summer cookout at Sarah's

 

summer fun in the pool

This is our third summer living in our very kid-friendly neighborhood. One of the many perks is having access to a neighborhood pool. The boys love jumping in and playing in the water, so we have taken several trips there already.

Isaac is pretty fearless.

Noah likes the occasional comfort of the side of the pool and the steps, but he has his very adventurous moments too. He puts his face in the water and tries very hard to swim unaided. He does well with his arms but he needs to work on kicking his feet a little more.

Splash, Isaac jumped in the water! Hopefully someone caught him! (He has jumped in several times with no one waiting to catch him...a scary thought for any mom!)

Noah is going for a belly flop?

Isaac is holding a tennis ball. The boys love to throw the ball a few feet away and then swim to it.

Taking the leap to Aunt Christine

Swimming in the evenings or on weekends is the best because Daddy can join us. Daddy loves to let the boys ride around on his back or shoulders and swim across the pool together. Other times, if I am the only one to take them to the pool, the boys are wearing life jackets. 

Noah says he wants to be on a swim team. We will see how he does with swimming in our pool this summer, but I think he could possibly get there. 

strawberries

It is strawberry time! 

As we did last year, we went strawberry picking at a local farm. I took the boys and we met up with three other moms and their kids. I like getting together with other kids and moms for playdates, and it is nice to mix it up since we usually meet up at a park or in someone's home.

Noah and Isaac were very interested at first.

This is one of Noah and Isaac's friends from church and from Bible study.

They weren't really interested in putting them in our box....just eating them! 

Oh Isaac. 

Despite the boys' lack of real "help" picking strawberries, I managed to pick several pounds of berries for freezer jam.

Oh the difficulty of photographing two boys. 

Look at the camera!?!

Smile, Noah! Look, Isaac!

Don't blink!

Put your hands down, Noah!!!!

And THAT is why we don't have a nice picture from strawberry picking! =)

Family Fun Fest

Jason took the boys to a family fun day at the sports complex one morning while I was at work. He said they all had a blast.

The boys got to practice their golf swing. 

And what could be more fun than jumping in to a pit of foam blocks!? 

Checking out the climbing wall 

We can be firefighters too!

Whee!!

hiking at Fort Ben

Our favorite family activities almost always happen outdoors in God's beautiful creation. One of the goals of our family is to engage in healthy and active lifestyles, and we like to do this in a variety of ways, usually outside!

We took the boys hiking at Fort Benjamin state park, which isn't far at all for us to drive. We were excited to have found a state park close by with beautiful trails. Though we weren't there to do trail runs, there were many runners on the trails (and I wished I could have joined them!).

We hiked for about an hour or so with our friends Dave and Michelle and their daughter (about the same age as Isaac). They purchase a pass every year to the state parks of Indiana just to come hiking here, and now we can see why!

I loved the lily pad pond! Sooo beautiful!

lake time

We made a trip to Berne recently and spent some time on the lake lot for some swimming, boating and fun times playing in the sand. Noah rode the boat a few times and played in the sand with his second cousin Leah and his friends Mia and Layla.

Isaac is blinded in the bright sunlight!

Jason has fun playing on Jeff's jetski.

What are you building, Noah?

My friend Amy stopped by with her girls to hang out for a while. She is pregnant with their third child (their first son!), due in November.

Jason took Mia on her first tube ride, and I took Noah on his first tube ride. They both really liked it!

Isaac ate and ate all day long (even including some sand, as usual!)....As tiny as he is, you wouldn't think he would have such an appetite! Though I have to admit, he is growing a little belly...Time to cut back on the graham crackers, Isaac! :)

Once again for the fourth of July we camped at the lake lot. It was a hot day but a very mild and pleasant temperature for the evening. Somehow the old sleeping bags didn't get packed, so instead of giving up our camping plans, we headed over to Wal-mart and picked up a pair of new bags!