Playing Catch Up

So I've really been slacking off as far as blog posting, but summer has a way of making time "smaller". There are so many extra things to do, but not nearly enough time to do them.
We have a lot of bush lot on our property but don't seem to use it very often. One afternoon, we went for a little walk and took some snacks (of course). The lighting was so pretty that I thought it would be a perfect time to get some photos of the boys. This is about the best of the bunch. I like it because he's smiling instead of scowling. haha. I wish I were joking. We've spent a lot of our time butting heads lately and I'm trying so hard to just go along with the flow instead of working against it. It's a learning process.

When Bob turned six, he got a minibike. But Will isn't really all that coordinated so he got a new pedal bike. We FINALLY got him to agree to take off the training wheels and a few days later, the tire BLEW! It sounded like a gun shot. The poor kid was rattled. So being the cheapo that I am, I took, the thing back to Walmart. They exchanged it without any hassle so I got Will a new helmet (along with elbow and knee pads ... which I probably should have gotten before). He's loving it. I think the extra padding gave him a bit more confidence and with the new helmet, I don't even have to remind him to wear it because he loves it.


Speaking of bikes, they sure came in handy when we were camping. The weather did not cooperate at all. It was cool and damp and rained every day so they kids just biked around. Paul decided to wake up at 4:30am for the first few days. I was able to keep him in the trailer until 6am, but he just wanted to get out to ride his bike. My mom had picked this bike up a few years ago at a yard sale and is way too big for him, but he gets on and pumps those legs until he gets flying. Kindly notice the overlarge boots he's got on as well. He's a little dog that thinks he's a big dog. So he would fly up and down the little hill next to our site, hootin' and hollarin', while I drank my coffee, read and shivered outside until everyone else got up. The friends that we camped with have much more considerate children. They sleep until ... wait for it ... 9am! They were not open to considering a trade. I wonder why.

The week that we were camping was over the July 1st, so we went down to Grand Bend to watch the fireworks on the main beach. It was a lovely night. A lot of years, it's been so cold and windy right off the lake so we went prepared with lots of layers and blankets but they weren't really needed this year.

There was one day that was a little bit warmer than the rest. Not wonderful, but better. So we decided to get to the beach while the gettin' was good. Lake Huron is always cold, but this was freezing. I couldn't believe that the kids actually went in. Bob and Will went in but didn't stay in as long as they normally would.

Paul showed the good sense to restrict his activities to the beach. And he kept his shirt on. I had a sweatshirt on so I didn't fault him at all. It's the other kids that are a bit crazy.

One night last week, I was giving the kids a bath and noticed a big chunk out of Will's hair. Right in front. Evidently, it was in his eyes so his solution was to cut it right down. I generally don't scalp him, but it was so short that my options were pretty limited. Funnily enough, he loves it. I catch him rubbin his head all the time and smiling.

I'll save the layouts I have piling up for another day, but thought I'd share a card. This uses one of Noel Mignon's kits and a sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You. I can't remember how I stumbled across this blog, but have used a few of the sketches.

I guess that's it for now. If you're still reading, thanks for hanging in there!