My Champs

It's my turn to be that annoying mom who's gonna brag on how awesome her kids are.
Bear with me.
It's o.k.

There was a Elk's Club Soccer Shoot out this week that the boys really wanted to participate in.
We had never done this before, and it was a convenient night, so we went.
None of us knew what to expect or exactly what would be done.
But the boys were eager to try it out.
Especially when they saw the trophies that would be given out.

Every boy wants a trophy.
It's ingrained in their DNA.
I promise

I absolutely love how each of the boys has their own 'game face'.

So adorable!

And yes, when Seth is serious, he always sticks out his tongue.

Wyat went first in the competition (out of the boys anyway).

He is always working the crowd. Maybe he'll be an actor when he grows up.

He and Seth were in the same division.

Troy and I didn't think that was very fair.

There is a large gap in the physical abilities of a kid Seth's age and a kid Wyat's age.

Wyat did well, he tried hard, but he missed most of his goals.

He got a few through though!

Seth went next.

He did a really good job, making most of his goals, but missed all of the highest scoring ones.

Then came Tate, he was in a different division.

He only missed 2 of his shots, but most of his shots were only one pointers.  They divide the net up into a grid and divide it into different point values.  Tate hasn't figured out how to get enough loft on the ball to shoot it high into the corners, which would have been the highest scoring, but also the hardest shots.

He did really well though.

All the boys tried hard and did their best.  However no one spent any time practicing before hand like I suggested.

Overall only one of the boys won a trophy, can you guess who?

He ended up winning 1st prize in his division!

He was a little stoked, but managed to remain humble and not gloat in front of his brothers. 

The only one who was really upset was Wyat.  Tate was disappointed he didn't win, but had a good attitude and we had a good talk about the importance of practicing.

I was proud of all of my boys, because of course, they are all champs to me.

But I was really happy for Seth.

He really loves sports and out of the three boys, does put the most effort into learning and training.

He gets to advance to the next level, so if you are in Wausau on September 22, you can watch him.

Hopefully, he uses this time to practice, because the competition is going to be harder.

Well, thanks for letting me brag a little.

I love my boys.

It is really exciting to see them develop their skills and passions.

Thanks for reading,

Jana

Dinner Cookout

So by now you have probably figured that I am pretty behind in my blogging endeavors.
I'm sorry.
We don't lead a boring life, really.
I have lots of things to share.
It's just that we have been so busy and I fall into bed so tired. 
I can't think to type, I can't think of what to type.
So I just read and then go to sleep,
consequently letting down few all of the people who are interested in our life up here in the woods.

Here's something I was going to post awhile ago.
My parents came up for a visit at the beginning of the summer, before everything got crazy.

This is what relaxed looks like.

We decided to have a camp fire cookout for Tate's birthday dinner.

We had pudgy pies and hot dogs.

Of course there were s'mores too.

Other than being worried that Wyat would fall head first into the fire or burn his hand on the hot pudgy pie makers, it was a really relaxing night.
Even Mom had a good time.
Tee-hee! (she doesn't like it when I take her picture)

Hunky Hubby is a master at pudgy pie assembly, and fire building, and hot dog cooking, and marshmallow roasting! O.k., he's pretty much a master at everything.

Seth has a look of joyful expectation, doesn't he?

Who knew pudgy pies were so amazing?

They are amazing enough to get stuck on your teeth and make you look goofy when you smile!

Here's Poppa sipping on his sweet tea.

Hot dogs roasting and pudgy pies burning cooking.

Mmm, the smells of a hot camp fire.

Apparently the food was finger lickin' good!

It brought great joy to the people who consumed it. 

Just look how happy this kid is!

Of course someone had to teach the boys how to play 'chubby bunny' with the marshmallows.

I'm not sure who won. 

All I know is that I resisted the urge to join in.

Didn't want to show the boys up, you know?

I don't like crushing them in competitions.

They may not want to play anymore.

The other thing that just had to be done, was to put dead pine boughs on the fire and get it to climb higher and higher.  You know it is just natural for boys to want to burn things and make fires grow.  I'm not really sure how anyone taught boys to put out fires.  How did we ever get them to like putting out fires enough to actually create a career out of doing just that? When you think about it, it's a miracle we have firemen.  Now arson's on the other hand, it's not hard to figure out why there are those guys out there.  I'm kinda surprised there aren't more of them.

Can you hear them oohing as the flames are reflected in their eyes? And that smile of Seth's is a bit concerning, don't you think?

So is this expression. 

Can you say 'giddy', 'jubilant' or 'extatic'?

That's my boy!

This is my boy too. 

He likes to wear his food.

Saving it for later.

Or so I'm told.

This guy looks mesmerized as he stares into the flames.

Hunky Hubby likes playing with fire as much as the boys do.  But he also likes to have his picture taken as much as my Mom does.

However, I can usually get him to crack.

That's cause he loves me so much.

So, happy campfire dinners to you all too!

Thanks for stopping in,

Jana

Favorite Places

So I know I've shared with you some of the things we do for fun up here in the boonies in the winter time. 
Today I want to share with you one of our favorite places to go for fun in the summer.
It's called Lily Military Park.
Located about 3 1/2 miles north of our house, it is a little park on the wolf river. 
One of the reasons we love the park is because there are hardly ever any people there, most of the time we have the park all to ourselves. 
The other reason is because of the river.

The river there is perfect.  It's beautiful, peaceful and soothing.
It makes the perfect river noise as it cascades and rolls over the rocks that lie within it's banks. In the evening, the sun glimmers off of the rippling water, it dances giving off the most beautiful light.
It's silky smooth waters sooth away the heat flushed skin of a hot day.  
But most of all, it is perfect for wading in.
Which is so much fun for my boys. 
Personally, I like to pop a chair into the middle of the river and sit there with a book while they play around me. 

But even I get in it on the hot days. 
I let the cool waters wash over me and refresh me.

The boys love it in the river and so does Hunky Hubby. 

So does Annie of course!

It's the perfect place for adventuresome boys and their dad, who is really just an overgrown boy in all the best ways.

What they really like to do while wading in the river is hunt for crawdads!
That's right.
And then they cook them and eat them.
Yep.
They really do.
Here is Hunky Hubby on the prowl.

He likes to sneak up on the little crustaceans from behind and grab them with his bare hands!
The boys prefer using small nets to catch them. 
Usually someone ends up with a crawdad hanging off of their finger or swim trunks.
I guess that's part of the fun.
After collecting enough for a meal it' s time to cook them!
Now, not being an adventurous eater, I've never tried these little guys.  I figure, I didn't really like their giant cousin, the lobster, so I banking on not really liking these guys either.
Besides, no one remembers to bring butter.
Sea food is basically inedible without being smothered in melted butter.  At least in my opinion.

Sorry Little guys, but you are about to become dinner. 
Hope you like the hot tub!

Ewe! Doesn't it look like they are staring at you, accusing you of ending their short little crustacean lives?  Creepy

But the kids enjoy it.  It's something fun they do with their dad.  Catch their food and cook it over a fire made with their own two hands.

Beats restaurant dining in their little man minds any day.

So we end up going home cooled off, relaxed, and with a full belly.  Although I rely on our picnic dinner for that.

Now that I've shared one of our favorite places, what's one of yours?

I 'd love to know.

Maybe we'll go visit it sometime.