Academic Rodeo

Both boys participated in Academic Rodeo this year - and both did fantastic!  Brady was sick on the day of the actual competition, so he didn't get to participate in the math contest as he had planned, but he had already prepared an essay and a craft so he was able to enter those competitions.  He placed 3rd in craft and 2nd in essay and received his first ever trophies!!  He was so happy.

 

Dawson also did extremely well.  He competed in the 5th & 6th grade group and placed 2nd in the essay contest and got 1st in math!!!  As they were announcing the math winners from 6th place on up, he became more discouraged with each new name called, thinking that his chances of getting an award were diminishing each time - and then they announced, "1st place, Dawson Garner" and he was so surprised and so ecstatic!!  We're very proud of him, as he's the age of a 4th grader, but was competing against 5th and 6th graders and he won!

 

What a great feeling of accomplishment for both boys!  We are proud of our little smarties! 

 

The bling!

Brady's craft project - a bouquet of wildflowers made from recyclable materials.

The 5th & 6th grade math winners (Dawson's on the right with his 1st place trophy.)

Dawson and his fellow Minion Den scouters.  They all did so well!!!  He has a genius scout group!

Easter Festivities

Ready for the neighborhood egg hunt.

Brady in egg-hunting action.

There were so many eggs in Dawson's age group area that he filled both his basket and his shirt.

Sweet friends.

Exploring all their eggs.

Sharing and trading their goods.

Brady's palm leaf: "I love you Jesus."

Church egg hunt.

A classic game of egg toss before the egg hunt at the Wynne Home.

They weren't hard-boiled, as Dawson learned when it cracked in his bucket.  Hehehe!!

Post Wynne Home egg hunt.

Easter morning Easter baskets.

Our family egg hunt is so massive that the kids don't just fill a bucket - they fill a box with eggs.

Dawson's loot.

Randy and Dawson

The Great Outdoors in Elkins Lake

Spring is so beautiful here!!  We've been enjoying lots of outdoor time in our lovely neighborhood.

 

Walking to the park.

Ready for some basketball with friends.

Cy and Brady on the playground.

Seth and Dawson relaxing a bit after their basketball fun.

The perfect picnic spot.

Azaleas!!!!  They're everywhere and they are gorgeous!  And those 2 guys there are pretty gorgeous too.  :-)

Picnic at the lake.

This one always has a book with him.

Yum, Doritos.

Admiring the view.

6 1/2 Mile Hike

The boys have long wanted to hike around the BIG trail at the Huntsville State Park that goes through the woods and all the way around the lake.  We finally took the time to do it!  And it was a great family outing.  Dawson hiked like a champ, as expected.  Randy also had him tying knots, identifying various plants, and orienteering with a compass while he hiked.  Brady was amazing!  He insisted on hiking the entire trail on his own 2 legs and refused any offer by me to give him a piggyback ride.  He mostly ran the first 2 miles, which was adorable and fun - pretending the roots were obstacles that he had to jump over.  Overall, it was a beautiful and memorable family hike, and both boys feel a great sense of accomplishment after completing it.

 

All smiles and excitement before we head out.

AWE!  The Garner boys.

Brady loved running and jumping over all the roots.

Waiting for Randy and Dawson to catch up.

Me and my trail running buddy.

King of the fallen log!

Enjoy the lake view.

I love brother togetherness pictures.  :-)

There were a few big puddles we had to make our way around.

A great spot to sit for a little break.

Dawson took this picture of Brady and me.

Made it to 6 miles!  Almost done.

They were so happy to have completed the hike and so tired that they jumped in the car before I could get a proper "after" shot.  So here is our very unexciting post-hike picture.