Best Team Spirit!

Yay for us:)

Backyard Olympics

We hosted a great party last weekend....the backyard olympics. Compete with lots of fun games....like 'Get in My Belly, 'Call Me Maybe' and 'Hop on Pop'!

Team Harrison did not do so great in the overall standings (tying for last out of 6 teams:(...but we did rock one game, Cheeto Hog!!!!

And we were voted 'Best Team Spirit' by our competitors....so Yay for us!!!

First Day of School Report

Billy and JJ started second and fourth grade respectively yesterday!

JJ has Mrs. G and her whole room is decorated in a camo/camping theme. She and JJ seem to have a lot in common, and they both like to have a lot of fun. He rated his first day a 5 out of 5. He only has one friend in his class from last year....but has been reunited with a few buddies from Kindergarten. The best behavior mark for each day is 'Top Scout' - being represented by Garfield and Odie (one of JJ's fav). Guess which mark he achieved yesterday? That's right....Top Scout! He is off to a great start. 2nd grade rules. And so far, nobody has 'burglarized' his pencils!

This is Billy's last year in elementary school, and he is hoping to make the most of it! Billy has a new teacher to the school, Ms. K. Her specialty is science, and has vowed to let the kids 'blow stuff up' which of course Billy is quite excited about. The most interesting thing I heard about her is that in a previous job, she was a lifeguard at a Disney Water park....woo hoo! Billy rated his day 4 out of 5, because he said it was so tiring. His class has a lot of kids in it that he has never been in class with before, and that provides a good opportunity to make new friends. And, a very exciting thing about this year is that he rotates teachers for Math (Mrs. C) and Social Studies (Mr. Y). Billy is looking forward to starting that next week.

So it seems everyone is excited about the new school year, except J-Wow - she missed her brothers yesterday!

Last Day of Summer Vacation....

The boys woke up this morning to their last day of summer and their school cones. We started this tradition a few years back....it is kind of like Christmas Stockings, but a cone...filled with some school related goodies.

Here is their take on the last day of freedom, and reflections on the summer of 2012: From Billy: Today is the last day of summer vacation....and it is 63 degrees outside @ 11:00. The summer has gone fast. But, I am ready for some snow this year, and cannot wait to play in it. My top 10 fun things about summer: 10) Church Camp 9) Boys Book Club 8) Waterparks 7) The Color Run / Harrison Day 6) The Mud Run 5) The Quarry 4) The Beach 3) Ohio 2) Cub Scout Camp 1) Smalley's Ranch ......#110 (way down on the list) the derecho/tornado! From JJ: My Favorite things about this summer (in no particular order): No School!!! Waterparks!! Playing outside Boys Book Club 4th of July Parade The tornado and Smalley's farm Camping Playing with Jessie Watching TV Having playdates Going to the Quarry alot Civil War stuff Luray Caverns The beach and seeing dolphins Going to bed later Not wearing long pants Harrison Day The Quarry Digging our own firepit Mountain Biking Jumping off the diving boards

Spiderman

Billy not only jumps off the cliffs at the quarry....he climbs the ropes up them as well. Amazing, like spiderman. JJ made it about half way....next summer, he is determined to scale the whole wall. And when JJ makes up his mind to do something, he does!

Snaggletooth

Just who just lost a tooth! And, do you know who pulled it out? His brother!

The Mud Run

Billy, JJ and Mickey all did a 'mud run' at the Little Creek Navy base while we were in VA Beach....Mickey did an 8K (5 miles) with most of it being through sand. Billy and JJ did a 1 mile run. This all ran where the Navy SEALS train every day! They all did awesome!

Water Country USA...by JJ

We went to Water Country USA. Me and Billy and Mom and Dad and our friends, the MAZ's. There are two lazy rivers there that are a lot of fun. My favorite was Hubba Hubba Highway. There are a lot of water slides. Big Daddy Falls is the best one. Aqua Zoid is also fun. Everyone likes it so it is a long wait to ride it. If you ever go, ride that one first. Also go on Melt down. A lot of the rides are scarey, but not that much. A really scarey one is Rampage, but I did it. I love Water Country USA, but I also want to go to Great Wolf Lodge. Maybe for Harrison Day next year.

The Beach....by Billy

This weekend we went to the beach. We did lots of things. We went on a dolphin watching trip and we saw a lot of dolphins. We also made a huge sand castle and it was in the middle of the water.

We went fishing and got a crab. Then we went to the water park called Water Country USA. I went on a ride where you go down a water slide at 85 degree angle down a water slide and it was awesome. On another one, we did was where you sat down on a sled and when the lifeguard pushed a button you go flying down a 60 degree angle slide and then you skidded across a 120 foot long pool. Another one we did was where you went on a regular waterslide then the roof lifted off and you went through a tunnel of mist then onto a lazy river and then down a big drop.

