Ever since we received
The Dangerous Book For Boys we've had some mischievous happenings in our home from time-to-time! :) The
summer of 2010 has proven likewise - our neighborhood knows how to play poker! Great!!
(Come to the Thomas' and they'll teach you how to play poker too.)
I had the opportunity to spend a week in
Vegas with Glenn. He worked and I played - it was so relaxing and fun! The kids stayed with a family friend and
HAD A BLAST! When I called home one evening, Zach requested that he would like to trade-in his Vegas T-shirt (that we would bring home for him) for some poker chips instead! (Well, the above-mentioned book teaches one how to play poker. Fun!)
Summer has been interesting... a truck/van crash, trip to NE, swim lessons, breakfast at 9:30am each morning, water parks, bowling, Cub Scout Camp, Boy Scout Camp, visit from family, blueberries, birthday, gymnastics, etc...
The Crash - I was taking the kids by
Honda mini-van to swim lessons/swim practice and was followed by Glenn who was going to work in his
Ford F150. He was followed by a Ford F250 4x4 Super-Duty truck, complete with cowpusher and all (a brand new June 2010 truck). The Ford F250 decided to
accelerate while Glenn and I slowed to a stop because of upcoming traffic (a church up ahead was letting out and traffic was backing up)! Let's just say that the Ford 250 threw the
Ford 150 into the
Honda Odyssey and left Glenn's license plate imprinted in the
Honda's back bumper! :O Thank Goodness no one was seriously hurt - though Glenn is a regular visitor now of Mr. Chiropractor Man. The
Ford F150 was deemed TOTALLED and they finally hauled it away today. Glenn is now driving a new Ford F150. The
Honda is back from the dealership with a new back hatch and bumper! Things are slowly getting back to normal.
Trip to Nebraska - Each year we make a quick dash to visit my family in Nebraska right around the 4th of July. It's a short drive (6 hours) straight North. Mom and Dad Stara always make it fun - there's plenty of rootbeer floats, ATVs, $1 store visits, swimming, kolaches, firecrackers and more firecrackers. This year my parent's celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the week before the 4th; we took a family picture and we all (my siblings + families) went out to eat. We love going to the David City Pool with our cousins there:
and riding the ATV's...
...but most of all, we love being with our family for a few days "out in the country" without a care in the world.
Boy Scout Camp - Ben and Zach went to Scout Camp in early July. Glenn was recently called as the Scout Master, so he went too. There were about 15 boys who went to camp for the week. You name it, they did it - shotguns, sailing, hiking, fishing, wood carving, wilderness survival (camping with nothing but your wits), metal and leather work, canoeing, etc. There is also THE BLOB! (That would be Ben flying through the air.)
(Ben is also peeking underneath the sail in this picture.)
Some of the Scouts participated in the building and sailing of a homemade raft. Here Ben is laying on his belly helping the other Scoutmates paddle to VICTORY! (or at least they finished which is more than most of the teams could say)
Cub Scout Camp - This is a camp for the younger Scouts. Nick was able to join the troop for a few days this year. He was also (and still is) busy at the gym. Two of the five days of camp were rained out AND those were the two days that Nick was not able to attend anyway because of gym practice. (It all worked out for Nick!) At Cub Scout Camp they do archery, BB guns, leather work, science/nature and this year they did a space derby. Here's a picture of Nick with his winning rocket!
Scouting, Scouting and More Scouting - (Can you tell we have 3 of our 4 boys participating in Scouting?) Zachary advanced out of Cub Scouts this summer and is now a full-fledged Boy Scout! Congratulation Zachary on earning your Webelos and Arrow of Light... thanks for the pin - I think he dropped the back of the pin on the carpet here!
There's always friends and cookies at any and all Scouting Activities. Emma has enjoyed being a BIG sister to any girls younger than she. She has already informed me that she will not being going to school this year. She would rather stay at home and sleep-in. Oh Boy!
Zachary's Birthday - Zachary turned 11 years young this past year! He invited a few friends over to go see the new Karate Kid movie. The boys came over afterward for cake and icecream. It was a fun afternoon. Here is a wonderful pose of all the future Karate Kids:
Blueberries and Family - We had a GREAT visit from
Clark & Melanie in early July. We played lots of games indoors, since it was nearly 100 degrees each day (sorry about that). But the one Saturday they were here it had rained
incredibly in the early morning (around 5am). (Glenn and I actually did a 10-miler that morning and it poured on us the entire run!) When 10am rolled around we found ourselves about 2-hours North, near the Oklahoma border, picking
blueberries. It was a cloudy day and a most enjoyable day of karaoke entertainment:
I had to include this photo of Christopher. He has had a GREAT summer this past year but it has been a bit challenging. He has had 6 teeth pulled these past two months. Christopher, AKA Crocodile, has a few teething issues that the dentist and orthodontist are tackling. Bottom line - too many teeth and not enough gum line to accomodate them all. He is getting excited about his Baptism in Octoboer.
NOW, on to a new school year! WOW! All the children will be in school - whatever will I do with
all my time?!?! (Ben and Christopher want to do Fall soccer with their teams. Emma wants to try soccer in the Fall too. Zach will be participating in basketball and Nicholas has a hectic gymnastics schedule. What am I thinking... I don't know.) Hang on for the ride!
