10 years!

After Oma and Papa had the boys all week, we drove down for an afternoon at the pool. Then James and I got to go to Ruths Chris for dinner with our good-karma travel gift cards.

Off the Diving Board!

Brady passed his swim test (swimming the length of our 25 meter pool!) several weeks ago and finally worked up the courage to go off the diving board yesterday. Of course, now that he's tried it...he loves it!

He's certainly come a LONG way from the kid who wouldn't get in the kiddie pool at the beginning of the summer because he didn't want to get splashed!

Twinkle Twinkle

Rudy has started singing to himself when he's alone (or thinks he's alone). Unfortunately, he's also developed an aversion to the camera. This is the best we could do of capturing his rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle". At the end, he keeps saying "member", which means he can't remember.

Peach picking

Well, peach ice cream after peach picking...which is really the best part anyway!

I told the kids on the way out that we were going to find some trees to do some peach picking. Rudy got out of the car and started saying "Pizza pickin"; I think he was a little disappointed when it was peaches instead!

Trampoline fun

OK, OK...we know they can be dangerous but it was a special occasion. The kids had a GREAT time on the trampoline!

Rudy's new friend

We went to a reception to celebrate my cousin's wedding and Rudy became fast friends with this little girl. We're not sure who she is (not a relative, we do know that!), but he kept calling her Bella.

Family Photo Op

Love this smile!

Shark!

Love you Mommy

Baseball song

You'll have to excuse my tone-deaf singing, but Rudy's contributions make it worth watching!

"Date night"

No, James and I didn't get a night out...but Brady requested some QT with his dad tonight so James took him out to dinner and then to a movie.

Meanwhile, Rudy and I broke open a package of glow sticks - which proved to be nearly an hour of entertainment!

Once he tired of the glow sticks, the little monkey did some swinging from the bed...


Then we had "pizz-ee" followed by a "sicle" (popsicle) and some relaxing on the deck...

We finished off our evening with a bath and some "Aggy" (American Gladiators) where the "guys plop water". I'd say a pretty fun evening for everyone :)

Keating Family Weekend

We had a significant number of Kathy's family here for a little reunion weekend.

Our boys and Cooper had matching shirts and swimsuits, and then (along with Emma) matchy-matchy flowered shirts that evening.

We spent Saturday afternoon at the pool. It was HOT but not so bad when we were in the water. Brady loved showing off all of his new swimming tricks. After naps, we went to Kathy and Tony's for dinner.

Amazing - a family photo where everyone is looking and smiling?? And, we took it twice and BOTh pictures are good!

My boys...

Priorities

Rudy refused to play on the swingset with his friends until he had finished his breakfast grapes...

Excitement on the river

The boys and I hiked down to a local river beach. Tony, Kel, Dan, and Cooper rented a canoe and paddled up to meet us.

Who would have thought we'd see dolphins and sea monsters that afternoon?

Water gun fight

Somehow, poor Uncle Brian kept getting stuck with the waterguns that didn't actually work. Wonder how that happened?!?

Half-birthday party day morning

Yes, we know it's a little weird that Brady celebrates his half birthday rather than his real birthday! He was so excited about his pool party this year!



Meg put a lot of effort into making sure that the beach umbrellas for his cake were just right!

We even started out the day with birthday waffles, which he chose over birthday pancakes. They were quite a sight - very colorful!

Half-Birthday Boy

Super heroes

The boys got these super hero capes from some friends for their birthdays. I think they're super cute; I love watching them sprint around the house chasing bad guys. I also love that if they don't want to do something, usually their "super" counterpart will chip in and help!

Super Rudy in action:

Puzzling

They really were puzzling 'til their puzzlers were sore!