I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would combine a lot of photos from the summer into one blog. Eric has been working at Johns Hopkins the last two months which has kept him busy but we had lots of camps lined up for Hayden and tried to take advantage of our days together with fun family time. Hayden did Nature Camps, Soccer Camp, Multi-Sports Camps, Vacation Bible School, Gymnastics Camp, and Lego Superheroes Camp. He really enjoyed them all and its so nice to have so many options in the area. Mommy even got to get away to the Origami Owl National Convention in Phoenix. The summer went by way too fast and I am a little emotional about the fact that Hayden starts Kindergarten tomorrow so I thought I would keep myself busy with blogging. :) Here is our summer in pics.....
First week of camp was Nature Camp at Robinson Nature Center
Ultimate Junior Sports Camp - Hayden playing hockey
Hayden's 2nd week of Nature Camp with his friend Landon
Soccer Camp...one of his favorites
Vacation Bible School at Glenmar
We tried to hit the pool up at least once a week
Summer bliss. :)
Boys first game of putt putt
Me at the Origami Owl Gala
Sports & More Camp
Linc and I enjoyed many walks at the park while Hayden was at camp
Hayden got to go to Great Wolf Lodge with Grammy & Pops and his cousins for the weekend. What a treat!
Hayden finally got to climb on the wall at our gym. We made a few trips and he got better with each climb.
Lincoln went to his first movie at the theatre. Good thing it was only a $1. :)
My niece and nephew recently came to visit us for a few days. It was planned last minute with changes to Eric's work schedule keeping us from going there but it turned out to be a great weekend to have them and do some fun things around the area. We also had to cancel our family summer vacation since Eric did not get off the week he requested so having them here was the next best thing for the cousins to spend some time together. My sister drove the kids here on Thursday morning. After Lincoln's nap we all headed to Pump It Up, an indoor inflatable play place. My sister left after pizza dinner with her youngest, Emily. We also swapped cars so we would be able to transport all the kids in one car. I have to say it was pretty nice having a mini-van for the weekend. :)
I had pulled together a tentative agenda for the 3 days Ryan and Sarah would be staying with us. Uncle Eric got home pretty late on Thursday night but I let the big kids stay up to see him. On Friday, Eric ended up getting off work early so we all headed to duck-pin bowling in the morning. We had done this when Ryan visited a couple years ago and he had requested we do it again. The kids had a great time and even Lincoln played with help from daddy. After rolling the ball down the lane he would run back clapping and laughing. Friday afternoon we headed to Patapsco State Park where we had recently hiked. We parked closer to the waterfall this time so we wouldn't have to hike as far. We played at the waterfall for a bit but then walked back down to the river to hang out and swim. We cooked out on the grill when we got back and then the big kids played games before bed.
On Saturday morning we left early to go downtown to the National Aquarium. The kids really enjoyed it. We saw plenty of fish, turtles, sharks and dolphins. Everyone was ready for a nap that day so we took a break for a few hours before heading to the pool that afternoon. Ryan enjoyed the water slides and the younger kids had fun playing on the more shallow side. We gave Lincoln dinner there so we could stay a little longer. We had spaghetti dinner that night and then played more games before bed.
Sunday morning we hung out here until it was time to leave to meet back up with my sister. Once Eric got home from work, all the kids were out playing baseball while I got everyone packed up and ready to go. I met my sister in LaPlata, where my cousin Virginia was having a baby shower for her daughter Stefanie. The kids were able to swim in her pool for a bit after the shower and enjoyed playing at her house. Lincoln and Eric stayed home to sleep. :)
I think Camp Vaillant 2014 was a success and we had lots of fun. We hope this is something we can do in years to come, no matter where we live. Here are the pics I took during the 4 days together....
We had a great 4th of July at home this year. Hayden had his last day of soccer camp in the morning and then my parents came up to cookout for dinner and stay the night. We set up the blow up pool in the backyard for daytime play and Hayden enjoyed playing baseball and soccer with daddy and Pops. We made snow cones for a treat and then cooked out wings, hamburgers, and hot dogs for dinner. After Lincoln went to bed we made smores on the fire pit and had fun with sparklers. We saw a few fireworks from the neighborhood park so Hayden was excited for that. It was a beautiful day and a nice cool evening. Here are some pics from the day....
A couple weekends ago we had a great Family Saturday. We started the day with a hike at Patapsco State Park with our friends, the Saxtons. It was Lincoln's first hike and we were trying out a new backpack. He did great and enjoyed riding on daddy's back and the fun waterfall. Hayden got a little tired towards the end but overall did great. That afternoon we went to an O's game with just Hayden. We purchased group picnic perch tickets with others in my Moms Group. It was nice because it was mostly shaded and included unlimited food and drinks. This was my first game since moving back to Maryland 4 years ago. It was Hayden's 4th game but his first game that he pretty much sat through the whole thing. It was so much fun watching him really get into the game. Here are some pics from the day.....
