The end of summer:( By JJ

The Boys are back in school.....Billy started middle school this week, and JJ is in 3rd grade. So far, so good. It hard getting back into the grind after a great summer, but we are trying. Here they are on the first day of school:

Here is a final blog JJ did last week: This summer we did a lot of fun things like G-ville Street Fair, 3 water parks, Virginia Beach, Smalleys Farm, Williamsburg. But, Busch Gardens was the best thing this summer. The second thing was making all of my CD's. And this summer was the first time I ever did a ride at the fair. I also went to 2 art camps and did 4 books with Boys Book Club. The summer went by fast. I cannot wait until next summer.

Camp Shenandoah...by Billy

For the past three nights, I was at Camp Shenandoah, a Boy Scout of America camp for Weeblos. We did lots of fun things like shooting BB guns and learning knots and first aid. We even went on a hike and saw a rattlesnake! Nighttime was a different story. There were raccoons and mice, mostly mice that came into out tents. Also it was cold. I have a 40 degree sleeping bag (meaning it should keep you warm down to 40 degree temperatures) and I was so cold! So both of these factors kept me up, and not to mention the 12:00, 2:30 and 5:00 AM train. Now the 5AM train was my alarm clock, so since nobody else in my pack was up at the atime, I just got dressed and sharpened my knives and walked around early in the morning. We learned about different fires, and how to make them and how to put them out. We also did team work exercises and skits and a bunch of other really fun stuff, like swimming in the lake and catching newts. And it rained on the first and last day, which is the tradition. I really like Camp Shenandoah.

Harrison Holiday....by Billy

We had our vacation last week. I went to VA Beach with Mickey, Minnie and JJ and stayed with Pie for the first 4 days. Then the last three nights we spent in Williamsburg going to Busch Gardens.

At the beach, we went to the ocean front one of the days so we could boogie board which was a lot of fun. We also built sand castles at the bay and played games in the pool. When we were at Bush Gardens, we rode the rollercoasters for a day and a half. At Williamsburg, we did an awesome thing called Rev Quest. We were spies and we find clues to a mystery. It was fun. I really liked Williamsburg a lot.

My favorite part of the whole place was the magazine.

Special thanks to Den and Dee for letting us use their vacation points to stay in a really awesome hotel. JJ and I had our own private wing. And to Pie for letting us stay with her.

Harrison Holiday...by JJ

We had Harrison Holiday last week and I planned it this year. The first part of the week we went to Virginia Beach. That was really not part of Harrison Holiday. And then we went to Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg (which was Harrison Holiday)! My favorite part of Virginia Beach was going swimming and boogy boarding at the Boardwalk Beach. I also liked Piezerreia to eat. My favorite part of Williamburg was the silversmith and the blacksmith. And, we bought a really cool game from there called mancala. Bush Gardens was my favorite part of all. The Loch Ness Monster was a really cool roller coaster and I rode it 8 times. I also got a stuffed animal Nessie and a hat that says Loch Ness Monster. Bush Gardens was the best part of the whole trip.

My favorite part about the whole summer so far is going to Busch Gardens. It was really fun. I love the Loch Ness Monster. It is my favorite Roller Coaster ever. That is why I rode it 8 times. There were some other fun rides too that we did. I cannot wait until I am tall enough to ride some of the really big roller coasters there. I love Harrison Holiday. For my next Harrison Holiday, I want to go to Hershey Park.

Ohio Trip by JJ (and everyone's top 5)

We went to Ohio for the 4th of July week. It was fun. We did all sorts of stuff, like going to the waterpark, the street fair and Smalley's Ranch. We saw all four of our cousins this time too. Ohio is really fun. At the waterpark, we did all the rides there. We rode the hurricane at least 6 times. At the street fair, we did the scariest ride (Pharroh's Fury). Smalley's Ranch was really fun....we did fireworks and hung our flag. And all kinds of other S**%t happened too. Oh, and we took J-Wow on the trip and we think she had a lot of fun. She did really good traveling in the car! And, I almost forgot....I won first place for the bike decorating contest. Billy 'retired' this year so he did not do it with me.

