Cannonballs with the Boys

It's always a ton of fun to let the boys go swimming.There is definitely ZERO fear of the water in my house with these boys. Zane is learning how to cannonball from his big brother. His technique leaves a little to be desired, but with hard work he could be ready for the back yard Olympics (2012) soon!

If you're having difficulty seeing the photos just click on the view all images button and you can see the slideshow there....I haven't fully figured out how to work photobucket yet I guess....If for some reason the view all images button doesn't come up you can go to the link below and see the slideshow there :)

http://s295.photobucket.com/albums/mm144/rhondadeaton/?action=view&current=24dd2ed1.pbw

Monsoon August 29, 2008

We got hit with a crazy storm tonight...it only rivaled the one we had last night. On the way home from soccer there must have been at least 50 lightning bolts per minute. They just coming down one right after the other. By the time we got home the sideways rain had started and it poured a 1/2" or so in the first 10 minutes. We stood out on the back porch just in time to watch 2 giant bolts hit in the park behind our house. The thunder that cracked was unbelieveable. It set off all the car alarms in the neighborhood. The poor babies couldn't figure out what was going on....they definitely do not like thunder. Check out the video clip I took with my camera below - you can hear how loud the thunder and rain are (make sure your volume is turned up).

My camera isn't fast enough to catch the lightning bolts but it sure lit up the sky like it was daytime. Take a look below....if you want to see some great storm pictures (giant trees ripped out of the ground, 80 mph winds, planes flipped over) go to http://www.azcentral.com/ and look at the photo gallery. There are some pretty crazy things there.

Brotherly......nakedness?

I love this picture of the boys! I'm sure they'll hate me when they're older and I bring this baby out to show off to their girlfriends, but I just can't help it. The boys love to run naked after the bath....this night was no exception.

Graduation Party

My dear friend Beth and I threw a graduation party for the boys (her son Collin and Dominic). There is nothing like a house full of teenagers, let alone boys sprinting from one side of the house to the other. Beth has a great house for kids - pool, trampoline, swings, lots of property.... everyone had a great time. Again, the crappy camera didn't get any great shots, but here are a few that are legible enough to share...

My good friend Beth

All the kids on the trampoline

Noah holding Beth's dog Gracie

Collin, Dominic, Ethan, RJ and some blurry kids!

Promotion

Aaahhh....8th grade promotion. The day your whiny 8th grader goes from being the "big man on campus" to a whinier version of his former self. Some call them freshman; I call it adolescent hormonal craziness - freshman for short. Dom's last day of school (below) and his graduation thereafter. You'll notice I didn't have a nice picture of him at the ceremony. Many of you know the story, but for those of you that don't, let me sum it up for you.....Dom behaved like a 5 year old and refused to allow us to take pictures. This was also the day we discovered that I have a crappy camera that only takes pictures of things that hold still...not so good for toddlers or teenagers on the move. So, we're back to one crappy picture. Those of you who know me know that it breaks my heart to not have a nice photo of him but.....c'est la vie.

I was incredibly moved by watching my son move on to the next phase of his life (I couldn't let him see that I was watching of course, as I AM the dumbest person on the planet). The kids his age have this pseudo - adult relationship "thing" happening where they are still kids but desperately seeking their adulthood. They shake hands and pound knuckles and pat backs and cry at soon to be forgotten friendships.....all with the idea that being 16 and driving or being 18 and out on their own will be the best thing to happen to them. If only they knew the things in life that were coming...they would slow down and enjoy.

Hope you enjoy these. More to come soon (I promised Shannon to post more often!)

Dom's 8th grade dance

I volunteered to help coordinate the dance for Dom's graduating class....what an experience. I am not a good PTA mom. I thought high school had drama - I was in no way prepared for what I encountered! Lots of moms with lots of time on their hands.....oy vey!

The best part about volunteering was allowing Dom to think that Jason and I were going to chaperone the party....he was mortified to say the least. In fact, he refused to go to the dance until the day before when I finally told him I wasn't allowed to be there.

The theme as you can see was Bon Voyage. It's interesting work decorating a gyma-caf-atorium :) We had some great ladies that were incredibly organized and did a great job with the layout and decorations. The lifepreserver was made out of foam and provided a backdrop for the kids to take pictures under. We had deck chairs and umbrellas set out for seating arrangements, twinkle lights (you have to set the mood), and lots and lots of donated plants. The dance floor was roped off with nautical rope and wound through pylons made out of foam.

It's hard to photograph the final outcome because of the lighting, but it turned out really good. The kids said they had the time of their lives.....but they're only 14, so really - what do they have to compare it to?

The reason for the first haircut....

I don't know that much more needs to be said. This is the reason my husband made me cut my son's hair! I couldn't find this picture yesterday to go with the photos (there is so much pressure to update this blog every day!) from Zane's first hair cut, but I love this one and wanted to share.

Zane's First Haircut

Here is the little man's first haircut pics. He was thrilled with the car...not so much with the lady cutting his hair. He had about a 4 minute tolerance for her and she far exceeded that time limit. I hated to cut his hair....it's like giving up the last baby part of him. But Jason thought he looked like a girl, so off went the hair. Although I would never admit to Jason being right about something (!) he does look great with short hair.

Look at me Mom, I'm driving!

Mom, please! Make her stop!

Thank God it's over! Daddy's got me :)

Hold on to your seats! The blog has been updated!

I've taken wide criticism for not updating my blog :) I know, I'm a slacker. I admit it. I'll try to post something every morning and evening until I'm caught up. Since May 18th many wonderful things have happened. I can't remember all of them of course (because I haven't kept up on my blog!) so I thought I would just start by posting some of my favorite pictures of the kids. Maybe that will tell the story for me. We love you all! Now Shannon can get off my back! ha ha!

Noah the ROCK STAR

Noah loves his sunglasses - he only keeps them on for moments at a time, but we were lucky enough to catch his rock star moment. ZANE the lopsided-rock star!

Of course, once Zane sees Noah with the glasses he must wear his. He wears his sunglasses for about 3.2 seconds before ripping them off and asking you to put them back on. Getting a photo with his sunglasses on is like trying to document the Lochness Monster - hard to do and out of focus when you get it!