Camp Mystic Lake: Intercamp Games

OK, this one is a bit of a stretch, I'll admit.  Our original plans to have a day of outdoor games with another local family fell through.

We were in luck though: our cousin wanted to come and visit us for a few days!  In return, Ashley went to NY for a short visit with our cousins.

For today's clip I'm sharing the day's game, which could loosely be called, "Table Laps".  It's an old game in our home, but it was new to our long-legged cousin.  She picked it up very quickly and turned it around on the boys!  It was fun to watch!

Also on tap that week were lanyard/gimp crafts:

And a beautiful string art project.

While most of the week's activities weren't on our planner, they sure did keep us busy!

Beaver Brook hike

What a wonderful hike at Beaver Brook in NH! 

We thought we were the only ones there, so technically we wouldn't have to wear our masks.

Turns out we weren't the only ones there. 

It was also the start of "black fly" season in NH.  We were surrounded by them!  So most of us decided to wear our masks to keep the flies off of our faces.

Flies or not, masks or not, it was a very enjoyable family hike with exercise signs along the path:

Followed by an in-the-car picnic (with poutine!) on the ride home, we also narrowly escaped a big thunderstorm.  It was a fun way to spend family time together.

Little Yogi

It's rare to see this guy doing something on his own.  Unless it's Cosmic Kids yoga.  He loves that:

Final Frogging

This was our final trip to the Frog Pond for seasonal ice skating.  We all agree:  the season was far too short!

Hoop It Up!

This is a gal who loves hoops:

The Boxer

Ashley keeps asking for boxing lessons.

She might be serious about this:

Catch Up?

Is it even possible to catch up from the last few months?  We'll give it our best shot. 

Speaking of best shots, here's Adam giving it his all during his first attempt at pitching during a game.  He lasted the whole inning. 

The same could not be said for MLM's smartphone battery.

Menotomy Knights

Adam is playing AA baseball this year for the Menotomy Knights.  You can catch him on the diamond twice a week (when it's not raining).

(back row, 3rd child in from the left)

Springtime Soccer

Tate is learning how to play soccer this spring.  If you ask MLD, this seems to involve having 10 kids run after 1 ball while flapping their arms around like alligators.  Tate comes home with a smile which is the important part, right?

One weekend, one of the parents took some beautiful photos of all the kids on the field.  Here are some great shots of Tate:

Put 'Em Up

Put 'em up! Put 'em up! Put 'em up!

Tate is taking lessons from Daddy's gym class.

Patriot Spirit

The A-Team models their Patriot team spirit!

Jr. Celtics Clinic

 The kids were thrilled this fall: I enrolled them in a basketball clinic at the Y!  So imagine their excitement level when I told them that the next class was called Jr Celtics Clinic.  Here we are at the draft meeting someone from the Celtics back office:

Gathering 'round to get a pep talk.

Even Daddy and Tate enjoyed the pep talk!

Modeling our new Celtics jerseys

Best part of all?  Snapping a photo with a real team trophy!

  

Gymnastics

When MLM takes the kids to gymnastic, she blogs or works remotely.  MLD is a much more enthusiastic guest.  He whips out the camera and records everything!

Ashley was here too.  Perhaps one day she'll forgive MLD.  MLD thought he pressed the "start" button at the beginning of Ashley's routine... but didn't.  We'll catch her tumbling next time.

Distant Memory

You can always tell I'm behind in my posts because today's entry is now a distant memory:  the 2018 Super Bowl.  Yes, the Pats lost, but not because our fans lost heart.

The kids prepped the room with plenty of decorations:

I forgot to tell Ashley that the Red Sox are a different sport altogether.

Adam likes to mix racing and the Sox with his football decorations.

Normally Ashley is right:  "Brady rul[e]s!" and "Gronk is cool too!"  Where do they hear this stuff?

Adam built a football stadium for us complete with stands, end zones and a football in a tight spiral (look closely!)

Once the stage was set, we got down to business:

There was one good outcome of the entire evening:  by going to bed at their regular-ish time, the kids didn't suffer the agony of defeat along with the entire Patriots nation.

Fall Soccer

In between the apples and the cider donuts, we manage to squeeze in soccer.  It's often a lot of fun, unless there's something more exciting happening on the field, as Adam so happily demonstrates in this clip:

Young Yankee

When my kids are little, they're Yankees fans.  When they get to school, they gradually shift allegiance and become Red Sox fans.  It's understandable... we don't live in NY.  So here's proof of my little one as a young Yankee.

Bishop Field Day

What a fun day it was!  The sun was out and it was warm enough to play all of the games Mr. Scopa had planned for all of the kids.  There was tug of war, messy yard, parachute, water freeze tag, limbo and the sponge toss.  Thanks to Google auto-awesome, you don't have to sort through 50+ photos (I was the 9 am - 10 am photographer).  Instead, you can watch a short clip.  I haven't found Ashley in here, but Adam is in the last two photos.  Enjoy!

REI Outing

Not all of our outings take place in the great outdoors.

Sometimes they take place in the great indoors.

On this particular day we were waiting our turn to have the child carrier fitted to Tate.  It just didn't seem right that he could launch himself like a firecracker out of the seat.  Turns out our suspicion was correct.

But while we waited, Tate found a way to pass the time:

It's almost like the camping furniture was scaled to someone his size:

Super Soccer Stars

This an unbiased fact:  I have seen soccer skills developing over this season.  Beckham and Hamm?  Probably not, given their genes.  But they sure have fun trying!

Spring Soccer

The birds chirped.  The kids hit the field.  The parents sipped coffee from their travel mugs.  All was well on Sunday morning.