More boating...

 Griffin begged me to take a picture of him as he progresses into the water.  So here he is on the first step....

 The second step...

 And now on the third step....  He is gradually getting better and better about getting in the water.  We are so proud.  Mom and Gavin always seem to be having a good time together. 

 They just swim, talk, and hang out.

 Gavin started ski tubing again for a long while.  He is doing really well on it.

 Papa 4 wheeler was turning and trying to get him to do stunts and he just laughed.

 Doesn't it look like fun...

 Doing a little turning and stunting around.

 Guess where Garrett was... yep on Papa 4 wheeler's lap.

Although, not as hot as last week, it was still another great day of boating.

Boating

As an older child, my fondest memories were out on the lake in a boat with my family during the summer.  We went every Sunday.  My brother and I loved the water, loved skiing, loved tubing, and just loved the boating thing.  Well, my brother and I moved out, went to college, started jobs, one of us moved several states away, the other one of us got married, and then started a family.  So boating went by the waste side and Dad decided to sell the boat.  Now our boys are a little bit older, I have missed having a boat again.  Well much to my surprise while Gavin and Griffin were with Papa 4 Wheeler last Friday, they went to pick up a new boat Papa had bought.  We were all thrilled and excited.  It is a pontoon boat and it is tons of fun.  We made her very first voyage this past Sunday.  The boys really enjoyed it.  They had only been on Lake of the Ozarks so they were thinking this lake was the same size but they were still excited how "big" it was.  To them it was big.

 This was Garrett's place most all the ride.  He loves his Papa 4 Wheeler.

 If he wasn't on Papa's lap, watching Gavin, or swimming, he was sleeping.  I was so impressed how well he did with his life vest.  He did so well with it. 

 Grandma bought this tube thing to help you learn how to ski.  Gavin loved it and really took off on it.  Garrett and Daddy watching...

 We have a little work to do with Griffin.  He didn't get in the water and he won't even dream of doing what Gavin was doing but that's okay.  We will take baby steps with him.  He likes to warm up to things first and takes a while to do so but eventually he does warm up to them. 

 He still liked riding in the boat.

 We got a lot of people watching Gavin stand on this thing.  I think he will get right up on real skis.  He did this for about an hour.  And no I'm not stretching the truth on that.  It was about 6:00 p.m. and we asked Gavin if he wanted to go home or go out in the ski tube thing again.  He picked go on the ski tube thing again.  He loved it.  We are so proud of him.

  I can't wait to get on a tube with the boys and try that out.  I think they will have a ball with that.  I'm loving that we get to share the boating thing with our boys and I'm loving that they love it.  Next time I won't leave my camera in the vehicle.  These were all taken by my phone.

Dawson Lake

Recently, we visited Dawson Lake with some of our close friends.  It was really relaxing and so beautiful.  The boys had so much fun and all we had to do was give them sand and water.

 Playing in the "hot tub".

 Garrett loved this shovel and played with it non-stop.

 These two boys chased each other all around the lake.

 Just sitting and enjoying the sun.

 Love love love this girl

 We didn't have to do much but that didn't matter because we all had a really great time.  We asked the big boys (as in Jeff and Kerry) if they would have rather been racing this day and we didn't get a response.  LOL!!!  The girls and the kids all thought this was much better than racing.  We loved it.  I think I could enjoy this every weekend.

Last Baseball Games

A couple of weeks ago, Gavin and Griffin both had their last games.  We would love for their seasons to last longer but we enjoy it while it lasts.  Both older boys have really improved their games.  Gavin now steps into his swing and moves his hips which can make the ball take off.  He loves to practice hitting.  He has also really improved on his catching and throwing as well.  

Griffin actually missed his rescheduled last game due to sickness.  He was rather bummed.  Although through the season, he improved as well.  He didn't love the fact that he had to hit off of the tee but he can really hit as well.  Griffin can really throw the ball and gets better at catching all of the time.  They both had a really great season.