What happened to June?!?!

What happened to June?  

What happened to me staying caught up because I have so much extra time in the summer (sarcastic)?

What happened to getting June done before leaving for vacation?

Well, let's move on.  June was busy.  Sorting through 856 pictures of June and July has kept me just as busy.  Let's get caught up so I can share a County of Door 2015 post!!!

We started June by ending our graduation celebrations.  Brenden graduated with Mikayla and his party was the second Saturday in June.  He is great with the boys and the boys really like being with Mikayla and Brenden.

The following Sunday, we headed East to Eau Claire for a very important dance recital.  As Mikayla ended her high school dance career, Elle has just begun!

The boys met Nana, Kayla and I there after hockey practice.  No way they were sitting through 4 hours of dance!!! Where is Elle?  When is Elle?  Is it done?

Goof balls - trying to add Ash to the picture got us this...

The belle of the ball.

So many that love her were there supporting her. 

The boys gave me a bit of a break  - I mean went to summer school for three weeks.

They were super excited to be in the Deer Room and LOVED it.  Ashy's favorite part was lunch and recess (typical response) and Aiden loved seeing all his friends, even if they were in different classrooms.  It was Monday - Thursday from 8 until 12:30.  It gave us a glimpse of what 4K will bring.  They were exhausted most afternoons, which impacted what we were able to do the rest of the day.  I am not complaining... I got groceries, ran errands, gym time, appointments done, and me time in the mornings!

Hanging.  They still play with trucks quite a bit.  We have also been lucky with mosquitoes this year and we can actually play in the back yard and sand box!

Tatum and Jaxon came to play one morning.  We were going to meet at the hockey rink in Eau Claire, but it was way too beautiful outside to go freeze inside!

So they played hockey on the driveway ;)

Summer means boat rides!  We LOVE being on the boat.  The boys have also really taken to fishing.  They ask to go all.the.time!

Huddy Buddy.

Pretty proud of their catch!

They called the fish a "lunker".

Fishing right off Reese's dock.

Aiden found a shell.

The boys' friend Myles stopped over for a bit one day after summer school.  They know Myles from their 4 year old pre-school and his mom and I are good friends.  They are pretty good little buddies.

Our porch.  Our headache for the last two years.  Well, it's finally getting fixed!!!

The boys were spying on the workers.

Within months of living here, there were cracks in all the front concrete and the front porch sunk away from the house about 3+ inches.

After months/years of trying to figure out who was going to fix it... the builder, the concrete people, or Santa, we finally settled with the builders insurance to GET IT DONE.  The new and improved is stamped and stained, not cracked, and a little more though of the design and doesn't look like it was thrown together to "get the job done" (the sidewalk was hideous going from wide to narrow).

Two days of jack hammering was not ideal.  I swear the pictures were going to fall off the wall and Izzie was going to have a heart attack, but we made it through it.  Not a good week for Izzie.  Jack hammering, a storm, and the 4th of July all in the same week meant shot nerves and a skittish puppy!

Tearing out the old, to pour the new.

Super nervous to trust those who were hired to fix it after such a long time of dealing with the eye sore and missed time of enjoying our front porch.

Next summer I'll actually be able to plant the front since this long awaited project is over!

After pictures to come soon.  We were on vacation when it was finished and I have one picture that was sent to me:

Who puts on full hockey gear to watch Mighty Ducks?

Who puts on their baseball uniform to watch Sand Lot?

Who is in full turtle gear for watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Who dresses up like dragons to watch TV, go to the library, and Walmart?

Ashton and Aiden.  

Aunt Elly would be proud that the boys LOVE to dress up.  For Ashton I think Tball is more about looking the part, than playing the part.  ;)

On days where they were exhausted from school, and after rest... we went to the park.  Easy, close, and FREE!

Tow little boys are pretty proud to have mastered the monkey bars!!!  They told me they have been practicing with friends at school.

Ashton showed me first...

Then Aiden...

Goof Balls.

Aiden was posing with the camera.

Then Ashton had to.

At Tball they can see this dinosaur and always ask to play on it... well today we finally did.

for two minutes, and then they were done.

The boys didn't have school on Fridays so we took advantage of the time and often did larger day trips.  We had nothing planned and Aiden requested a park we went to last summer.  Good memory!

Stillwater is one of my favorite little towns, so they boys and I packed a lunch and were off to Teddy Bear Park.

Drive an hour to play in the sandbox?!?!

Climbing.

It was such a good morning, we didn't want to leave so we walked downtown and found some ice cream!

We then walked down by the river to pick out a boat for Daddy and enjoy our new favorite: Ice Cream with a Straw (malts).  I like them too because they are cleaner than a cone and don't melt and drip!

After Ice Cream they even let me duck into a reclaimed furniture shop that is one of my favorites.  The best thing they said:

"Mom is this Door County?"  It kind of felt like it on Main Street, the candy store, and it was very busy with the Holiday Weekend coming!  

What happened to June?
We started July by heading to Downsville and have some Cubby's pizza.  This is special because on July first Uncle Nate and Katie were the new proud owners.  I remember going with Nate to help clean the bar when he was in Middle School and I was in 4th grade.  Now he and Katie own it and it is by sorts "staying in the family".  We look forward to heading South for pizza and rootbeers in the future!

 It's already the 4th of July?  
I feel like the summer begins to slide away after the 4th.  We have three vacations planned that definitely will make the rest of the summer fly by.
For the 4th we spent time with friends and on the water.  Our two favorite things to do!

Hudsen is quite the snacker on the boat!  Actually all the kids are.  It's pretty much just eat what you want and stay safe ;)

The two captains.

The boys with their idols, Brigs and Blais.

Love.

Reese.  *It was a hazy day from the wildfires in Canada.

Who is this kiddo?  Anyone want to claim him?

I think Aiden and Reese didn't even want to claim him!

We had some conversations about how it was America's Birthday and what it means.  We also had talks (over and over and over) about the 13 stripes and the 50 stars on the flag.  Curious minds.  They want to hear stories over and over right now.  

We went back on the water for the firework show.  The sunset was pretty cool too!

On the lake we were ready for the cities fireworks, but above the trees while waiting we could see many other shows from all around!

Excited!

TBall.  I don't have many pictures because we have to be on the field with the kiddos.  Yes, Adam and I because we have two on the field.  ;)
They boys are enjoying it, however we have had to miss a few for some conflicts.  Conflicts are fishing, birthday parties, and vacations.  We give them the choice and they don't always pick Tball.  Miss hockey?  NEVER, by their choice.
Tball is okay.  It's a lot of standing on the field and doing what we do every night with the boys in our yard: play catch and practice hitting it off the T.  However, at practice you need to wait for the entire team to hit.  At home you only need to take turns with your brother to hit ;)

A sneak peak of picture night...

Some other randoms...

At the Oakwood Mall they have some Huge Stuffed animals that the kids can ride on.  It was funny to watch them cruise around the mall on them.  Thank goodness they know how to drive!  They giggled the entire time... until the Lion stuck on and they couldn't stop it.  Aiden had to keep making circles until we got it to shut off.  The only problem, they aren't allowed in the stores, so Nana and I had to trade off - but they are fun for a quick errand.

Water park time.  The boys are getting more brave with water in their faces, going down the slide, and dunking their heads!

Thanks for checking in!  Now to just go through 500+ pictures of Door County.

Stay tuned for a post later this week recapping our annual vacation!