Friends, fights and figurines

Friends:

We'd been trying to see them for months and on August 2nd it finally happened! We met Elliott, Eric, Matt and Lindsey in Short Pump and had dinner together. They're old friends from George's undergrad days here at UVa and it's always a treat to see them. Elliott and Eric are expecting their first baby (a boy!) in about a month! We're so excited for them!

Dinner was fun, especially since all three of our boys came with us. :) To be fair, they did a good job, but I think the boring adult conversation about did them in and by the time we were waiting for the check they were done. I ended up taking them to get some ice cream while the rest of our party chatted and caught up.

I'm sad this picture didn't turn out very well. It was great to see them and fun to talk while we all chased three very wound-up boys around outside. We are so happy for Elliott and Eric and their baby! We can't wait to meet him when he makes his debut!

 

Speaking of friends, the Elmers celebrated an important event this month:

Killian and Kendall were baptized!

It was a nice program! By some lucky chance, even George got to attend. It was cute listening to the little kids talk in front of the font while they waited for Killian and Kendall to be baptized... Jude was explaining to the little girls next to him that when he was older he would be baptized too, but right now he's not big enough. Sweet boy.

 

(Tickle) Fights:

It's always wonderful when George comes home. He works strange hours, so it's a rare when he walks in the door in time for dinner and bedtime routine. I think the boys go through daddy withdrawals and can't contain their excitement when they see him.

I love watching my boys play together.

There really isn't anything sweeter than being together as a family and hearing their genuine laughter. If I had to describe Heaven, I think this would be it.

Figurines:

Scott signed Lance up for a couple camps these last two weeks that he has LOVED. The first camp was a sculpting class that met for two hours five days straight. Lance has been very interested in sculpting and art, so this was a dream come true for him. 

They focused on sculpting animals and even brought in live chickens one day for the kids to see and use as a model for their creations.

His favorite part was using the pottery wheel the last day. He's been asking if we can get a pottery wheel when we get a house. Uh, maybe?

He's currently doing his second class that meets for two hours this whole week. It's a Lego Exploration camp that uses legos to teach creativity, problem-solving and fun. The best part is that it's at the local Bounce-n-Play so when they take breaks the kids get to bounce on all the inflatable slides and obstacle courses. Lance comes home every day sporting rug burns from sliding so much, but he's loved it!

I feel bad picking him up at such a fun place with Jude and Cole in the car, so on Wednesday I took them to "Toddler time" there and we played for 90 minutes while we waited for Lance to finish his class. Jude had a great time running and keeping up with the big kids on the slides and climbing areas, but Cole was content to play in the ball pit and ride little cars around. The highlight for Cole? A train ride around the parking lot!

This was his reaction when we first started rolling. He wasn't too sure if it was fun or not.

He warmed up and loved it so much that he cried when our ride was over.

 

Jude? Jude loved every second of it.

But then again, Jude loves every second of life. :)