bible verses

   I have been trying to figure out an effective way to teach bible verses to the boys. I don't want to stretch to far from the "big words"...yet I don't want to try to teach a verse that seems irrelevant to them at their age.
  So, I finally thought to break it down in words, pictures, actions, songs, etc over a series of days.  Our first try...John 3:16.  It was a success.  They both know the verse.  And it was fun to see what they drew for the words/concepts.

joe (left) and jake (right) draw God

can you tell which set of hands goes with who?

Now...onto the Lord's Prayer.  Hopefully the song helps on this one.

Jake Swimming

waiting for his race

breaststroke...in the water..."take your mark"

he learned his backstroke start listening to us teach the high schoolers last year

he's a backstroker

butterfly

Go Cubs Go

   We entered the ballpark right when it opened...11:20 am CST. 

 We went to find where our seats were and wandered down to the field to watch a pitcher pitching in left field.  We were talking about the field...kind of taking it all in...when over walks Travis Wood, handing Jake a ball.  Then, Wood motioned to the guy that had been catching and was tossed another ball that he handed to Joe. And Travis Wood walked off...on his way...just as quietly as he had come while Josh and I stood there in awe. (We'd told the boys at the Cubs game in Cincy that it's RARE to walk away from a ballgame with a ball at the MLB level.  And here they BOTH were given one!  "What do mom and dad know?"...right?!!!)

   At 4:35 pm the first pitch finally was thrown.  By the 2nd inning, Joe was ready to go to the hotel. (He took a nap during the rain delay...when the rest of us wished we could have napped!)  But the game moved along quickly. And Josh took Joe for a walk around the ballpark.
   By the bottom of the 5th we convinced the boys to make it to the 7th inning stretch.  (By now 2 home runs had scored. So, that helped the excitement!)
  They enjoyed singing the 7th inning stretch (both actually sang it this time).
  Then, Jake wanted to stay until the end and we convinced Joe to stick it out for the "Go Cubs Go" song.  So, we took another lap around the various levels of the ballpark (which had many empty seats by now).  And we timed it to get back to our seats with 1 more out to end the game. 

 Here, the W flag is going up as we sing "Go Cubs Go". 

   We left the ballpark after 9 hours of being there! But all were happy...singing, skipping, and moving along! :)

So, Saturday morning, we headed to Lincoln Park Zoo and then walked over to the beach area. I didn't think the boys would get in b/c it's so cold.  But I was wrong.   The boys absolutely LOVED the lake...especially the waves.  They had HUGE grins on their faces and squeals of delight.  Even though the water was FREEZING cold, they weren't phased. 

Here are a couple videos that allow you to "hear" the fun! :)

At the zoo...
    Farmer Joe wanted to be sure to pet the goats.

    And the boys fed the cows...

We enjoyed many more animals, too!

And then, we headed home.
Joe apparently didn't want to be bothered on the ride home...

Fun trip. Fun memories!

Another swim meet

  This is the second round of 6 blue ribbons for Jake at his swim meet. Last week he got six blues and last night he got 6 more.
  He continues to improve and remains far above his competition in skill.  Hopefully that continues, but for now we just enjoy his smile of success and share delight in his accomplishments!

Father's Day Fun

   The weather was better on Saturday than Sunday.  So, we planned Saturday to go to a park in Ohio where we enjoyed running/biking the trails, grilling our lunch, and then renting a pontoon boat to take out on the small lake area.  It was definitely a perfect day for the activities.  And the boys really enjoyed the boat ride (all 3 boys, that is!).  :)

Driver Jake

Driver Joe

   Sunday was more laid back with the rain falling.  But breakfast included donuts! :)  And Jake gave Daddy the boot he carved...which included an engraving of "Dad" on the bottom.

creations

 On Flag Day, we were at the Farmer's Market. The Bookmobile (the library on wheels) was there, too. So, the boys acquired small flags after we checked out some books. 
  We were to have our small group over for dinner that night. So, I challenged the boys to make something representing Flag Day as a centerpiece for the counter.  And this is what they created (from Legos)!  Joe's is on the left (with mountains) and Jake's is on the right!

And here is the latest on the treehouse.  The boys can finally enjoy going inside with the rails up.  (Josh used trees from up by the road...that needed to be thinned out for proper growth...for the railings!)  We are still working on a rope ladder for where the ladder is against the tree.  But the boys LOVE it!