In May, life was for the most part "the usual"...school for both the boys, t-ball for Ryan, work, puppy training, and keeping the peace. One fun activity we did was go to Dozer Days. This is an annual event hosted by a local rock quarry that donates the funds raised to charity. It was a lot of fun (albeit very busy) and is a boys paradise. They have 20-30 pieces of heavy equipment...from smaller dozers and diggers, to the big boys, and kids get to drive! I was super proud of Ryan as he skillfully piloted a very large digger. Surprisingly, Evan LOVED watching, but got a bit freaked out when it was his turn to give it a try. Maybe next year :)
June was a big and busy month! Ryan finished up t-ball....OH, that reminds me...I have a story to tell!! At one of his last games, he was playing left field. After one kid on the opposing team was done batting (and as the next was heading to the plate), Ryan came over to the fence by me....I was sitting in the bleachers between home and first plate. I told him he needed to get back out there, and he insisted that he REALLY needed to tell me something. I relented and said ok, but that he needed to make it quick and again referenced that he needed to get back out there. I waited in anticipation of this most important and pressing news. He uttered "ummmmm" as he glanced down as if trying to remember what he wanted to tell me...then looked up when he remembered. Grinning, he then told me "I ate a piece of grass!!" My brain shouted "REALLY?!?!?! THIS is what you HAD to tell me?!?! THIS couldn't wait until after the game?!?!" My mouth maintained composure and rather quietly said "ok...get back out there." I'm sure my face betrayed me and said something more along the lines of what my brain shouted.
A fun memory from June is the puddle jumping! As we drove home from one of Ryan's t-ball practices, the skies opened up and unloaded like 6 feet of rain and hail! Ok, maybe it was more like an inch or two. The streets here are not designed to handle such a sudden accumulation of rain as its not often we get a super heavy shower like this. When we got home, the rain had stopped, but the streets were still draining...and there was several inches of rainwater. Tempting, TOO tempting! I hustled into the garage, and when I turned around, Gage had taken his shoes off and was trudging through the water...no doubt transported to his youth. The boys looked at me, their eyes pleading..."Ok, just take your shoes off!!" Pure fun ensued...
...followed by changing into jammies and having some hot cocoa afterwards to warm up.
June was also Ryan's birthday. He really had more of a birthday weekend since his actual birthday fell on a Monday this year. His good friend and cousin, Benny, spent the night at our house for Ryan's first real friend-sleepover on Saturday (they had a really good time)...then family and a few friends gathered for his party at a local park. Thankfully the weather held as it was an "iffy" June weather-wise. This was a "real" birthday for Ryan as some of the gifts he got were a real fishing pole and real golf clubs. He was super excited to have the real thing...a rite of passage, a mark of his growing up.
Also in June was Ryan's last day of Kindergarten. They had a small ceremony on the last day where the kids "jumped into first grade"...signified by jumping into a pool of beans. Each child also got special award to signify something they did that was outstanding during the year. Ryan got the "Reader" award. I had to agree...Ryan went from not reading anything more than his name to reading beginner books. He surprises me at the oddest times with what he can read now.
So far July has been full of fun as well. Over the weekend of the fourth, Justin & Kaytlyn visited and we headed to our friend's house to swim in their pool, have some delicious dinner, and enjoy good company and good conversation. Thanks Brent & Michelle for the great day!! There are pictures from this day in the "July Fun" photo album.
We have also had another successful camping trip with our good friends Brian & Kristi. During the last 2 weeks of this month we'll be living in our tent trailer more than our house as we have 2 bigger camping trips planned.
Evan has been doing really well, and has had no seizures since January (knock on wood)!! He is attending speech therapy this summer once a week to keep up on his skills, which are definitely improving!
ALSO... I've added a short video to Evan's birthday album.
Ok...I think I've gotten us all up to date!! Lets see how long I can keep it that way!! :)
