More July 2012

July is continued here, we allowed you to have a partial view into July earlier than usual.  The remainer of the month here includes our week at family camp, the conclusion of  swimming lessons, and some stops at the beach and a visit to Thomas.

We created our flag for the Olympic theme and competition on the yellow team at camp.  Garrett ran throught he standing hoops.  Brett pulled Bryce and Griffin on wheeled rollers for 50 yards.  Joy brought the team home by doing lunging squats on a bouncing ball with handles for 70 yards.  Ah, victory.

Garrett 7y 2mo

Garrett has enjoyed a summer that has included some school but also some break time.  He has established a goal of playing guitar for 100 consecutive days in order to develop it as a habit.  Brett has been teaching him guitar with a book and so they are learning together.  The most recent song they are working on is Ode to Joy by Beethoven.  How appropriate, don't you think?

Here is a cool Tyrannosaurus Rex lego I saved until Bryce birthday so I had something to open around his birthday.

I'm ready to cut the head off this pineapple with Mommy's watchful eye, of course.

We are just three boys playing guitars.

Watch this cannonball!

How about a little rock climbing?  That sounds like fun...

...coming down the wall is pretty fun too.

I'm all belted up and ready to ascend the rock wall.

Daddy taught me how to shoot with my whole body, legs included, and I made a few baskets on a ten foot rim!

Bryce 5y

Besides turning five this month, Bryce also proved that the little bike he has been riding is too small for him and he was ready to graduate to a bigger bike.  Another task that Bryce has intermittently enjoyed has been trying to keep up with watering our pumpkins.  We have witnessed flowers and pollination of them, but we will see when there is some actual growth of the vegetable itself...to be continued.

I asked for this helicopter and truck combo for my birthday, and Grammy and Poppy got it for me.

My new spiderman bike, with handbrakes and everything.

Here goes my maiden voyage, with some knee pads on just in case.

I love diving boards, you fly so much further off of them.

I thought I would give myself a try at the rock climbing thing too.

Up I go.

I made it to the first divide...I think I'm supposed to have longer legs for this.

I loved going off the diving board, it was an opportunity to have lots of attention and be able to act crazy at the same time.  I don't think the lifeguard will ever forget me.

Griffin 3y 3mo

Griffin, as the youngest brother, continues to try to impress his older brothers with his learning.  He still likes to get silly and has a definite goofy streak.  He thinks he is pretty cute and tries to be quite the little ham.  Sounds like he has a little bit of both of his brothers in him.  He is still working on being fully potty trained, but has gotten good enough to pass himself off as such in public.

This is my driving dance.

This is my get funky dance.

So I just love chocolate and often I can get pretty messy with it.

Watching Daddy play basketball has inspired me.

I finally just decided I needed a nap on the last day of camp, so I was out at the dinner table.

Got milk?

I love running in the water sprinklers...

...Mommy says not to drink the water, but sometimes I just can't help it.

You know it is just like a huge drinking fountain, only I can reach this one.

Launching!

I still love a good construction play toy.

I have mastered pedalling on my bike and my speed is picking up.

Mommy I will help you make some yummy treats.

I am strumming, I am strumming, yes I am.

Can you picture me walking on water?  is sand good enough?

Day Out With Thomas

Before we arrived at Family Camp, we stopped by Thomas Day Out in Felton to enjoy a remarkable free day for an afternoon of fun.  We first of all arrived so late, that the parking lot attendant had abandoned his post citing an improbability that anyone else would arrive after the time we arrived, then we took the parking lot train into camp (free train ride), followed up by free pictures taken by us with Thomas and free activities to boot.  All in all a very economical and fun way to spend a couple of hours right before the start of family camp.

My brothers all together with Thomas the Tank Engine...Peep, peep.

Thank you Garrett for finding a train for me so I had the opportunity to play on the train table.  Possessing a train was a hot commodity.

I'm not sure that I should be building with pink legos, at least that isn't in my color vocabulary.

Swim Lessons Complete

Griffin completed his first year of swim lessons and has shed flotation devices, although he still requires attention as he is known to just jump in and tread water until you rescue him.  Bryce started off in the same class as Garrett and his teacher quickly figured out that the best way to motivate Bryce was to make it a competition and then it was amazing how much faster Bryce would swim.  Garrett worked on refining his mechanics and then graduated to the adult pool for lap swimming which he performed much more confidently with better mechanics.

Thank you for bringing my head up a little higher so I can breathe easier.

I, Griffin, am more than happy to dive down into the water, it is my specialty.

I, Bryce, am paying close attention to the teacher and his instructions.

And now you will swim another lap...

...after five laps, I'm a littel tired, but I've gotta work up to 400 yards so I can do a triathlon with Mommy and Daddy.

Don't be mistaken, I really didn't spend much time sitting on the steps, but bouncing up and down was considered ok.

Practicing my kicking so I can be fast.

Now this is the big pool, AKA the adult pool, be scared, be very scared...not really.

Bird Project

We started to study birds this summer as a part of the science curriculum that goes through days of creation.  We built some bird feeders and purchased some bird watching software to help us know which birds we were seeing in our backyard and when we were out and about.  Now our kids are identifying birds wherever we go and paying attention to sounds.  We discovered a large hawk, that we nicknamed Big Tim who spent a week hanging around our yard and hunting in the park behind our house.  We attracted some finches and hummingbirds to our backyard along with our usual jays and doves.

Here are some of the feathers I've been collecting to study.

One of our created birdfeeders that some birds are figuring out how to eat at.

Big Tim taking some time in our front yard.

Wherever we go, even to Santa Cruz, we spotted birds to enter into our bird journal.

Griff found a feather on the beach.

I found out that sea gulls like to get close to those who have food.