Summer catch up edition...

Wow, almost a month since my last post.  I do believe that's a new record.  It seems the older the boys get, the crazier our summers get and I'm lucky to sit down for 10 minutes.  I probably have 100 photos taken in the last month and not sure most of them will ever find their way to this blog (although they did make their way to Facebook, at least).  Its been pool days, playdates, movies, losing half a tree to major storm damage, bbq's, summer camp for Logan, parties and the usual daily grind of house stuff.

I've missed you, my little blog.

Let's review the past few weeks and get all caught up on the highlights, shall we?

• Swim team has continued for the boys, with meets twice a week and practice five days a week.  Its been a great experience again, and Logan has loved his first year.  He is slowly getting faster and faster, and learning the strokes. Dylan has been competing in Butterfly for the first time this season and while he still has some form to learn, he's improving a lot too.   We have only two more weeks before the season ends.

• Towards the end of June, we headed over to the eastern shore of Maryland where my dear friend Jay lives.  He invited some other friends and family, got a bushel of crabs and we let the kids run in the sprinkler while we feasted and toasted to old friendships.  I've known most of these guys since we were in middle school.  I love that we still get together, trying to stay young by remembering the good ole days and letting our kids romp.

• Once again, Logan's ferritin levels came back low (the same as the whole past year) despite all the iron supplements.  We know because of this, he still suffers from his sleep disorder and that in turn causes some of his behavioral challenges.  After going through this for the past year, with very little progress, our pediatrician thought it was time to take him to Children's National Medical Center to the Genetics department.  We've tried many other specialists to date and no one has been able to figure out what is preventing his body from absorbing iron.  The high dose of iron prescribed by his sleep doctor starting causing stomach issues, so our pediatrician told us to stop with the supplements for now.  No reason to aggravate his stomach until we go to CNMC and see if they can offer any insight to the situation.  Our appointment is August 1st and we've been busy emailing them all of his bloodwork history and medical information.  Crossing our fingers for some good clues that will help us understand.

• At the very end of June/beginning of July, I threw the kids in the car and we headed down to my Dad and Bobbie's for a few days of boating, fishing and swimming.  Always a good time, and so much time on the water is always fun and appreciated by my aqua boys.  Dad set up a shooting range in the backyard and the boys were in heaven shooting his pellet gun.  Dylan proved to be quite the shot.  And Bobbie make Logan an early birthday cake to celebrate #6.

• Next up was a spontaneous day spent at Watermelon Park campground, right on the Shenandoah River, for a July 4th celebration.  The water the cool, the beer was cold, and the burgers were juicy.   The day was almost dampered by Andrew's wedding ring slipping off his finger into the sandy bottom of the river.  But we all searched and searched, and the tenacity paid off when Arianna, our friends' daughter, found the ring buried in the bottom of the river.   Needless to say, we were hugely relieved when it was found.  I had it designed by an artist when we got married 12 years ago and it was very special.  It wouldn't have been the same to have to replace it.

• Our little Logan turned 6 on July 8th.  6!  I still can't believe it.  In some ways, it seems like time has flown by and in other ways, it seems a million years ago I held him my arms to inhale that sweet baby smell.  He is still willing to let me cuddle him and even falls asleep in my arm, from time and time.  I know this will be a big year for him, starting 1st grade and making new friends.  Lots to look forward to.  We had his birthday party at his taekwondo school over the weekend and it was a great time.  Mom, Robby, Chris, Jess and the twins came out too!

• Once swim season ends, we'll leave for vacation at the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  We've been looking forward to this since the winter and I can't wait to get my toes in the sand!  That trip will surely deserve its own blog post, as we hope to go on many adventures and show the boys the huge sand dunes, the Wright Brothers Memorial, canoe in the Sound, visit the Aquarium, and enjoy some gnarly seafood.

• Once we're back, we'll have 27 more days of summer until school begins.  And its a good thing, cuz I still have lots left on my Summer Fun list of stuff to do!

swim season! Go Lightning!

