Summer 2012- a Hot one!

Just before summer begins we have a birthday to celebrate.  Payton turned 10 this year!  Now all my boys are double digits!   It was not his best bday however.  It was also temple night for the youth and because of the dog and expected thunderstorm we split up.  Greg took our older two to the temple and out to eat.  I stayed with Payton and Noah.  Noah stayed home with the dog (he was in a bad mood); I took Payton to Chili's with a couple of his friends.  He got a few presents: clothes, money, and ipod games.  Later he had a sleep over.

 We are so lucky to have nice friends that live in our neighborhood and share their pool with us!!  Thanks Madeira's.  Here the boys are staying cool in the pool and having fun with all sorts of tricks.  Some of the Hebert boys are here too at Tyler's pool.  (Heberts are a family of 4 boys, mostly same ages as my boys.  They moved here from New Hampshire last fall.  Its been a pleasure getting to know them.  They are a great addition to our ward family here in MD.)

 Princess Fiona all stretched out!  She is funny looking when she sleeps like this.  She looks like a hot dog doggie.  Below are pics at Hampton Beach, NH.  We visited Greg's oldest brother (Nate) and his family.  - This was just before and during July 4th. 

 Since I had the dog with me I couldn't go on this side of the beach where the boys were playing in the ocean.   I did my best getting some shots of them having fun body surfing, boggie boarding and just trying to stay warm in that awful cold water.  (July 3-4th it got warmer and I actually got all the way into the water.  Im not a beach lover, well- not an ocean lover; maybe if the water was warmer.) 

A tree branch in Nate's yard needed to be brough down.  Here Bob and Greg are working on it.  They actually had to leave some of it up.  It was too high to reach.

Here is the happy couple enjoying a lovely sunset.   Below are awesome sand sculptures from a contest they had during the holiday break.  We also ate some of Blinks fried dough.  Our friends the Heberts told us about it.  It was a nice treat but it reminded me and my boys of my homemade fried dough that I believe is just as good! 

Guess which one of these won first place?

no

no

no

                                                             
                                                                          yes (this one below)

no

Here we cross a big bridge to get to Kitty Hawk Maine and the Yummy candy store.

 Alia likes chocolate!

 Walking back at the beach.

 Alia likes to help walk Fiona.

 Im so missing my hunk of love right now.  This is a good pic. of him.  After our family vacation he flew out on a 2 week business trip. 

So, Nate took us up Mt. Major in Alton, NH. It overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee. (We didnt' venture up Mt. Washinton this time but maybe next time we will hit the Presidential Mts.)

 Payton says he's got the whole world in his hands!

 Gray still looking a little swollen from his oral surgery.  This hike was like a week after he had all 4 wisdom teeth taken out.  He is on meds. and actually doing quite well at this point.  The first 4 days were the toughest. 

 What a beautiful couple!   It was windy up here and a little chilly, but really a beautiful day for a hike.  Payton, Noah and I picked some wild blueberries that were at the top.  Greg and I really like hiking and I think we have decided we will do as much as possible in our lifetime together.  Hopefully we can hit a trail in every state!

                   What a handsome crew!  It sure was nice to see more of New Hampshire.   On the drive back Nate took us by a favorite restaraunt "Wild Willy's" and we ate some delicious hamburgers.   http://www.wildwillysburgers.com/territories.cfm     (If you're ever up there it's worth the stop.) 
(Sorry no pics of Dar and Garrin this time.  That was thoughtless of me.)                  
                                              

End of school part 2

I've decided to divide up this post into 2 because I have a couple videos to add and I don't want to overload one post. So this post will conclude school days.  (Oh, before I forget, I took an important Praxis test in April.  In May, I found out I passed all 3 tests!  It was totally a miracle and I praised the Lord the day I found out.  Now I can continue on the long path of certifying to teach here in MD.)

 I was able to attend one of Payton's fieldtrips.  This one was at Historic London Towne & Gardens http://www.historiclondontown.com/ .   They have recreated an early Pilgrim settlement where William Brown's house still stands.  As you can see our tour guides are the ones all dressed up in historic garb and the students all had a chance to dress up too.  (see below) Payton was William Brown!  (He is standing to far left, top row.)

 Not such a great picture of Payton and I because of the sun but Im glad it wasn't a rainy day! 

