A Few More Things Happened in August

It might be fall but there are still some summer things that happened that are worth mentioning.  This was the summer Landon and Parker became OBSESSED with Nerf guns.  Landon shops for them online, watches nerdy Nerf videos on YouTube, and does all his jobs with the sole purpose of earning money for his next Nerf gun.  It's annoying.  One time Marcus and Ethan couldn't take it anymore and decided to hide all the guns.  They wouldn't even tell me where they were hidden because they knew I'd cave in and return them.  It was a blissful few days for our family while Landon was obssession-less, but all good things must come to an end.

Landon's collection and he still wants more.  The day he outgrows this phase can't come soon enough

Another noteworthy event was that Ethan started playing football for the first time.  He is the smallest kid on his team but he's got a lot of heart and his coaches love him.  They call him Mighty Mouse and put him on the defensive line.  If he does his job right, he's the guy that gets past the big blockers to sack the quarterback.  And he's done it!  He's fast and stays low and gets the job done.  Occasionally I see him flying through the air when he gets thrown ten yards by a big, beefy kid but Ethan hops right back up and is ready for more.  I told him he could only play football on the condition that he prays for safety and protection before every practice and game.  So far so good!

His size makes him easy to spot

Marcus is playing soccer for a club team.  They have practices two nights a week with games on Saturdays that miraculously don't conflict with Ethan's football games.  He's a force to be reckoned with and can dribble the ball from one end of the field, dodging players left and right as he sprints down to the goal for a shot.  We were late to last week's game because of a scout camp out so Marcus's coach called in a panic and was relieved to hear we were minutes away.  I'm doing way too much bragging about my boys here but I promise it's all legitimate.  At least from a mother's perspective anyway!

Marcus is the boy with his head in his heads, upset over their loss by one point

Speaking of scout camp outs, Randy and Marcus have gone on a few of those this summer.  REI is very thankful.  I'm waiting for the day when we've accumulated enough camping gear that we won't need to buy anything for a camping trip but I have a feeling that day may never come.  But I sure am grateful Randy is willing to take a bunch of thirteen year-olds into the mountains and rough it while I'm home sleeping in my very comfortable bed. It's a sacrifice that is not lost on me and Marcus has no idea how lucky he is.  Most of his friend's dads are more than happy to let Randy do the work.

first overnighter backpacking trip

I can't let Randy and Marcus have all the fun so during one of their camp outs Ethan and Landon ran in a kids mud run.  It was the first time this event has been done and it all happened at the park behind our house.  They ran through a bunch of obstacles and finished with a crawl through the mud at the end.  They were pretty proud of themselves and naturally took the whole thing very seriously.  It was cute.  They'd say it was tough, dirty, and manly.  Whatev.

Proud Finishers

Getting the mud off by running through the fire hose

 I'm finishing off the last summer post with this beautiful picture of the sunset at Pine Lake.  We were there for my friend's 40th birthday celebration eating Cafe Rio on their floating dock.  It was one of my most favorite things we did all summer, and not just because there weren't any kids involved. The lake was so peaceful as we slowly floated around under that beautiful sunset.  Gradually the stars came out and we stayed out in the middle of the lake until late into the night talking and laughing by lantern light.  It was a perfect way to end the summer.