Jake Update and Family Reunion Pics

self-portrait of Kiley at family reunion

So, here is the promised Father's Day picture... Don't Martin & Sydney look great? It makes me laugh every time I see it - in case you can't tell, Kiley is screaming bloody murder!

Jake has been at Magic Camp the last two weeks. In past summers he has LOVED the camp, but this time around he's had a rough go of it... He said he was bored, the routines were the same, the classes and demos were all the same and he's seen it four years in a row now. He also had another little boy much like him in his group - and they kept butting heads and causing trouble. When Jake gets bored he has a hard time not stirring things up and it worries me. We've also been struggling with his attitude - calling his sister names and speaking disrespectfully to me. So, for the past week when he wasn't sick we had him doing yardwork each night - raking leaves, trimming bushes, and even picking up dog poop. Very surprisingly, he has tackled the extra chores without any attitude. Nonetheless, it's been hard to pick him up at camp and get pulled aside by the counselors every day.

On Thursday on the way home from camp, I had been on the phone in the car and he was in the back seat playing with his sister. After I hung up, I heard him say to her 'I love you sooo much. Do you have any idea how much I love you? You can't because you're a baby...' I love how sometimes when parenting is a challenge, you get a little glimpse of the adult that you hope for your child to become and it just keeps you going.

I'm posting a few more pictures from reunion. Above are my Mom and Sydney playing jacks. Hopefully the fact that I'm adopted means I can say this without bragging, but I think my Mom is absolutely beautiful and I love that she takes such good care of herself and is so healthy. She will be 79 in December and I think she's amazing.