Bucket List Accomplishments

Now that the kiddos are back in school I'm ready to show you the highlights of our last 2 weeks of summer.

We created the Bucket List.

We worked hard to fit it all in.

We sent the summer out in style!

(These are very out of order but if you're not worried about it, I'm not either!)

#1- Last Trip to the Pool. There were 2. One was extremely short because of bad weather:

The other trip was much longer and included friends Sam and Alden Larsen:

Favorite Memories: The way Truman's darling pudgy hands splash the water. Alaster attacking Jack with the water gun. Seeing how far both boys have come in their comfort levels with water. They are officially FISH I tell you!

#2 A Trip to the Pet Store. (We don't go there regularly... but the boys requested this one)

Favorite Memories:Watching the boys be happy seeing and showing each other all of the animals.

Low Points: Watching Jack lose it when he realized that we were just visiting... not taking anybody home. Watching both boys be disappointed that there weren't more animals and that there were absolutely no insects. Bummer.

#3 A Family Trip to Skate Land!!! Oh we had a blast doing this one!!!

Favorite Memories Jack: Oh how this boy loves to skate! His skills are not as advanced as his imagination though and many attempted tricks ended with his bum on the ground. Never fear! He popped right back up and kept having fun. My favorite moment was him requesting to hold my hand while we skated together. Here he is with Daddy (Who is a apparently a closet pro-skater... did you know my husband has some SKILLS??? He was looking oh so smoooooooth on the rink!):

Favorite Memories Alaster: Being his very first time with skates on his feet, Alaster waffled between being brave and being cautious. He enjoyed when daddy took him on the rink (after much coaxing!) and pulled him along, but I don't think they ever made it all the way around. Aly kept a good attitude the entire time though and enjoyed skating on the carpet with me while I pushed Truman in the stroller. Watching him try to skate on his own was pretty much the most adorable thing. He LOVED his first trip even though he didn't spend too much time in the rink.

Jack and Mommy enjoy each other's company and a mix of music that brought back memories of days gone by... Who let the dogs out? Who! Who! Who! Who!... oh it was fun people!

# 4 Last Fort. Not technically on the list, but I thought it was worth snapping a photo. I love seeing the boys play in their forts!

#5 Last Home School Science Project (I still have so many pictures from Summer Home School I need to post!) My Aunt Dee sent the boys some really cool books... and one was full of fun science projects. Here they are experimenting with veggie oil and learning how polar bears keep warm! The hands in the top left are Aly's. I let the boys take pictures for this one... Aly took way more than Jack so he is featured more...

That same day we did another experiment from the book ... Blue Goo! Only ours was pink goo :) It was your classic water/cornstarch combo. Jack was super into it. Aly wouldn't get his hands dirty. :)

We also made lava lamps from the book... no pictures. (We had friends over and it was later at night) They loved it though!

#6 Jack and Mommy Date (I let the boys choose the activities and treats). We filled up the car with gas, drank Squirt and Cherry Coke, and played Ping Pong/Foosball at the LDS Institute.

Favorite Memories: Jack's look of pure delight when I let him fill up the tank. When the gas started coming through? He was so surprised and thrilled. So. Dang. Darling. He was also pretty much the funnest 7 year old to play foosball with EVER. He picked it up quickly and trash talked (appropriately) the whole time... he was surprised at how good I was! I also loved that we laughed and talked through the whole date. Jack is turning out to be one cool kid. Did you know that?

#7 Last Friday Afternoon Playing Around Winfield. Originally we were going to do another trip to the park/petting zoo but in the end the boys wanted to just stay in our community and do the things we love. Sounds good to me!

At the Playground:

Jack and Aly tried desperately to bury Truman with rocks, and you know what? He loved it! He just played with rocks himself and stayed perfectly still in one place while they piled them on...

In the Toy Room:

This summer we invented a new favorite game to play in the toy room: You stand on one side of the room while I sit on this couch. I'll try and nail you with a string of beads as you bolt from one side of the room to the other. Keeps us busy for QUITE some time. They love that one!

Bike Riding Around the Community and Close Walking Park:

Notes: I asked J and A to pose for a pic before we set off. The bottom left picture was Alaster's first pose. Where does he come up with these things??? Top Right: Jack takes the camera for a shot in the gazebo. I love how it turned out! Bottom Right: The weather could not have been better for the afternoon... high 70's with a slight breeze... and the clouds putting on quite a show!

#8 Two last Friday Summer Movie Nights. I know I have mentioned it before but here's the details of how it works: Friday nights we snuggle up to watch a movie and enjoy some treats. I don't clean, I don't have the computer out. This is uninterrupted quality family time! We take turns with who is picking what we watch and what we eat. I am in the rotation too :)

For the record: Most of the time I have made a treat they requested... for some reason the last 2 weeks they both chose something store bought... which is fine... it was just atypical.

Aly's movie choice/Jack's treat choice:

Jack's movie choice/Aly's treat choice:

Favorite Memory: Truman LOVED this movie. Do you see him sitting still and watching??? SO not normal Truman behavior! Every time the chipmunks sang he would listen and then clap for them at the end. Too cute!

#9 Last Brother Boxing Match. Corey was home and did the "In this corner," schpiel. Truman watched. And the boys went wild! Three Rounds and Aly was declared THE WINNA!

#10 Aly and Mommy's Date. Bagels and a couple games of Candy Land at Einstein's. A quick trip to the institute for some foosball.

Favorite Memories: Alaster charming the pants off of everyone (including me) at Einstein's. Aly's expressive eyes and face while playing Candy Land. Listening to his nerdy laugh at the silliest of things. Noticing how perceptive he is about people and places. Getting to see that grin of pride that is SO Alaster when he "won," a game of foosball.

Well there you have it folks. Except for the Ice Cream Social (which deserves it's own post) that was the end of our Summer!

There was one item we didn't get to (art project) and one that I decided to save for another occasion (mommy surprise) and one not pictured because we attempted it twice and both times ended badly (soccer and Frisbee), but all in all I'd say we did pretty well!

Thanks for the memories boys! It sure was a fantastic summer!