Summer, summer, summer is here.  We put Logan on the same swim team Dylan did last summer, and both boys are LOVING it.  We weren't really sure Logan could even make it across the pool but he's done amazing so far and gets better every day, thanks to his awesome coaches.  His confidence has grown so much!!

Practice started two weeks before the end of school, and now that school is out its switched to every morning at 9 am for an hour.  This year, even more friends from our school and neighborhood have joined the team and its pretty much a big social hour at every practice and meet. All that aside though, our team has incredible coaches and they're so patient and enthusiastic with the kids.  The kids really strengthen their skills in the pool, and get to do it while having so much fun.  There are two meets a week (Wed nights and Saturday mornings).  All the parents volunteer to make the meets run smoothly and we all cheer for each others kids. 

This has been the one sport so far that really clicks for Dylan.  Its a team environment, but he can earn ribbons for beating his own times. That really resonates with him, and he's just always loved the water.   Now it appears Logan loves it just as much, and he can't wait to get in that pool every morning. And me... well, I've become a crazy swim team mom who lets her kids paint the car windows before meets and gets hoarse from cheering them down the pool.

Last night was our first meet of the season, and it will run through the end of July.  As a brand new swimmer, Logan was scheduled to compete in freestyle, but not scheduled to be in relay event at the end (four swimmers take turns to beat other teams of four).  They had an open spot and we were still at the meet since Dylan was in a scheduled relay with the 9/10's, so Logan was jumping to do it.  I was so  proud of his spirit and desire to get in the pool, in the dark, and swim that lap.  He is one of the youngest kids on the swim team and its great to see him enjoying it, learning so much, and making new friends. 

I can't imagine not doing a swim team every summer now, we always will as long as our boys love it.  Its a family you belong to during the summer, and fills your days with such fun!

Here are some photos and video clip from swim season so far, with many more to come in the weeks ahead!  So far, Dylan's back stroke seems to be his fastest and favorite stroke.  Logan is learning backstroke, and has to catch up, but he's holding his own at age 5!  Dylan is now 9, so he has to swim 50 meters (up and back across the pool), while Logan only has to swim a 25 meter.

Here is Logan's first ever attempt to cross the pool without help.  This was during a practice swim meet, when Coach Ruth was allowed to be in the pool with him and encourage him (but not touch or help unless he panicked).  He did great!  A pool length is a long way for such a tiny person!  I didn't breath the entire time he was swimming... And he made it!

Dylan and his good friend J.

I think he looks like Adam Sandler in Big Daddy (Scuba Steve)...what do you think?

A rare moment of brotherly love.  I love that we can all share this together, its such great family togetherness!

Here is Dylan's freestyle last night...

All the kids just hang together between events to eat candy, duel each other on their DS's and basically run like hooligans!

team cheer before the meet!

Lined up right before the relay he didn't even know he'd be swimming!

last day to ride the kindergarten bus

Is this guy ready for first grade or what?

first day/last day

Well, today Dylan got on the bus for the last time as a third grader. In a little bit, Logan will step onto the bus for his last journey to kindergarten.  How did the year fly by so fast?  And yet it seems like SO much happened in this last school year.  I get sentimental as these milestones come upon us.

The things they've learned this year, wow!  All the friends they've made, books they've read, field trips, life lessons, and all the fun.  I try to make sure I remind the boys often how lucky they are to live here and be a part of such a friendly, loving and supportive school.

Today I'll have a few more hours of peace and quiet, and then summer vacation will officially arrive with all its splishy splashy sticky promises.  Popsicles, swim team, movies, playdates, Slip-n-Slides, ice cream, visits with Grandma and Grampa, picnics at the pool, trips to the beach, putt putt golf, books to read, games to play, camps, parties, and sometimes in August, we'll print off the list of school supplies and get them ready for school again.

Here is Dylan on the first day of third grade last fall:

And here he is yesterday at his end of  year party (same shirt, ha!!) with his lovely teacher Ms. W:

 

Logan on the first day:

And yesterday at his end of year party with his wonderful teacher Mrs. H.:

Both boys are already excited for fall, going into 4th and 1st grade.  It will a big transition for Logan, going from half day kindergarten to full day first grade.  I so enjoyed the teachers they both had this year, and being at school to help when I could.  I'm thankful for all the new friends we all made this year, and I'm so proud of all my kids accomplished.

