"Brother, will you.........

take me with you everywhere you go and let me build forts with you and teach me all about the outdoors??????"

James has been up under Trevor every waking second since Trevor returned from his trip to Florida. Every morning when James wakes up, the first thing that he says is "Where's Trevor?" He is so afraid that is going to miss something or that Trevor's going to go somewhere without him!

Trevor has always been an outdoors boy. He lives outside from the time he wakes until it's time for bed. Whether he is skateboarding, going to the woods, building forts, or cutting the grass. He doesn't care what it is....as long as he is outside!

This past week, the boys have been going to the woods and building a fort. Trevor is teaching James all about digging holes, chopping down briars, and picking wild blackberries. I went down to their fort the other day and the picture above is what I found. Again, I must say....they really are two peas in a pod! When James is with Trevor, he couldn't be happier. I know that Trevor feels the same. Tonight, Trevor laid down with James and James was already asleep. I heard Trevor whisper "I love you, James" before he closed his eyes!

Blueberries

Trevor and James enjoy the summer's

first fresh berries!

Some friends of ours, Keith and Mandy, had planted some blueberry bushes in their yard. When we visited them, the kids thought that was the coolest thing. They wouldn't leave them alone and kept picking off all the berries and eating them. I fell in love with the idea of having fresh blueberries in our yard in the summertime. Last summer, I planted some blueberry bushes. They did pretty well and produced some fruit. This year is an entirely different story. The bushes have done wonderful and there are blueberries for everyone! They are finally getting ripe enough to eat. It has been a struggle keeping James and (especially) Lilly from picking the green berries. Everytime we go outside, they run over to the bushes to see how many are blue today and ready to eat! It's fun watching the kids get excited about planting, gardening, and eating what we grow! They are learning so much about our environment and having a blast doing it!

Two Peas in a Pod

This afternoon, Todd left work a little early and we went to the lake for some summertime fun! On the way home, I turned around to check on the kids and this is how I found James and Trevor. They were watching a DVD (Toy Story, I think) and both were sucking on their fingers. This picture was totally unscripted and natural. How far do genes and DNA go???????

Greyson Skate Park

Trevor ices his elbow

after a big spill!

The Gann Clan

One our favorite bands
(Check out the mohawk!)

Through the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Parks and Recreation, we have an outdoor skate park in Charlotte that is called Greyson (http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Park+and+Rec/Parks/Skate+Parks/Home.htm). Throughout the year, Greyson will host skate competitions that bring people from all over the Southeast to compete for prizes, sponsorships, and even money! There was a competition today, The Battle Slam Jam (http://www.battleslamjam.com/). The skatepark was packed. There were cars for miles. In addition to skate competitions, there were vendor booths with free give-aways (like Red Bull, water, stickers, etc), a battle of the bands, food, and just overall fun to be had!

Last Summer, Trevor entered one other skate competition at Greyson. That event was rained out before it could be completed and the winners were picked based on who had already skated. This was a big day for Trevor and he was excited. He has been waiting for this day for weeks. He and Todd went to Greyson for some practice runs three times this week! When it came time for him to skate, he did a great job. He landed most of his tricks in the first round and was picked to moved up for the second round of skating. During the second round, I think that he was a little bit more nervous. He wasn't landing as many tricks and even had a few big busts. Finally, he tried some sort of board slide on a rail and took a spill. He laid there for a minute before he got up. I thought that he was hurt....bad. Luckily, he was wearing all of his pads, but it was bad enough that he had to come out of the competition. I could tell that he was upset. I told him that I was so proud of him for getting out there and trying. It takes a lot of courage to be that brave and to just put yourself out there like that. We stayed and watched the rest of the competitions and had fun people watching and listening to the bands.

Playdate with Lillie

This afternoon, Lilly had a playdate with Lillie. We packed a cooler with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks, and went to the Huntersville Aquatics Center. Trevor and James came along, too. The kids love going to the outdoor splash pool with all of the fountains and waterslides. We played for about 3 hours and that was all that we could take. It has been so hot and sunny here this entire summer. I hate keeping the babies out for more than a couple of hours, even if we are at the pool. I don't want them to get sun burns, dehydrated, or exhausted. We had a great time with Lillie and look forward to another playdate soon!

A Day at the Lake

Trevor, James, Jacob,

Lilly, & Nana

Today was such a beautiful day that we decided to spend it at the lake. We loaded up the boat, packed a cooler full of snacks and drinks, and hit it. Trevor's buddy, Jacob, tagged along with us. We even got Nana to go! Trevor, Jacob, and James rode the tube for a while. After getting beat to death by Todd's fast driving, they decided to take a break from the tube and swim for a little. We stayed out there most of the day. It's so relaxing on the water. I enjoy watching the joy that the children have playing and swimming. We share so many laughs and smiles. These are the memories that we will always have!

Happy Birthday, Braden

This afternoon, we went to a birthday party for Braden. She is one of James' friends from school. The kids played on a waterslide, rode bikes and scooters, ate hot dogs and cupcakes, and made ice cream sundaes. They had a blast celebrating with all of their friends!