Camp Akela

Colton and I attended Camp Akela this summer for the first time and we had a blast!  It was so amazing to spend the entire weekend with Colton without little brother bothering him or steal all my attention.  It was this weekend that I realized how independent Colton is already and how soon it will be before he no longer needs his mama to help him at all.  We camped at Phillipo Scout Reservation in Cannon Falls for 3 days, 2 nights.  The weekend was very well organized and we had very little time to just sit and do nothing which was awesome.  We enjoyed activities such as swimming (after both of us passed our swim tests), crafts, archery, BB Guns, Pedal Carts, Fitness, First Aid and Safety, Canoeing, Ballistics, Climbing Wall and of course awesome meals in the dining hall!  I have to admit I wasn't sure how the weekend would be but I would do it again in a heartbeat.  It was so much fun and was a weekend I don't think either of us will forget anytime soon.  I am so happy I got to enjoy the weekend with Colton and hopefully we can go camping together a few more times before he is too cool for his mama!  

My Life in Pictures!

Here is my June Edition of My life in Pictures (these are all photos captured with my phone of my everyday life)!

 Mini Golfing with Grandma Yvonne over Memorial Weekend!

 Enjoying some smiles with my beautiful nephew!

 I spent 3 hours on a Friday night watching my niece dance at her recital!

 I was a chaperon for Colton's class on a field trip to MN Zoo.

 Baseball.... this is our life every Tuesday and Thursday night!

 Mason brought his Preschool Teacher flowers on the last day of school.

 Hanging with my favorite playing as his baseball tournament earlier this season.

 Can't pass up the ice cream man, one of our favorite things about summer!

 We spent an evening swimming with Uncle Brad at his place.  The boys thought the roof top pool (on 10th floor) was pretty awesome!

 Quality time with a good friend!

 So many other friends who shared a drink with me even if they couldn't be with me in person on a day that I knew was gonna be a rough one but one that still deserves to be celebrated as without that day in history I wouldnt have the things I do today!

 Exploring Downtown Eau Claire on a gloomy, rainy day!

 Love these two crazy kids!

 Sand Angels!  He has to find ways to entertain himself at the ball fields.

 Colton and I ran the Color Vibe 5K.  It poured on us and the weather was a little chilly but that didn't stop us from having a good time!

 June was another month of lots of landscaping.  I planted 18 hosta plants one day, all dug up and split from my sisters yard!

 Just relaxing one weekend, this is the life!

 My yard is in full bloom, it is gorgeous!

 Nothing beats an evening walk to the park, especially after a good rain storm!

Sometimes you need to stop and just take in all the beauty that surrounds us.  Life is short and everything can change in the blink of an eye, take in all the small details when you have the chance!

Congrats Grandpa!

Well my Grandpa has found a new love in his life and today he married her!  It isn't everyday that you get to witness a wedding between an 88 year old and his 90 year old new found love.  It was a small church ceremony with family and few friends in attendance.  Grandpa was his normal self, joking around and having a good time but not willing to smile for any pictures :)  My boys thought it was awesome to see their Great Grandpa get married and Mason immediately starting calling Milly his Grandma.  Some family members weren't as excited about this union, seeing it as unnecessary however I feel that is this what makes him happy then who are any of us to do anything but support him!    I guess this goes to prove that you are never too old to find love!  Congrats Grandpa and Milly, here's to spending the rest of your lives in the company of the one who makes you smile. 

 Grandpa and Milly and some of their kids.

Grandpa and Milly and their Grandkinds and Great Grandkids (of course this is not all of us but it does go to show just how big our family is)!

9 Years Old

I still can't believe it but Colton is 9 years old already.  He is a pretty awesome kid.  Although the last year has brought on a whole new set of emotions with him, I am hoping that turning nine brings some relief.  He cries very easily, he gets frustrated at times about things neither of us can understand (like sometimes just trying to tie his shoe will get him all worked up) and he is always worried about things that are way out of his control.  But it just shows what a sweet child he is.  Colton is always trying to doing his best, gets very down on himself when he cannot succeed the way he wishes he could.  He is a very caring and loving boy and never wants to see anyone else hurting.  He is a great big brother even when little brother is being the annoying little 4 year old that he can be. 

