding activity - no fear...

Trying to do a cartwheel.

The vault

The balance beam

Two friends, Lauren and Addie, took the first hour class so we decided to have a fun get together on the last day of gymnastics.  We drove to the Spicer park to play, have a picnic and go swimming at the Green Lake public beach.  We had great weather and lots of fun.  The boys love playing with these two friends!

Addie and Henry

A quick water war

Lauren

Walter

Henry would do this all day long if he could - playing in the sand.

Building and writing in the sand

Mr. Independence

Walter and Addie

The afternoon flew by and before we knew it, it was time to head home.  We topped off the day by picking up sundaes and visiting Great-Grandma Josie on the way home...It was a quiet ride home!

4th of July

Yes, I'm going out of order...I almost forgot these pictures!

  Early on the 4th of July, we went to Henry's school to take part in the annual fun run.  It was a hot, humid morning but we enjoyed the walk/run part as a family and then Henry ran in the race for 5 year olds.  He literally skipped sideways (watching his competition) for three-quarters of the race because he was so excited about racing other kids.  Suddenly, he realized he was racing and took off for the finish line, passing a few kids before coming in third.

He was pretty excited about his medal and ribbon.

Doing a little pre-North Shore shopping with Dad at Target

North Shore 2012 - Monday

While we packed up the car on Monday morning, Mimi Megan took the boys for one last walk on the rocks.

More investigating

Another fun challenge...maybe practicing for next year's Log Rolling competion.

This one just cracks me up!

Yet another picture that will not make it to the Christmas card!

I won't tell you how much candy was offered in negotations for this picture!

The drive home seemed very long - it involved numerous stops where we waited (and waited) for portable stoplights to be set up to monitor one lane of traffice through a construction zone, waiting for our turn on the single lane while worrying that we were going to run out of gas before we got to the next gas station.  At one of those stop and wait spots Henry told us he needed a bathroom - I'll spare you the details but he was just getting back in his carseat just as the light turned green...and then Walter told us he needed the bathroom, too!  Thankfully, the next gas station turned out to be pretty close so Walter made it and we didn't run out of gas...next year we are getting on the road no later than 8 a.m.! 

Our time at the North Shore this year made a big impression on the boys as Walter asks at least two times a day if we can go back to the North Shore ("That place with the big lake and rocks.") and the big slide.  They only need to wait a few more months.