climbing the mountain

 See that mountain behind Allen and Claire?  We have wanted to figure out how to get to the rock part , where we have seen a few people before, for awhile now.  Then this summer one of Carter's friends called him from it and said he could see our dock.

So we found out how to get there and set off one summer night.  I packed a back pack with water bottles as we didn't know how hard the hike would be.  We found the road we needed to start on.  We ignored the sign and set off.  Little did we know that it was more of a walk than a hike.  So quickly we were there...

 We had a great time looking over our little part of the lake that we have spent so many hours on.  Carter did some research and found out there was also a cave not to far from the lookout  point.  So, we headed over there and explored a little.

 Then we went back and enjoyed the sunset.  It was a great night with the family.

cliff jumping

Carter has been taking lots of video with his GoPro this summer.  On his list was to go to the high cliffs and jump the approximately 40 foot cliff.  He and Jared braved the climb up and made the jump.  Carter is the one holding the blue thing that is holding his GoPro.  Jared was very nervous and we saw his famous "I want to do this but I don't know if I can make myself" face.  After about 30 minutes and four jumps from Carter, Jared finally took the plunge.  I love when a child faces a fear head on. They both loved it and we have gone back and Jared has not hesitated to jump.  Carter got some great video and was able to finally jump with out screaming.  They said they felt like they were in the air forever. I love the last picture, of Jared, as he is just about to hit the water.  You can see his reflection in the water.  I bet if we zoomed in he would have his "I'm going to die" face.

summer 2012 recap

I didn't blog about all of our summer activities, so here is a peek at some of our fun:

went to the Sexton's beach house

surfed behind our new boat-Allen and Claire!

enjoyed watching the sun go down

we got close to our dog

we introduce Max to the boat-he loves it

we went to metcalf bottoms

we swam on the swim team-Carter and buddies getting psyched for their race

went to the mountain for a weekend with friends

Jared wanted his buzz back, so Allen had some fun first

Carter had a pool party on the last day of school-40 kids!!  Co-ed!

 By the end of the summer the boys really got a hang of the wake surfing and could go several minutes without holding on.  Here is Carter:

kid's day

So, I was trying to think of something fun for the kids to do this summer and I thought about how their favorite thing about a cruise is the endless food.  So I decided to give them a "kid's day".  A day that they could eat whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.  I would not say a word.  And they could not say a word if they got a stomach ache.  Then I added that we would go to the store and let them each pick 5 things to have on hand for that day.  From left to right: Jared, Carter and Claire.  It was funny to see what they picked.  Cheetos Puffs-I never buy them because they are so messy-Claire loves them.  Lucky Charms-I don't buy sugary cereal, or pop tarts for that matter.  I buy Yorks, but they are mine and I'm stingy about sharing.  They really enjoyed going to the store, they got their own cart and shopped by themselves while I bought real food.  I would cross their path and they would show me their finds, so excited!  They enjoyed their day of feasting.  No stomach aches.  They were pretty controlled actually. 

Pool Fun

Some pool fun with Carter, Jared, Claire and their cousin, Allie!

beating the heat

It has been in the 90's for about 3 weeks now. It started right before Memorial Day and it is going strong. So, with our summer starting out so hot, we have had no choice but to spend every day at our pool with family and friends. Here are some pictures from our Memorial Day/Allie's birthday bash.

I love summer....heat and all.

laundry

I kind of forgot I still had to do laundry in the summer

bye-bye summer, bye-bye boat

As the summer ends and we are in the throngs of school, soccer and cross country, it's almost time to say good-bye to our boat. We still have about a month left of good boating weather, but because of said activities, our time on it has been less and less. Because of Allen's job, we don't travel a lot in the summer. And so we spend a lot of time on the boat. We have made some of the best memories on our boat. And so I am posting some favorite pictures and telling some favorite times: Jared's big grin when he got up and stayed up on the wake board. Allen's grin as he improved his jumps this year. Claire on the knee board as Jared held it steady behind her, the kids on the tubes-they love to do "tricks" when it is going slow enough. And Carter loves to do a "crazy ride" where he and his tube will be perpendicular to the water and he still holds on. (He is the daredevil of the family) Swimming around with my family in our not so pretty lake. Watching beautiful sunsets. It was a great summer...I can't wait until next year.

Harry Potter Mania

Now that it is summer, my boys have gotten into reading the Harry Potter books(Carter read the first one during the school year, but was too busy with his school reading to read anymore). It's kind of an obsession actually. But I'm not complaining, if they want to be obsessed about reading, I'm all for it. We are planning on having a Harry Potter book club/party with some cousins who are also reading them. Until then, Carter has taken it upon himself to makeshift all the bedrooms to be different "houses" of H.P. and he "sorts" any kid that comes to play into different houses. If you are too young to know what's going on you get put into Slytherin (sorry Claire). He has also been known to teach a few classes, like transfiguration. The picture is of the boys reading on our screened-in porch which has become the reading room somehow. Occasionally they get to have a yummy Popsicle while reading and that is when Claire seems to appear out of nowhere (I'll post later on Claire's bottomless stomach). It's been a fun thing for the summer. Jared just finished #2 and Carter is reading #4. The deal is when they have read the book, then they can watch the movie. Jared is watching #2 in our media room as I type. I have read all the books and have been waiting on them to watch the movies with them, so it has been great for me too. Allen is reading the books now along with the kids and amazing them when he read one in 2 days. Show off.