Soccer and Golf

A beautiful evening at the golf course

Finn's first soccer practice and first team sport

Last morning tee time for Luke and Liam

Our basketball goal is finally in the installation process!  Mimi bought us a goal over Christmas, but it has taken awhile for it to arrive.  The cement should be strong enough on Friday to put up the hoop!!

We have enjoyed some different sports over the summer and its been a nice break from hockey.  Luke and Liam have golf lessons on Wednesday afternoons and a tee time every Thursday morning since school let out.  They have really enjoyed the golf lessons and have learned a lot.  As part of their class, they were able to play the big championship course one evening for free.  We put together a foursome and they played 9 holes.  It took about 3.5 hours so its a good thing we didn't plan to do 18 holes!

Aiden is also doing lessons and a tee time with his buddies.  He has lessons on Tuesday mornings and a tee time on Thursday afternoon. He is still doing his lessons so I need to get a few pictures.  It a bit less organized with five eight year olds trying to keep track of their golf score.

Lastly, the highlight of Finn's week was beginning his summer soccer.  He is playing on a very recreational league that all three of his older brothers have done.  Its very inexpensive and only two evenings per week.  He loved his first practice and was by far one of the biggest and more aggressive kids out there despite being the youngest on his team.  Should be fun to watch this season!  Aiden is also playing soccer with some of his buddies.  I didn't make it over to watch much of his practice on the first night, but he enjoyed it as well.  

Fun Times in Colorado

Colorado River

Getting ready to ride the gondola to the top of the mountain in Vail

The views were amazing

Bike ride for John and I

Fly Fishing with Grandpa

Celebrating Grandpa's 75th Birthday

Checking out Golden, CO on our way to Vail

Sweet Baby Graham

Finn

The big boys

Grandpa and his grandsons

Checking out the views

Chasing Chipmunks with Calvin

Skating outside in the summer at Beaver Creek

Liam fly fishing

White Water Rafting with our amazing guide, Cash.  Jane took this cool picture from the bridge above where she biked down to watch us float up the river

So fun!

Aiden left for camp the day after we returned from Colorado.  He loved it and can't wait to go back!!

We spent the 4th of July week right outside Vail in Avon, Colorado and had a wonderful time.  My dad rented a condo for the entire month of July so we drove out for a week and met my sister and her family there.  The boys had a wonderful time with their cousin, Calvin, and enjoyed holding their baby cousin, Graham.   We exhausted Ms. Jane and Grandpa with many games of Old Maid, Chase the Ace, and Murder in the Dark.

Despite a burn warning in Colorado, the weather was gorgeous with cool mornings and evenings and warm sunny days.  We did many things for the first time like white water rafting and fly fishing.  We rode a gondola to the top of one of the mountains in Vail and did a little hiking before stopping for lunch and riding the gondola back down.  John and I were able to enjoy a solo bike ride through Vail similar to what we did virtually every weekend pre kids!

The boys LOVED Colorado and we all enjoyed doing some different activities and spending some time together in a beautiful area.

Fishing 101

Aiden has enjoyed playing catcher on his baseball team this summer

Fun day at the park and splash pad

Aiden fishing

Luke caught around 10 fish!!

Aiden also caught a few fish

And Finn caught that one entirely on his own

Liam also caught around 10 fish

Thankfully, there was a playground nearby when we were tired of fishing


John and I do not know a lot about fishing, but the boys have shown an interest in it for the last year so we are trying to learn a few things to help them along.  Grandpa and Grandma Carrithers purchased fishing poles for the boys at Christmas so we are off to a good start.  John made a few purchases for himself including a tackle box, supplies, and bait so we could make our first trip to the local park for some fishing.  The boys loved it and we actually caught several fish.  I cannot guarantee we didn't catch the same fish more than once (its quite possible), but it was a success for the boys so that's all that matters.  Here's to more fun with fishing and the boys!  

Summertime

Popsicles by the pool

Luke's lemon bundt cake.  It was quite delicious!!

Finn's racetrack

Father's Day at the pool!

We are settling into summer and enjoying our weekly golf lessons and league play, soccer and baseball games, and weekly goalie camp for Luke.  We have a few overnight camps and vacation bible school on the calendar that will start in July.  The best part of summer, of course, is the lack of a schedule with no school.  So, we are also enjoying lots of playdates, swimming, and as much time outside as possible.

Luke's reward for his summer reading minutes was getting to make a cake.  He picked a lemon bundt cake and followed the recipe with a little help from me.  Overall, he did a great job and the cake was quite good.  Next up, he wants to make a red velvet bundt cake!

Happy Summer!

Bring on Summer!

Finn enjoyed a special treat to McDonald's without any of his brothers on his last day of school.  

Last Day of School:  June 7, 2018

Last Day!

Silly pic

"Flossing" at an end of the school year party

Lots of BOYS!

Popsicles in the hot tub

More boys (and three girls) than water!


We are very excited for summer!!  Our last day of school was June 7th and we officially have two 5th graders, one 3rd grader, and a kindergartener.  Happy Summer!

Last week of school!

Our annual bike to school day!  We had a smaller group this year with only Luke, Liam, and two of their buddies.  Finn rode in the Burley.  John joined us this year and enjoyed biking with the boys!

Finn holding Luke's egg drop project

Lots of biking to school!

Several of their 4th grade buddies who also biked to school.  The boy to the right of Luke in the picture is Evan.  He is the only other kid in 4th grade who might be slightly taller than Luke.  He happens to be nearly 6 months older than Luke (he will be 11 this summer) and Evan's dad is probably around 6 foot 7 inches tall!!

4th grade boys

Luke and Liam attended a fun end of the school year bash at church with several of their friends

John and I had the crazy opportunity to visit with an old friend and John's PhD advisor this week, Todd Trappe

Finn's first time on real rollerblades.  He has zero fear....

Luke terrifies me with his speed on rollerblades.  He also has zero fear and will jump curbs and fly on the driveway.

Aiden on rollerblades.  Liam was playing across the street with a friend.

We are in our last week of school.  Our final day of school is tomorrow, June 7th.  It is very hard to believe we will have a preschool/kindergartener, a third grader, and two fifth graders!  This will be Luke and Liam's final year of elementary school before moving on to middle school.  Finn will continue at Montessori for another year and will be doing some kindergarten work and see how it goes.  Since he has a late July birthday, we are not sure if we will hold him back or send him to school.  He will either be the oldest in his class or the youngest, which is different from his three older brothers who have always been somewhere in the middle.  After next year, Finn will either repeat kindergarten at the local elementary school or move on to first grade.

We have had some beautiful weather with sunny and clear skies.  The boys have enjoyed time outside after school and look forward to more time swimming and doing outdoor things after school ends.  We will start a new schedule of sorts next week and will be adding golf lessons and tee times, goalie camp, and will continue our soccer and baseball season.