West Yellowstone - the quick trip

We made a quick trip up to West Yellowstone to be with Shayne's family.  It was a week long event - we just couldn't stay the full week.  Due to lack of cell service while in the park, we got Grandma to ourselves for a whole day - that was sweet!  Love our family!  Just wish everyone lived next door - that would be oh so nice.

We saw lots of bears on this first day in the park - but our favorite was seeing two bears wrestle (play).  The camera makes it look really far away - it was plenty far away to feel safe out of our car - but really - it wasn't this far.  I zoomed in a couple pics to give you an idea of what we saw - that really was spectacular.

Summer kick-start

I didn't take very good pics of this event - but Cole had been saving all of his homework this year for an end of year burning event.  We went with our neighbors and cooked our dinner and then burned the pile of homework.  Cole cracks us up!

I also hosted Cole's group for our neighborhood kid book club for the month of June.  We read a simplified version of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and I had a great conversation with 6 young boys about the book.  We then built small rafts out of popsicle sticks and created a river down our driveway with tin foil.  My boys can say I officially did something cool this summer.  We had a great time doing this!

Swim Team

Hunter has done the recreational swim team for the past 3 years in our community rec center.  And of course, he wanted to do it again this year.  One week before tryouts - we somehow convinced Cole to try out too.  It really wasn't because of anything Hunter or I said - it was simply doable because his best friend, Connor, was trying out.  Peer pressure can be a great thing.  I signed up Cole for a couple of swim lessons to help him learn Breast Stroke fast!  The tryout consisted of 25 yds of 3 different strokes - he didn't know the breast stroke yet.  So, he swam and swam and practiced and practiced - he really worked hard.  If you know Cole well, you'll know that doing anything physical is a stretch for him - he'd rather not be like his big brother.  At his tryout - he passed the backstroke, the freestyle but last minute decided to try the butterfly stroke (he knew that the breast stroke was not working for him).  He actually did really well, but had some flutter kicks in there and did not pass.  He practiced again and was able to re-try his tryout the next week (a kind coach) - still no pass.  BUT HE TRIED!!!  He never complained about the practice or the lessons - he really worked hard.  I know that when Cole puts his mind to something - he's a hard worker.  It was such a joy as a mom to see this quality shine through despite the turn-out.  Maybe he'll try again next year - maybe.  The nice thing is, he's sleeping in till 9 or 10 every morning this summer - and that would not have been possible with swim team practice!  But the best thing is knowing that when he wants to work hard, he really works hard.

End of school

Danny has officially graduated from Preschool.  I'm a little embarrassed by the pomp and circumstance, but Ms. Heather did a fantastic job of making every kid feel SUPER special and loved.  I'm so grateful Danny went to her preschool this year!  He got to announce what he wants to be when he grows up - "a policeman, because they have cool weapons".  He also reminded me several times before the big event that just because he said that, doesn't mean he has to be that - he can change his mind.  He told me that he really wants to be a daddy.

Danny with two of his best buddies.

Here is a pic of the last day of school for the two big boys - they've all grown a lot this year!  Now let the summer begin!