Gingers

We have two more red heads in the house!

Can't look

This kid is set on giving me a heart attack!

Wood workers

We have a brand new end table, built from scratch by my guys.

Tired

Summer was made for staying up late and cat naps in the car.

Home!

Green

In between swim meets, early morning practice and late nights full of traveling, baseball, Taekwondo practice and life in general, Zach tested for his green belt.

Done

We finished baseball and swim team over the weekend.  Finally!  Baseball finished with a trip to Swings and Things for ice cream and putt putt.

Swim team ended with the championship meet (in the rain) and a picnic with temps in the 60's.

The kids got awards, had parent/child relays and an open swim for the whole team.

Ellie loved her first year of swim team.  Zach is looking forward to trying it out next year.

Drive in

We went to the drive in Sunday night with some friends. Ben and Sam made it through both movies.  I can't say the same for the other two!

Archery

Sam went to an actual archery range over the weekend.  He got some tips and was able to practice without having to look out for siblings.

Nature

5th

We celebrated Ellie day on the 5th.  She started the day with cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We went to the pool and play ground and made it out just before the rain started.  She requested Five Guys for lunch then we headed to Play CLE.

Ben did the zip line 3 times.  Hes working hard to overcome his fear of heights.

They did plenty of climbing, running, warp walls, ninja training and laughing.

We finished the day at Bob Evans, she got a present and we got a ridiculous amount of rain.  It was another successful Ellie day!

4th

We stayed home for the 4th for our neighbors annual party.  We had lots of food, lots of friends and plenty of sparklers!

Long week

Ben went on his first mission trip last week.  He did great!  They did painting, roofing, flooring and built a ramp.  He made some new friends, worked long days and came home exhausted, but he survived. 

Ellie was devastated to see her big brother leave, but being able to sleep in his bed while he was gone made it slightly more bearable!

We're incredibly proud of him, but we're happy to not have him leave again for a long while.

Purple

1 step closer to black!

Swim time

The kids have had 2 swim meets so far and have done great at both.  Ellie is loving being on the team and her swimming has improved more in the past 3 weeks than I thought possible.

Zach loves the perks of being a spectator!

Dad

Summer is in full swing with swimming, baseball, play dates and fun.  It was nice to relax a little bit last weekend and enjoy Jon.

Baseball

Zachs baseball season started last week and he's loving it.  He's had some great hits and some amazing catches.

His "sweet face"

His "game face"

Swim time

Today was the first day of swim team.  They love it, but its rough for mom and dad.  We have 3 kids swimming this year in two different practices and meets Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  This is an away year meaning most of the meets will  require some (to a lot) of traveling.  The only plus is that Zach's baseball games are on Mon, Wed and Fridays.  We'll be busy, but at least we wont have to pick who to cheer on.  Welcome to summer!

Noooooooooo!

One day she's here, the next she's in Boise.  Thankful for a shorter summer this year.  See you soon!

Play time

After several days in the 90's, the temperature dropped to the 60's on Saturday.  We took full advantage and headed to the lake.

The kids love climbing on the solstice steps and anything resembling a large rock.

They played hard!