Piotraschke Campout 2013 - July 19th-21st

We ARE back!!   The first official sign of that is when we were able to attend the Piotraschke Family Campout once again.  It was again held the 3rd weekend in July just as it always is.  We went up just for the day, but it was so fun to see everyone there again!   Definitely a weekend that has been missed over the years while we were in Utah and Missouri.  

I am playing catch-up so this will be a post of pictures from that day/evening.   Fun was had by all and the boys were sad to leave that night (we didn't stay up for the weekend since we hadn't located all our camping gear yet from the move in June!)    Next year, next year!

Some of the families there...missing lots of people, but these are some of them...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Rewind of Cooper...

Just some oldies I found on my camera as I was loading the other ones.....

Seems like a lifetime ago... my babies grow up too darn fast!! 

These were taken on April 4, 2012

Cooper was only 9 months old.

 

Wheels be GONE...

On Tuesday night, Trevor had his "ah-ha" moment with his bike.  We have been wanting him to go off the training wheels since the summer of 2012 and he has had ZERO interest.  He was completely content with them on and it was no big deal to him.   Well, since moving to Wisconsin, we could see that he had a bit more interest in getting them off, but never wanted to when we asked him.   So we let it go....  it would happen on his own time and not before then.

Well, this week it was HIS time!  On Tuesday night, I was going to take the 3 boys for a bike ride.  Cooper behind my bike and Ethan and Trevor on their own bikes.  We've been having issues with Trevor's training wheel's and chain for a few weeks now, and on this particular night, the chain fell off just before we were going to leave on our ride.  After looking at the wheels, they were shifting and then hitting the chain guard which in turn, would hit the chain and knock it off.  Now, I could have tightened the wheels and all might have been fine if I could bend the chain guard back, but Trevor spoke up as I showed him what had caused the chain to fall off and said, "Well, Mom, we'll just have to take the training wheels off."   Very matter of fact.  It was plain to see that that was the solution to the problem in his eyes!

I looked at him with a very surprised look, I'm sure, and said, "You sure?  You'll let me help you learn on 2 wheels tonight?".  His response was a resounding, "Yeah, Mom!" 

And there you have it.  That was all it took.  It was HIS day to have the courage and determination to get it done on 2 wheels and I was going to run with it as far and as fast as I could!  

And run, I did.... behind him on the grass at first.  Then we moved to the road and he took off.  Literally took off and I had to run beside him as I let go and let my baby fly!  He did so well and the smile on his face was like nothing I have seen before!  I was so proud of him.  I smiled as I watched him go up and down the street the next 50 times before calling it a night.  

You did it Trev and I could not have been more proud to be the one to witness it and help you do it! 

I have a video and will hopefully get that to upload tomorrow....

Some Recent Happenings

Well, the blog posts have been few and far between lately, but I thought I would give a quick run down of what's going on around here.   We are now in the new house (a month already) and we are still trying to get settled.  Just not quite as easy this time with having 3 boys home all day long, family in the area (so we are not just hermits inside our new dwelling for the first couple months like we were with the moves to Utah and Missouri), and the weather being too beautiful outside to want to be inside. 

So, instead of showing you pictures of my unpacked and decorated home (HA), I am going to show you pictures of what we have been doing other than unpacking...

 

We've been playing outside...

Everything from just playing catch to swimming to riding bikes (and I have a special update on that one coming up in another post so stay tuned), from meeting neighbors to just sitting outside to actually enjoy the weather which we haven't been able to to in July for the last few years while in MO.

 

Swimming in the little pool in our back yard.  It might be small, but the boys (Ethan included) all have had a blast in it from time to time

Cooper making me nervous every time he climbs up those slippery steps and plops his but down on the itty-bitty top piece

Trevor enjoying his First Tee golf class.  They didn't always swing at water, but it was their last day and it was HOT so the instructor decided it would be fun to hit water balloons at the end of class.

Baseball is a bit less than we desired this year. They are playing on a team with the YMCA since all the other sign ups had come and gone by the time we knew where we were going to be living.  So, it's not quite competitive, but they get to throw, catch and hit so it's something.  Next year will be a bit different...

Swimming time at my Aunt Bev's house.  She graciously allows us to utilize her beautiful pool and the boys love it.  Cooper is FEARLESS which makes me very nervous!

Cooper would love to keep up with the big boys on his bike, but he gets to stick around the driveway most days.  He's getting the hang of the pedals and steering so it won't be long until he is riding away from mom just like the other two ;o)

 

Baseball is our other fun past time outside.  He (again) wants to be like the big boys so the plastic bat will just. not. due.   The swing is a bit late with the metal bat, but he continues to smile so who am I to tell him that he needs to swing about 20 earlier to even have a chance at hitting the ball?



 

Ethan at picture day for baseball....8 years old

 

Trevor on picture day at baseball... 6 years old

Trevor at his last day of First Tee lessons.

 

 

We have been nursing Cooper's head... he likes to hit it as often as possible.  Guess some things don't change when you move...

 

He lost his balance as he was trying to stand up by the pool.  Not a bad fall, but bad enough that he was ok with getting some fruit snacks while letting Grandma Diener put ice on it.

And this one came just yesterday when he fell off a golf cart onto the cement (and I think hitting his head on the golf cart next to the one he fell off of).  I'm not really sure how he did it...just glad that it wasn't bad enough to need a visit to the ER.

 

 

This is just the beginning of my picture updates.  I have lots more to post, but my other picture disc is downstairs and I am too lazy at the moment to go get it. So for now, this is what you get....  More updates to follow.



2 Year Comparison .... Who's Who???

I don't even have my regular updates on here nor do I have Cooper's 2 year birthday on here, but I wanted to quickly put this on the blog so I didn't forget it!

They are becoming their own person, but I still think they look a lot alike.... what do you think??