Great Friends at Great Falls

Continuing on our nature-filled week, we met with some buddies at Great Falls this morning.  From left to right in the picture:  Gabrielle (Katie's buddy from Girl Scouts), Neve, Genevieve (Gabrielle's little sis, who happens to be in Michael's preschool class), Zachary (big bro), Michael, and Katie.  It's always nice to be out in nature with friends.  We oohed and ahhed at the Falls, picnicked at a table, and played at the Nature Center.  The kids did complain a bit about the ample sunshine and humidity.  When they do that, I just shake my head at them and ask how they will ever survive Disney World in Florida someday....  Guess they wouldn't be kids if they didn't have something to complain about.  Never mind...just look at those beautiful falls!!!

Prepping for our Trip

In just a few short weeks, we will finally be vacationing in the Adirondacks!!  (Oh, how we all need this trip!)  To get the kids excited for what they will inevitably see, we went on a little nature walk to the Potomac this morning.  The kids got to cross some streams, see some wildlife and gape at some pretty falls.  Michael was especially happy as "seeing waterfalls" was on his summer bucket list!  Katie, ever the daring one, tried to climb onto some of the big boulders near the falls and almost stepped on a sunning water snake!  Never a dull moment with these little ones.  Mom just wishes that Neve had not demanded to be carried the entire 2-mile trek up and down some steep hills!  Oh well...good exercise and good prep for some mountain hiking!

Mighty Minnow!!

He did it!  He did it!!  Our mighty minnow finally agreed to swim in an official meet.  Our pool's swim team (Sharks) sponsors a mini-team (Minnows) for the youngest and newest swimmers.  The age and ability can range from those afraid of the pool (like Michael) to those who just need a little more endurance and work on their strokes before they graduate to the Sharks.  Let's just say that Michael was terrified of going into the big pool and would not put his face underwater when he started on July 1st.  He and the coaches put in a lot of work over the past three weeks, culminating in his swim this evening!

A few things of note from the video:
1.)  Notice how he tries to cover his ears any way that he can at the beginning.  He is still afraid of the starter gun, even though he has been dragged to countless swim meets this summer.
2.)  Kickboard racers are allowed to have helpers, but the helpers are not allowed to touch the swimmer once he/she is in the water.  So, he did this all on his own....with a little birdie to encourage him the entire way!
3.)  How hilarious is it that he would not jump in at the start?  Although he has worked a lot on swimming around with the kickboard, he had not yet conquered his fear of jumping in from the side.  Thank goodness for his helper!
4.)  Sorry about the end...vantage point was definitely ruined by the timers and judges!
5.)  He did ALL of this because he greedily wants his own swimming ribbon, just like his big sister's!

From Seed to Smile

Hey, check out our sunflower!!  Michael and I are so proud!  During one of those cold spring days in April, we decided to plant some sunflower seeds to see if we could actually get one to bloom.  (We are the blackest thumbs in the world...we couldn't even get a weed to grow if we tried.)  It's been a long, long three months (especially for a 4-year-old) and lots and lots of growing, but we finally got our golden reward!!  Michael was so excited that he had to get a picture taken with it.  Notice how it towers over our 3.5-footer!  I just wish we had more space to grow more things...Michael might actually eat a veggie here or there if he could take ownership of it.

Swimfans

SHRA Sharks (Individual Picture)

SHRA Sharks and Minnows (Team Picture)

Swim team pictures arrived this week.  Be sure and find both Katie (Shark) and Michael (Minnow) in the team picture.  "Go Blue, Go White, Go SHRA, Fight, Fight!"

The Boss

Just having a little fun with Nevie prior to bedtime...

Dead ringer to The Boss circa 1982?

Born to Run?

Nature Walk

Well, I'm home alone with the two younger kiddos for the weekend.  Traci drove up to PA to pick Katie up from her week at "Camp Grammy."  Miss you, Katie!  But given the opportunity, I thought I'd try to add a little color to a very enjoyable part of a regular day around here of late.  When Nevie goes down for her mid-day nap, Michael (and one of us) often sets out for a "Nature Walk" around some of surroundings to our condo development.  He is really at a fun age of observation and discovery right now.  While I'm certain that I was a poor substitute for his mother, "Traci the Science Lady," we had a blast taking a peek at "Worm City," hiking through the woods, wading in the river, and slowly winding our way back for a quick visit to the playground.  Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Old Fashioned 4th

Sorry that we stepped away for a bit, but we've returned from our annual trek to Brockway's Old Fashioned 4th of July festivities in Pennsylvania.  Traci's small hometown throws the perfect quaint, family friendly, intensely patriotic celebration, and it always keeps us coming back each year.  And this year the weather finally cooperated and we had absolutely gorgeous days during our visit.  As always, we had a great time visiting with Papa, Grammy, David, Krystina, Greg, Tabby, and the "cousins."  Here are some pics from a few of the highlights:

Playground!

Fishing Contest

With the "Cousins" (i.e., Julian and Nicholas)

"Maverick" and "Goose" (i.e., Traci and David)

S'mores @ Grandma Morrison's Farm

Sparklers!

Neve's First Sparkler