June...July...

What a busy summer! Keeping up with two active boys has left little time to blog. However, we had so much fun that I wanted to share it with everyone.

Strawberry picking is one of our favorite summer activities. We picked almost 40 pounds this year!

Summer was spent at the pool...both for fun and for swim team! If you look closely, you can see Jacob on the block. He's in the second lane from the left.

He competes in the 25 Free and the 25 Backstroke. Here he is in action. His times just keep getting faster!

We got to take Nana and Grandpa to the pool one weekend. Grandpa...the boys' favorite pool toy!

Zack didn't compete but he was in the pool for swim team practice all summer long.

He's gotten so good!

Jacob had a blast at the LVC soccer camp!

Visiting Grandma and Grandad in VA is always a treat!

The cousins playing!

Just too cute!

One of the highlights of the trip for the boys was a chance to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Air hockey was quite a hit!

Fourth of July with some of my favorite ladies! The kids and hubbies joined us too.

Headed off to Cub Scout camp for the weekend.

Taking part in the skit at the last bonfire.

Leading a song at VBS.

Snack time was one of our favorite parts of VBS week!

The boys had the chance to make some really cute rain forest crafts.

We took a camping trip with our friends to Locust Lake. Jacob was a champion salamander catcher!

Jacob, Zack, and Kelly chillin' by the campfire.

Our fish swimming in the lake. I think we spent half the weekend in the water!

That only cover part of the summer! Hopefully I'll get a chance to share the highlights of August before school starts on Monday. If not, I'll have to sneak them in later!

Spring sports extravaganza!

Spring brought warmer weather...and sports!

Zachary took his first set of swim lessons without a parent in the pool. Thanks to an amazing program at the college, he still had the support of an "adult" but was more adventurous since it wasn't Mommy or Daddy. After a winter of his modified swim team (Thursday afternoons with Mommy in the pool too), he was ready to wiggle his fins and try it on his own.

He LOVED his lessons and is thrilled that he gets to do "real" swim team with Jacob this summer. So far, of the two practices held outdoors, both boys attended one...and Zack attended the next one on his own! If he has his way, he'll go tonight too!

Ready...set...

and he jumped! (To the noodle, not someone!)

Swimming on his own. (He has done this for very, very short distances without a noodle.)

Of course, it wouldn't be spring if somebody wasn't playing soccer. This time around, it was two somebodies! Jacob played in one division with Daddy as his coach. Zachary played in our club's under 6 division...with Mommy as his coach! Several of the older kids commented on how good Zack was...quite a surprise for a guy his size!

It made for busy Saturdays but both boys loved it so much that in the end it was worth it.

All decked out in his uniform.

A more "formal" shot!

Jacob practicing before a game.


I love this shot...caught right in the middle of the kick!


Another action shot!


Posing to humor my mom.

Little one warming up before his game.

Because I was coaching and Andy would usually referee my games, I had a friend take a few shots during our last game.

He loved playing offense. Here they are getting ready to start the ball into play.


Running to help his teammate. (That's me next to him and Andy in the grey.)

Summer swim team has started and both boys are signed up to play soccer in the fall...with both parents coaching them! Bring on the craziness!

Going...going...gone!

It took a while...and I do mean a while...but Jacob lost another tooth this morning! After months (yes, that is not a typo...this tooth started wiggling ages ago) of low pressure wiggling, a quick, gentle tug this morning resulted in a gap in his amazing smile. The joy on his face was priceless...and he ran around the house looking for Zack so that he could show him the space where his tooth used to be!

I'm not expecting anymore big news like this for quite some time. The one next to it barely moves...although now that he realizes that it doesn't really hurt he has become a little more adventurous in his wiggling!

Ahhh...

The month of April came and went in an allergy induced haze! I love the spring...and hate it because all of the weather ups and downs reek havoc on all of us. Even Zack seems to be experiencing way too many symptoms for my liking!

That's my excuse for being such an awful blogger last month. I know March wasn't much better. I'm hoping as we enter the more loosey goosey late spring/summer schedule, I'll have more time to post. I'd much rather be doing this than all those chores that keep piling up!

Here's a look back at April....

Zack and Daddy dying eggs.

Jacob managed to do it all by himself!

Homemade sugar cookies from scratch. Daddy does the rolling best!

Using the cookie cutters.

The boys had a blast decorating with icing...

and took the job very seriously.

