Camping..

Ready for a hike!
Our tent!! Raccoons liked to sneak in at night and push things around. Thankfully the tents we slept in were zippered off from the main area and they couldn't get in to where we were. It was freaky enough knowing they were 2 feet away.
Shiloh and Cayden chilling out in the tent. I think he was playing Mario Kart. I just like this picture...it is so sweet.
The boys took out the paddle boat for a awhile. The weather was perfect for our camping. Warm days and cool nights - no humidity at all. We did have a brief heavy, heavy shower on Thursday night. But we came through it none worse for the wear. Riley's forgot the rain flap for their tent, but we scrambled around enough tarps to cover the tent in time. Thank goodness!

We were joined by several more families from Oconomowoc and we had alot of kids running around. The boys had fun and it was a grand way to end the summer.

Cave of the Mounds trip

We took the boys to Cave of the Mounds a couple weeks before school started. It was a really neat place to visit. The boys spend almost as much time in the gift shop as they did in the cave. It was a cool (literally) cave, and the tour lasted about an hour. Just long enough for little legs. The formations were awe inspiring, but the pictures didn't turn out very well.

After we were done, we let the boys pick out one special thing from the gift shop. Kieran picked out a purple geode key ring and Cayden picked out a bad of sand that had gems and rocks hidden in it. He then emptied the sand into a pan and used water to wash away the sand to reveal the treasures inside. He loved it. We thought about going back there just to do that activity again.

Our meal at Johnny's Charhouse..

Cayden used my camera to film this during our dinner Saturday night at our convention in DeKalb. He took several videos that night to occupy himself while Jerod and I finished our yummy meal. I just thought it was funny to see how much fun he had with this.

In DeKalb again for the district convention....

How handsome are they?
Jeez, honey,,,,you can smile...
Such happy, smiling faces!!

We had beautiful weather for our convention this year, August 16-18. Jerod got to help in the bookroom with the new releases. That was pretty exciting for him. All in all it was a good weekend.

Circus Party time!!

The feared T-Rex!
Kieran's crab face...
Look at all the loot!!!
Give it all you got Cayden!!!

Our good friends in Richland Center hosted a circus party for all of the young ones. And what a party it was!! They don't feel comfortable having their names or pix on the blog, so I won't be posting any of that info.



But we had a scavenger hunt, a water balloon fight (which morphed into a rowdy "dad water balloon fight".) That was hilarious, until one of the kiddies got beaned on the side of the head. There was also a cotton candy machine, face painting, clown noses, and a pinata full of an extreme amount of candy!! Holy cow. My friends really know how to put together a party! I know it was alot of work, but it was a party the kids and parents will remember for a long, long time. Thanks!!!

To the pool we go..

Swimming lessons this year were a bit hit, as I figured. We did have a couple stormy days that cut the lesson short, but all in all they got in all of the skills they needed in order to pass. Cayden was in level 3 and Kieran was in level 2. Personally, I feel the classes are rushed and have way too many kids in them. So much is crammed into 30 minutes. If it is the same way next year, I may talk to the pool director. I wonder if any other parents feel the same.

So our house is officially off the market!. Some relief there, just hoping the winter treats us better this year than last.

Josh's wedding plans are going well. Both boys are in the wedding party and Jerod is an usher. They will all be so handsome! I am a little hesitant about getting Cayden into a tux. Hmmmm. We'll see how that works.