Yikes! I guess I've been too busy this summer because I haven't kept up with what we've been doing over the summer. So here it is in a nutshell:
Girls' weekend in San Diego. I had a blast! It was so great to see my Cali girlfriends. We're planning to do this every year, but in different locations. Can't wait til next year.
Aidan's 9th birthday! Wow! It's hard to believe he's already nine years old. Where does the time go? I still remember heading to the hospital to deliver my little Aidan.
For his birthday, he invited a couple of friend's over for some pizza, cake and ice cream. Then we opened presents and headed outside to play a little basketball. For any of you reading this who don't know. Our families and us (his parents) all chipped in and purchased a permanent basketball backboard. Best investment ever. The kids are always playing a little hoop and most of the neighborhood kids head over to play some hoop too. Anyway, after playing outside for a bit I took the boys over to the theaters to see
Despicable Me. What a cute movie. I wasn't really looking forward to seeing it because the previews didn't look that interesting, but I was pleasantly surprised. And that evening we topped Aidan's birthday off by heading to Red Lobster for a family dinner. My mom and Jerry told me on each child's birthday they'd like to take the family out to dinner. The birthday child gets to choose the restaurant.
(Our neighbor and cake decorator extradonnaire made Aidan's cake. As you can see he wanted a Broncos themed cake.)4 days later we celebrated Curren's 2nd birthday. Now talk about time flying by! No more babies in this household. Curren didn't really know or care it was his birthday, but I still think he had a good day. We went to church and then the fam came over for dinner, opening presents and cake. He was very excited after opening up each toy. I think we could've just bought him one toy and he would've been fine with that. He now has a water table for playing outside which has kept him pretty happy and wet over the last few weeks.
(Curren's cake - store bought. He kept trying to grab the cake, hence the reason it's so far away from him in this picture.)The last weekend in July we headed up to Steamboat Springs. We've never been there before and I'm glad we went. It's such a great town. And lots to do during the summer. Most ski destinations are also great destination points in the summer too. We rented a condo for the weekend with another family and had a great time with them.
(Fish Creek Falls)The first full day Rick and the two older boys rode the alpine slide. Always a huge hit. Then the second day we went to The Old Town Hot Springs pool. Once again the kids had a blast. And Kellen passed the swim test so he was able to ride the big waterslides. That was pretty much all he wanted to do. Either Rick or I would ride the other slide and meet him at the bottom to give him a little help exiting the pool. Aidan also passed a swim test and was able to jump off the diving board without a parent standing by to watch. The boys are really turning into such great swimmers. Definitely a life skill I insisted they learn. I never want my kids to be afraid of water.
(What's could be more fun for boys than throwing/skipping rocks in a river)
The rest of the summer has been spent going to our neighborhood pool, playing at the park, playing with friends or hanging out in the cul-de-sac.
Oh ya, almost forgot. Yesterday the boys (along with their neighborhood friends) found two small frogs in our backyard. They must burrow in the rocks where water accumulates. We put them in a bucket and wandered around the rest of the 'hood to show off their frogs. Thankfully, before heading inside they put the frong back where they belong.
Overall, we had a wonderful summer break. Now on to the busy, hectic life of the school year. Aidan is taking martial arts classes once again and loves it. Kellen will be starting soccer and both boys are still in swim lessons...at least for now.