Fair and Unbiased Reporting

 I have realized lately that I rarely go on at length about my sons in this diary.

I gush, and post, and even show the warty bits of my daughter, but on the boys, I'm sometimes silent.
I've been evaluating why this is.

Here's the scoops:  First, the boys don't like having their photos taken, so they tend to hide.  Second,  the boys are very much home-bodies that don't like to step out of their comfort zones.  If Skip was asked what he would like to do for summer camp, his response would be "Can I just teach myself stuff on the computer, and call it good?"  Ahem, well, that's not gonna fly, bucko, but you can do some of that.  What about socializing? Do you want to go hang out with your friends?"  His response "only if I have to".

While this has kept him out of trouble on more than one occasion, when people in his sphere of acquaintances (he really doesn't work at cultivating friends, although he is friendly) have gotten in trouble, I do sometimes worry. But then I hear from the parents of these 'acquaintances', and I find out that Skip really is mature and deep, and the fact that he's mostly silent is more about him only saying things that are smart and necessary and not filling the air with dumb stuff.

And while I'm not seeing him step out of his comfort zone here around home, when he goes off to camp, sometimes he does stuff that surprises me.

(photo credit:  *not* me.  The camp he went to has a staff photographer, whose name is eluding me on the web site)

So Skip doesn't do stuff like horseback riding on the beach, which is epicly photogenic. But he does do some other stuff.  He just tries to avoid the camera.

Unlike last night, when he got into it with his cousin, who is visiting from Ireland.

My son.  The Eastern European street fighter.

OK, now that you're all horrified, I will give the back story.  His cousin is a girl.  Not some Irish street thug hooligan.  And when I say 'he got into it', I mean that at youth group at church, they started teasing each other.  And the next thing you know, he MAY have spilled some Coke on her.  And then she MAY have gotten some ketchup on him.  And then he MAY have upended the remainder of his Coke on her.  And then she may have come after him with the Costco-sized ketchup squirter.

And there was much laughter, until the camera came out.  And then he put his game face back on.

Today is the final day of Horse Camp for Kelly and my niece.  They're having a grand time.
Kelly in orange:


Sarah in a t-shirt


See her neck?  It's exposed.  And we may have sunscreened every part of her EXCEPT the back of her neck there.  Whoopsie.  Hooray for Aloe spray.  That's all I'm saying.



Today, I'll be heading back out to the coast with Nate.  We'll dig in the sand, and then take photos of the horses.  Kelly's friend M is doing surfing camp somewhere along the beach, and I'll be hunting for her, to take photos, too.

Summer.
Ah.