We had an egg hunt Easter morning. Jacob moved so quickly, it was hard to get a picture of him! He thought to check out the basement all on his own.

Zack had a knack for finding ones in unexpected places.

Enjoying the fruits of their labors...well, the chocolates of them! ; )

Blowing bubbles

The first fishing trip of the season...Zack caught one with a little help from Daddy!

My three fishermen!

If you look closely at the shoreline, you can see the fish Jacob caught. He did it all on his own! Lucky guy caught another one a little later on.

It was a good day for all the Marsh men. Daddy caught two fish as well!

Bike riding...big kid style!

He did it!!!!! Jacob learned to ride his bike without the training wheels on it!!!! And Mommy taught him!!!!!

This spring is not the first time we've tried to achieve this major milestone. Our first attempt was the spring of 2009. No luck. Training wheels went back on. We gave it another shot in the fall. Again, something was holding him back. You could tell he was nervous and apprehensive...and there was something about the dynamic between Jacob and I that just wasn't helping.

Fast forward to this spring. Mid-March, gorgeous weather, and a bike that still didn't have the training wheels on it. I approached the idea with Jacob. He passed. A little later that same day, we discussed it again and made a deal. Mommy promised not to get frustrated (and if I did, I owed him a major treat) and if he gives it a good try, Daddy would put the training wheels back on as soon as he got home from work.


We headed down to the park right near our house. A paved path and lots of grass. Before we did anything else we talked about how scary it is when you think you might fall. We wiggled the bike back and forth while he still had his feet on the ground. "Lean this way when the bike goes that way, lean that way when the bike goes this way." After a little bit of silliness, we were ready to give it a try.

He made me promise not to let go. I promised...no fingers crossed! I held on, he started...and we had some of the same problems we'd had the last two times. So, we stopped and I thought...and held the bike a little differently. Off we went, him peddling away, me holding on just like I'd promised. At first, it didn't seem like we'd get any further than that. But after doing that for a few minutes, I got him to trust me enough to try to ride to me. Yup, I held the front, he got on, I let go, and he rode right at me. It was going okay but he was still pretty nervous. We were getting ready to call it quits for the day when he said he'd try going across the path instead of along it. The path is about three feet wide at best so it didn't seem so scary and I thought, well, if he's willing to go that far, we'll try further next time. He got on, I held the front, he put his feet on the pedals, pushed down, went across the path...and kept on going! The front wheel hit the grass and he just kept on pedaling! In seconds he was across the grass! He'd ridden the bike all by himself!

Riding!

This is how far he could go before he had to stop or fall in a stream!

Taking a break

Zack played on the little play structure while Jacob was riding.

Zack took this one...I love it!

Walking the bike back to start over.

After a little help starting, he is off again. I had to hold the handle bars so that he could get his feet on the pedals and give a little "oomph" his start. The rest he did on his own!

It seems so far away!!!!

How we were starting

I thought it would take a while for Jacob to get the hang of starting on his own. I was willing to hold those handle bars at the start as long as it took. The next day was just as beautiful and he was dying to get back to the park after school. This time, Zack decided he'd give his big kid bike (with training wheels) a try. (Last year, he was a tricycle kid all the way!) So the boys suited up and we were on our way!

Jacob was off and running on his own in no time. The need for Mommy to hold the handle bars was gone within minutes. Zack worked his heart out and managed to pedal the bike...slowly. He was frustrated that he couldn't do it easily and that he couldn't keep up with Jacob. But he kept working at it and after a break on the playground he even got back on to try again!

Zack and his bike

Concentrating

Jacob on the path. Just one day and he was so much more confident!

Break time! He wanted Jacob to play with him but the big kid was having too much fun on his bike!

After starting on his own.

Still on his break!

He found this part of the path that had a little hill to it. Riding down it was fast and fun!

Little brother getting in on the action

If you look closely you'll see that his feet aren't on the pedals. He liked the hill because he got the motion without the work!

Riding together. (That's Jacob off there in the distance!)

Zack's working hard! Jacob has turned around and is headed back toward me.

Zack is determined to go as far as his big brother did.

In the end, Zack decided that running along next to Jacob made for a better match!

Jacob has become a bike riding champion! His longest ride so far was 1.5 miles, starting on his own and making all the twists and turns without stopping! (Although he did have to pause now and then to wait for me. He rode while I ran.) From scared to try to mastery...in no time at all!