August Update

So, in the last post when I said Bryant got a basketball hoop for his birthday, but it wasn't installed yet and then I showed the picture of the giant hole that was needed...ummm, yeah, this is why we needed a huge hole.  We have a huge new basketball hoop that can easily lower down to 5 feet and raise up to 10.  The backboard was heavy and not easy for Travis and I to install, but hey, we built a house and by golly, we can install a basketball hoop.  The boys (and us parents) love it!

Garrett is such a monkey man!

Bryant must have been either watching his dad or some dunk competitions, but I love how he added some complexity to it by throwing it up in the air and catching it before dunking.

He would practice his dunks in the hot sun...his poor face was so red!

The boys both got Bronco build a bears for the first birthday and I think it is so cute how they still love them and play with them.

One of the first weeks in August was a big one for Bryant.  He got to spend about a week by himself with Grandpa and Grandma Handl in Whitehall.  Garrett is definitely more of our wild and crazy kid that is always talking and often disagreeing with us, but it was amazing how quiet it was when Bryant was gone.  And even though Bryant is usually a big help and fairly independent getting ready, it was amazing how much faster we could get out of the house and go somewhere with only one kid.  We definitely missed him, but he had such a great time in Whitehall.  Garrett didn't know what to think with his brother gone.  He thought we just left him at Little Fox (Bryant's summer program).  While he was gone, we took probably the fastest walk around the neighborhood because the mosquitoes were so thick.  I would slap 10 off my leg and take two steps and there would be 10 more that landed on my leg again.  Garrett and I react about the same to bites so his daycare definitely questioned me the next day on what happened to him...Here's his reaction to mosquito bites after we got back from our walk:

Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings...go figure, a basketball themed crown.

Here's a few pictures of Bryant's adventures in Whitehall....sleeping in the tent

Fishing at Branham Lakes

Eating his catch for the day

The weekend after he got back, we decided to take the boys bowling.  At first Garrett didn't want to and then he remembered how fun the shoes were and they both had a blast.

Bryant helped Garrett bowl and I thought it was cute how he cheered him on regardless of how many pins he knocked down

It's not always, but a lot of times Garrett will do the slow motion run and really throw his elbows up in the air behind him.  He does it after he finishes bowling and then it turns to hopping, but I think it is just the cutest thing!

We always look forward to our trip to Fairmont to see my Aunt Sheri and Uncle Carl and this year the boys got to meet my cousin Eric too.  Such a fun trip and we always get so spoiled with presents, food, and good company.

Not sure if you noticed, but Garrett definitely has a plethora of hats and changes them frequently.

I love this picture of Bryant and Aunt Sheri!

This is like our annual picture spot.  The boys race to the bench on the way to the pool with Grandpa and then pretend like they've waited for us forever.

And we definitely had to feed the animals.

And play on the playground

Poor Garrett was exhausted from swimming and playing with his cousins that he actually fell asleep sitting up and trying to eat lunch.

Just a boy and his pup :)

Just within the past couple months or so, Bryant and Garrett have started playing a lot more together.  It was so fun to watch them try to play baseball with each other.  I like Garrett's comment that he got tackled and he had to make sure to give everyone high five after every play.  

Bryant has been trying for a long time to be able to do the monkey bars.  It finally clicked for him at one of the parks they went to for their summer program.  We had never been to that park before, so Bryant wanted to go there on our weekend so he could show us.  I didn't get a picture of the monkey bars, but they definitely had fun playing on all the other equipment.

Brother giggles!

I took two pictures of them on the bean bag together...one kid is smiling and the other kid is blurry in both pictures, but those were some huge smiles.

Our kids definitely go through phases of playing a ton of one sport and then switching to a different sport.  They were on a big baseball kick at this point.  Garrett's swing for a 2 year old (in my opinion) is amazing...he about took my head off a couple different times.  Bryant had a hard time because he can control his swing and not swing so hard, but he wanted to crush it so bad.  It's hard to hear, but the one pitch that Garrett misses in the video, he blamed me for a bad pitch. 

Wowza...we have a first grader!  Here's Bryant on his first day of school...can you tell he is a bit excited?  He doesn't want to just be a veterinarian when he grows up, he wants to be a smart one!  His teacher is Mrs. O'Brian, who I've known all my life and Bryant absolutely loves her as a teacher.  His poster also says that he loves to play basketball and play with his family.

Garrett has to have a sign too and we read a book this summer called When I Grow Up, I Want to Drive Truck.  Garrett loved it, so he wants to be a truck driver when he grows up.  He has somewhat grown out of part of his favorite saying.  He still says "No" a lot, but it was pretty cute when he added "Stop it" too.

And now the boys are on a football kick...

We couldn't believe how fast summer went.  It seemed like just yesterday that Bryant finished Kindergarten and then we blinked and he started First Grade!