Luke and his strawberry cake creation!

Dear Joshua and Luke,

Even though we are beginning basketball season, Joshua is still working at baseball camp.  We are seeing a lot of growth with Joshua in baseball.  His ability to focus and the fact that he wants to learn to play better is tremendous. I think the older students helping with the camp has helped him, too.  He likes to see the older kids!












While Joshua was at camp, Luke and I went to Michael's one of our favorite craft stores, and on a mini grocery shopping trip.  Luke started looking through my cookbooks, wanting to cook something.  After pouring through lots of recipes, Luke was certain that he wanted to make a dessert, and he wanted to make something safe for Joshua. Luke decided on a strawberry cake.  We had to work around the whipped topping and sour cream in the recipe.  We decided to make our own with coconut milk.  It worked amazingly well, and the cake was scrumptious to say the least.  The best part of it was all the love that Luke put into it.  He so genuinely wanted to make a delicious dessert for everyone in the family.  It was very important to him to make something safe for Joshua.  It is wonderful to see how much they love each other. 

Fun with friends at the River

We went to watch the eagles for the second time this year.  But this time we went with some of the Bear Cub families.  Before we left for the trip, Daddy, also known as Eagle Eye himself, spotted a bald eagle in a field across the road.  We were driving home for an early mass in the next town and Daddy immediately spotted it.  At first, we thought the eagle was caught in some kind of trap, but as Daddy got out to take c closer look, the eagle flew away.  The eagle had a big rabbit in it's mouth!  What an exciting way to start our eagle watching day!

Patriot, the bald eagle

It was a lot of fun going with the other families.  One highlight for the kids was taking turns riding in each  other's vehicles. Each stop we made along the way meant a vehicle change for the boys.  We saw eagles on the Mississippi River and sitting in trees.  We also see an eagle up close and personal in the visitor's center.  There is something very sad about seeing a bald eagle in captivity.  But we also learned that this eagle would not have survived in the wilderness by itself.  It had some lung problems, so it was living a good life with the Wildlife Center.  It was a fun day for everyone!

I  love you both more than ever!

Love,
Mama