The last few weeks before vacation...

Noah O'Fallon Grand Prix

Noah raced in his first bike race, The O'Fallon Grand Prix,  on Saturday, June 18.  He was very excited to take part in the race.  He was the only ten year old in the group.  Most of his competitors were at least 16 years old.  He did very well and completed the entire 11 mile course in about 20 minutes.

Before the big race we had doughnuts from Woods Bakery.  Yum!

Noah was the only 10 year old in the race.  This photo illustrates how much smaller he is than his 16 year old competitors. (Far Left White Shirt)

The following weekend we spent at Lake Shelbyville.  We toured Rockome Gardens.  We stopped and browsed through quite a few Amish shops, and spent a day at Lake Shelbyville playing in the sand.  The Crazies loved seeing all the people with horse and buggy.  And were endlessly mystified by a lifestyle so different from their own. 

Noah at Rockome Gardens

The Crazies under one of the stone arches at Rockome Gardens

Rockome Gardens

The end of June brought to a close Khoury League baseball.  Rylan's coach had a water balloon practice for their final practice.  I spent an hour filling up a cooler with water balloons.  I thought I had permanently lost feeling in the tips of my fingers from tying so many balloons.  But it was well worth it.  The practice was a huge success.  The kids loved every minute of it.  They stayed cool in the oppressive heat, and had a wonderful time playing with their friends.  The final activity was to bat with water balloons, instead of a baseball.  Most of the kids hit all three of their pitches.  None of the kids missed more than one. 

Rylan carrying a water balloon under his chin.

Batting practice with water balloons. 

We leave on our long vacation in 2 days.  I will try and keep the blog updated in our absence.  We will be back in August, and then we will immediately return to the madness of two working parents and three active children.  Sofie will be starting soccer for the first time.  Noah and Rylan will be returning to their previous fall teams.  We are also adding another level of difficulty by allowing Noah to try out for the school's baseball team.  As well as the trumpet he has committed to playing in the school band.  Fifth grade is looking to be a very busy year!