Concert at the Shell

The boys went to their first real, grownup concert at the Shell last week. We joined Aunt Christie for her birthday, and we all had a great time.They loved the music and so did we!

Camp Invention

Alex and Reed had a fantastic week at Camp Invention. The camp is held at their school, so there are lots of familiar friends and teachers. Alex particularly loved the take-apart item (his was a VCR) and spent hours at home removing every piece of wire and bolt on the circuit board.

On Friday, they had a contest with the rubber duck launchers that they'd been working on all week. It was a fun time, and they learned a lot!

Days with Moz and Gramps

Alex and Reed spent two fun summer days with Moz and Gramps. Alex had baseball last night, so Reed got a special overnight treat by himself! They played a lot of golf, did some swimming and even had time for water balloons. I think all four of them were worn out!

 

Baseball All-Star

St. Louis hosts a baseball tournament during the Hole in One. The coaches put together an "all-star" team of the best players from the three 1st and 2nd grade teams. Alex was selected to play, and he was so excited. He had some great hits and was awesome at second base. And while the other teams are much more competitive and we lost both games, he had a blast.

Chattanooga - Day 3

After a relaxing day at the aquarium, we had a lot left to see! So, we hit up Rock City, Raccoon Caverns and the Tennessee Valley Railroad all in one day.

After driving up Lookout Mountain, we arrived at Rock City pretty early in the morning, and it was absolutely gorgeous. We had a great time walking along the trails and tight passages through rocks. There was even a swinging bridge and a ledge hanging high above the trees. Since the boys had never even seen a mountain before everything about it was a fun new experience.

After Rock City, we drove to the other side of the mountain to Point Park. There was a great view of Chattanooga and some interesting Civil War history. Reed tripped over a cannon and had to be carried the rest of the way. No one was surprised!

After a quick lunch, we drove to Raccoon Mountain to check out the caves there. Again, the boys had never been in a cave, so it was a treat. I thought they might be afraid, but they loved it. Next time they to do the "wild" tour where you have to squeeze through tiny openings - yikes!

We weren't sure if we would make the it, but we raced through town to the Tennessee Valley Railroad just in time to catch the 2:25 train. It goes out about 20 minutes over four bridges and through a tunnel. Then the engine turns around and makes the same trek back. Since none of us had ever ridden a real train before, it was a very neat experience.

Chattanooga - Day 2

We had heard so many good things about the aquarium in Chattanooga, and we were not disappointed. We spent the entire morning there, and the boys absolutely loved it. Of course, the tank full of sharks was their favorite.

After the aquarium, we walked across an old bridge that has been converted to a walking bridge. At the base of the bridge is a fantastic park with fountains and a carousel. We cooled off there and then headed out for some ice cream. Fun, fun day.

Chattanooga and cousins

We had a great little vacation in Chattanooga. We stayed in the Choo Choo hotel, in a real train car. It was definitely not your normal hotel room, and the boys loved it. Even Brian and I had to admit it was pretty cool to sleep in a train on the tracks! They also had a great model train museum and lots of other train stuff to climb on and explore. I think they will remember this place for a long time.

  


An added bonus of Chattanooga for vacation was getting to hang out with David, Carla, Emma, Hunter and McKinley. Even though the kids are third cousins, neither family has any closer cousins, so it was a real treat for everyone. We got together for dinner and then headed down to a music festival on the Tennessee River. It was a gorgeous night, and the kids had a blast running around and acting silly. 

Swim day with Grandma

Grandma took the boys swimming today at the new Kroc center. They have tons of cool water activities in the indoor pool and a great splash pad outside. Alex loved the giant slide, and Reed had fun blasting people in the water.

Golf Tourney

We spent the weekend at the golf tournament. We all went out on Saturday, and Brian and Alex went back on Sunday (while Reed and I were at the pool!) The boys had a great time following the golfers, and they both ended up getting a golf ball from different players. 

We also celebrated Tyler's 2nd birthday with a neighborhood parade. Fun!

Alex's baseball team

This is Brian's first time to coach an SLS team, and they have improved so much since the beginning of the year. What a fun team!

First week of summer

I took off work last week to kick off the summer with the boys, and I am so glad I did! We had gorgeous weather and spent every day at the pool. We had big breakfasts, went to the park, played basketball at the gym, hit balls at St. Louis, read books and just generally relaxed. Yay, summer!