Back To Blogging...

After a long vacation away from blogging I decided that I needed to start again. Not to keep everyone posted on what is going on with the kids (although most of the posts will be about them), but rather to give me a place to explore my creative side.

I have decided to push myself in the creative department and get a little bit of "myself" back. In the last couple of years it seems like I have concentrated so much on helping out everyone else that I have lost who I am in the process. So starting today, I am taking ME back!! I am done being a "yes mom" and encouraging myself to just say no. And to know that it's ok to say "no, I'm sorry I can't help/volunteer/etc you with that. MY KIDS COME FIRST.

I am excited to start this journey and can't wait to share it with you!!

Basswood...

Nick got to go camping with Uncle Bobby this past weekend on Basswood. The boy was so excited. The momma, if I am being honest, was a little nervous and sad to let her baby go. Nick had a blast with Bobby & BJ. Thanks so much guys for taking him. They caught fish, had a fish fry, saw a turtle laying eggs, saw a bear swimming (this is why I don't camp!!), and had fun playing around with Gage.

Be warned Bobby, you have now got Nick hooked on fishing and camping with you!!

Nick and Gage showing off the days catch!!

Adventures with Papa...

Eric and Ty took off on an adventure to try their luck at fishing on Lucky Boy with Papa this weekend.

Papa is a brave soul to take 2 boys and 3 dogs out on a wheeler adventure.

No fish were caught that were big enough to keep. Ty said they were all baby fish. But, they did get to meet a horse and a really big dog. I didn't quite understand the entire story behind meeting these two creatures, but apparently the dogs were quite surprised by the horse.

School may be out, but the learning never ends...

Today is the start of "summer school" in the Mattila household. I posted about these books last year around this time and had to shout my praises of them again this year.

I love these books!! The boys each have one and they are so easy to do. The book is broken down into 3 sections, one for each month of summer vacation. The nice part about this series is that the boys don't really even feel like they are doing a ton of work because it breaks down into one page per day (not on weekends). The books also come with flashcards that we will do twice per week as well. The beginning of the series is a review of what they have learned this past year in school. The end of the series starts applying new material that they will learn next year at school. Each month comes with a contract that we all sign with a reward at the end for completing that month's worksheets. It makes for a nice incentive to finish your work without complaining to mom. I can't recommend this learning tool enough. If you have kids/grandkids check out the Summerbridge link that I have on the left.

Also this summer we are journaling about our day. Each night the boys and I (yes, I am doing it too) will write (draw in Tyler's case) a quick journal entry titled... "My favorite thing I did today was..." Nothing to long or time consuming, but it keeps the older boys writing all summer and it will be a fun way to look back at the end of summer vacation to see what we did.

So there you go, the summer learning begins today. Will keep you posted on some of the more interesting journal entries.

Perfection...

The perfect fire...

For the perfect roasting...

For the perfect marshmallow...

For the perfect summertime treat!!

life lessons - remembering, honoring, respecting...

Today I decided to take the boys to the local Memorial Day ceremony in town. I really enjoy going to this and it always gets me choked up to see all of the flags flying at the grave sites of all the people who served our country. The laying of the wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier, taps and the 21 gun salute give me the chills. It is so humbling for me to think about all of those young men and women who generously go into battle to keep total strangers safe.

So, being that the weather was nice I decided that this would be a good learning opportunity for the boys. We stood in the crowd and listened to the speeches honoring all the veterans who keep up safe. At one point during a song played by the band (I think it was the Marines' hymn) the older couple in front of us began to hold hands as the gentleman teared up. I thought to myself, what this man must have gone through, seen and heard all in the name of keeping our country safe so that my boys have a wonderful place to live. It is very humbling to think about.

After the ceremony the boys and I walked around the cemetery and I showed them where various family members and friends were buried. They got to see pictures of their great-great grandparents which they thought was pretty cool. Our final stop was at their Grandpa Ricky and Grandma Ada's graves. I had put flowers there the night before with my mom. We stopped and talked about how Grandpa Ricky had fought in a war and helped to keep us safe and even though we never met him that he was watching over us. Then we remembered stories of Grandma Ada - how she always bought the boys chocolate milk and came over every Christmas morning with homemade pancake mix for breakfast. It was so nice to take time to remember those little moments that make such lasting memories for the boys.

On the way home I answered lots of questions about soldiers and how they help us. I really think the boys learned alot by going to the ceremony and taking the time to honor and remember those that have gone before us. This will definitely become a new tradition for us - to attend the Memorial Day Celebration and remember, honor and show our respect to all those brave souls who contributed to making this world a better place.

Track and Field...

Nick and Eric had track and field this past week so we spent the better part of Wednesday out at the track. It is so much fun to see the kids cheering and chanting names of classmates while they are competing.

Nick competed in the 440 run (1 lap around the track), 440 relay, long jump & tennis ball throw. Eric competed in the 440 run (1 lap around the track), 440 relay, long jump & basketball throw. They both love running around the entire track rather than the short races and both took 1st.

Nick coming hard into the finish line of the 440 race.

Eric setting the pass halfway through the 440 race.

Nick's long jump - he jumped 10 feet 4 inches!!

Eric's basket ball throw - he took second place, maybe we have a basketball player rather than a hockey player?!

Nick with his ribbons

Eric with his ribbons