School pics and rock climbing

Collin and Owen came home with their class photos and individual photos. The class photos will be classics, I’m sure. I like how we had no idea it was class picture day and we sent our kids in black t-shirts, including one with the Bat Signal on it.

Classic.

Collin and I also had a great time a few weeks ago when we went rock climbing at Pilot Mountain. He loved every minute of it and really climbed up the rock like he’d been doing it for years.

From School pictures – 2010 Spring
From School pictures – 2010 Spring
From School pictures – 2010 Spring
From School pictures – 2010 Spring
From School pictures – 2010 Spring
From Pilot Mountain, 2010-04-17
From Pilot Mountain, 2010-04-17
From Pilot Mountain, 2010-04-17
From Pilot Mountain, 2010-04-17
From Pilot Mountain, 2010-04-17

Ready for fall, start of school, great artist, and boating

I think we’re all ready for the fall around here. The weather has been very comfortable (perfect) the last few days, Collin has been playing soccer, the boys have started school, and we’re in September. Can’t believe it’s already September and we’re heading out of another summer.

Owen had a great 7th birthday party. We had just a family party at a local bounce house where Aubrey had some free passes, so it was just the boys and us and a pizza. We had a party room all to ourselves and it was so easy and inexpensive. Owen was desperate for a few certain Lego sets, so he was thrilled to get the one he wanted, plus one more! I guess we couldn’t resist.

From Owen's birthday and first day of school
From Owen's birthday and first day of school

And, of course Collin and Owen started school at the end of August. Our school had previously been on a year-round calendar for the last two years, but they switched it back to traditional, which we think is good since they get a nice summer break.

From Owen's birthday and first day of school

And here’s a funny story that Aubrey passed along to me: Wesley is a very focused kid when he is drawing pictures. He draws with precision and can literally draw for hours. Today he was using Owen’s Captain Underpants book to draw pictures of Captain Underpants and the Giant Turd monster. Owen said, “Why is Wesley always just looking at the drawing section of the book?”, and Aubrey said, “It’s OK, Wesley really likes to draw.” And Wesley said, “I’m a great artist!”

Another thing that’s been fun lately has been going to the lake for boating. Our whole family was invited out with another family, then I’ve gone out with just the guys a couple times at 6 in the morning. The lake is perfectly quiet and still, making for some really beautiful scenery and great wakeboarding on glass. I’m not that great, but I’m good at going for enough air each time that I usually crash, which for me is the only way to prove you’re trying to get better!

Here’s a few shots of me messing around on a wakeboard:

From Jordan Lake in the morning, August 2009
From Jordan Lake in the morning, August 2009
From Jordan Lake in the morning, August 2009

And here’s my favorite shot that I took of my friend John slaloming:

From Jordan Lake in the morning, August 2009

And here’s the best part of going to the lake with family lately: Aubrey has really liked going, which means she thinks it would be cool if we got a boat. So, we’re kind of planning ahead for it, thinking maybe a few years out when we’ve saved up and our youngest kids could handle the trip without much hassle. We figure it would be a great activity for the whole family and the lake is so close and the water is so perfect for much of the year. Woo hoo. Come visit us in 3-4 years and we’ll take you to the lake!

Oh, and Aubrey is almost 17 weeks!