This journal's title is a statement on a few levels. First, I can't believe that it's been 7 months since I last wrote a journal piece. Second my son Beckett started Kindergarten and Brynleigh is changing so much everyday. Third summer is once again winding down with Labor Day this weekend.
I will catch everyone up on the coolest part of my life, I have a kindergartner! Beckett was so excited for school to start and he seems to be enjoying it. Everyday when we discuss school and what his favorite part of the day was he says "Everything." To which we reply what did you REALLY enjoy the most, to which he replies, "Lunch" followed by "Recess." He is your prototypical 5 year old. Here is a shot of Beckett and Brynleigh on Beckett's first day of school:
His sign lists his favortie things: farming, LEGOs, tubing, and bombpops. When he grows up he wants to be a farmer.
Bryn is still full of life and her talking is to the stage where you can have a conversation with her. She loves to talk and you can see the excitement when she can have a conversation with us.
To back up since my last piece, my brother, Drew, and I made a trip out to Wyoming to go snowmobiling in April. It was a trip that we have talked about for many years and one thing led to another and we wound up making the trip out this year. It was a really cool experience to be able to ride in the mountains and while I'm not one who likes to take breaks very often while I ride I found that the altitude along with the beautiful scenery made me want to stop and appreciate where I was at. It is amazing how still things can seem when you are in a place like that.
We were blessed with a descent amount of fresh snow while we were there and everyone and everything made it back safely with only a few nicks and bruises-courtesy of Drew.
It has been a busy summer for the Carroll's spending a lot of time outside in the sandbox, swimming at the pool, playing t-ball, going for walks around town, and a few quick weekend getaways.
One of the fun afternoon trips we did was go to a new apple orchard and strawberry patch in Elizabeth and pick strawberries on Father's Day. It was getting toward the end of strawberry season but we still managed to find a ton of good ones and made our ice cream a little more delicious. The kids had a great time and enjoyed the experience. Beckett loved the work part of it, while Bryn wanted to start eating them immediately. We will no doubt be back up next year as well. Here you can see them digging in.
A big change the last few weeks with Beckett is his willingness to try new activities. He is usually very reserved and hesitant when new activities are brought up. Kayla and I have pushed him into a few activities lately and it's fun to watch him enjoy those things and then come running up afterwards to tell us how much fun it was. One of those activities was at the Carroll County Farm Bureau night at the Lake Carroll pool. Beckett did not want to participate in the kiddie tractor pull but we were able to convince him to try. He loved it and even after it was over he and his friends continued to play with the tractor and sled.
He even won 1st place for his class!
Another activity he tried after much coercing was laser tag. Lucky for him when he was done there was no line to play again and he ended up playing five games in a row. He also did indoor rock climbing and at the Carroll County fair did most of the big rides multiple times.
Every summer our family likes to take a weekend trip up to Black River Falls, WI on an ATV trip. Outdoor power sports has always been a bonding activity for our family and this year I think took the cake for us as one of the best trips we've had. While the riding wasn't much different than normal it was the time away with the kids and family that Kayla and I appreciated the most. My parents and Drew and Taylor come along and we stayed in a cabin at a nice little resort. The best part about it was NO CELL PHONE SERVICE. We spent 3 days with our family uninterrupted and focused solely on each other. While the adults would go out riding Kayla stayed with Bryn and went on a bike ride to the beach and playground. Beckett went out on a ride one day and the other day he stayed back with Kayla. I loved being able to go out and enjoy the outdoors and then come back and enjoy a great evening with the family.
Here we are before going on a ride the first day
Our nightly activities had to involve s'mores! And a bath!
As this summer has come and gone I'm glad for the time we've spent together as a family. I say this all the time, but this age range with my children is the absolute best. While I've enjoyed each phase this one sure is hard to beat. I love watching both of them learn and grow as people.
With Labor Day coming up that means football season is here and it's game week for Notre Dame. I'm optimistic that they will have a good year, but I think 8-4 is a pretty realistic outcome with their difficult schedule. The Bears I'm hoping they can get to 4 wins, but truthfully 2 will probably cover it. Hopefully they can find a top draft pick in April. I will be going to the EPC game Friday night, I don't know much about this team, but I think they will have a descent year as well and should be entertaining.
Thanks for reading and stay safe to insure I see you next time.