Top 5 in Ohio: Billy: 5) Bike Rides 4) Whit's Ice Cream 3) Street Fair 2) Zoombiezze Bay 1) Smalley's Ranch

JJ: 5) Tim Horton's 4) Our secret river by the playground 3) Whits 2) Street Fair 1) Zoombieze Bay and Smalley's Ranch

Art Camp.....by JJ

I had art camp this week. My class was about making a board game. My board game is a battle in medieval times. It is the villagers -vs- the knights. You battle with dice when you come across another player. And you try to get to the other side of the board. It is a two person game, although I made a lot of pieces out of a play dogh like thing. And I even made my own dice. But I also have dice from the store too. All the buildings on my game are 4-D. I cannot wait to play my game. I think everyone will really like it. Art camp was really fun. I like art. I am going to do another camp this summer about making 3-D rockets.

Metabolic Meltdown.....by Billy

Twice now, I have done metabolic meltdown at the WC. It is kind of a class, but it is not in the room where classes usually are. We meet in between the pool and the track where there is a lot of different equipment to use. It is different every time, but what we have done when I went is similar to this: What we do is work hard doing different exercises for 2 minutes. Then we recover for 1 minutes. In that 2 minutes though, you never jog, you SPRINT; you never walk; you SPRINT. And in that two minutes you never rest. You are working the WHOLE TIME. It is a lot of fun, and it really gets a 10 year old like me into shape. It helps me train for the Young Marines PFT. It also helps me with the fitness challenge JJ and I are doing with Mickey and Minnie this summer. I really like Metabolic Meltdown, and I think everyone should try it. Adults and kids can do it. Although I think I am the youngest who has ever done it....or at least I was in the classes I did. I do not know if JJ can do it, but he was at art camp all week so could not anyway. Minnie is going to take me a lot all summer when we are not on vacation. Then in September when I have my next Young Marine PFT, I will improve my scores a lot!

BBC - The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. By JJ

Yesterday was Boys Book Club. We went to a museum in Dayton, VA that had Civil War stuff because the book was about the Civil War. The book was the Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. I liked it, sometimes it was funny. But, it is not the best book I have ever read. The museum had other stuff too. Then we went to Oakdale Park. The museum was really fun. But the park I liked the most. We played 'Civil War'. We also did a trivia game from the book. Billy and I tied for first. We won a lottery ticket (scratch off). But, we do not know if we won any money because mom cannot figure it out. I love Boys Book Club.

Great Wolf Lodge....by JJ

We went to Great Wolf Lodge with our friends last week. It is a hotel with a big water park inside. It is in Williamsburg. There is also an arcade and bowling and other things. We did not do bowling. My favorite ride was the funnel one. Do you like funnels. There were a lot of other slides I liked too and a wave pool and a lazy river. It was really fun at Great Wolf Lodge. While we were there a derracho hit and the power went out for a few hours. It was not scary. We just explored the hotel. I love Great Wolf Lodge.

Camp Horizons Ropes Course.....by JJ

We went to Camp Horizions to do the ropes course with the Boys Book Club. It was really fun.

We did the big swing and the zip line. The bad thing about the zip line is you have to climb across a wire to get there.

The swing is where there is a rope tied to one tree and a pully tied to you to pull you up high on the tree. Everybody else pulls you up. Then the person doing the swing pulls a chord and he swings around. I loved it!

Mom even did it....but she did not go as high as me!

The Waterpark....by Billy

Yesterday, I went to the water park with my friend AB and JJ. They had a high powered water gun mounted on the top of the waterpark playground area and I sprayed everyone. One person got mad and came up to punch me, but I sprayed them again. I also went on the rides. The lazy river was very fun too. While we were there, we got dippin dots, which is one of my favorite snacks. The water park is really fun.

This is AB, me and Jake after archery class which we also take together. For some reason, Minnie took no pictures at the water park. That is really weird!

