Pancakes, A Parade and lots of Fireworks

Our little town goes all out on the 4th of July. There's a pancake breakfast, a parade, wake boarding competitions and fireworks on the lake in the evening. We opted for pancakes at home, then headed over to the parade. Just about every single person in town comes out to watch and by the end the crowd follows behind the parade into the main plaza where there's a big party. Later in the day we joined neighbors for a BBQ and Jim made the best ribs EVER! (The recipe is from the July issue of Bon Appetit and its aptly titled "Best ever BBQ Ribs"). After setting off fireworks in the street, we all hopped into the boat and enjoyed a night of fireworks. The weather was absolutely perfect and it was an all around classic 4th of July celebration.

Golf Cart Cruisin'

Visiting the Dallas cousins

The art of relaxation

Talus is a master of relaxation.( Except when the doorbell rings)!
We are all enjoying the relaxed pace of summer.The boys have definitely not missed getting up for school. They wake up, sit in bed and read for a long time before they even begin thinking about breakfast.

Last Day of School

A little outside dinner

This was one of our dinners last week....chicken kabobs in lettuce cups. A very attractive looking presentation (and very healthy) but the recipe needs a little tweaking. It was a nice night, so we ate outside. We are loving the fireplace and outdoor patio. And the boys are loving how often we do smores. I think a good summer project will be working on creative smores recipes. 

Field Day...a story in two parts

Sean's class did slightly different events than the older kids but it was just as entertaining to watch. I think every kid out there was smiling and laughing.

Field Day!

I was a volunteer at some of the events so I got a close up view of the action. The weather cooperated and we had a perfect day. Looking through the pictures of Jackson running in the different events, I was reminded of the photos I took of Talus from our beach day a few months ago. He was having a ball and it made me so happy just watching him.

Over the weekend

Lacrosse and baseball are winding down. The boys have both played really well but it was very apparent on Saturday that we are at the end of the season. You may not be able to tell, but in the lacrosse photo Jackson and his friend Reese were using their lacrosse sticks as guitars (music was blaring from over head speakers during their warm up).  Sean's game started out with a bang...lots of hits, good fielding, etc. But by the last inning, the kids were done. I looked out and most of the kids were talking to their friends, playing with dirt or gazing off in the distance. Sean appears to be focused but he was napping behind his glove.
Jackson had a lacrosse tournament all afternoon on Saturday so Sean worked his way through the new Rick Riordan book.
Finally, there was a delicious raspberry buttermilk cake to end the weekend:  http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/05/raspberry-buttermilk-cake/

Recipe from the smitten kitchen blog. It was a crowd pleaser and gone in 2 days!

Hey,batter batter!!

Last night was Sean's first night pitching...

A little holiday bike ride

Brothers

It's interesting to watch the brother relationship change yet somehow stay  the same. They seem to cycle through having fun together, fighting , having fun, getting irritated with the other...sometimes all in one day. But regardless of how awful the day has been, they always go back to being friends.  They still share a room and listening to them chatting at night can be a revealing insight on the closeness they share. They don't always show their affection in obvious ways but it's reassuring to know they truly are friends.

Favorite places

This is our fifth (or sixth?) time visiting the Hood Canal. There are no malls, no franchise restaurants, no crowds...just the the simple things that make a great vacation:  fresh air, beautiful views, a beach to play on (and dig in), gorgeous sunsets, great food, kayaking, trails to explore and as a bonus, lots of friends to play with. We were here for Jim's annual work retreat so it includes all the partners and their families. Fortunately for us, there's a great group of boys (and great parents too) all about the same ages. It's a non-stop play date all weekend long.

Good busy

The weekend was good...finally we have sun and warmth which means everyone is outside. We have been eating dinner outside as much as possible, the boys have had lacrosse and baseball games, we had the boat out for the first time on Sunday, the neighborhood kids are all out riding bikes...lots of good stuff. The boys surprised me with a cooking class on Mother's Day. It was a 3 hours hands on class for kids and parents taught at a local cooking school. Very fun! I wish I had taken photos of the many yummy things we made, but most of the class was spent chopping, mixing, and enjoying the food so there wasn't much time for pictures. Saturday night was the team banquet for the boys swim team and we enjoyed a fun night visitng with friends and appreciating the accomplishments of all the swimmers. All in all, it was a weekend with the right balance of business and downtime. We don't always hit upon that balance. Sometimes we are over scheduled ( and grumpy) , sometimes people are bored and the weather  limits our choices. But sometimes just by chance, it comes together and the weekend truly feels like a weekend.

Sunshine and fun

A balmy April day...

...actually not exactly balmy. But it felt warm enough that some people wore bathing suits and got in the water. The adults preferred activities near, but not IN the water. This was last Saturday. It's looking like this weekend may be a bit closer to balmy. But I'm still not planning on getting in the water unless I'm wearing a wet suit!!

Saturday lacrosse

This is Jackson's first season of lacrosse and he has really enjoyed it so far. He's getting better each week. It's a fun game to watch even though I don't completely understand all the rules and regulations. Sean's baseball game was at the exact same time as lacrosse so no bball photos this week.