Sunday Morning

The End of an Era

This sandbox and accompanying swingset were the first things Dan built when

 we moved here 16 years ago.  They have seen a lot of

 creative play, adventure picnics, and childhood tantrums.

  But the railing and steps were past their prime.

  Rotten...in other words.

  So on a cool Monday morning, the kids got busy taking it apart. 

Piece by piece.

 Andrew's manning the drill.

 Having a jolly, good time.

 The little boys were only interested in playing.

 Taking a break from all of the hard work.

 Which one's harder to deal with?  The 13yo or the 4yo?

 Keeping the littlest people out of trouble.

 Lots and lots of hardware.

 The final stage of demolition required help from the big guys.

 Dan cut off the supports...

 then they all heaved the beasty platform...

 out of the way...

 and everyone hopped in to the open air sandbox.

Stephen's Grad Party Pics

SOME people like to spend all their time in front of the desserts



 Lots of visiting with relatives and friends

 Twilight volleyball

Celebrating with the Little Brother 

 Hanging with friends

 The parking line that went on and on

 Late night volleyball

 Clearing out after the mosquitoes arrived

 Or staying inside where it's safe

 Anyone care to help clean up?

 What time was this party supposed to end at anyway?

Jeff... Guardian of the Grad Shrine

 



Raft Revival

Our raft has had a habit of moving across the lake this summer.  So

the kids decided to tow it back with the paddle boat.

Hmm!  Seems like the two in the paddle boat are doing the

lion's share of the work.

Now they're a little overloaded.

Miss Nonnie is obviously not very tired from the adventure.

Just another lazy summer day.

Andrew's Birthday

Andrew's birthday was actually two weeks ago but life has a way of getting the best of me!

12 years old!

 We made brownie sundaes for dessert cuz this Mama just threw open the cupboard

and used what she had on hand.

 Thanks for the photo bomb, Jeff and Stephen.

Andrew is blessed to have our neighbors as his godparents.

We see them all the time but rarely remember to take a picture!

Pictures from Camp

This is it folks!  All the pictures from Men of Virtue/Vocations Camp at our house.  Through a strange twist of fate, Clare ended up with our camera at Schoentstatt Camp (where we banish send her for our "everything-boy week").  My dad snapped a few pics on the last day, so without further adieu...

Prepping for the final Mass.

Awards ceremony and line up for camp t-shirts.

(Or maybe I should say,"A wee bit of chaos.")

 Francis making himself right at home in the crowd.

 "Yours truly" scarfing food with my lovely Mama.

 Great shot of our make-shift chapel in the background.

 A big shout-out to all our generous donors who made another great year of Camp possible!  And sorry it took so long to get this post up.  All I can say is it's been an incredibly busy summer.

Note to Sarah:  My boys want to come to your camp yet this summer.  I'm thinking that would be really awesome.  Calling Fr. Scott today...