T-Ball

Wiley started T-Ball and this is a video of his first swing. By the way, he's wearing his older brother's shirt from their T-Ball days (yes, I know the shirt is 2 decades old! It's VINTAGE!)

Times Have Changed

When our "first litter" was young, we took them to sporting events - UConn soccer and basketball and baseball at Shea Stadium - watching the Mets. Now, it's a little different - but I must say the race track certainly held their attention far better than any of those sports ever did!

We met Bryan, Kate and the boys at the Stafford Speedway this afternoon.


Thought I'd upload the video just so you can enjoy the roar of the engines!

Fiddle Time

After two days in Winchester, Kate and I moved on to Georgia to visit my in-laws. Papa graciously entertained the boys with his fiddle playing. As always, his playing is a big hit (with everyone!) Pay attention to Luke - he has quite the signature dance move. My in-laws noticed right away that he has excellent rhythm. Poor Braeden was so tired after our trip to the Aquarium that he could only watch as the other boys had fun.

The lake

The boys really loved roaming the shore at the lake. They threw anything they could lift into the water. I can just imagine Mike, Larry, David and Roger doing the same thing along the banks of the river in the 60's.

Surprise!

As most of you know, Kate and I left last Saturday for our surprise visit to Granny's house. In our opinion, everything went as smoothly as possible. The kids were terrific travelers - all 5 of them. Kate and I were in sync about everything. We arrived at the first hotel, ordered a pizza delivered and then took them to the indoor pool. They quickly remembered their swimming "levels" from last summer and loved splashing around in the water. (Sorry we don't have any pictures of the pool - we had our hands full and couldn't grab the cameras.) We arrived in time to unpack, get a few groceries, make supper and wait for her to arrive. (She was with Roger and Carol at Sophie's Baby Dedication.) Here is the video of her arrival. (Sorry about the quality - I have a hard time video-taping "in the moment." Erik, how do you do that?)

The VO-AG Expo

Our high school is a regional V0-AG (Vocational-Agriculture) school and every 2 years they host an expo where the students show their animals. The boys had a great time getting to see several animals up close. (Some of them were REALLY close!)



They loved holding and petting the birds.



Sitting in a tractor was a highlight.



"Rosie" the cow.



Yes, this is a real horse! Braeden couldn't believe he was bigger than a horse.



"Mommy, he licked me." (By the way, Braeden is deathly afraid of ladybugs - but he will let a snake "lick" him?? WHAT??)



Checking out another snake.

A Visit With Cousins

The boys got to play outside at their cousins house today. They had a great time! (And so did I - I got to hold baby Henry as he took his afternoon nap!)

It was hard to score when the goalie's were lined up across the goal. They even enlisted the help of Max.



Time to take a break with a Popsicle.



Luke was ready for action on his skateboard! Could this kid possibly be any cooler?



Jack and Wiley playing on the playscape.

Doesn't This Sound Good?

Braeden wanted something special for breakfast this morning.

Another Biker in the Family

After one of Wiley's training wheels broke, he decided it was time to learn to ride a 2-wheeler. After he dismissed Kellen with, "You don't even know how to ride a bike," Robb decided to take over the instruction.



Since our driveway isn't really the best place to learn to ride a bike, we quickly left home and headed for the high school. On the way over, I reminded him that his big brothers learned to ride a two-wheeler when they were 3 and 4. "Uh-oh," he said. "I'm in trouble!"


(sorry about the sound of the wind...)



He was thrilled with his success, even shouting, "This is fun."

Letter Writing...

This post is particularly for Carol.

Wiley had written a few letters and was anxious for a response. So I guaranteed him that there was one person who would write him back and that was Aunt Carol. So he quickly dictated his thoughts and waited for his letter. When I told him he had some mail, I wish I would have had my camera then. He shouted and shrieked, "I knew Aunt Carol would write me!" He was thrilled with his letter and the one from Granny that followed the next day.

Brotherly Love?

The following video is for those of you that have forgotten what it's like to have a couple of little boys around the house. Just in case you've missed those unforgettable sounds. (By the way, I love how Micah - Wiley's friend - just rides by the whole mess, unaffected!)



Thank goodness big brothers get bored or the little ones would never get what they want!