 Hard to see Owen umpiring, but that is him behind the plate waiting for the next batter.  He and Gray did well umpiring.   This was their first season.  Gray didn't think the extra 5 dollars to umpire behind the plate was worth the stress of making the calls.  Owen didn't mind as much.  It sure is a test of confidence to call out strikes, etc. 

 Noah's team won in their age group!!  My boys oft times are on the wining team; lucky for them.    (As Bro. Shumway has said at church, "We are all on the wining team!")  All my boys have great eye/hand coordination and are good pitchers!  I'm proud of how they are good sports as they work with their team throughout the season.

 Below, Payton's team is leaving the field after wining a playoff game that took them to semifinals.  They end up loosing at semifinals but really had an amazing season.  Their team learned to work together and Payton became a very valuable player!  He also go new sports glasses this season to help him compete better. 

Below are a couple video's of our trip up to NY for Memorial Day weekend. 

Greg has been playing tennis lately.  (I'll have to attend a match and get a pic.)  He struggled with a hurt knee at first but has since gotten over it.  Work has been good and he finally got a promotion!  Yipee!  Im sure sometime this year he will get himself an Ipad that he has been wanting but so far I've held him off.;)  He continues to teach Sunday School for 14-15 year olds.  (Gray is in the class.)  I get to sub when he is out of town, but sometimes he arranges his own sub.

End of School 2012

Wow, I just can't keep up with time!   Its already mid June- Fathers Day.  (actually, now its mid July)

So first I want to share how fortunate I am to have a fabulous husband who is a great father to our children.  I was looking back at some family home videos with my boys today and I just love the memories it evokes.  Greg has always loved being a father and so he has enjoyed spending time with our boys in various activities.  Mostly its all sports related; but how lucky they are to have a fun father who is more than a "big brother".   Greg teaches so much by example; he is patient and compassionate.

So, what has happened since April?  I can't remember it all!  Our puppy has gotten bigger and our boys have gotten bigger... that's a given.  Owen sounds like a young man now!  13 years of age is the magic year of puberty in this household.  Noah and Payton have so much to look forward to!  ;)

The boys finished a great year of school.  Gray did excellent in his first year of high school.  His freshman year was a success!  All A's and B's and he did this while attending early morning seminary and doing sports.  Owen progressed well in reading!  He had a special class with a great teacher (Mrs. Eckinrode) to help him overcome some weaknesses and he overcame them!!  His MSA scores reflect it too!  Noah is my most witty eventhough his shyness keeps him from speaking out too much but he is like his father and never has to study much to get a good grade.  I hope he can keep it up when he goes to high school, (in 2 years we shall see if he is more like me).  Payton did much better with behavior this year.  It seems that behavior in Elementary school is graded more than actual knowledge but as a teacher I know if its not delt with in Elementary school it poses more problems for students in the future.  Payton also got very good marks in all his classes.   I am proud of all my boys! 

Looking back at my calendar (which has notes of my life) I am reminded of baseball season.  How could I have forgotten!  Alot has happened so I will sum it up best I can.  I have some pics to go with this so I need to add them now and go back to adding text; that's how this blog works for me.  Also, Gray and Owen did a spring basketball league.  Coach Tucker has really helped Owen progress his basketball skills.  Gray broke his hand so he was out part of the time. 

Happy Mother's Day picture.  Don't you love their smiles!  Greg surprised me with my very own Iphone which I expected but he gave it to me a week early!  My old cell phone wasn't working and I guess he knew the jig was up and he didn't want to wait long to give me my new phone with my same old number!  Thanks Greg!  Love you!!  (Other things that happened- I gave a talk on Mother's Day; I did Teacher Appreciation Luncheon for Sykesville Middle May 10th and they both went well.)

I continue to work at the Daly's home once or twice a week.  Im a nanny + do a little chores around the house.  My friend, Chriss, is a mother of 8.  Her last 2 are 15 months apart and so I get to spend most of my time with these two cuties! 

Payton and I attended our neighbors son's 1st bday at our local Piney Run park.  Dominic is a doll.   I realized we don't utilize our park enough.  Its only 1 mile away and very pretty!

End of May, Gray got his braces off.  Here are some before and after shots. May 24th the tops came off, then a week later 31st the bottoms also came off. 

About the last week of May, Owen had a day off of school- kind of.  He participated in an all day county track-n-field event.   He ran the 100 dash and a couple other races and a relay.  He got some awards.  (i'll ask him what else- I forgot already.)   Here is one clip of him.  He is the closest runner to me, my side of the track.