Division II Field Meet...by Billy

Over the weekend, I went to a Young Marine Camp. It was a field meet. Wed did stuff like tug a war and dodge ball. We didn't do very good in the competition as a unit because we had a lot younger team than most other units. But, it was still fun. On the first night, we got 8 hours of sleep but the second night, I only got about 5 or 6 hours because they woke us up to practice drill and to pack our gear before we went to 'chow' (breakfast). The food there was terrible but they made us eat it all and practically everyone got sick.

You are probably thinking I had a terrible time at camp, but no that's the kind of things I like.

In Young Marines, I am a private (which is the lowest rank) but I am working on ranking up to PFC this summer. I am in Division II (there are 8 divisions). Later this summer, I am going to another encampment where we will do stuff like hiking and shooting.

Catching up!

Billy and JJ went a little dormant this spring due to all our activities! But, it is now summer so expect to hear a lot out of the boys. To catch up from out last post through to now, a few highlights...

Billy and JJ continue to be really active in Cub Scouts.....JJ just finished his Wolf year, and is headed into Bears. Billy is now a second year Weeblo. They have both worked hard on belt loops and pins this year....earning 8 loops and 7 pins. They have a goal of earning 4 more this summer of each.

Hiking Season is well under way. Here we are with our good friends on a mother's day hike on Humpback Rocks

Billy has joined a group out of Winchester called the Young Marines. He started in April and has progressed from a recruit to a private. His goal is to rank up at least once this summer. He has already attended a two night field meet with the group this summer.....and has a 4 day encampment in August.

We spent Memorial Day at Smith Mountain Lake with the Good Time everything club. It was awesome!

JJ had a great second grade year. He was selected for the Citizenship Award for the boy in his class, as well as PE Student of the Year. Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. G at field day the last week of school.

Billy is now an elementary school graduate. Here he is with his main 4th grade teacher, Ms. K at graduation. He was selected to introduce the guest speaker for graduation. He spoke in front of about 250 people and did a wonderful job!

Watch our for Creepers!

JJ's birthday celebration with his friends was a lot of fun. Billy and JJ planned the whole party. Mostly, they sat in the basement and played minecraft on their devices. But, we did a few fun games, like tackle the creeper and Steve tag. Some highlights: A Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake Steve Tag Tackle the Creeper Minecraft Battle!

Dr Suess Fest....2013

JJ and Minnie are huge Dr. Seuss Fans. IT has been our tradition to read all of his books during the month of March and rank them in order. Here is how we do it: Read a book and then put it in order based on the previous books we have read. If we cannot agree on the placement, Billy serves as the tie breaker. Our top 10 Dr. Suess books for the year: 10) Scrambled Eggs Super 9) Horton Hears a Who 8) Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose 7) The Butter Battle Book 6) McElligots Pool 5) The Bippolo Seeds and other stories 4) Kings Stilts 3) Sneetches and Other Stories 2) How the Grinch Stole Christmas 1) Cat's Quizzer This list has changed quite a lot from 2012....wonder how we will feel in 2014?

Ohio...highlights.... Spring Break 2013

Billy and JJ spent Spring Break in Ohio.....a few days on Smalley's Ranch, and a few days in Ohio with Mom Mom and Pa. Here they are with one of their most favorite people in the whole world, Smalley....owner and proprietor of Smalley's Ranch. The best place two boys could every imagine. Here are some highlights of their trip: ***The Works - A interactive museum where they got to take apart computers and drive car simulators. *** Whit's - in G-Ville. The best ice cream place ever. *** The Outdoor Store - A good place for preppers! ***Smalley's Archery Class - Because it is good preparation for doomsday, and a student in the class wanted to take a picture with them, which made Billy and JJ feel like celebrities! ***The bonfires at the Ranch - who doesn't like a bonfire? *** The fireworks at the Ranch, which only resulted in a flesh wound and one trip to the doctor! *** Hunting with Smalley - Billy and JJ's first attempt at this, and they are hooked! Billy and JJ always have a great time visiting Mom Mom and Pa!