BBall Hall of Fame

This summer we got to go to the Basketball Hall of Fame thanks to our friend Renee who lives in Sprinfield. Of course we joke that we were taking the 2 hour trip to eat at the Golden Corral and stopping in to see Renee since we were there.

 

Joshua is in to basketball and loves to play. He wasn't too into the history of the place though.

 I'm not a follower of basketball. I used to watch it a little when the hockey playoffs ran into the basketball playoffs. I used to love Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

 There were so many pictures hanging. I recognized very few of them. More than I put in this post but still not many in comparison. I'm guessing that is why it was less interesting to the boys. The players in the Hall of Fame have to be retired from the game 5 years. None of the players they know would be here.

 Considering how quickly Joshua is growing, I have a feeling I will be seeing this size shoe in my future.

 He will be as tall as these guys in no time.

Auntie likes her basketball and her Celtics. 

 I love that I can get Renee to be a goofball with me and take pictures of it. Smell that Larry.

 Hey Larry, whatcha hiding in those shorty shorts? I'm glad I can still crack myself up.

 This was by far the boys' favorite part. They had many many hoops at different levels including ones from the evolution of basketball, way back to the wooden barrel :)

 They sure worked up a sweat and we all needed an ice cream to cool down :)

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Tough Guy

This is what my little guy looks like after a hot day of riding his four wheeler in the dusty yard. Not to mention the way he looks when he doesn't want me taking his picture which is anytime the camera comes out. I had to try to trick him by telling him I could show him what his face looked like with all the dirt. "I can just look in the mirror mom". To which I said, "Don't you dare move!"

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

Jericho Festival

This was the first year I joined the boys at the festival. My hubby looks forward to the Jericho Festival to get his mud on! I'm not sure why because with every mud event comes problems. The 'mud' is more like a big mud puddle. Here is getting ready to GO! 



 Thank goodness for big tires. He didn't get too muddy :)

 

It was a close race.

He pulled out a second place win, winning an opportunity to move on. But...the water caused an electrical problem and he couldn't get his machine started again to race :(

 The boys love to watch. They really wish they could race, but they don't let the little guys have any fun :(

 These crazy fools do a foot race after. Annnnd they pay money to do it, a dollar for charity. Most of the people work the event so it's all in good fun.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

♥ Her

One of my favorite times of the year is when I get to see my sister. I love and miss her so much all the time. Even though she has many stories about how mean I was as an older sister, many of the same stories I tell :), we are still very close. Of course we can still get on each other's nerves, me because I can be anal, rigid and opinionated and she who can be melodramatic, unopinionated and loves to take pictures of herself. I love getting to talk with her, though she doesn't open up as much as she used to. Hearing childhood stories told from another perspective is very interesting. I am so grateful that she is better with her finances than I am and is able to make the trip each year. And so are my children, who love their cousins and have wonderful childhood memories.

Thanks to Jeanne's iphone...

And thanks to scanner technology...

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

The End of Another Year

The school year is over. Next year the boys will enter 6th grade and 4th grade, their last year in their current buildings. They still will not be in the same building until Jacob enters the 9th grade.

The boys were both thoroughly happy with their teachers this year. It was the first time they had a male teacher and both had one.

At the end of the year they find out who they will have for next year. The feelings are not positive.

Joshua doesn't think his teacher is very enthusiastic and Jacob is asking if we can move before school starts :) He has the teacher that has the reputation from kids as being the meanest but who is respected by parents. We keep telling him that if he does what he is supposed to he will be fine :)

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

First Ride of the Season

How fitting that the American Bald Eagle would have made an appearance on Memorial Day weekend. So cool.

 We also saw tons of butterflies. They must have all recently morphed. Much prefer them to the black flies that usually accompany May!

 Unfortunately the machines have been giving us lots of troubles. The two little ones especially, causing Daddy to buy Joshua another new one...much to Mom's chagrin and Joshua's excitement. The boys are ready to ride.

And who says it's always the women you wait for???

You notice when it's time to get mucky and wet they jump on Dad's machine. Actually they usually don't have any problem getting their own muddy. This was a bit deep and it would have caused more problems. 

Joshua on the other hand just didn't want to get his new machine dirty...that lasted for one ride :)

 Just as always happens, we ended up towing one machine back due to something breaking. Jacob jumped on with Daddy though as co-pilot and we continued making the best of it.

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle

He shoots, He scores!

Hockey is no longer a spectator sport for my boys. They have loved watching it and playing street hockey in the driveway, but now they are making serious business of it. As you can see from Jacob's face.

 Jeffrey has started playing a men's league which has sparked their interest more so I looked into a Learn to Play class for Jacob. He does not love basketball so I figured I would try to find something for him in the winter. I didn't anticipate the repercussions of that decision....the cost of equipment and leagues is crazy, and Joshua loves it at well. Try telling one boy he can have his dream come true and not the other :(

 Jacob has his equipment....thank goodness for summer clearance. Joshua is on his way to getting most of his. That's the bummer about being bigger....equipment cost goes up with size. I heard someone call into a radio station one time saying that should be true for women's clothing, that larger women should pay more than the smaller women. I don't like it here so I certainly wouldn't like it for me, though I do see the logic.

 Jeffrey has decided to play goalie. I hate that position for my kids. The pressure is rough. Though my favorite hockey player was a goalie. Goalie equipment is even more expensive so I will not be encouraging Joshua and Jacob into that position, and I will be stapling Jeffrey's lips together when he tries to!

Thanks for visiting ♥ Michelle