I have developed a bond with Colton that I didnt even know was possible.  He is such a young man and the things he understands and communicates about are usually far more than I ever thought a child his age could do.  He is always worried about me.  He has become very attached in the last year so we are really working on keeping our close relationship while him still staying independent and being able to enjoy his time when he is with friends or family instead of me.

We didn't do a big birthday party this year but instead Colton gets to go to San Diego for 6 days in July with Grandma, his aunt and of course me!   He asked for money for his birthday so he can go to all the cool places out there and he buy souvenirs without mom saying that they cost too much!

I am looking forward to watching Colton grow and develop as a 9 year old.  I am sure this next year will bring plenty of good times, new adventures and plenty of laughs.  I love you Colton, Happy 9th Birthday.

Last Day of 3rd Grade

Whoa, how did this happen so fast?  I swear he was just starting Kindergarten last Fall and now I officially have a 4th Grader!  It still seems surreal.  Colton did great in school this year. He was never tardy (which might not sound like much but last year he was tardy 16 times), he only missed 2 days of school (both were for a family vacation), he never complained about going to school but instead I think he fully enjoyed his 3rd Grade Year.  His teacher, Mrs Packard, was amazing!  She recognized the additional assistance that Colton needed with ready and made sure he got it.  In February we agreed to do some additional testing to see if Colton has a learning disability as his reading progress just wasn't what it should be.  Sure enough he does have a learning disability, which is nice to know and has really helped us to understand somethings we can be doing to help him.  It was fun to see his IQ scores and the breakdown.  90-110 is normal for his age, his overall IQ is 108.  His IQ in Math was at 121 and Comprehension was 114.  It was the reading that is bringing down his overall IQ as it at 78.  But with this information we were able to set up an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and he has an assigned case worker at school to be sure that we are tracking his progress and ensuring he gets all the help he needs to be successful.  He excels in areas like Math and Science, which have always been his strong points.  He never gave up this year, he tried so hard in everything he has done and for that we couldn't be more proud.  We are excited to enjoy our summer just hanging out and relaxing and hopefully doing plenty of reading so he doens't lose all the progress he has made.  Happy Last Day 3rd Grade Colton!

I love my Scout!

Well another year of Cub Scouting has come to an end.  The last couple months of scouting were very busy for us.  We were busy wrapping up everything we needed to do in order for the boys to earn the Bear Patch and move up to the next rank. But we also enjoyed some fun outings! 

We attended an all night lock in with our troop and pack - we had 53 kids locked in the church basement for an overnight of fun and craziness.  We set up tents for sleeping but the only ones who used them were the parents (and for only and hour or two at a time)!  We had plenty of games including Bean Bag Toss, Ring the Bottle, Tug of War and the new favorite Hungry Hungry Hippos (human style).   The boys challenged each other at Rope Climbing and when they needed a little down time they were to kick back with some electronics.  We had pizzas delivered at 9pm and enjoyed birthday cake at midnight.  It was a long night and the next day was hard but we survived!

We also built single engine rockets and launched them!  The boys loved this of course and I think the parents had just as much fun to be honest!

My den did some service hours by spending an evening packaging food for "Feed My Starving Children".   It was a great chance for the boys to give back to other kids around the world.  And it was nice for them to see that there are so many kids who don't have all the luxuriates that we have here.

We ended our year with a big Troop/Pack Picnic at a park.  We grilled burgers and hot dogs and the boys all brought an item to share.  We had more than enough food like always.  We handed out awards and badges.  My den all earned their Bear Patch and are officially Weblos.  We also enjoyed a water balloon fight and of course the Boy Scouts set up the trebuchet and launched candy for the younger scouts to collect!  This is always a favorite part of our end of year picnic.

 Above:  My Den!  I have really had a great year with these 8 boys!

Colton really enjoys scouts and I think he will stick with it for quite a while yet.  It isn't so demanding like some sports can be and the things he is learning he will carry with him well into his adult life.  I have to say that I also really enjoy being a Den Leader.  Sometimes it can be stressful with trying to plan den meetings and coordinate outings for the boys but it is also so rewarding.  The boys have learned so many great life lessons this year and they have bonded with each other so much as well.  And I have made some amazing friends through scouts too, some of whom I know will be friends of mine long after our boys are grown and out of the house.  Another year of scouting complete.  Colton and I will be attending Camp Akela this summer which should be a blast and then we will both be back next Fall to start another year of fun with our den.