School's Out & Summer Fun

Earlier this month, I had to go to Orlando, FL for a week for a training class. The best part of my trip? Seeing this exotic car rental place a short walk up the street from the hotel. The car lot had a Lamborghini (!), a few Ferraris, a Mercedes super duper something or other, a couple of Corvettes, and a few others, one of which I'll get to in a minute. Lamborghinis have always been my favorite cars but I had never seen one in person until now. I wanted to drool on it but they wouldn't let anyone cross the chain. The Lambo and Ferraris can be rented for something like $1500 - $2000 a day.


Drool! I like the clear engine cover which is barely visible here.


DROOL! DROOOOOL!!!


This is the Saleen S7 and it's worth something like $1.5 million. It is lower, wider and longer than it looks. It wasn't much taller than my waist. This monster can be rented for a mere $10k a day!

OK, you're not here for the cars. I've been slacking off on downloading the pictures from my camera lately so here's the last few weeks' worth of activities.



I posted pictures of Cameron's birthday party last time but I forgot I had a couple of videos. Here's one that's worth sharing. This is Cade setting the lane on fire and knocking the pins down with a sonic boom. This is the reason we only made it through 8 frames in our 2 hours allotted time.



Cameron's 1st grade year concluded with a dinosaur performance. I know this looks like Cameron the Lion from the trip to the zoo, but it's actually Tyrannosaurus Cam. Here's a quick clip of one of their songs. (After reviewing my post, the still shot looks like all the kids are giving the "I'm choking and can't breathe" sign.)




No pictures to show because Kevin's class didn't do anything, but Kevin breezed through 4th grade and is moving to 5th. Both boys had outstanding report cards this year and we're obviously very proud of them.


Kevin got a new (old) bike. We bought this one from my nephew. It broke several years ago and hasn't been ridden since. I'm in the process of rebuilding it and it should be ready to go when the last part arrives next week. Kevin is stoked to get off that puny little 50. Dana is a little unstoked.


The boys and their motorcycles.



Cute picture of Cade. No idea what he's doing here.

Soccer is over and baseball has begun.



Cameron at bat.



Cameron is one of my catchers. Doesn't he look cute? At this point, the catchers are more like flinching, moving backstops. They might catch one accidently from time to time, but the ball usually just bounces off their glove (or them). They're about as quick as the backstop when it comes to getting the ball on a short hit too. We'll work on that next year.



Kevin is preparing to burn a path to second base while the pitcher isn't looking. Both of my little dudes can RUN. They sure didn't get that from me. I've always been the kind of guy that likes to build up my momentum. The only problem was that since I was always scrawny and slow, there was never much momentum anyway.

We spent Memorial Day weekend camping in the mountains with another family from our Life Group. We had to revert to Plan B when we arrived at our 10,000 ft campsite because it was a)covered in snow, b) 44 degrees at noon and c) 20 mph winds. The women wimped out and made us go somewhere else. Us men were ready to CAMP! As far as we were concerned, there was no need for Plan B, largely because it didn't exist. But since we all know that men do whatever they want, when they want only after it has been cleared with the ladies, we quickly decided to move down the mountain to a campground, hoping against hope it wouldn't be crowded on this holiday weekend. Surprise! We got the best spot in the house at the back of the campground, secluded and out of sight and sound from all those sissy, city-dwelling yahoos near the entrance. We were set for a quiet, solitude, raw-meat, grunting-like-cavemen, roughing it kind of weekend. And then the darn generator refused to start and we were unable to use the microwave and turn the TV on. Have you ever tried to open a can when the electric can opener can't be used? How did people ever survive before 1986?

Just kidding. We didn't take a generator. It wouldn't fit.



Da boys!



Hiking along a trail.


I liked this shot of Cameron walking ahead of us.



Cade found the cookies immediately. We weren't even unpacked yet.



Kevin chopping wood. Isn't that a dance?



I found the best walking stick ever. It was perfect for climbing the hills on either side of our campground. They were ~1500 to 2000 feet up and I do mean UP. Some places were very difficult to climb because it was so steep. Tragically, Dana wouldn't let me bring the stick back home with me. Oh yeah, Cameron is shown here too trying to hi-jack MY stick.



Abbey has become the family's favorite pillow.





See what I mean?




A boy & his dog.



And with this shot, I'll end this post. Yes, Cade is mooning you. Ever since we got back from camping, he keeps trying to pee in the back yard and strip down to his birthday suit. Obviously, you're wondering what details of our camping trip I left out but rest assured they had nothing to do with this.

Too busy

A lot has gone on in the last month + so I'll try to fill you in without boring you to death.

Soccer season is over. Kevin's team won the last 3 to finish 4-1-3. They had some GREAT games this year and Kevin really improved throughout the season, especially at goalie. Cameron's team won their last game to finish 3-5. Just like last season, they showed flashes of brilliance in one game then would turn into a field full of turkeys for the next game.

About the time that was finishing, both boys started playing baseball. Cameron's team moved up to machine pitch this year and I spent a lot of time worrying about how everything was going to work out and why I signed up as coach again. Judging by our practices, they looked terrible! However, once the games started, I'm proud to say they've done a great job. Once again, we don't keep score in this league (Christian Baseball League) but according to some of the parents who were keeping count, they've won their first 3 games. Last night's team was a second year team and they were pretty darn good. If we only won one game all season I would have wanted it to be that one. The other team was accusing me of running up the score (I wasn't and I wasn't keeping score) so they started playing stupid until I yelled at them. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit, I turned into one of THOSE coaches. But I refused to let them cheat so blatantly. As it turns out, they didn't know the rules (that's why they thought I was running the kids when I shouldn't) but they were trying to be a stickler for the rules only when they wanted to and when it benefited them. Whatever. Our little kids stuck it to 'em.

Kevin's team moved over to the city league which is way more competitive then the CBL he had been playing in. I was a little surprised, but his team is doing really well. I've lost count but I think they're something like 2-4 and getting better. Kevin got off to a rough start with batting. I think he got it in his head that he couldn't hit so he just quit swinging. We've been practicing and practicing and I think he's starting to come out of that slump. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for him. Unfortunately, like last year, Kevin spends all his time in the outfield so he's losing interest in the sport. I'll be suprised if he plays again next year.

Ok, so on to pictures. Cameron had a field trip to Albuquerque a few weeks ago and I went with him. They went to a science museum and stayed the night there then went to the zoo the next day. We had a blast! Here are some of the pictures from that trip:

Bubble-head Cameron

Yours truly and my highwire act

Cam and a t-rex (with a Sizemosaurus in the background). I voted for sleeping here under the dinosaurs but was overruled by the kids. It got pretty crowded anyway.

Cameron the one-legged flamingo

Stripey-faced Cameron

Long-necked Cam

And finally, growly lion claw Cameron. You had no idea he was so good at impersonating animals, did you?

Cameron also celebrated his 7th birthday in April. We had a party for him at the bowling alley.

The birthday boy's, um, unique bowling style

Transformers cake - what else would it be?

Cade liked the icing

The birthday party attendees.

Kevin is such a sweet big brother. He helped Cade bowl every time. With the blazing speed Cade put on the ball, the boys had time for a leisurely rest on the lane.

I haven't talked about Cade much because he's just been caught up in the shuffle of practice and games. He's a trooper though and is very well behaved at all these events.

Faux-hawk

From the side

Cade was so proud of himself for learning to ride the BIG 4-wheeler. He mostly goes around in circles in the driveway but he can control it.