Cousins at the Lake

On August 10th, our cousins spent the day at the lake with us and it was great!  Nate drove back from a fishing trip up North that morning and made it back just in time.  We hope Pete can make it next time. 

 

As I've been going through all these pictures from this past summer, over and over I find myself thinking how grateful I am for our families - that our kids are growing up with the best grandpas and grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins.  It makes me so happy to see that Henry and Walter enjoy being with their family.  I'll put the tissue box away now...on to the pictures:

 

Started off with a pizza lunch.

 

l to r:  Walter, Henry, Sara, Anders, Ella, Sienna

Lincoln (front)

Ella throwing for Gus

Every time I look at him, he looks older!

Finishing up playing fetch - getting ready for a swim.

 

I wish I could remember what Walter and Sienna were talking about here.

 

The Relaxation Station makes its appearance.

Nicky and Erin

 

Taking advantage of the Relaxation Station's benefits.

Elias

 

Dottie enjoying a rest and some extra attention.

 Every time I see this picture, the Gilligan's Island theme pops into my head..."A three hour cruise.  A three hour cruise."  I did admire the brave souls (Grandpa L, Nate, Andy, and Megan) who climbed aboard this cruise with a lot of busy kids, even if they weren't gone for 3 hours.

 

Ella fishing with her Uncle Andy (and Kenda waiting for some fish, too).

Spending some time with the Mimis.

Uncle Dave

 

Lincoln

More fishing

 Lots of activity

 And more fishing...

 

Walter loves looking for "good" rocks.

Anders didn't give up (he caught a fish before leaving for home).

It's a tough life for Dot.

 

Sara

 

 Sienna and Walter swimming with Kenda and Gus

Auntie Karen and Mimi Erin

Andy and Henry playing wiffle ball.

 

Henry with his catcher's mask - pretty clever, huh?

 Painting

 Nate modeling for his soon-to-be-released baseball card.

Still working on the art projects.

Auntie Karen stepped up to the wiffle ball plate, too.

Then it was time for another pontoon ride.

Sara being the captain

 Sienna with her Grandma

Ella, Sienna, Henry

Anders

Just a few days earlier, Walter got a new cast put on.  He chose two colors this time - bright green and glow-in-the-dark white...which almost made it hard to fall asleep the first night because it did glow and quite brightly.

Lincoln

 

Handsome boys

 As soon as we were back and dinner was done, it was right back to fishing.  Andy was kind to risk life, limb and eye as the fishing assistant.

Getting ready to head home.  The day went so fast.

 

Family pictures:

 

Everybody else looks great but I wish I could re-do this picture so I could put the dog down in order to stand up straight and take my phone out of my pocket. 

Thanks for the fun day - I hope we can get together at the lake next summer.

Soccer Camp

Henry couldn't wait for the first week of August when soccer camp started.  He doesn't like the heat so much, but he doesn't seem to notice it when he's playing soccer!  He even insists on wearing a t-shirt under his jersey...and it was a hot week!  I brought the camera for the final day of camp.  Grandma Jo and Grandpa Will joined us, too.  Grandma even played in the campers vs. parents/grandparents game while I took pictures.  Afterwards, we enjoyed the meal the local churches provided.  It was fun to see how much he learned this week and how much he enjoyed it.

He made new friends during the week -

he and Emily liked competing and playing at the park, too.

Camper vs. Parents/Grandparents Game

Getting a few tips from one of the coaches.

Happy Camper

Walter fell asleep on the way to the field, but

woke up in time to help grandma on the field.  

He just loves this!

Here comes Henry.

The adults made a tunnel and chanted "Ba-na-nas" (their team was the Yellow Bananas) while the kids ran through to get their certificates.  It took awhile to get through the whole team so there were a few breaks for the parents to shake their arms out.

Checking out his certificate.

Introducing Dot

We were so sad about saying goodbye to Otto, but it was especially helpful to the boys that they had something to look forward to.  We called the breeder to ask his advice and when he heard what had happened, he invited us to come and pick out another puppy.  Nate and I went back and forth - maybe it would be good to take a little break and get a puppy next year...puppies are a lot of work...were we ready to do puppy and potty training all over again?  Henry and Walter were confident that they wanted another puppy.  They didn't want to wait until next year. 

 

The following Sunday we drove back to pick out a puppy.  Henry really wanted another boy dog, but we settled on a girl because it seemed like her personality would be a good fit for our family.  Since we didn't pick a boy, Henry asked if he could pick the name and he chose "Dot" or "Dottie," which was fitting.  She's been a great addition to our family and we're so glad we have her.

 

We stopped at the lake on the way home and gave her a much needed bath.  Henry was too busy playing with his cousins for pictures, but Walter couldn't get enough of Dottie...and the feeling is mutual (every morning she waits outside their bedroom for them and every night on our way to bed she tries to sneak into their bedroom to sleep with them).

 

 Checking out her ears.

 

Going for a serious look.

 

Some of Dot's favorite spots:

On top of any clothes she can find...



...And of course, the blue chair.

Saying Goodbye to Otto

 Unfortunately, it became clear in August that Otto was ill and we had to put him down.  It was definitely a rough time.  There were lots of questions and discussions about death, heaven and Jesus.  We were thankful for the fun times we had with Otto. 

The Honda

 When the boys found out we were trading in our Honda, they were both a little upset (it has a DVD system that they've enjoyed on long car trips).  To make sure he didn't forget the car, Walter asked to take a picture next to the Honda.  His pose cracks me up!