The Summer in Pictures – Life with 5 Boys

I’m back in the linkup with Charity from the Wounded Dove. For today’s post, Charity asked us to post our week in pictures. I’m bending the rules a bit and posting pictures from the summer. Unfortunately, my camera is still missing so you’re getting some of the significantly less than perfect mobile uploads I’ve got from a phone camera I haven’t quite mastered.

This post starts at the end of the boys’ trip to Boy Scout camp just because I wish there was some way to share the pain of a week’s worth of Boy Scout camp laundry on my readers. Just when I thought I was done and right before a student arrived for SAT tutoring, I found one more box that smelled so bad the entire thing needed to be taken to the back deck and left it to air out.

This summer we travelled to NC State so Troy could take a look at its engineering department. He’ll be a senior this year (impossible!) Unfortunately, all the pictures from NC State and the campground we stayed at are on my real camera, but this is part of what I don’t do that helps me know I’m making it as a Mom. By not stressing over where that camera is or when it will show up is part of my #GoodEnoughMom thing. I’ll post those photos whenever the camera shows up and hope these are #GoodEnoughPhotos for now!

I have no photos of NC State (yet), but you can take my word that the college impressed Troy and me. You can also take my word that I long ago learned that all work and no play does not make for happy boys and this is a case of

unhappy boys = unhappy Mom.

Happy Boys = Happy Mom

Long car rides and even longer college visits are always bearable when you’ve got something to look forward to at the end so we found a park with a pool and nice playground and hung out for a while after the college tour.

The campground was a lot of fun and one day, we had the beach (almost) to ourselves. It was then that I pulled out the giant slingshot. I’d bought a water balloon pump and the boys used lake water to fill tons of balloons to use in the slingshot. It took a little bit to figure out and more balloons snapped on the slings hotter than flew through the air, but it was still a lot of fun – until the sling shot broke and snapped back on Troy leaving a red welt across his chest. He took it really well and we all laughed until our sides hurt.

Secretly, I’ll say I am glad it happened to Troy, my biggest guy. Had it happened to one of the little boys serious damage could have been done and I’d definitely think twice before using it again with such small children. I’ll also tell everyone that the balloons fire at a high rate of speed and should only be fired at targets, not people or animals.

Breaking up the ride, we stopped to look at Virginia Tech too. I loved the school and wished Troy would look at it more seriously. The good thing about having five boys is that I’ve got other chances with someone else checking out some of my favorite schools including my absolute favorite University of Dallas.

After North Carolina, we had to be right up to Maine and stopped home long enough to do laundry (never ending!) and for this to happen. Amazing that the tennis ball got in there all by itself!

My boys think it is more amazing that I’d take a picture of it – they don’t always get the life of a blogger! 😉

A night at home and then more driving this time to Maine to meet family at the same place we’ve gone every year since I was 13. This time, I remembered the CD’s given to us for winning the contest sponsored by Debbie Gaudino from Saints 365. I let the boys choose which they wanted to listen to and they (predictably) picked two baseball CD’s. They absolutely loved Stealing Home by Mike Sweeney and The Baseball Priest by Father Burke. If you order from Lighthouse Media, please use Debbie’s code  Promo Code 103065.

There have been years where our group got to be almost 200 people, but as cousins grow older, move away, start real jobs, and have their own children, the numbers have decreased. Still, there were probably about 70 of us from my 91 year old amazing Grandfather to my cousin’s newborn.

There was so much to this post and now I see why Charity wisely suggested we post just a week in pictures. The above took place over the course of about 10 days. Please join me Saturday for a glimpse into our visit to the Shrine of Saint Anne (Link will be active Saturday at 6:50 am EST) on our way from North Carolina to Maine.

Thank you,

God Bless…