Summer Triathlon

 We participated in another Triathlon this summer.  This one is a really fun local one that the kids can do also.  After all the adults are finished the Kids Tri begins!  For Joshua this was his 3rd one and for Matthew his first.  As soon as he came out of the water - even before the bike and run- he yelled to Brett that "This is awesome.  You DEFINITELY have to sign me up again next year!"  What made it even more fun was that his best buddy - next door neighbor Rayhaan did his first one also with him.  It is such a fun family even for us - Brett and I love to do them and then it is great to help the kids with their race.  I think that there will be lots more in their future.

 The boys with Nanna who came out to cheer them on.

 Brett giving some last minute instructions before the swim.

 Rayhaan all smiles and Matthew...I am not sure - contemplating the race course??  Who Knows!

 Joshua completing the biking portion before coming into transition for the run.

 Mommy and Josh after he finished!

 All three guys with their new race shirts and medals.  They did great, worked hard and loved it.

Loving the Olympics

We are huge Olympic watchers here in our house.  The Burr girls put our kids to the challenge of making a family flag.  We then got together last week to watch a full evening of events.  

                                       Here are Joshua and Madison showing off their flags.

                                          Then the whole gang got together for a picture!

First Bank Accounts

The boys have been saving their money in Piggy Banks and we finally took them to open their first official Bank Accounts. We spent the morning counting up all the dollars and coins, which was good math practice, then they filled up their zip- lock baggies and off to the bank we went!

It has been fun teaching the kids that what we have does not belong to us but in fact it is all Gods and we are responsible to give away and save some if what we have. Brett and I pray we have children who learn to have hearts of generosity.

A Family Wedding

This past weekend we had the joy of attending Evan and Susan's wedding.  This is the first family wedding we have had in a long time so it was a ton of fun.  The kids loves seeing Evan - who was like their hero of the night - get married.  This was also the first time we got to see their very talented dance moves!!!  Joshua danced so much that evening that he has huge blisters on his toes and Mac accidentally slid into the splits and has a bit of a sore leg!!  Brenna just smiled and walked around clapping her little hands...she danced with her daddy, her uncles and really all of Evan and Susie's friends!

                                               Dad and Mom right before the ceremony.

                                                       This is the whole "Long" Family

                                                                                                       Keith and Tara with Tristan

Justin and Megan with their children Nathan and Reece             

             

Grandpa with Joshua and Matthew.                          Mom with Uncle Johnny - her younger brother.

                                                          Evan and Susie with the kiddo's


Love this of Joshua and Matthew dancing
with Nanna and Aunt Char!                                                  Daddy and Mac just hanging out.

                                                                                                         Nanna getting a big squeeze from her little granddaughter.

More Yard Sprinkler Fun

Oh what fun sprinklers, bubbles and water guns can bring.  Here are the kids a few weeks ago enjoying the first day off of school.  We sure are glad that summer has come!   Even a snake joined us for some fun that afternoon--- so glad I was not cleaning up my flower beds that day.

Last Days of School: Joshua

 Joshua celebrated his last days of school with a big surprise for his great teacher.  He just finished 2 years with her as a 1st and 2nd grade teacher so the kids threw her a Hawaiian Party.  She is going to Maui on vacation this summer so they presented her with lots of ideas of fun things to do there and gave her a gift certificate for her and her husband to choose an adventure.  They had lots of fun planning the surprise.  We will miss her she is a great gifted teacher!

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Last Days of School: Matthew

This is Matthew's poster he put together earlier this year.

 Wow - Matthew has completed his first year of Kindergarten and just loved it.  He had a wonderful teacher - who he gets to continue with through a looping program at our school and will go through first grade with her also.  These pictures were from their classes last program of the year.  His teacher had put together a portfolio of all the special projects, art crafts and photos of events for this past year.  It was such a cute show and all the kids had so much fun singing for us!

I love this picture of what he drew back in September and then in June!!