where the map said it would be

Today was the boys' last day of summer vacation, so we lit out for a few adventures, and guess what we found at the museum....

Harry's dream room! The boy loves a map more than just about anything. One of his major pasttimes this summer has been STUDYING a map for an area where I used to work - he can tell you just about any route from any direction...now, if he just had a reason to visit ;-)
They had all sorts of maps, including a display about GPS...remember the Garmin? Ahhhh

Jack has a slightly different approach, and they had all the bells and whistles for his style as well

He was all over the sextant and finding the North Star

They both had fun pretending to be pilots

We took in the IMAX theater and I couldn't get a good perspective shot, but thought this was appropriate since I'm always telling him he's a natural cartographer

I made another attempt during the movie, Deep Sea, not great- but you can see Harry's sweet profile and long lashes if you look near the bottom left...and squeeze in a little lesson about the coral reef ;-)

Thanx also for the fun pool time, CC - hope you survived the sleepover and we can get our schedules worked out for something fun SOON!

It was a really nice way to end the summer break, and after a few fun things this weekend we'll all be ready for a schedule

JB's God's Own Drunk

gotta go... back to school ... again!!!

The boys got to meet their new teachers and put their supplies in their classrooms last nite....they are a leetle bit excited!

Harry lucked into the awesome long-term sub from his Kindergarten class, so he knows her and loves her already. He has this awesome big-boy desk and a lot of old and new friends in his class. Should be a great year :-)

(no, he's not quasimoto, just wanted to show off the cool desk features)

Jack got a lot of Harry's old classmates, and a few of his favorites from last year, along with a few new friends. He told me he'd seen his teacher's face "up close once, and it was so nice. I bet she's nice!"

Here's to a great year in 1st grade!

The Four Tops' Back To School Again

Time well wasted

This is about as motivated as I've been:

And this is about as happy as I've been:
Happy Anniversary, babe! Starting our second decade is pretty cool :-)

Brad Paisley

Should've Been A Cowboy

Their friend Summit hung out with us today - it was fun at the movies, fun at home, fun in trees, fun with hose, fun in cars.

Boys can turn anything into cowboy lessons ;)

Shootin'

Ridin'

Stoppin' at the waterin' hole

Cute boys hamming it up in a photo booth....

Harry, Summit and Jack

Cute boys climbing around

since people keep telling me how much they've grown, I thought comparing them to last year would be good...I'd say a solid few inches Grayson, Harry and Jack - July 2009

I got caught up in nostalgia and realized this was a familiar pose -

today (6 1/2 years) above and October 06 (2 1/2 years old)

Hit the road, Jack

We took a road trip last week to see our good friends, and I introduced them to the delights of gas stations

They helped pump the gas
before entering the road-trip mecca

They spent quite a while deciding on just the right little gifts for Jake and Sarah

mulled over the perfect road treats

and settled in for the ride.

Who knows what happened to the camera when we got there, but we had a great time with good friends we hadn't seen in WAY too long - thank you for all the fun, JSD&E!

Next time, it's our turn :-)

Ray Charles

Keep it in your pantry

The boys are in Hero Headquarters VBS this week, and we took a little trip to the grocery to lend a helping hand to their food pantry. They did a great job picking non-perishables. They are talking about heroes in the Bible that aren't as well-known this week, stressing that we can all make a difference and don't have to be superstars to do good.

Lyle Lovett

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

The boys went to their first 'real' baseball game and hosted their first sleepover on Sunday

Isn't there a rule about getting kids wired on blue drinks and foods?

It was a wonderful nite for a game - the clouds threatened all day, but ended up just cooling things off and making for a beautiful sky. They let the kids play catch before the game

and the players were great about signing autographs

They walked away with these great bats and a ball

They tried for some balls, danced and played with all the silly entertainments, and basically had a great time!

And imagine my surprise when I saw this poster of Aunt Libby's league in the bathroom?

Not sure if the blur is equipment or operator error

Zach came home with us, and introduced the boys to Billy Exterminator, a mulleted animal do-gooder - there were possums and rats and all sorts of vermin in the episode we watched

Zach and Jack practicing good oral hygiene

and the three of them pretending, with varying success, to sleep - this picture was taken at about 10:45 PM...silly, giggling boys!

Jack Norworth

Wait a minute, we're fishING!

Imagine having this as your backyard ~ Uncle Les invited us all over for a wonderful day of fishing and playing at the lake. Grandma was good enough to share her pix :)

They both did well, and Jack actually caught two large mouth bass!

Thanx, Les, for a wonderful time and delicious eats, as always. Next time it's our turn :-)

Laurie Berkner's The Goldfish

My grandma and your grandma

Dean's mom got to come for a nice visit last week, and we did lots of fun stuff

Jack putting out his version of the welcome mat

Harry giving everyone a little schoolin'

Uncle Les even joined us for a trip to a science museum

Harry doing a little engineering

Grandma snapping Jack's successful building

They even got to do an ecology lesson with microscopes and note-taking

Harry and Daddy working to decide the habitat of these bugs

and we even hit the lanes for a few games

It was a really nice visit - thanx for coming to see us!

Trad and Anon's Iko Iko

sometimes you're the bug

Boys and bugs naturally go together, right? The boys got these little containers at a friend's birthday party, and have been putting them to good use with all sorts of things...this morning it was a little one we found flying around the house.
We ordered those caterpillars for a butterfly project, but one week in, it looks like they were a bust - will be sending for replacements and trying that one again.....

Dire Straits' The Bug

Human Video Game

Harry kickin' it old school with Pac-Man

Jack trying to win a prize for his best girl, Erin

Will Smith

How Do You Sleep?

Apparently, pretty well, despite the weird positions. They have both been in a napping phase of late, and I must say...I'm liking it!

Sure-fire way to get Harry to sleep? Snuggle...it's worked for years ;-)

John Lennon