ahh... summer time!

so for the 4th of july weekend, a whole slew of us went camping** at our property in franklinville. it was a GREAT weekend! beautiful weather, awesome fireworks, good friends, and some reaaly great bon fires! my boys ADORE going to the land... clay swims, fishes, rides his dirt bike, and hunts for critters ALL DAY LONG! many times i can't even get him to stop and eat! carter is a little mud obsessed these days... see that gorgeous pond*** in the background? he was happy as a pig in poop playing on the beach and watching the older kids catch fish. although he was very content sitting on his bike riding back and forth through the mud. as you can see... if you look close, you can see his mouth making the motor noises (that he makes ALL THE TIME!!!)

in that gorgeous pond are some beautiful coi and some delicious perch! my nephew garrett was so proud to catch a bunch of perch! my father in law showed him how to fillet the fish, which my mother in law later fried for everyone. my good gravy was it delish!

on a different but similar note... on tuesday we took the boys to wendt beach in angola for a few hours. clay barely took a breath! he was a swimming machine! jumping waves, flipping underwater, doing handstands, one-handed handstands, no-handed handstands??? (he's weird ok?)

carter had never been to a beach and seen waves before. for a long time he stood at the edge watching VERY carefully and trying to figure it all out. he was a HUGE fan of the seagulls! ( if you ask clay what mom thinks of seagulls, he will promptly tell you that "mom says seagulls are rats with wings"... am i wrong?) well toward the end carter decided that he was ok with playing in the water up to his fat little feet... any waves that came up higher, he was NOT fond of!
in conclusion, it was a great 4th of july weekend, and a great day at the beach... our next mission? taking the boys on the boat this weekend... i'm crossing my fingers for good weather and good behavior! ;)

** i have a hard time really calling it camping... my in laws have a gorgeous camper with running water, a septic system toilet, electricity, and direct tv. now don't get me wrong, the rest of us rough it more, but the in law's camper is always a few steps away if need be!

*** i don't want people thinking... eew! a pond! it's so not a typical pond... it's super clean, clear, warm, and fresh. by fresh i mean that it is constantly being fed pure spring water from the many underground springs that we have on our property. listen, if you know me at all you will know i'm not a "let's go swim in that pond" kind of girl. i'm a "let's swim in that squeaky clean pool that i know is practically sterile". just an fyi.