As the weather improved we tried to get James outside more. This meant working on his bike skills again!
Jim determined James' current bike to be too small so they picked out a new one. It is the right size but since james isn't quite confident yet we're still practicing on the smaller bike.
We need to keep at it!
Our Spanish Immersion neighbors/community gathered again to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children.
We worked alongside a few of James' friends and their families. It is great fun for the kids and they take it so seriously!
James and Alex (Evan's little brother)
James is in charge of scooping rice!
Filling the bags..
Fun with Evan
At the end it was time to clean up. I've never seen James clean up so well! And willingly :)
100 volunteers can make a difference!
I received some fancy ice skates for Christmas (thanks Ana!) and I really wanted James to try skating. No pressure. Just enjoy it. And he was willing so I looked up the hours for a local ice arena that rents skates and we were off!
The ice arena had these support thingies so James was pretty confident scooting around. The actual skating motion escaped his efforts, but he'll learn!
And then he wanted to try without the support. I was patient and supportive. And I let him fall. It's good for him.
He just kept getting back up!
I used to skate a lot in my youth.. And I was excited to see if I could still skate well but I ended up needing to stick with James the whole time. One day I'll show him my moves :)
Proud Mom.
And we celebrated with ice cream afterwards. Of course!
We only made it skating once but maybe next year we'll get him some used skates and we can try the Blaine parks and warming houses.
There was the day that James decided to use his Christmas money to buy his lunch. What a generous, wonderful boy!
I try not to miss the Pride event every summer. Anoka Youth Pride celebrates and supports LGBT kids. (LGBT= Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)
It is my honor to show up for a few hours, lend some support, and bring James. He will grow up knowing that we love and support everyone.
Of course a Nerf gun came with us!
If there is cake James is happy!
Another great event! We always arrive early. The party is usually just getting started!
In late July we had James signed up for a nature camp at Springbrook Nature Center. The huge bonus was that it was also a Spanish Immersion camp! So a bit of Spanish to practice some skills. The neighborhood moms had emailed back and forth to get our kids involved. We also arranged a carpool. I'm the Mom with the most (summer) time at home so I did most of the driving. I needed to borrow a minivan to fit all the booster seats.
I was a minivan driving carpool Mom! Whoa.
Clayton always makes a face. James is probably thinking, Sigh. Another picture! Carter was new to me so the most cooperative for a picture.
Because of the other Moms' work schedules, it did work better to have the boys dropped off early at our house. Like 7am early! So we were a mini daycare for a week... Before and after the camp time (9-4).
The boys kept busy with connecting worlds in Minecraft.
I even provided some meals once they realized the beauty of pancake balls. This was on the first night when I made them breakfast for dinner. I called their Moms and asked to keep them a bit late, since the first day is always so fun. They came over for breakfast each morning too to partake in pancake balls. Good thing I always freeze a bunch!
Our guests ate 10 pancake balls each! I think it became a challenge.
Oh, so about the camp. James didn't complain all week but it wasn't his favorite thing ever. It was a lot of outdoorsy, get dirty activities. Lots of bug bites too. He told me on Friday that it would be okay if we didn't sign him up next year.
Hey, we tried!
Have I mentioned that James loves Nerf?
So all summer this boy couldn't wait to go outside each day. He'd get his arsenal ready and just hang out outside until a friend or two would appear. I'd keep watch from inside, checking out the window so often to make sure he was safe. Later on in the summer I'd get smart and set alarms on his watch for "check-in"- a time he'd need to drop everything, come home, and show me he's okay. This needed to be done because soon enough he starts wandering to other yards. Even across the street!
I just don't know when a Mom (or Dad) is allowed to quit worrying! Maybe that time never comes :)
James always compliments my cooking. He says that he'd like my recipes for college and when he has his own house. I convinced him, quite easily, that we should have cooking lessons so that he can practice cooking before then.
His first lesson request was for toast. To make it interesting I suggested we cook toast in two different ways and then have a taste test.
We cooked toast in the toaster (easy!) and then "grilled".
Spreading butter is not easy!
The verdict: grilled toast is best!
Golf is always fun for James.
I always feel a bit hesitant to just drop him off for an hour. I feel like I should be watching, waiting.
I did watch the stretching. I found it cute.
And I watched through the link fence.
But I quickly found somewhere else to be. I went for a walk each day! And I'd come back to a sweaty, tired face. But he had fun!
Another day...
I came back before the hour was done and found them chipping.
And they got to ride the cart. HUGE thrill!
Last day...
What fun!
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