A Model Child

Josh participated in summer camp at the First Tee for two weeks this summer -- the first week in July and the first week in August.  The golfers had photos taken and made available for purchase in each session. 

 

In the first session, Josh's photo order form showed his picture in the "proof" portion of the form, and also used his photo as the example for Item D, the fleece blanket.  We thought that was weird -- they don't usually import your child's image into the products on the form (nor did they insert his photo into any of the other items for sale -- just the blanket).  We checked Lucas's form, and sure enough, Lucas was in the "proof" photo, but Josh was on the fleece blanket (and yellow-shirt kid was on everything else). 

 

Fast-forward a month, when Josh returns for another week of camp and has another photo taken.  The order form comes home, and his first photo (from the July session) is still the exemplar for Item D, Fleece Blanket.  Check it out:

 

 

close-up:

 

Looks like Josh landed his first (unremunerated) modeling gig!

 

A visit from the Isolas!!

John's friends Kevin and Eileen came to visit us in May.  They've all known each other close to THIRTY years.  Pretty amazing.  Like us, they have two boys, close in age to our own.  It was lots of fun seeing the boys bond. 

Of course we had to take them to see the famous Fort Worth Stockyards.

After we saw the longhorns pass by, it was time to goof around on the saddles and carousels.

Jack and Cam were ready for a challenge, so it was on to the mechanical bull.  Josh went first and showed off his one-hand cowboy moves. 

Cam wasn't intimidated at all.  He loved it!

The operator took it a bit easier on the smaller boys, but he gave Cam a good dip and some spins by the end!

Next up was Jack:

He got a few more twists and bucks, but he held on! 

Yee haw!!

Finally, it was Lucas's turn. 

Sometimes Lucas loves riding the bull, sometimes he hates it.  Today, he loved it!

Yee haw for Lucas too!

Our bull riders earned a nice cold sno-cone treat.

It was so nice to spend time with Kevin and Eileen.  We are all remarkably similar and got along as though we see each other all the time (even though it had been several years since we last met up).  It was particularly fun to see the boys get along so well.  The visit flew by and we are eager to make our way to their house soon!

Superheroes Unite!

Lucas's friend Jude had a super-cool Superheroes birthday party this summer.  Upon arrival, the first step for each kid was to enter the phone booth (made by Jude's incredibly creative mom from a refrigerator box) and emerge as his secret identity.  (Jude's mom Melody had placed masks and capes inside the phone booth, so each kid could dress up.)  One of the dads downloaded the Superman theme song and played it for each child as he or she emerged as a super hero.  It was so awesome!

Here comes Super Lucas:

Lucas and his BFF Sydney:

The birthday boy!

Our team of crime fighters!

Once they were in superhero mode, there was an obstacle course to complete, so they could catch and defeat the bad guys.  First, they had to go through the secret tunnel:

Then, they had to defuse the bombs (i.e., water balloons -- stomp!)

Then, arm themselves with silly string and ...

get those villians (the faces are pasted onto the fence)!! 

Lucas and Jude (who is happily spraying something (or someone!)):

Sydney:

Lucas had such a good time!

Then it was pinata time.

And last but not least, the AMAZING cake hand-made by Jude's mom Melody.  She really is so creative (and so capable -- I could not have produced this no matter how I tried):

Recycled Runway fashion show

Josh's school hosts an annual Recycled Runway fashion show.  The students create garments from recyclable materials, then show off their designs on the runway during the year's final PTA meeting.

Some designs are simple but fun. 

And others are incredibly intricate.  I don't know how they wove the newspapers and got them to make those ruffles on this girl's dress! 

Josh made a skirt out of bottle caps, glued to a wrapping paper insert, and a top made from a DAV clothing collection bag, binder separator pages (for the gold trim), and duct tape (for the straps).  He designed it to fit a classmate, but she backed out as his model at the show.  Our amazing PTA President saw his tears and volunteered to model his outfit.  Fortunately, she is tiny. 

Here comes Josh's outfit down the runway!

The designer and his model celebrate after the show!

Lucas's Spring 2012 Tee-ball

Lucas played his first season of tee-ball this spring.  He was lucky to land on the Rangers team (which of course is the most popular team choice around here).  He was unlucky in that the Rangers had the biggest roster of all the teams -- 16 little 3- and 4-year olds.  It was a mess.     

These pictures are from their very first game.  At the start of each game, they lined up to recite the little league pledge. 

Lucas makes a play at second base!  Lucas was the only kid to make any outs on his team.  The other kids would fight each other for the ball and then just hold it up and show everyone that they got it.  They never tried to make any plays.  We were afraid Lucas's skills would actually regress in this league.

Lucas was also one of the big hitters for his team.  The dads (who are always competitive, no matter how sorry the team is) loved him. 

First base had a train whistle embedded in it.  When a runner landed on the base, it would sound off.  The kids loved it!  Lucas is jumping up and down on the base to trigger the whistle. 

 Lucas fielded the ball in this play and winged it home to his coach. 

Lucas finds out the hard way that even if you make an "out" in this league, the runner gets to stay.  He just kept holding his foot on that bag, wondering why the runner was still there, until a dad had to come over and tell him to give it up. 

GAME #2

Playing third base.

Lest those third base pictures deceive you and make you think the other kids played positions, this is what the rest of the infield looked like (see Lucas playing SS, along with several other shortstops):

And this is what the infield looked like after a ball was hit.  Fourteen kids ran for the ball and made a giant pile-on, one kid was invariably playing in the sand (see bottom of photo), and Lucas stayed in his position, every time.  I was so proud of him.  Every game we praised him for being the only kid who stayed in position. 

Overall, Lucas had fun and enjoyed his first baseball experience.  But we will not be returning to the YMCA league.  He'll play regular Little League in the fall.