We had a lot of fun as you can tell.

Boys Book Club...by JJ

We had Boys Book Club yesterday. It was at the arboretum. We all read different books and talked about them. I told them about Ghost Cadet. Then we had a scavenger hunt. We also made bracelets that unravel into rope. We went along the river at the arboretum and we saw the swimming hole. S-Cat was my partner for the scavenger hunt. We won airplanes because we did it the fastest.

Put a Zuchini on your neighbors poorch day! - by Billy

Yesterday was a cool holiday called 'Put a zucchini on your neighbors porch day' and we did it! (Yes, it really is a holiday.....google it, August 8th)So, it turned into a big battle with the K-Stars (our neighbors). We brought it over there and they brought it back a couple times. Once, they were trying to put it back on our porch and we saw them and JJ yelled, 'we know you have a zucchini'! It was so funny! We also left notes back and forth with them. JJ and I put on camo and jumped the other neighbors fence and ran through their back yard and jumped the K-stars fence but right then the K-stars saw us so we made a run for it and jumped over the fence. Later, when they were in bed, we brought the zucchini over...and we won the battle.

Luray Caverns and the Ropes Adventure Course

Luray Caverns was really fun because we went into the caverns and learned lots of things about the cave. Did you know that at its deepest, its about 345 deep and it takes 120 years for the rocks formations to group one inch? It was also fun because my friend S-Cat came with us.

There is an adventure park there and they had a ropes course. It was really fun but it is hard to explain about it on paper...so I am going to just say it was really awesome. (and look at the pictures) JJ, S-Cat and I all did the course for like an hour or more. - By Billy

Our Adventure....by JJ They had a really cool rope climbing course there. The caverns are really neat. There is a pond inside that has a reflection. It is not that deep, but it looks like it is in the reflection. At the climbing wall you go over lots of obstacles. I loved it. We also mined for gold and I found a big rock that looked like a diamond. But, it was not. I am going to have my birthday party at the ropes course.

Hiking

Billy and JJ are getting really serious about Cub Scouts, and they are going to start working on getting a lot of belt loop achievements. Many times to do this, they need to do a presentation to the Pack about activities they have learned about. This is the first one they will present this fall....on how to hike safely!

From JJ: See if the rocks are stable. Do not climb up too far on water falls. Don't run. Don't go off the trail. Take breaks when you have to so you do not pass out. Take water. Stay with a grownup. Do not climb straight up cliffs or down them, unless they are part of the trail. Don't carry too much weight in your back pack.

From Billy: When you are hiking, you should always stay on the trail, and im most cases you should follow the blue blazes that will be on trees or rocks. Blue blazes are for day hike, white blazes are for the AT (Appalachian Trail), and yellow blazes are for horse trails. Always be smart and don;t climb on water falls and be careful for slippery rocks. Roots and holes you should also watch out for. When you are on a day hike you should think about the following: Needs: water, first aid kit, map, compass Wants: Trail mix, book rope, knife, raincoat, sweatshirt, back pack

The Quarry....by Billy and JJ

From Billy: Yesterday we went to my friend A's quarry. This quarry filled up with water when the workers hit a spring. Now we get to swim in it. It is about 50 feet deep out in the middle. So that means the walls of the quarry are really high...and we were jumping off these walls. It was the first time we have ever jumped off the cliffs, but I have wanted to for a long time. We also went kayaking all around the quarry. and this quarry isn't a little one either...it is a real deal, and so you can just imagine that! The Cliffs From JJ: At the quarry, there are really high cliffs. I jumped off of them lots of times yesterday, I really did! The cliffs are like 20 feet or even more high. You have to do a pencil dive off the cliffs or it will really hurt bad. I also had to swim with a float all the way across the quarry to the cliffs. Then you have to climb rocks to get to the top of the cliffs. They have small cliffs and big cliffs. I jumped off the big cliffs every time. I love jumping off the cliffs. I wish we owned the quarry but I am also glad my friend A owns the quarry because we get to go there sometimes. NOTE: This picture is the cliffs they jumped off...but it does not do it justice of how high they really are. I was a nervous momma but they did awesome. Such brave (and crazy) boys I have!

A new App....with contributions by Billy and JJ

I got a new ipad app today and it gives you the radio, scanner and the weather. It is really neat. I learned about a car accident in G-Ville, OH and a fire in an apartment building in Hairsprinkle. And we also heard a heart attack in Hairsprinkle too and it has only been like 3 hours. That is not very long these days when there is a medical emergency run like every second of every day. We are mostly listening to 'Rock' County and the next county over...'A' county. - By Billy There is a big fire in B-water right now. We are sitting here listening to it, and it is bad. I do not know how it happened. The scanner is cool. We get to hear a lot of neat stuff. - By JJ