Summer Camp

With forecasts for cool, rainy days the boys and their cousins headed off to the farm for the 4th annual (or is it 5th?) Summer Camp at the Farm.

Summer Camp is something we all look forward to: the grandparents look forward to the craziness that is having four boys together for four days (or at least they act excited about it), the boys look forward to this special cousin and grandparent time, and us parents, well...we look forward to a few nights of peace and quiet in our own homes.

Every year I wonder if they'll top the previous year and every year these grandparents deliver yet another Summer Camp full of excitement, inside jokes, belly laughs, crafts, hikes, movie nights, bug catching, tree climbing fun! 

This year they made drums...that are pretty awesome (and loud) I might add.

They played on stilts and a pogo stick for hours.

 

 

They blew bubbles, hiked to their 'climbing tree', tie-died t-shirts, painted their benches, and don't even think that the rain stopped them from playing outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was yet another Summer Camp at the Farm that was a fun time for all of these boys, and it will be something they never forget.

Thank you, Grandma Robbie and Grandpa Mahlon, for making Summer Camp so special.

Kick Off to Summer

What?!  You're telling me that Memorial Day was, like, over four weeks ago?!  Whew!  Summer is just a flyin' by!  And, while we've been doing everything summer for the past few weeks, we did kick off summer, Riffel style, with our annual trip to Uncle Riff and Aunt Carol's house...

And, because there's absolutely no time for writing...I'll let the pictures do the story telling.  We always enjoy this time with Brandon's side of the family and as the boys get older, it just seems to get better and better.  They love being out in the beautiful Kansas countryside, they love the farm life, and they love camping with their cousins.  It was a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.

{Andrew set up this slide and created a diving board into the pool.  I love this kid so much.  He is my brave child who will one day be into some kind of extreme sport...}

 

Now that I look back through my pictures, I realize that I didn't take that many photos this year.  I guess we were just too busy to get the camera out.  I tell ya what - these two boys do keep me on my toes and while I love my iPhone camera...it's just not the same as the beautiful, crisp photos my Canon takes.  I am pledging to take more photos this summer.  Hold me to it.  We've got a lot of memories to capture.

Happy summer my friends!  It's gonna be a great one!

The Ball Park

Whew!  We've spent many nights at the ball park already this spring and it's not even June!  (Well, technically, it is June, but when I started writing this post, it was still May).

For all of our friends that don't live in O-Town, oh man, does Ottawa take their baseball seriously.

And, while I've taken hundreds of photos of Parker playing baseball (coach pitch), at his last game I recorded a few of his awesome baseball skills.



We joke with the other parents that coaching 5/6/7 year olds in baseball is a little like 'herding cats'.



I've also learned the three most important things to teach these 5/6/7 year olds about baseball:

1. Don't play in the dirt.

2. Run toward first base...not third, not the pitcher, but first base.

3. Don't pick the dandelions.

I know, I know, there are a few other rules....like when you get a grounder, throw it to first, keep your eye on the ball, and listen to your coach (who also happens to be your dad).

As you can see from the videos, Parker is a great hitter.  He's good at getting the grounders.  He loves yet another sport.

We've got many more days at the ball park this summer and I can't wait to see how this season goes.

{You'll notice that little bro had to get in on the huddle.  I love it.}

The Color Craze

I did the official Color Run last July and I really enjoyed it.  So, when the board I chair (Communities in Schools of Ottawa) decided to organize their own version of the Color Run, I was so so so excited.  We called it the Communities in Schools 5K Color Craze Fun Run - because that's just what it was - a fun run!

Little did we know just how amazing this race would be for our little community.

Or, just how much we would raise for CIS of Ottawa.

It  was a small run (with just over 250 participants), but I think that made it even more fun...more color to go around!

And, because it was so small, that 'color party' after the race, became quite a fun party for the kiddos who participated.

I love living in a community where people come together and support local organizations...and where local organizations get creative in their fund raising efforts.  

Thank you to everyone who came out to run at the CIS Color Craze - You made a special day much more colorful!