Scenes from Flag Day

Flag Day is a huge event at our local elementary school. While Flag Day falls on June 14, the school usually celebrates on the Monday before the real day - the kids made hats and marched in a little parade.

I'm glad we're getting lots of use out of our Memorial Day shirts from Old Navy!

Carnival Birthday Party

We have had such a busy end to Spring. School field trips, bonfires, and birthday parties have been running non-stop. The boys were invited to a really fun carnival themed birthday party, and had a marvelous time.

Ring the bottle and win a can of pop

Tickets for prizes!

Dart-balloon board

Bowling

Nolan bowls

Drop a marshmallow into an ice cream cone game

Got one in!

Happy boy

Dinner with Darth Vader

It's a mantra in our house - "Stay away from the Dark Side."

It's hard to stay away from the Dark Side when Vader is your dinner guest!

In other news, soccer season is in full swing. Most practices are at 7:00pm and the kids get to bed at a rather grumpy 8:30pm or 9:00pm. This is difficult with school still in session: fortunately school ends this week!

Nolan's second year on the U-4 Soccer Team 

On the playground with friends 

Matt practices with Dad

The Best $20 Ever Spent

The pool was set up, the boys were happily splashing, and I made a secretive run to StuffMart. I had noticed a box sitting in the seasonal aisle that I knew would totally make their day. I snagged the box, paid my $20, and hurried home.

Of course, the boys were over the moon. Who wouldn't love a couple of space ships with working water guns in the pool?

I am so glad we bought our Intex pool last year. We have gotten at least $200 out of the thing, and it is still going strong in its second year. Now I just need to find a way to extend the summer season in our frozen section of the country!

Dog Days of Summer

Casey Dog is almost one-and-a-half now. I haven't added any pictures of him recently, but he is such a good dog. The boys are in love with him, of course, and I am pretty convinced that Golden Retrievers are the best dogs in the entire world.

Swinging

A few weeks ago, Nolan hopped on the swing and realized he knew how to pump it.

I have to admit - this is a very happy milestone for Mommy, as he now goes outside and swings to his little heart's content. Swing on, little man, swing on!

Campfire Time

Our neighbors had a little get-together and invited us over. It was absolutely fantastic, as our boys played until they literally dropped. There is nothing better than running through the woods!

Unfortunately, most of my pictures of the boys are rather blurry. Capturing boys on camera is harder than catching wild game - they were off in a flash and spent a great deal of time darting in and out of the trees.

The only thing that could possibly lure boys out of the woods is fire. We started the bonfire and they came running, sticks in hand.

We had a watermelon cut up, which was a rather bad watermelon. It wasn't much good for eating, despite Matt's enthusiasm.

A few of the boys decided to roast the watermelon slices, which I suspect was just a ploy to play with the fire. We had to kick the boys out of the area after a while, because Poking Sticks into the Fire was becoming a little too enticing for the kids.

Umm.. NO. 

We sent the boys off to play in the woods. They found plenty to do - as it turns out, the kids don't really need toys. They just need a couple of logs to play on!

Matt and Nolan went back into the woods to build a tree fort. They had so much fun gathering wood and planning their little structure. Sometimes it is hard to believe this paradise is in our own backyard!