Panning

I am always looking for opportunities to improve my photography skills. One skill I am trying to perfect is panning. The other day, while the boys were out riding their bikes, I got my chance to practice.

I found a spot in middle of the action and started shooting. It took me a while to get the right combination of settings, but it was pretty exciting when I got my first good exposure!

By the time I got the hang of panning most of the boys had gone inside. Luckily I have some awesome boys, so they came back out for one more try.

The boys had fun riding as fast as they could. Trevor actually scared me a little because he was going really fast around corners. He was leaning so much that I'm amazed he didn't crash.

It was a fun photo session and I look forward to more opportunities to improve my panning skills as we start another season of sports!

Fun with Dallin

While Dallin was here we did a lot of fun things. Mostly, we did things we would normally do during the summer, but having Dallin join us made it more fun. One activity the boys were excited to have Dallin join them on was the Saturday morning bike ride. The bike situation was a little tricky because we didn't have a kid bike for Dallin. He ended up riding my bike. It was a little big for him, but he had no problem riding it.

While the boys were on the bike ride, they stopped to check out a cool rope swing. Looks like fun!

Dallin really likes basketball, so we took everyone to the park one day to play. It was pretty hot that day, so the game didn't last long. Instead the boys ran over to the playground to play for a while. We call it the castle playground. Everyone had fun playing tag, swinging on the tire swing and just being silly!

One really fun adventure happened on Sunday. Dallin mentioned that he forgot to bring his Sunday clothes, so he had to borrow some of ours. The only problem was Dallin is slightly bigger than Tanner. So, Chad came up with a creative solution. Dallin wore Tanner's pants, shirt and suit coat, Kaden's tie, and Chad's shoes. They made up a clever story to explain why Dallin's feet were so big. Here's how the story went. When Dallin was younger he was in a car accident that left him without feet. When he went to the hospital they didn't have any kid feet, only adult feet. The doctor's told him that he would grow into them! It was pretty funny!

On Sundays we like to go on a walk along the river. We take Tahoe with us and the older boys take turns holding the leash. Dallin loves Tahoe, we think they are kindred spirits. I'm not sure if Dallin was more excited to see the boys or Tahoe! So, of course, Dallin got to be the first one to walk Tahoe. He did a great job!

Of course, the boys had to show Dallin where they skip rocks into the river.

During the weekdays the boys spent some time outside. Unfortunately, it had to be in short intervals. It was just too hot outside.

One way we beat the heat was to go swimming. We spent many hours at the pool cooling off. Although, I wouldn't say the pool water was always refreshing . . . but I'm not complaining! One of the last days we went to the pool Dallin found a chair in the toddler pool and sat right down. He thought it was pretty cool. It was a perfect invitation for Tanner to come splash Dallin!

Everyday the boys had one hour of project time. One day Tanner and Dallin worked on scouts. They practiced lifts for transporting injured people. Tanner and Dallin had to have some helpers, so the other boys were happy to oblige. It was pretty funny to watch. Boys can get a little silly sometimes!

Another day for project time we decided to make cars out of boxes and have a drive-in movie. The boys were very excited and very creative. Tanner's car was futuristic. He added lots of cool slots and compartments. Dallin made his box into a Ford Mustang, complete with the mustang emblem. Devon spent a lot of time getting his wheels perfect. Kaden also spent a fair amount of time on his wheels, they were all made to look like chrome. Trevor cut out windows in his car and added a license plate. Austin just had fun playing with all of the crayons and markers!

Once the cars were complete the drive-in was open for business, we even had a snack bar. I gave each of the boys some monopoly money and they could choose what they wanted to buy. All of my boys rushed to the snack bar and spent most of their money right away. Dallin, on the other hand, waited till the movie was at least half way over before he came to the snack bar. He said he learned that from his mother. Pretty smart mom!

One night while we were at church the boys were able to meet and pet a really cool horse. One of my young women's aunts was talking to us about horse care that night. I knew the boys would love to see the horse, so I grabbed them before the horse left. They got to pet the horse and even give him a treat. Very cool!

