Puppy Love

Casting Chipmunks

I walk into the middle of an intense discussion among the boys. 

“I get to be Alvin!”  Aidan yells loudly.

“You are SO not an Alvin, Aidan.  I am an Alvin.  You are the smart one.  You have to be Simon.”  Brennan scoffs.

“I am not Simon.  I’m Alvin!”  Aidan protests.

“No, you’re not.  Alvin is all about mischief.  I am full of mischief!  You’re smart, that’s why you’re Simon!”

“Hold up,” I interrupt.  “You are all smart.  All of you.  All of you are smart and all of you have a little mischief too.  Okay?”

“Yeah, I have mischief!  I have a whole lot of mischief!”  Aidan mutters.

Brennan laughs.  “You so do not have any  mischief.”

Griffin smiles and says, “Well, all I know is that I get to be Theodore.  And you know why?  Because I am loveable.  I am so loveable.”

Nanny-Cousins

It's a fact.  Cousins do, indeed, make the best summer nannies.  We were very lucky this summer to have two of them helping us out.  Our Nanny Extraordinaire Nikki and her ever available back up Alli.  They bring the fun.  They bring the love.  And they always clean up the kitchen too.

Fire Pit!

Chris got ambitious this summer.  He upgraded our landscaping, planted trees and in a moment of weakness gave into the boys' begging for a fire pit.  (I think it was just a way for the boys to get to eat more smores. But as I am a smores fan myself, I can't say I am against the idea.)

We enjoyed the fire pit for a few days and then the heat of summer set in, with days upon unending days of beautiful hot sun with no rain in sight.  Then, the town put a ban on using fire pits because the ground is too dry and no one wants to burn down their neighborhood.

The smores sure did taste good though.

B Does Tennis

The boys had their first tennis tournament over the weekend.  It was five hours of match play against kids around their age.  I had run home for a few minutes and missed some of Brennan’s last match.  When I returned, I asked Chris for an update and found out Brennan had won second place in his age group.

“That’s great!”  I reply.

“Yeah, that part is great.  What isn’t so great is what happened during the match.”  Chris says quietly to me to avoid being overheard by other parents surrounding us.

“Why? What happened?”

“I saw Brennan getting a little antsy in between points.  After a few minutes of this, he walks over to the older boys helping them with his match, talks to them and leaves the court through the back entrance of the fence.  I thought they had lost a ball and he was looking for it on the golf course.”

“Did he lose a ball?”

Chris shakes his head.  “Brennan walks up to a tree on the golf course and turns to the boys still on the court.  He yells “Shield me!” and all the boys stand up, lift their arms in the air and form a half circle to hide Brennan from the spectators.”

“No.”  I say.  “Oh, No. he wasn’t.”

“Yes.  Yes, he was.  Our son left the middle of his match to pee on the golf course.”

Oh dear Lord.  I don’t think they give out any special awards for that in the tournament.

Summer Sports!

In the past month, we have continued to soak up a summer of sun, sun and nothing but sun.  The boys are still swimming their speedos off and slowly becoming real tennis players.  We had swim meets full of relays, backstroking and breaststroking and a little freestyle too.  Aidan has played several tennis matches for their tennis team, even winning his first singles match 6-0.  (Well, okay, his opponent could barely serve the ball, but still.  First singles match!  Win!)

Brennan was thrilled to finally have his debut match for tennis team, playing second boys doubles.  I am amazed at the progress he has made at tennis this season.  He got almost every serve in and even managed to volley a few balls.  His opponents were two ten year olds that were about twice his and his partner's size, but they still fought to get three games out of six.  I was so proud I could not stop grinning.

At tennis team practices, the boys are allowed to challenge any other player who is rated above them by the coaches on a tennis ladder.  I know Aidan has played a few challenge matches, both winning and losing some, but as Brennan is one of the youngest boys on the team, I did not expect him to participate in the challenges.

But he did.  On his own.  He challenged a boy two years older than him, halfway up the ladder and beat him.

That boy is always full of surprises.

We have just a few more weeks of our packed summer schedule of sports with the insanity of both swim and tennis club championships.  And then, we settle into the quiet of August and start counting down the days until September and the first day of school.

Our B and Tennis

Summer is Exhausting

Blueberry Pickin'

One of my favorite activities on our summer fun list is blueberry picking.  The kids like to pick blueberries, but I just may love it.  I find it soothing and well, a little addicting.  I swear, if you left me alone in a blueberry patch I could pick all the live long day.

The boys are done picking in about fifteen minutes.  I could stay for hours.

We tackled blueberry picking with our crew : Christine and her girls and Danielle and her kiddies.  As Danielle aptly chortled tongue in cheek, "We are making memories here!"

And we are.  I hope my boys remember blueberry picking in the middle of summer surrounded by their friends who have become like family.

A Week at the Beach : Hippies, Lobster, Dance Parties Oh My!