And now I'm ready to make the most of the summer together, so when fall approaches we'll know we did all we wanted to do, and then some!

view from the water

I've said this many times, and its true...I love where we live. I love our neighborhood, our friends, our school, our community.   And I love that within 30 minutes, we can be the heart of downtown DC exploring the city and showing our  kids some pretty darn cool stuff.

A while back, I bought a Groupon that came to inbox and saved it for a nice sunny day when we had nothing else to do.  It was good for the four of us to take a one hour sightseeing boat tour of DC, leaving from Georgetown and cruising up the Potomac River a ways taking in all the sights.   Sunday was a perfect weather day, and even scored some pretty easy parking (for Georgetown) and enjoyed a nice family day together.

I've lived in the DC area since I was in third grade, but I still see something new everytime I'm in the city.

Thompson Boat Center, Georgetown

Lincoln Memorial

Kennedy Center

Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and train

Georgetown Waterfront

Georgetown University

Natural Bridge camping weekend

Memorial Day weekend, we headed with five other families to enjoy the great outdoors down in Natural Bridge, VA about 3 1/2 hours south of here.  Its a little further than we like to drive for camping trips, just due to all the work it takes to get packed up and set up once you arrive.  Anything more than a 2 hour drive it just turns into almost an all day affair with 3 hours to pack the car, 3 or 4 hours of driving, and then another 3 hours to set up.  Exhausting, especially with kids.  No sooner do you set up camp then its time to make dinner and that's after you've been sweating your bung off all day and just want to sit down and drink a cold one.

Anyway, we headed down to enjoy some waterfront camping and time with friends, and my brother and Jess.  We strapped our canoe to the top of the family truckster, hoping to enjoy some time on the James River fishing, boating and swimming.

The weekend had moments of fun, but not exactly as we had hoped.   There had been a lot of rain, and the river was running too fast to put our canoe in.  Kind of disappointing, especially after trekking it down there all that way for it to just sit dry at our campground.   The weather was pretty hot, and most of the campground peeps seemed to all be in the small pool, instead of the river where they would have normally been if the water hadn't been too rapid to indulge.   Plus, one of our air mattresses (new) had a big leak we couldn't find, and deflated both nights.  We also suffered a couple of tick bites, and it was quite a trek up to get to the bath house.  The campsite had lots of great activities for the kids, but none of them were visible from our campsite and I wasn't comfortable letting the kids roam.

All of this made for a pretty challenging weekend.  We were tired, and hot, and that's not a good combination, especially for Logan who just was very hard to manage and keep happy.   We called it a day early and headed home Sunday morning, happy to unload, shower and spend a more relaxing day at our way less crowded neighborhood pool.  Oh well, live and learn. 

On the up side, we got to spend time with great friends, zoom down one of the fastest waterslides ever, enjoy campfire time and some good meals, and the kids got to meet Yogi bear (who didn't even try to steal our pic-a-nic basket!)

On the way home, the entire trip redeemed itself as we made a stop at the Virginia Safari Park, what a total riot!  My friend Dianna recommended it, and said it was not to be missed.  We laughed hysterically as the animals literally stuck their big heads into the car to get to the feed buckets, spilling pellets all over the place and letting us pet their noses.  I didn't like the ostriches, they totally creeped me out.  But the Watusi were so beautiful and gentle with their giant horns. 

I think we will definitely stick with campsites that are closer within driving range from now on.  There are so many good ones we haven't checked out yet.  At some point we may rent a pop up camper or something similar, so there is less set up time. I do enjoy the 'unplugged' time with the kids and some of the more simple pleasures you can tap into while camping.  But in my old age, this girl requires less work and more comfort!  And now we're keeping an eye on these tick bites.   We know four families in our area who have already had lyme disease this spring, its rampant!