Finishing Up the Summer

So going through my pictures I realized there was a lot of fun things we did towards the end of the summer that I may as well get on here. This summer we spent a lot of days at the park and meeting up with friends. Jacob loves his friend Ava from his last preschool, we're glad to still be able to get together! And these kids are just too cute together!

Jacob also did another session of swimming lessons and was the only boy in his class this time! But he really enjoyed it and has shown so much improvement! We're excited to move him up to the next level once he signs up again next year. 

Jacob finished another season of soccer. We're not sure how much he enjoyed soccer, some days more than others but on his last game he scored his first goal and we couldn't have been more proud! He was lucky the other team wasn't paying much attention, but he's come a long way and I'm glad it gave him the confidence, and now he wants to try soccer again next summer :)

After his last game and first scored goal we took the boys out for ice cream!

 

Another fun day this summer was checking out the goats at the public library. They basically hired the goats to eat the grass and all the kids loved having them there for a week. There were probably a hundred!

I also got to have a one on one date with Jacob to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science again.

He loved playing in the Kids Discovery Center, and he said his favorite part was looking through the magnifying glass at the bugs.

We got lunch at the cafeteria, and the we headed up to the space section and Jacob loved dressing up and pretending to be astronaut.

We also got to see two movies of Jacob's choice- one was a 3D movie about sharks. And then we checked out some stuffed animals, a whole fitness section, and the dinosaurs last.

Of course, by the end of the day Jacob was wiped out. I enjoy having that time with just me and him sometimes, it was a fun day!

One Friday night this summer they held an annual Rocky Mountain Air Show and the small airport happens to be directly behind Luke's work. So the kids and I met Luke at his office and brought some pizza and we had a little picnic on the back patio of his office. It was fun for the boys to be able to watch the old school planes and not have to pay any entrance fees. It was beautiful weather and a fun night!

The next day, we went downtown and found this little hidden beach by the river that goes through town. It's more rocks than sand, but it's the closest thing we've found to a "beach" in Denver, so we'll take it!

This summer has also been lots of lazy mornings and days just playing at home together. I love seeing the boys be friends and do everything together. Wish we could be this relaxed and have summer all the time!

Montana Reunion!

A few weeks ago we got back from another great Schow reunion. We look forward to these every two years and always have such a great time! We went to Montana again- a 15 hour drive one way for us. Thanks to the dual screen DVD players and lots of snacks, the boys really did awesome.

We met up with Luke's sisters' family and his parents in a second car while we passed them on the road our second day of driving. We finally stopped somewhere in the mountains for lunch and I got me and the boys some huckleberry ice cream. As we got further in Montana, I was surprised by how many lakes we saw- it was such a beautiful drive.

Finally on Sunday we made it to the Glacier Mountain Lodge. Pictures can't express how beautiful this place was.  It had the mountains behind us, surrounded by beautiful farmland and we had our own little pond and lots of beautiful grassy area. It was a perfect place to have a reunion.

We stayed in the basement and had a great room with plenty of space for us and the boys. Jacob loved having a little window bench bed.

We all brought bikes, scooters and toys for the kids, and they all had a blast playing outside taking turns on everyone's rides. Both Jacob and Blake loved playing outside every day with all their cousins. On Monday we all just let the kids explore, play outside, and mostly in the pond- which was perfect for the kids.

All the kids loved taking turns on the paddle boats, swimming, and Jacob loved just playing in the sand. We were outside all day, my boys were the last to come inside!

When there was a little downtime I thought my boys did really well playing quietly together or with with their cousins.

On Monday evening, Luke spotted some horses by the back fence and let each of the boys take a turn sitting on the horse. I didn't get pictures until he got me after and we all got to feed the horses some grass. It was really neat and just such a pretty and peaceful setting!

Tuesday was great because we got to go to Mike and Cindy's house on Lake Blaine and take turns out on their boats- so much fun! And again- so beautiful!

In the first picture Luke and Scott took Jacob for a long canoe ride. Later, me and the boys went on a boat ride and watched a couple people water ski. Then they got out a ski trainer and Jacob was finally brave enough to have a turn and he rode all by himself! Later me and Luke took Jacob on a tube ride and by the end of the day he was doing tube rides with his cousins all on his own. You can see his huge grin- he loved those tube rides!

Blake was happy riding in the boats, and playing in the rocks. And then he took an amazingly long nap inside, so that gave me and Luke a lot of time to relax- it was a really fun day! Except for the part when Brenda slipped and broke her ankle. Luckily, Luke was there to help her and John took her to the hospital, and she was still able to get around the rest of the trip.

We had a western theme for dinner that night, and I thought Luke's picture was the best!

The day at the lake wore us out so Wednesday we relaxed and spent time at the lodge. Deckers' were in charge of lunch and dinner that day; we took family pictures that night (can't wait to see how they turned out!); and then we stayed up playing a fun game that night.

On Thursday we went to Big Sky Waterslides and it turned out to be a lot funner then I thought! Jacob's not a fan of waterslides but luckily there were a couple of slides where kids could ride on someone's lap, so Luke and I took Jacob and Blake on those over and over again- and they loved it! There was also a kiddie pool with lots of tubes floating around and the boys spent a lot of time there too. So I really didn't get many pictures since we were so busy having fun in the water all day!

That night the grand-kids all got their traditional gifts from Grandma Betty. They all loved going fishing for them, and we appreciate her thoughtfulness! On Friday, we relaxed at the lodge again, all us girls made some earrings, and then in the afternoon a lot of us went to Big Fork to do a little shopping and get some ice cream. And the cousins all wore the tie-dye shirts they made the day before- they all turned out awesome! Except Jacob's, whose was made at the beach last year- what a difference! I really wish I made one for myself!

Finally on Saturday it was time to pack up and go early that that morning. As you could see, Jacob was very sad to say goodbye to his cousins and the lodge- I think we all were! We had a lot of fun seeing family, and having such a relaxing time together. I think we made a lot of good memories this year.

Thank you Grandma Betty for allowing us such a wonderful opportunity to get together with everyone! Looking forward to hopefully another reunion in 2 years!