Where did summer go?

We had quite the busy summer this year and realized we had no time to post all of our activities.  We crammed a lot into the two months off.

The kids participated in many camps to keep them busy.  This included two hockey camps for Jaden and two princess camps for Brynna.  Some of the other camps included dinosaur camp and art camp!

Jaden's hockey camp was great.  He is so much more comfortable on his skates and of course with the puck since he went through these two camps.  Everyday we would arrive at the rink at 9:15 am and start putting on all of his equipment.  He would get on the ice at 9:30, they had a lunch break at 11:00 am (more on that later) and then back on the ice at 12:00 until the camp ended at 3:00.  That is a lot of activity and ice time for a 6 year old, but he loved it!

We did run into our first hockey injury during the first camp, blisters from being in a skate all day!  Jaden tried to get out there and skate on one foot, but just couldn't handle the pain.  We had to wrap his feet up every morning to ensure that the blisters did not get any worse.  Nothing like adding another 5 minutes to the already long process of getting all of the equipment on.

As for the mention of lunch, the kids coaches are young adults that have no kids.  While they are great with the kids, their nutrition sense isn't all that great.  During lunch the kids can get pretty much whatever they want to eat/drink from the food/restaurant area.  So Jaden starts telling me how much he likes Diet Coke.  I asked him where he got it from, and he told me at Hockey Camp.  The next day I walk into the locker room and he and two other boys are eating the largest Pixie Stick I have ever seen.  So, the kids were eating a weeks worth of sugar everyday! 

Overall the experience was great for Jaden.  All of the coaches at the rink know him now and have helped him grow as a hockey player.  One of the coaches (thankfully) even talked him out of wanting to by a goalie!

On to Brynna and her Princess Camp!  This was a dance camp where she got to dress up as a different Disney Princess every day of the week.  She loved the camp so much that we signed her up for the camp again after the first week was over. 

I would ask Brynna everyday what her favorite part was and it was always putting on the makeup and being a princess.  A few times Steph sent her in her Disney Princess dresses!  Of course the other thing she loved was the dancing.  She would come home and do a few moves (a lot of it I think was her version of ballet) and put on little shows for her stuffed animals in the dining room.

After the first camp she did seem a little lost, but after the second camp she had improved so much that Steph signed her up for a Cheer/Dance class which she loved!  Now she is on to the Angelina Ballerina Class!

Other than camps, we traveled quite a bit too and had a birthday, anniversary and of course our yearly family vacation to Hilton Head!

We went up to Ft Wayne for Steph's family reunion which was great!  The kids had so much fun seeing everyone and all Brynna could talk about was Uncle David.  Steph got to see all of her sisters and the rest of her family.  We enjoyed the 100 degree weather without a breeze (Florida is actually cooler in the summer than Indiana!) but it didn't stop the kids.  They caught lightning bugs, we don't have them in Florida, and Jaden even smuggled a live one back on the plane!

School ended on our 10 year anniversary, June 8th, and we had Brynna's 4th birthday party on June 9th.  So our actual anniversary was spent with last day of school activities, getting ready for a birthday party, and taking Jaden to hockey practice.

Brynna's birthday was a blast.  Uncle Tommy flew in for it and she had all of her friend's over.  We  of course got a big bounce house in the back yard and the kids bounced, swam and ran around.  Brynna had a blast, but of course had to stop in the middle of the party to open up all of her gifts.

The week after that, Steph and I got to get away for our anniversary to Martha's Vineyard and Newport.  It was a cool 70 degrees, calm and quiet.  A great, relaxing environment.  We would get up in the morning, go for a run and then head to the local coffee shop.  It was so nice there, and so much to see.  We also spent a night and day in Newport to tour some of the Mansions...of course the Breakers was my favorite.

The last big event of the summer was going to Hilton Head with our college friends Mike and Lori and their kids.  We rented a house on the beach and put in countless hours fishing, crabbing, building sandcastles, flying kites and riding waves.  The kids had a blast with Gabe and Anna and we were able to relax every night when the kids went to sleep. 

Overall a busy summer, but now back to school, hockey for Jaden, figure skating and dance for Brynna!