Summer Fun

We did some hiking at Ledges State Park to start the summer off.

We had baby robins on our playground.  That was really cool to see.  I was very sad the day they suddenly weren't there anymore.

We went to the pool a fair amount, though not as much as in past summers because it just wasn't as warm.  Drew conquered his fear of both the slide and the diving board, which was really exciting!

Zach's cannonball!

Drew gets brave!

 Jake went from not wanting to put his face in the water or jump in without holding someone's hands to this video, which was taken at the end of June at one of his swim lessons.

By mid-August, he was doing this.

Becky, Cam, and Myles came to visit.  We did some fun stuff here in Des Moines and went up to Minneapolis for a few days and had fun with Sandy, Will, and Anders, including checking out huge cottonwood trees along the Mississippi, canoeing, silly cousin stuff, and even a nap here and there (though not many).

Can they all reach each other? Nope

Will, Myles, Drew, Anders, and Becky

Drew and Anders

Boat change- Sandy, Anders, Jake, and Drew

Jake and Drew getting creative with their sleeping.

Zach (9), Cam (8), Drew (6), Anders (5), Myles (4), Jake (3)

Silly cousins!

Zach turned 9, and we had his birthday party at a rock climbing place.

Zach (left) and Cam on one rock wall.

We had a bit of a cake malfunction, but it turned out okay, and the Z inside stayed intact.

The boys worked on school stuff (reading, writing, and math), even though they didn't want to.

We got together with our college friends the Supples and Archers for the Heart Walk, and the dads and kids played some football.

Charlie, Jake, Zach, and Drew with some superheroes.

Drew and Jake with Sportacus.

The former Wartburg IM flag football champs teaching the next generation how it's done.

Jake and Mike had a golf date while Zach and Drew went to Adventureland with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Curt.  Jake lasted a whole 9 holes, which is pretty good considering I usually get bored around hole #7.

Mike and I had a fun night out after one of his golf tournaments with some couple friends.  Here are the ladies of the group.

Molly, Sonja, me, Katie, and Kim at CCI.

We had soooooo much rain (like 6 inches in a day) and our sump pump experienced a hiccup, so for the second time in 15 months our basement flooded.  This time we had to get new carpet, so we decided to leave our mark on our concrete basement floor before the new carpet went in.

We tried to hike at Ledges State Park again, but it was flooded and the trails we wanted to do were underwater.

Mike and I squeezed some couples golf in here and there, thanks to grandparents that were willing to hang with the boys so we could go play.

Zach and Drew went to VBS.  Jake and I went for the morning skit and songs portion, and then we'd go back early for the rock concert type ending to each day.  Jake can't wait to go to VBS next year!

Sometimes Jake had some of his own props with him at VBS.

Lots of reading took place.   Drew's reading significantly improved, and Zach read more hours than I can count. 

Drew reads one of Jake's favorite Elephant and Piggie books to him.

I competed in my first ever Crossfit competition, a friendly, small, local one called "The Battle of the Boxes."  It was really fun...

Doing some cleans.

until one of the times I jumped over this wall and landed on that sandbag I had just thrown over the wall, which resulted in...

Jumping the wall was kinda fun.

a fat and ugly sprained ankle.  That made the middle part of the summer no fun at all, as walking was hard, I couldn't wear regular shoes, and rest was my new thing instead of exercise.

Zach and Drew competed in a golf tournament.  Drew got first place, but he was one of 3 kids in his age group and he won by 1 stroke or something.

Making Dad proud with their golf skills. 

We went to Colorado, and Zach went to camp.  He was super excited and not really nervous to be on his own for a week.

Excited for camp.

Myles and Jake got some good cousin time while we were there, as did Anders and Drew, who spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa.

Fun at Confluence Park.

Selfie time!

Cam and I went to pick Zach up at camp at the end of the week.

Zach and Cam at Rainbow Trail.

Of course we went to Beau Jo's for some delicious pizza.

Grandma and Grandpa with their 6 grandsons.

Mike, the boys, and I checked one more item off our summer bucket list by going and biking the High Trestle Trail.  It was pretty cool.

And that was pretty much summer around here!