A Nice Summer Week

What a nice week we just had.  We played lots and we got a lot done too.

 

We took some time one evening to go feed the ducks.  There is a great little lake not very far from our house and we always talk about going there to play.  It was a perfect evening - and we finally found the ducks - big ones, baby ones, and even some geese. 

 

Here we are relaxing lakeside. 

 

This group of ducks ate right out of our hands.

 

See - it really was a beautiful evening!

 

This big goose and her "boyfriend" were so much fun to feed.  Noisy and hungry, but very polite.

 

We've been bugging dad and mom to come swimming with us after swim lessons - mostly so that we could play on the water slides.  It was soooo much fun!!!  And I am tall enough now to go on the super giant, super fast, super wind-y water slide.  It really was great fun!

 

And here's Sam - he's not tall enough yet for the big water slide and boy was he disappointed!!!  But we did have fun swimming and playing. 

 
We had dentist appointments this week - it was teeth cleaning time.  Everyone came out with perfect teeth . . . . except for . . . .
Sam!  Poor guy has two cavities way back in his back, back teeth. 

 

We also went bowling this week.  We had the perfect ramp, the perfect ball, and the perfect lane. 

 

Here's a blurry picture of Sam bowling.  He's just always on the move.

 

Sam (Bowling Boy) won by one point.  Those are some high scores!!!

 

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone - I'm in a funny "posing" stage.  Every time mom points the camera at me, I strike a pose - weird, funny, odd, but always cute.  Here I am at the lake, just hanging out watching the sunset and the birds.

 

And here I am blowing bubbles late one evening.  I'm all about being outside and will do literally anything to be outside, all the time. 

We also got to go see Monsters University this week.  It was such a great movie!!! 

Sam out - have a great week!

Summer Lovin'

 We're already in our summer grove - and before we can blink twice, summer will be all over.  We're trying to enjoy every second.  Along with just some simple playtime around the house, we're also enjoying - as follows:

 

Some play time in the water.  There's nothing like water fights and pool time in the backyard!

 

 Karate and swim lessons.  This picture is, of course, of us at karate.  We're actually doing pretty well - and still loving both swimming and karate.

 

And we're enjoying some playtime outside in the warm summer sun. 

 

I'm going to be two-wheeling (no training wheels) by the end of summer.

 

Working on projects with dad.  He helped us make these cool Monsters University characters.  I  managed to slam my finger in the door and Sam managed to hammer dad's finger in the process.  So, hurt fingers and all, they still turned out ok.

 

And of course there's mowing the yard with dad.  He keeps saying that some day we'll get to use the big lawn mower, but for now - we'll stick with our little mowers.  No fingers or toes will be lost with them!

 

We played a round of mini-golf the other day.  It was a perfect day to be golfing!

 

And we celebrated Father's Day today with our bestest dad ever!  We love him because he loves to wrestle and play with us, he laughs with us, and he teaches us lots of great things.

 

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone - Sam here.  Mason and mom have been sick this week and so we had to alter our Saturday plans a little bit.  We were all supposed to spend the day up at the cabin but since they were sickies, only dad and I ended up going up.  I had a GREAT time (sorry mom and Mas!).  I helped make the waffles.

 

And I helped clean up the dishes too.  Spotless . . . licked them clean all by myself!

 

We played football, shot marshmallows, and I instigated a water fight. 

 

We played with this super cool wolf spider.

 

And we had an all-around great day.  Here I am with Grandpa and Grandma L. 

 

Add in Uncle Noley and dad - Aunt Christy was taking the picture.

Sam Out!

This and That . . . .



 
 





 It was a busy week . . . . with a little of this and a little of that going on. 

It was our last week of school - which, if you ask us, came all too quickly.  We actually really like school and we like seeing our teachers and friends every day.  So summer will actually be a little hard.  Although we do love sleeping in and playing all day.  So the pain of the end of school isn't horrible. 

 

Anyway - we thought we'd do a little comparison for you.  The first picture is us on the first day of school - last August.  The second picture is us this week, the last week of school.  Notice a few differences?  Yep - that old broken arm of mine last August is one thing that's different.  Also - check out the length of my shorts - below the knee in August, and well above the knee in June.  Yep - I've grown a little too.  So did Sam - he grew about 2 1/2 inches this year.  Our shoes are also pretty worn out and our clothes aren't quite so bright and new.  It was a great year - more on that to come below.  

