Swim Champs!

I am so proud of Travis and Justin!  They had such a great season of swimming on the local swim team.  Overall their team came in 2nd place (out of 5 teams) at Championships.  Travis received a 3rd place bronze medal for Butterfly and a 2nd place silver for Freestyle Relay.  Although Justin didn’t  get any medals for the events he swam, he worked hard and swam his little heart out all season.  I am so proud of him for not being afraid to swim with the “big kids”.  He was definitely able to hold his own against them!  I am already looking forward to next summer when we get to do it again!

Trip to Oregon

We headed up to Oregon this past weekend to visit with Kenny, Becky and Kimmy.  It was a quick trip, but it was nice to see everyone.  We went on an excursion to one of Oregon’s many lakes.  The boys wanted to fish so that is exactly what we did.  Unfortunately, we didn’t catch anything. Papa tried hard to catch a fish for the boys but was only able to get one bite the whole afternoon.

Grandma doing what she does best

Ryan looks like he is trying the reel in the “big one” but it is actually just Sadie, my brother’s dog, on the other end of that leash. 

Justin and Papa getting their fishing poles ready to go!

Ryan was so happy just to be walking Sadie!  He cried when we had to leave, not because he was going to miss his family but because he wanted to pet the dog more!

Kimmy

Ryan  finally let go of the dog long enough to do a little fishing!

Jeff kicking back!

Travis and Papa are a perfect pair!  They just enjoy fishing.  I think they could have sat out there all day!

Kimmy and Justin…so cute!

Justin relaxing with Papa!

They boys and the dogs, Sadie and Daizy! 

My deep thinker...

Ryan says to me tonight, "Mommy, how come you don't have brown eyes like the rest of us?"

It amazes me how, at 3 years old, Ryan is already an old soul. This isn't the only time he has surprised me with such grown up thoughts. He is definitely a thinker!

The end of a great season of swim!

Swim team championships concluded a great season of swimming for the boys!  This was their first year swimming for the DJN Dolphins and they had a lot of fun!  They practiced daily throughout the summer, swimming as many as 50-70 laps a day!  Impressive to someone like me who probably couldn’t make 2 laps of swimming an actual stroke.  Justin had to “swim up” with the 7-8 year old boys because there wasn’t a division for 6 year olds.  He did amazing!!  I can’t wait to see what he looks like when he is swimming with kids his age. 

Aaron, Travis and Justin showing their team spirit!

Travis getting ready to swim butterfly in the finals!

  …and he is off!

Here he is showing good butterfly form!

The results!  Travis swam fast and captured a 3rd place finish in the butterfly finals…so proud!

Justin taking his position to swim breaststroke!

He always feels the water first before he sets up for his dive. Maybe his checking to see if it is going to be cold…it always is!

Ready, set, go!

Breaststroke!

Jeff getting ready to swim in the parent relay!  He did a great job and his team came in 2nd place!

He is looking pretty happy here!

Brotherly love! 

Travis' thoughts on Ryan's future...

To set the scene, Star Wars music was playing and Ryan was walking down the stairs singing and performing to the music....

I say to Jeff, "maybe HE has a chance to get into the performing arts school!"

Travis says, "maybe he could join the circus and dance!"

Who knows...we will see what path he takes!

First Day of School!

To me the first day of school means my boys are getting older, bigger and that much closer to being grown up. It is all happening so fast and I am feeling a bit sentimental about them growing up.

Unfortunately, I am not given a say, so here we are again on the first day of school!

It is hard for me to think of Travis as being in 3rd grade! He is a tall, caring, compassionate, bright young man who loves school and all that it brings. He is excited about the year to come.

Justin has left the world of Kindergarten and is now in first grade. He is smart, funny, charming and wise beyond his 6 years. Justin is excited about the new year but if given the choice would rather still be enjoying his summer!

Ready to conquer the world....or at least 1st and 3rd grades!

Camping

We finally went on our first camping trip of the summer. We went with our good friends to Bear River Reservoir and had a great time!

(The pictures are all out of order, but you'll get the idea)

Tent sleeping! They had no trouble snoozing all night long on their mats. They were snug and cozy!

Ryan was so good! He went to sleep in the tent all on his own! He went to bed before everyone else. I tucked him in, kissed him good night and he went to sleep without any trouble!

Ryan loved playing with Amanda! He was so happy to have someone to dig in the dirt with...I think he is doing a happy dance here!

Justin and Ryan trying to skip rocks!

Having lunch by the lake!

The boys have their sticks and are ready to roast marshmallows!

The kids taking a break from running around in the dirt!

Ryan was so excited to "poley fish"! He would sit on the rocks, I would cast it out and he would reel it back in. On the last day we even gave him a hook and bait! He loved it!

Ryan trying to make his way through the rocky shore!

Travis trying his hand at fishing! He is definitely cut out to be a fisherman....he was patient and content to sit lakeside even though he knew he probably wasn't going to catch anything....the fish just weren't biting. His papa would be proud him!

Ryan and Jeff swimming in the lake! The water was COLD but they both loved it!

The kiddos hanging out at camp in the "throne room".

Justin was so cute! He doesn't have the patience Travis has for fishing and went from trying to catch a fish to trying to catch the 3 inch minnows that were swimming in the rocks right below him. He said to me, "I think it is going to be my lucky day!" while he is dangling his bait (which is practically bigger than the fish) in front of the tiny fish!

Jeff is known for his packing skills, but this was impressive! There wasn't an inch of space left in the back of the car. We certainly don't pack light when we go camping!

The Lake!