We’ve been camping…and today, since it was going to be nice weather, I thought it would be good to rally the troops (and shower, of course) and head down to the beach for some family pictures.  I’ve been wanting to do some for Mary and Alice for awhile and here was a great chance.  We got a cool few of our crew as well and Monica brought the girls to play and got some great shots of all the kids.
No more talk…here are the pics!  Now it’s back to the campground I go!

For some reason, this is the only picture of the weekend (besides the super cute baby ones that I can’t post) that are actually loading.  Linda, Scott and the girls came up to stay the weekend with us, what a treat!  Since they have been building their farm (they now have goats, turkeys, chickens, dogs, a cat and a duck) it’s been tough for them to leave for any amount of time so we’ve been missing them. 
We had a BBQ on Saturday night with Mary and Alice and our friends the Barnums and we put them to work on our garden fence vision.  Bill jumped right in and started with the post hole digger, thank you Bill. With all the holes dug, we got to relax, eat and pulled out the Pirate Farkel.  Always good times!

We are creating a garden sanctuary in our backyard.  We already have a successful garden, thanks to a lot of pre-planting work, planning and studying but it needed a little something more.  So we’re working on a fence, a REAL fence to keep the deer out (they ate down all of our hard work this season) and we’re planning a sitting area and all as well.  Might as well make it amazing!  In the summer, the garden is the only place with green grass so I’m going to construct some chairs and we may grow some grapes on the back fence.  The vision is awesome.  Now for bringing it to life!  Here is a semi-panoramic view of the garden as it looks now…from my sitting spot.  You get the idea.

Great excitement out in the garden today when the boys caught a snake!  I’m not a fan but it was the highlight of the day.  Boys will be boys!

When the kids were little, we took them down to Frog Rock (a local landmark) and took their picture being “eaten” by the rock.  It was funny and cute and they laugh when they see the pictures.  We pass Frog Rock when we go to our fishing spot and Carlos has been hounding me to stop and let him get eaten by the rock again, so one morning we did.  Cute pics, eh?

 

We’ve been at it yet again…more fishing!  The little dock at Hidden Cove is just perfect for us.  For the most part, it’s private (a couple teens sunbathing here and there) and the boys can put a line in the water, cast out or just walk up and down the dock.  The picture with Dee and her big catch is quite deceiving….that fish was only about 3 inches long! 
We’ve been sneaking down to our little fishing hole in between school pick ups and drop offs.  The fish down there aren’t big, but they sure do like to be caught.  Perfect fishing for our guys.
Sitting down on the dock with my sons always reminds me of a song my dad loves called “Old Hayes”.  It’s one of those songs that plays in my head while we fish and will always make me think about my dad (with his headphones on in the living room singing along to the record).  Some of the words go something like this: “well every chance he gets, Old Hayes and his bamboo pole, relaxing at the fishing hole and you can just bet.  Fishing helps to pass the time and, I spend most of mine and, even when the fish ain’t biting it’s a been time well spent.”
That’s exactly how I feel about it and I’m so glad my boys are feeling that way, too.

There’s a blog contest going on over at the Skimbaco Lifestyles blog for a $50 Hanes gift card.  There may be a chance that someone from Hanes is going to see this and want some models for their catalog.  Wouldn’t that be amazing!  Our guys wear Hanes tshirts to bed every night and they are durable, comfortable and tagless (which is important to our sensory guy). 
Wish us luck, wouldn’t our guys make great models?  Seriously, three cuties in one family!

Here are Levi and Carlos on their first day of school.  So excited, nervous, excited….all worked out amazingly and they loved it.  We’re getting into the routine of it all now and it’s running smoooooooth.  Whew!

These days it’s really tough to get Trey to wear a shirt or wear shoes.  He always starts off dressed, then not so much.  We’re wondering how the winter is going to be if he keeps this trend up. 
With the boy’s interest in riding their bikes, we’ve got the van seat out and have been putting bikes in and having them ride around Battle Point while we walk.  It’s a great walk for us and fun for them to get to ride around more than just our yard.