Happy Birthday to Jude!! He turned one and we had a BBQ with some friends.  Of course we did the traditional destruction by baby of a cake.  He liked it so much he wanted to share it with the camera.

 Opening a new toy.

 Blogger puts pictures in all the wrong order (or maybe it's me) but here we are back at the cake. Clearly it was a fun experience.

 More cake.  Jude was the life of the party until 7:30 PM at which time he went to bed and slept until the next day at 9 AM.  Whew those birthdays are tiring!!

 A couple of weeks ago, we took a trip to Niagara Falls for the first time.  Our trip to the base of the falls on the Maid of the Mist boat was definitely a highlight of the trip! Despite the ponchos, we still got wet!

 The family.

 The falls were just spectacular.  You expect them to be, but they are even more than you expect!

 I just thought this was so funny, no climbing over the railing. I guess given all the people that have gone over in barrels, they have to have this warning.  But right there at the top of the falls just seems like you would have to be a nutter to want to climb over the rail.

 Beautiful!

 I took the boys to the outlets to do some school shopping.  They were clearly very tired and slap-happy at the end.

 Whose son is this?

 I love this picture. We had just gotten back from grocery shopping with all 3 children and it was just a nightmare with Jack trying to hang off every part of the shopping cart, James trying to push the cart, James and Jack bickering over whether or not Jack could ride on the cart when James was pushing it, and Jude fussing and whining because he hates to shop.  By the time we got back I felt exactly like this.

One Sunday we went to a place where Jake had ridden his bike, there were fields and fields of sunflowers.  It was amazingly beautiful.  Unfortunately Jack was in bad mood and didn't want his picture taken.

 Our neighbors recently bought a boat and have been kind enough to take us out on it a couple of times.  One time, they had a tube and Jake and Jackson went out on it.  They had a good time until the tube got swamped and Jack dove headfirst into the lake. . .

 For my birthday, Jude and Jack and I went for a hike at Tremain Park.  It's a beautiful park that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings.  Although you can definitely tell we've been short on rain this year.  These falls are very small compared to what we've seen before.  But it was still a beautiful, peaceful walk.

 Lucifer Falls.

 We went to a new swimming area and it was really nice to swim in the lake and have a nice sandy beach for the boys to play on.  Jude had a great time.

 Found this cool tree trunk in Fall Creek, a neighborhood near downtown.

 Jackson was finally brave enough to dive off the diving board during swim lessons this year.

I love the "get ready" pose.  As a kid, I'm sure it's intimidating to be on that huge board getting ready to jump off!!

Haircuts, playing, swimming, and more . . .

 Well, as they grow so does their hair.  Our little "fuzzy" (nicknamed that by his brothers because of his spiky short fuzzy hair!) is not so fuzzy anymore and was starting to look a little straggly.  Since that's not a good nickname, we decided it was time for a haircut.  Just a little one around the sides and back.

 Found this photo on the camera, I am pretty sure one of the kids took it.  Especially because of that artistic angle.  They love this castle and play legos every chance they get!

 This is one of our all-time favorite baby toys.  It was given to James when he turned one (thanks Kayley and Megan!!) and every one of our kids has loved it.  You put the balls in, they roll down and come out the bottom.  Oh, and it makes lots of sounds and music.  What more could you want?

 Don't know what we'll do when he grows out of this toy! It's one of those childhood objects that you don't want to get rid of because of all the memories attached to it.  But also one of those objects it seems silly to keep around when your kids are too old for it.

 Jackson did a week-long soccer camp and LOVED it.  Soccer is definitely a good fit for him. 

 Here he is playing goalie.  I may need to give him some tips about how to guard a goal. Although his way looks much more relaxing.

 The boys also both did swimming lessons at the Ithaca Swim Club.  It was great for both of them.  Jackson loved it, as you can see by his face!  I think he made some good improvement and definitely seems more confident in the water now.

 Swimming across the pool with the help of a teacher and a noodle.

 James in his lime-green goggles.

James diving! "Real" diving!  I think this summer is the first time he has been brave enough to do that.

Anyway, summer marches along and we've had a lot of fun.  Unlike most other places, we don't start school until September so we still have a month left of summer . . . what to do now?