Mall Night

We hit the mall in Manhattan on Monday night and had a yummy dinner at Carlos O'Kelleys!

Lake Days

We had several lazy days on the lake with fishing, kayaking and lounging in the water.  We've made some great memories there!

Friends

We connected with a few more families this year than in summers past and found it to be well worth it!

 

Brent and Katherine Stirtz (Topeka), Laura (Taussig) Pierce (Olathe),
Chris and Amy Vandorn (Manhattan) and Ron and Kim Lackey (Overland Park)

Royals Game

 Took in a Royals game while we were in KC and made such a memory!  It rained lightly for the first hour or so and then stopped.  And the Royals won!  Ashton and Derrik went to check on the kids area and he got hit the ball and run the bases on the smaller diamond and even rode a carousel!  So fun!

Family time

We have safely returned to CA and are enjoying some much needed down time after our trip to KS.  We had such an amazing time!  I put together a few collages of some photos but wanted today just to be about family.....

Got another one taller than Grandma Bonnie!

Mwah!

Universal Studios Day

We went as a family to Universal Studios last week!  Ashton and I had never been.  The highlight of the day was the studio tour where they drive you on to back lots where tv shows are made and movie scenes are built.  Very fun day!

On the studio tour tram

Had to get this done....now we have the whole family!

  Does it look like me?

A city street used for filming

Ash and Cam in front of a New York City backdrop

Galaxy Fourth

Nothing like ringing in the fourth with the Galaxy!  We had such a great time watching the guys play soccer and we really enjoyed the fireworks afterwards.  We were given Omar Gonzales and Robbie Keane masks as we entered and had a lot of fun taking pictures with them!

Ashton with Robbie

Robbie (Ethan) and Omar (Cameron)

Cameron made a sign to cheer on the Galaxy!

Ashton enjoyed the game more with headphones!

Grammy Museum

I took Ethan and Cameron down to L.A. to visit the Grammy Museum!  Lots of beautiful costumes, photos and other memorabilia from Grammy winners.  Ethan found a mixing table where he got to mix the instruments on a song, and both he and Cameron got to play digital drum sets!  I can see that on one of their Christmas lists soon......The highlight was the Ringo exhibit with all of his old Beatles keepsakes.

VBS Week and Decker trip

 Cameron and Ashton had a great week at VBS with friends, learning great new songs and studying verses from the Bible!  VBS attendance was at 1,600!  The kids packed food boxes and raised over $11,000 for families in Haiti affected by the earthquake.  It was an amazing week!  It was a country theme so Ashton dressed up one day (note the vest made by Grandma Bonnie a LONG time ago!)

On Wednesday, Cameron and I drove down to Ontario to visit Suzanne, Danielle and her friend, Lauren who were visiting from AZ!  We went to dinner and walked around the mall where we found a great music store.  Suzanne showed us what she'd been working on at her guitar retreat and Cameron showed me the drum set of his dreams.  :)  He did get something out of the trip - Dalton's hat and three boxes of clothes/shoes from Dalton!  Thanks, man!

Mall Outing

 We went over to the mall for ice cream and got a chance to let the younger ones play!

Rockin' and Bouncin'

Ethan, his friend, Austin and Cameron have started a band called, "Full Range Locals" and have been recording some music over the last few months.  This week when they met for practice, they took a photo.  Some of their band's music has been posted on Ethan's facebook page.










 
 We attended a friends birthday party at a trampoline place and I got some photos of all three boys playing around.

Cameron and Ashton hula hoop

This is how a teenager does the hula hoop  ;)

Ashton jumping into the foam pit

Father's Day

 We had such a fun day celebrating Derrik today!  He was treated to breakfast and cards in bed and then helped with a much needed project, carpet cleaning!  :)  Then, we went out for lunch and then off to the bowling alley.  We made sure he got a nap and then we grilled a yummy dinner and watched some basketball over strawberry shortcake.  He was sure fun to celebrate!

Being goofy

Father's Day 2013

Crazy version!

Visit to Apple Valley

We went to Apple Valley and visited the grandparents.  Had a lovely visit and enjoyed the public pool and a new sprinkler!

Superheroes and Yearbook

Cameron and Ashton dressed up for superhero day at school

Some random shots of us:  Cameron with his classmates and Ashton with girls from his class.  :)

Awards and New Chapters

We're finishing the year on a high note.....Cameron earned 2 awards (perfect attendance and service as valet helper) and Ashton earned the Effort award!  So proud of these boys!

Ethan finished his last day of school the end of May.  We are now parents of a high schooler.  So amazing how fast it all goes!

Cameron and Ashton finished up their year yesterday.  We went out this morning to celebrate!  We are so ready for summer!