What I did on summer vacation...Swimming Lessons

 Every summer we enroll the boys in swimming lessons. This year, I had Brennen at 8:00am, Caden and Preston at 8:30am, and Maddox at 9:00am. It was a little crazy for two weeks, but we really got a lot accomplished during those two weeks since we had to be up and out the door so early!

Brennen, as you can probably guess, is my most fearful around the water. He has really come pretty far from being the kid who was afraid to get water in his eyes! On the last day of swimming lessons, the kids all get a chance to go down the slide and into the pool. Unfortunately, you will notice that there are no pictures of Brennen doing this. This is because Brennen wouldn't! I will say that he was at least calm in his refusal to do it, as a lot of the other kids screamed bloody murder while refusing to go down, so I'll take it!

 Here's Caden in line for the slide. No worries here!

He loved it!

Next up was Preston! This child showed no fear and I think would have slid down even into a pool full of sharks!!

He looks so little up there!

Ornery little daredevil, but oh so cute!

The last one up was Maddox. He had been looking forward to this day the whole time!

And away he goes!!

The boys look forward to swimming lessons all year long, which is great, because it kills 1 1/2 hours of our day, which is good for Mommy!!

What I did on summer vacation...Penguins Baseball

 Caden never really had any interest in playing baseball until this year. However, this spring was a different story. He decided to try his hand at baseball. He was placed on a team that was new to the Ken Berry League, so they did have a lot to learn and a lot to overcome. Many of the teams that they played this year had been playing together since they were 4. The Penguins were not going to let that stop them.

 

These boys played in weather that was COLD!! Their very first game was played in temperatures of 23 degrees with a windchill of 12 degrees. By the end of the season, they were playing in 106 degree temperatures with 118 degree heat indexes. However, not one of them ever let it bother them. They worked really hard this year.

 Bob and I always find it so amazing that with two parents who are anything but sports people, that we've had 4 boys who would leave, eat, and breathe sports if they could! Caden did really well this year, and learned a lot. He was awarded the Most Improved Player at the end of the season, which thrilled him to no end!

 Caden was a great 1st basemen and loved playing that position!

 

Ever wonder what supportive siblings do during their big brothers baseball games? 

 

 They eat!!!

 

What I did on summer vacation...Rangers Baseball

As I mentioned in my previous post, Instructional Baseball is great for a photo op and for a few laughs. This was Brennen's second year playing.

Here are a few pictures of Brennen playing catcher. I don't think he enjoyed it as much as Maddox did!

At this age, they all look so small out there!








Brennen did really well this year and even hit a few balls that were pitched to him! Way to go Rangers!

What I did on summer vacation...Rebels Baseball

Well, I have officially become a baseball mom. I always thought that soccer was a more interesting sport than baseball. I have come to the conclusion that this was due to a few factors:

1. I never had a vested interest in it. Turns out anything that you watch is a lot more enjoyable when half of your genes are running around out there!

2. Instructional baseball should really just be entitled "Glorified Practices". These are not real games. These are photo ops and a good way to teach little ones the rules, however do not expect them to be interesting or fast paced! (Also can be good for a few laughs.)

3. As the kids become more competitive with age, I do too!!

Maddox played catcher quite a bit this year for the Rebels. It was a position that he actually loved, even though he took quite a few hits playing it.

I know that this is a mom comment, but isn't he cute all squatted down like that?!

The Rebels had a great year and ended the season 5-11. Sadly, there were so many games that they narrowly missed winning. However, they were awarded the Sportsmanship Award. Such a great group of kids!

What I did on summer vacation...Worlds of Fun

Last year we took the kids to Worlds of Fun for the first time. We had such a great time, that we all agreed it had to be an annual trip. So this year, as soon as school got out, we made the trek to Worlds of Fun. It was a perfect day to go. We really like going early in the season so that we don't have any lines to deal with, plus this year this weather was actually a cool 75 degrees. This was a nice change from the 95 degrees it was last year!

Caden and Maddox love riding the rides. However, they are their mother's sons and will not do roller coasters!

Preston decided that he was going to handle the map. That didn't last long!

This was Ella's first trip where she rode something more than the train. She is my little daredevil and was willing to ride everything. I think she'd have taken on the Mamba if she could have!

Brennen on the other hand, is very timid when it comes to rides. This ride was extremely thrilling for him!

Caden loves to ride the Fury of the Nile!

Just a little picture of Ella that makes mommy smile!

Caden is getting a little big for the Snoopy area, but he is such a good sport for his siblings.

Preston had to go potty and ran into Snoopy on the way. He wasn't sure he really wanted to get terribly close though!

Luckily Dad was there to be a buffer!

More fun!
I was really glad I wasn't on this ride with Caden and Maddox. They got it going way too fast for my taste!

Preston and a random boy!

Brennen's going to end up being one of those guys who has to hang his arm out the window when he drives!

Preston kind of driving a boat!

What I did on summer vacation...

Okay, I know that I have been one of the world's worst bloggers lately. In my defense, I do want to say that I have been extremely busy. I have now set a goal for myself that I will get you all up to date with what has gone on in our lives over the past 2 1/2 months! (Ugh, it's so hard to even type that!)

Let's start with the last day of school. This is really sad since yesterday was the first day of school. Oh well, we'll get there!Here are my boys on their last day of 1st and 3rd grade. So hard to believe that they're moving on to 2nd and 4th grade!

Here comes the bus bringing my kids home one last time!

Can you tell that we moms get a little excited for our kids?!
And...they're off!

Just a little bit of excitement!!
Bob came home early to also meet them as they got off the bus. He made everybody ice cream sundaes for their after school snack. Kind of makes my Go-gurts look a little sad.

By the way, Caden was telling a story here. He really isn't in a gang!
Brennen and Josh enjoying their sundaes!
We told Maddox that if he scored at least a 90% on his final Math Facts timed test, we would buy him a new DS game. Well, here he is with the proof. He was pretty proud of himself, and so were we!