We took the boys down tot he river to jump off the dock one evening. We are running out of time to swim this year
They played in the sand until it was dark and we had to ride our bikes home in the dark (not the best parenting decision ;)
Soccer last week: Henry ran hard
He also played some mean defense
Mason and Nixon had a really tough game. It was very physical and they ended out losing but Nixon and Mason both worked really hard. Here is a video of a few highlights. Make sure to play along with the game at the end and comment on the video letting me know whether Nixon fouled that kid.
That evening Lyza and I went our to eat a Red Robin and it was DELICIOUS!
We had a beautiful sunset last Sunday for our evening walk
Nixon played trumpet for his Valiant Boys talent show this week
Lyza and Nixon both got to go to Triple Play with friends (and without their parents) for a school sponsored fund raiser. They both had so much fun.
The boys all had soccer photos yesterday
We love these boys!
For Henry's game yesterday he incorporated some basketball defensive moves on the field
He also showed great emotion when the other team scored (as well as when his team scored)
Nixon and Mason both worked really hard in their game. Here is Nixon kicking a free ball.
He and the other forwards weren't able to get any goals but they sure tried hard
Yesterday afternoon we worked together to get our yard tidied up. The kids helped Kim pick apples
Our boys have been enjoying retro games on their handhelds
We stopped by a friend's house to pick up some bikes and she happens to have a pool in the backyard. Nixon had to give it a try.
Grandma and Grandpa Bullock came to visit over Labor Day weekend
Nixon was excited that they brought a trumpet from Uncle David
We had a hot dog roast for dinner
Nixon of course had to show off
The next morning we tried some fishing
We didn't catch anything but we had a good time together
We spent the day at our beach and our floating dock got lots of use
Grocery store fried chicken really hit the spot
The water felt great
Toward the end some of the boys' friends showed up and they had another mat and other vessels to play with
We have to play some games when Grandma and Grandpa are here
Henry started 2nd grade
Mason is in 4th
Look at those happy boys
While the kids were all at school, and while I was working, Kim and her parents went for a bike ride on a portion of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene's
Grandpa Bullock got a little thirsty from all that bike riding
Going on a walk together that evening
Henry won a Crunch Labs box from the library
We bought a pulled pork mac n cheese pie for dinner
It was DELICIOUS
Nixon helping take groceries into the house
Working on the Crunch Labs box building catapults
On our last Saturday before soccer started we decided to do a family hike. We chose to hike to Stevens Lakes, which is a spot I have considered for a boys backpacking trip. It is only 2.3 miles in but it has quite a bit of elevation (1,600 feet)
Things started off alright
It started to get pretty steep and difficult
This waterfall was cool
Then there were switchbacks up this rock that the kids hated
We tried to keep smiling
We eventually made it to the first lake
It was nice to get our feet in the water and rest
I got some shots from the drone
The bottom of this photo shows the first lake the we made it to and the top is the upper lake
This is the lake we stopped at
And this is the second lake
This shows the upper lake at the bottom of the picture and the lower lake at the top of the picture
Here is a tiny planet from a 360 photo of the area. There was a lot of smoke in the air so the sky is just white and smoky
While the others started back Nixon and I ran to the upper lake
On the way back we found a couple of these caterpillars
We also found this salamander back at the waterfall on the way back
It was a difficult hike and probably too tough for next year's backpacking trip. We had fun though.
We got the kids some ice cream on the way home
Nixon made us some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
Here is a photo of Henry at his first soccer practice
We took the kids to Dockside for Gooeys to celebrate another 30 days of continuous scripture reading
The life of a Charter Student?
Henry was happy to spend some of his money one evening on an RC car
We had the first soccer games of the season last week. Henry's team played at the same time and the same park as Nixon and Mason's team so we sat inbetween the two games and watched them the best we could
Nixon scored 4 goals and helped his team win the first game
Henry played both forward and defense at different times during the game
Mason was the goalie on their team and did a good job. Here are a few clips from Nixon and Mason's game
