Gymnastics try out

A few weeks ago we joined Colby and Paige at their gymnastics class for a trial run...Really, we were just filling our long summer days, but Ry had so much fun doing it! And, it is always a good idea to get the little boy energy out...out of the house! I didn't get any actual pics so here are a couple videos.

I had some real "proud mama" moments last week. Ryland participated in a soccer camp - his first real, organized sports program. He will be in the local soccer league beginning in August and this was a great way to get him started. He LOVES to play soccer and really learned a lot of great skills this week! I must say, he is quite a natural! I am so proud - I played soccer all growing up and can't describe how fun it is to watch him play now!

On the last day, the kids were encouraged to bring dress-up clothes and the coach had to wear the items....the kids had a great time, and Coach Mark was a really great sport!

Coach Mark didn't end up wearing the wig we brought, so Selah wore it instead! Gorgeous hair, Selah-Bear!

The camp was run by Challenger Sports and they bring British coaches that play semi-pro in England to teach the kids. I was so impressed by them and how well they interacted with the kids. It was so funny, too, because by the end of the week, the kids had picked up a bit of the accent. :) I must say that I was a little nervous about it because we didn't know what to expect,

but this was such a great experience and we are so happy we did it!

4th of July

We had a fun and relaxing 4th this year. We just had a couple friends over for BBQ and fireworks. This was Ry's first REAL experience with doing fireworks and he LOVED it.... of course!

Colby, Ryland, Felicity
Selah, Paige, Callie

Smoke bombs!

The boys were not too fond of the loud ones!

Buddies. Ryland tells me that Colby is his brother. So cute. :)

Old school sparklers were way better! These ones didn't work too well, but they got the idea.

See our dance party below!

Graduation Day...the pictures

Here are the pics from Ry's graduation...I posted earlier about the day. He is so great!

so thrilled to have their pic taken!

We met with these friends just about every day after school to play under the cherry tree...

Dad's Day

Ryland said to me the other day: "We are having Father's Day. It is just like Mother's day. But for Dad's." I love the circular reasoning of this explanation. :)

For Father's day this year, we went to lunch with my mom and dad, and the Weichel's at Sylvina's Basket for a Mexican lunch buffet. It was SOOO yummy and really nice to visit with everyone. Then, the guys went golfing - this was Ryland's first real golf experience...Brad said he did great and was really able to keep up. Watch out Tiger! :)

I think he may have his sports mixed up!

Graduation Day...

Today is a strange day for emotions. Today is my dad's last day at the Woodland Police Department. Today is the last day of preschool for Ryland. For both of them, it is Graduation Day. My dad, graduates to a new stage, retirement, a little bit uncertain, a little bit anxious, but excited and eager for the next thing. His impact in our community was evident on Saturday night at a party we threw for him ( I will post more on that later). I know he will continue to work and touch the lives of those around him - he just can't help it - but it is still so weird the the chapter of the Department is now closed. I love you, Dad - you are great at what you do, all of it, and I look forward to seeing what you do next!

As for Ry, I know, it is "just preschool" and there are many more graduations to come, but I can't help but be a little nostalgic for my baby...my Ry-Guy who is such a big boy! Kindergarten starts August 10th and he turns five on the 12th. It is hard to express my feelings about this, as they are all cliche... It is so great to watch him grow and become the man I know he will be...

Brad and I also just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary...what a difference 6 years makes! :) We've come a long, long way, Baby! I love you, always and forever.

Palm Springs

So, this post doesn't have any kids in it...that's because we were able to go away for the weekend without them (Thanks mom and dad!)...Don't get me wrong, of course we love spending time with the kiddos, but when we spend time just for ourselves it makes us better parents, better people.

The trip was actually a "reward" trip... Brad was one of a group of people from his work who reached a certain amount of revenue in a certain amount of time and this trip to Palm Springs was the goal! He is so good at his job and I get to enjoy the perks sometimes! So he went ahead a few days for conferencing (yeah, right) and I flew down on Friday. We came home Sunday, refreshed, rested, relaxed...


The view from our balcony

The view from our front door.

Lazy river...