When Dallin first arrived in Indiana he saw some lightning bugs in our backyard and he really wanted to catch some. When it got dark the boys went out back with their jars. Unfortunately, there really weren't many lightning bugs out. I could count them on one hand. Some of the boys caught one, sadly Dallin did not. I guess he will just have to come back next summer and try again!

The day came for us to take Dallin to the airport and the boys were all a little sad. They must have prayed really hard the night before, because when we got to the airport, we found out that Dallin's flight had been cancelled. He would have to come back the next day. The boys were very surprised and excited to have Dallin with us one more night!

We were lucky to have Dallin come stay with us this summer. It was great to have the cousins together again. We wish Dallin's whole family could have come, maybe next time.

Football Camp

Last year Kaden became a football fan. I think it all started with football cards. He got some cards from a friend at school, then he used his money to buy a ton of football cards. For a while he traded the cards with other kids at school, but that slowly lost its appeal. During the same time, Kaden and his friends started playing football at school.

Almost everyday Kaden came home to tell me all about the football game at lunch recess. He was, of course, one of the best players and he often made touchdowns. If I'm remembering correctly, his team never lost!

Kaden began telling us that he wanted to play football (instead of soccer) the next school year. We were a little surprised, but we figured he would forget about it as the year progressed. Well, we were wrong. Every so often Kaden would remind us about football and we began to realize he wasn't going to forget. He really wanted to play.

At the end of the last school year Kaden brought home the information about football. On the paper it said they would hold a football camp in July for interested kids. I thought this would be a perfect way to figure out just how serious Kaden was about playing football.

Kaden was so excited to start the camp. I took him to the football field, but I couldn't stay so Chad picked him up. Chad left work a little early so he could watch Kaden play. When they got home neither of them were very happy. Chad said Kaden wasn't putting much effort into playing. and he told Kaden he wouldn't be able to play if he didn't try harder. The talk must have worked because Kaden started working harder in the days that followed.

By the end of the camp Kaden was doing well and he still wanted to play football. So, a couple of weeks ago we signed him up for football. The league has put on some free clinics for the last couple of weeks and Kaden is looking good. He has been a trooper. As you know, it has been hot here, but Kaden hasn't complained. This weekend the boys will be evaluated and then the season begins. We are excited, we know Kaden can do great things! It will be neat to see him fulfill the goal he set nearly a year ago.

Dallin comes for a visit!

One event my boys have been looking forward to all summer is their cousin coming to visit. At the beginning of the summer it seemed time was going slow, but now it's here and the boys are so excited.

I took all the boys to the airport to pick up Dallin. They stood at the big windows and looked into the sky and asked (almost every two minutes), "Where's Dallin's plane?" I have a flight tracker app on my phone, so we were able to tell how close the plane was to landing. The boys would check my phone and then look out the window to see if they could spot the plane. Chad also came from work to welcome Dallin. He got to the airport a couple minutes before the plane landed. Kaden was very worried that he would miss the plane landing.

The airport Dallin flew into is small, so we got to see the plane descend and land on the runway. It was very exciting for the boys.

Since it is a small airport the planes come right up to the waiting area to stop and unload. The boys watched anxiously for Dallin to appear. He was almost the last person to exit the plane. He flew as an unaccompanied minor, so he had to wait for airline personnel to get him off the plane.

I was expecting Dallin's face to light up when he saw the boys, but he was Joe Cool. We had to laugh watching him casually walk over to us with his flat billed Giants cap on!

Once we said our hellos Chad handed Dallin the phone so he could call his parents to let them know he had arrived safely. While Dallin talked, Tanner grabbed Dallin's suitcase. Tanner said he was acting as Dallin's chauffeur!

We are really glad Dallin was able to make the trip to see us this summer, especially since he will be moving overseas when he get home. We are looking forward to having lots of fun for the next two weeks.