8

 

Yesterday we celebrated another birthday!!

8 years old!

We ended our day at a local park with some friends to celebrate, but of course, I didn't get any pictures.

This guy is heading into 3rd grade this school year.

He is super athletic and into sports, quite the ham and really has been great at trying new things--like taking a tap class and going to The Forge (a local group for boys).

Happy Birthday!!

We hope you had a great day

6 YEARS

 

We just recently celebrated this guy turning 6!!

He is going into 1st grade this school year.

He asked for legos, legos and more legos

(and a watch) and Duck Cake for dessert.

We hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

RYS

We had 3 of us and another from our church attend the annual Reformed Youth Services youth conference in Sioux Center, Iowa at Dordt University.  Nearly 1,000 young people attended.

1st flight ever.

They actually had to make two stops prior to arriving in Iowa.

The final flight landed them in South Dakota where they rented a car and drove in.

Thankfully all went well.

A sample day.

One of the "Day Away" trips was to a rodeo that the young people could participate in.

Lots of different games.

This one now being a favorite.

Downtime.

Rodeo viewing.

They actually met a few girls from a neighboring county in NJ!!

Every sponsor had to volunteer for a job and Mike was a photographer and sent me probably a 100 or more pictures, but just wanted to share a few with you.

They had a great time and are looking forward to attending next year, Lord willing.  

CRASHING

 

Something the boys always look forward to in the summertime is the night out with Dad at the farmer's fair and especially the demolition derby.

MJ was away this year, so this guy got to go instead!

One more boy to join-- maybe next year.

The girls and I always have our standing chinese food date when the boys go to the fair.

SUMMER ACTIVITIES

A nearby town hosted an outdoor movie night and it worked with our calendar..

They used to do this on a more regular basis, but it has been quite awhile.

 We were able to hold a small birthday celebration for two of the boys here, so it was a win-win.

We brought some treats, but the town also provided refreshments which was really nice.

A bit of bugspray, some sweatshirts and chairs and it was a nice night out.

LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE 26

 Toward the end of June, we went on our annual trip to the Land of Make Believe with our co-op.

It was a beautiful, hot day.

It was a little different this year because we were missing 3..but we had fun regardless.

4 boys pretty much went off by themselves and we met up for lunch while Bean and I hung with the little boys.  One of the perks of it being such a small park is that we're comfortable letting them buddy up and go off on their own.

As much as those faces look grumpy-they were really into the rides this year and had a good time.

Even with 3 of us missing, we still took up the entire "roller coaster"

Til next year!

DANCING

Bean actually was dancing this year at three different studios.

The one studio did not allow any photography during the show, so I don't have anything for that one.

It was an amazing show though--they did Peter Pan and Bean was a pirate.

A tapping pirate.

She did not do the recital at another studio.

And finally her "home base" had their recital at the end of June and it was Broadway themed.

I'd been having trouble with my phone so unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures and the video I took cut out before the piece was over...but whatdayagonnado?

These pictures are from "Step in Time" from Mary Poppins 

She was also in a jazz number and another tap piece that she choreographed for the class.

She is going back to teach for the 2nd year and from what I gather, loving it.

Tap being the forte.