 

Mom and dad were invited to our Merit Assembly again this week - only parents of students receiving awards get to come.  Well - we already knew about a couple of awards that I had earned, but there were also a few surprises for me in the assembly.  I ended up earning 6 awards this year.  I took 2nd place in the Art Festival, 2nd place in the Young Author Fair, 2nd place in the Math Contest, a National Fitness Award, 80% or higher on all of my work, and . . . . another $500 scholarship for Academic Achievement and Good Comportment.  That was a lot of awards - everyone, including me, was very proud!!!  I told you that I love school!

 

Mom snapped a quick picture of me in class as we were getting ready to get back to work after the Merit Assembly. 

 

 Sam and I started summer lessons this week too.  We're taking Karate and Swimming lessons.  And we LOVE them both.  Here I am working on floating on my back. 

 

After swimming lessons, we met up with dad and some family for a yummy dinner to celebrate our accomplishments and awards at school.  I decided to also turn it in to a dinner to celebrate my early birthday.  I've always enjoyed sitting on the saddle at our favorite restaurant for birthdays.  It was finally my turn!

 

And here we all are after dinner.

 

On the last day of school dad and mom came to help my class with field day.  We had soooo much fun!  We did sponge/water bucket races.  And we got really wet - which made it extra fun - it was a hot day!

 

And we had balloon races. 

 

And we were just plain goofy! 

 

Here I am with some of my friends - I will miss them!  It was a really good year!

 

And then on Friday night, the parents surprised us with a night out at the baseball game.  It was lots of fun.  And our home team won. 

 

It was mustache night - I decided to turn mine into a beard.

 

Here's Sam and me - it was such a great night!

 

Sam Alert:  Howdy ya'll.  Check out my beard!  Yes, you can call me the chick magnet - dad said if I kept eating spicy food I'd grow hair on my chest.  Who knew it would creep up to the chin.  :-)

 Sam out!

The Month of Mason

June has arrived in all its glory.  Part of that glory is that it is my birthday month.  Can you believe that I'll be 7 years old this month?  No?  Neither can dad and mom!  I've been talking to them about having a friend birthday party for years.  They finally agreed that we could have friend parties on our 7th and 12th birthdays.  The only trouble with my birthday is that it falls in the summer - after school is out - and after I loose touch with my school friends.  So we decided to have an early friend party this year (before school gets out) so that my friends would still be around to come.  And boy - did we have a great party!!!

 

First up though - we spent Friday evening at the park with some friends and one of Sam's teachers from school - they live in our neighborhood and we've been talking about having a play date at the park with them all year long - we finally made it happen.  It was great fun - except for the broken arm part (one of the friends of our friends that came along for the fun). 

 

 

We call this park the "Jeep Park" because of this Jeep that there is to play in.  It doesn't do much except sit in the sand and let you turn the steering wheel, but it makes this park a big hit for us.

 

And then on Saturday, it was party day.  We didn't sleep very much in anticipation.  And some of our friends mom's said my friends didn't sleep much either the night before.  It was sooooo much fun to have some of my friends together to play!  We had my party at our local bounce house and it was perfect.  Not too many other customers - in fact, a lot of the time, we would have a bouncy apparatus all to ourselves.  And we ran from one bouncy thing to the next pretty darn quickly.

 

At one point, we all got inside this jumping house and we started singing songs from our spring program at school.  All of the moms and dads thought we were adorable!!!  We sang quite a few of the songs and had a great time doing it.

 

Then after we were somewhat tired out from bouncing, we stopped for some pizza and soda. 

 

And of course, there was birthday cake. 

 

And birthday presents.  But the really best part of all was having my friends there to play.  A great time was had by all!!!  I will sure miss most of these friends as we all head to different campuses next year.

 

Here's Sam and me today, just chilling after church - having a snack.  I'm still on a birthday party high.  It's going to be a great month!!!

 

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone - Sam here.  I loved the park - climbing, sliding, and swinging.  Great fun in my book. 

 

And I LOVE the bounce place!!!  It was fun to hang with Mason's friends.  I know them all from school too and it was like I was just one of them (even though I'm not in the same class). 

 

And finally, more proof that I am not a morning person.  Hum, I wonder where I get this trait from???  Mom!!!!! 

Sam out!