summer 2015

it's hard to believe summer has come and gone already.
i know two boys who are thrilled to be back in school even though
they said they had an 'awesome' summer.

summer 2015 will be remembered for beach days, taco surf trips with their dad,
pool parties, play dates, lots of soccer, junior lifeguards, a harry potter birthday,
roadtrips, new books {finn discovered issac asimov}, concerts on the green at
kate sessions park and lots of visitors.  here's some photo highlights:



grommet guards: scout

i'm 2 months behind on this blog, but i am determined to get come
back and document some summer highlights. i just come across this a few
days ago when c shared photos and videos he had of the boys on his phone.

i found this one of scout doing some drills with his fellow guards.
here's one of the video clips c got.  scout looks so into it!
{he's in red lifeguard shorts, no hat}

~ i must mention scout was very disappointed with the grommet guards
workouts. he wanted them to be more difficult than they were.  after his big
brother showed him what his group {9-12 yr olds} were doing, he had been
practicing push-ups, planks, swimming laps in our pool and running more.

c encouraged his desire and would have the boys run the loop around our very hilly
neighborhood every morning in preparation.  he was ready to be pushed.  he would
come home every evening and over dinner tell us the jr. grom program was just too
'babyish' for him. c and i reminded him it was probably challenging for many or most
of the other 7 and 8 year olds and that next year, he will get to be with the big kids and
do all those things that finn did {including the pier jump}.

finn's first pier jump: 2015

one of the rituals of finishing junior guards is jumping off the pier.
kids either look forward to it from day one or they fear it.
finn could hardly wait and the day finally arrived.

i wasn't able to be there but c was and he said he didn't hesitate.
as instructed, he held his fins out to his sides, raised them above his head and jumped.
he said was a 'little' bit scary but more exciting!

here he is, the one and only finn oliver:



i was so grateful there was a photographer who was in the water snapping photos of the kids

jumping. these are scans of printed copies but they do the job.  i only wish there was one from

the top of the pier looking down into the water...that would show the distance down these kiddos

jumped {which is quite impressive} 

 

i learned the photographer is there every summer, so next year we'll get scout doing his very first

jump too. he was so quite disappointed the 'grommet' guards {7 and 8 year olds}, weren't allowed
to do the jump.  i tell him to be patience...he'll be up there next year.

mr. gerber just shared this video clip of finn.  he was there!  

oh to be a kid again!

scout's harry potter birthday

a whole month after his actual birthday,
scout's bestie returned home to san diego and
the harry potter party finally took place. 

we kept it casual and inexpensive, adding just a few things to 'theme' it.
i'm a HUGE fan of themes for two reasons:

first, it makes it easy to decorate, it drives the activity(s) for the party,
and gives c direction for his cool cake designs, and second, and most important,
it imprints into my memory, what my boys were into at specific ages.
anything that will help me remember these beautiful childhood days is
a wonderful thing.

so here are some highlights of scout's 8th birthday party.
he invited his bestie spencer and his other close buddies and of course big brother.
the kids came in white shirts and I provided them with cute ties I found an on amazon
and some wands purchased from etsy. 

they were in heaven and looked oh so cute as they had 'wand wars' and ran all
over the backyard throwing out curses and spells.

 

 

 



summer = good things

summer is in full swing and though i have been working most of it,
the boys are having a blast. oh to be a kid again. summer is full of good things!

while finn and scout stay busy with camps, play dates, road trips and
soccer during the week, i'm trying to soak in the summer days on the weekends
with beach days, bike rides, books, birthday parties, outdoor concerts, eating lots
of cherries and watermelon and enjoying visitors.

the boys were both home last week as we didn't have a camp scheduled
and they took a quick trip to phoenix to see grandparents and their cousin anoka
who celebrated her 1st birthday!  i can't believe my niece is a year already.  

anoka gerber

the boys had a wonderful time in the arizona,
and even got to spend a day with auntie heidi, greg and cousin anoka,
while c played golf with his pops and cousin tim.

they arrived home just in time to see auntie jen who flew in to san diego
for a long weekend.  we had a fun filled weekend and i may have a few
photos to commemorate it but i haven't had a chance to see them yet.
auntie leslie and her kiddos were visiting the weekend before
so i need to document our time together as well.

first things first, scout's 'harry potter' themed birthday party is finally
happening {saturday night}.  it seems like a lifetime for our 8 year old
who has been anxiously awaiting the return of his bestie so he could attend.
he's been in europe for 6 weeks!  he's back and the boys are ready to party.

mr. gerber is having conversations with scout-a-rama about what kind of
cake he will make, and i'm on the hunt for a birdcage.  no, i won't have a real bird,
but because owls are a big part of the harry potter stories, i did purchase hedwig
to put on the party table. it would be super cute if i can find a cage for him.
stay tuned!