Raingutter Regatta 2013

This year Hughes entered The Black Raven into the regatta.  I would like to say he worked on it for weeks but, honestly, he did it the morning of.  The regatta is something our cubscout troop does every year during the Fall Family Campout.  We did not campout this year do to the strong chance of rain. (thank goodness).

Monkey see, monkey do.  The little brothers had to get in on the action, too.

Hughes turns 8!

Hughes is 8!  For his birthday this year, we kept it small.  He picked four friends to go to Chuck E. Cheese and Sweet Frog.  It was a perfect party.

BecBec was here and she surprised Hughes with an Oreo ice cream cake.  Holy moly, that thing was good.

Super excited about Chima legos.

And, these crazy pictures are right after he read his birthday note:  You're going to Lego Land!

Hughes picked Jackson, Keegan, Samantha, and Avery to go to his birthday party.  We didn't do the official bday package.  Instead, we focused on pizza and tokens.  The kids loved it and, man, can they go through some tokens!

Somehow we lucked out at Sweet Frog.  They were running a B1G1 promotion.  Score one for Mom & Dad!

Not the best family picture but it was after Chuck E. Cheese with 7 kids.

Party crew

Birthday doughnuts

Hughes is still very much into Legos.  He recently discovered all of the online directions of different Lego kits.  That has kept him busy a lot of afternoons.  He is doing great in speech and at the last meeting there was talk of dismissal at the end of 2nd grade.  I never thought we would reach this point. The kid has been in speech since he was 2 so this is a major accomplishment.  We love his speech teacher, Mrs. Greene.  

He is liking 2nd grade.  His main thing to work on is reading the directions and listening for directions. There have been plenty of times where he has gotten something wrong because he didn't read the directions.  Mrs. Prater tells me he is really quiet in class.  On the playground he chooses to make the rainbow loom bracelets with some other kids in this class.

Hughes, I love the boy you're growing up to be.  You have lots of empathy towards others and you're not afraid to say you're sorry.  I can see the wheels of your brain turning sometimes through your eyes when you are in deep thought.  You say some funny things with your dry sense of humor.  I hope you continue to gain confidence in yourself and know that Mom & Dad are behind you 100%!

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Soccer Season

Soccer season is still going strong.  The boys are both doing great.  Banks is aggressive and quick where Hughes chooses to hang back and play defense.

Collins turned 3!

My baby is 3?  How in the world did that happen?

We celebrated with a small family dinner and lots of birthday doughnuts.

Blowing out his candles.  Forget the cake, this family does Krispy Kreme.

Big brothers getting in on the action.

Collins loves Lightning McQueen, Francesco, Shu, Carla, Mater and all other Cars characters.  He is a great eater and typically out eats his big brothers.  We're working on potty training.  So far, he couldn't care less.  He loves school and wants to go every morning.  Lately, he has been interested in coloring which explains why my hardwoods in the office are multi-colored.  He also has a mad crush on Mrs. Erika and Avery (age 8), our  neighbors and friends two houses down.  He loves them and wants to go to their house all of the time.

We're waiting to hear back about whether he qualifies for speech services.  Other than that, this boy is easy and sweet as pie.

Collins, you make being your mama fun and easy.  I love your kisses and snuggles.  I love you to the  moon and back!

Mama