Summer Fun

I wish I was better about getting on the blog and keeping things up to date, but life sometimes gets in the way of the hobbies and oh well. Anyway, while I had a spare minute, before the new school year starts, I thought I would put up a few pictures from the last two weeks of one of our favorite summer past times, which is, of course, SWIMMING.

Saturday evening, after working on a rental property all day long, we got some pizzas for dinner (since it was 7:30 and we were all hungry with no energry) and went swimming. It's so much fun to watch the kids and realize how much they've changed in such a short time. Last year, Nate didn't think about jumping into the water until Super Aunt Stephanie built his confidence (and he was trying to impress her - the flirt) and he started jumping in. Beginning of last summer but moreso the previous summer, Graigry didn't like being splashed, didn't like jumping in and had a little fear of the water I think. This year, NO PROBLEMS.

Saturday we spent probably 20 minutes doing jumps forwards and backwards, attempting flips, and the boys were trying to dive. I believe they had their floats on for some of Saturday, but their confidence has grown such that they are always asking to swim in trunks instead of floaties.

Here are a few of the pictures from the last week:

Nate diving to Xela.
Their first dives were more like belly flops,
but they didn't care.

Graigry showing me his dive.
Again, you'll see his legs are in first with his hands.
He's getting better though.

Nate helping Neta out of the pool so she can try a jump.

"1,   2,  3  JUMP!"
This picture took three tries to get everyone
launching at the same time.

We haven't had as many cook outs due to crazy schedules, and it's taken half the summer to get our pool blue instead of green, but the kids have still played. We slather the sunscreen if it's early enough in the day and then with floaties on, I let them splash to their hearts' content.

The kids have been really good, for the most part, at playing together with legos or trains or all of them combined. Xela had been telling Nate that they would build Sodor, Thomas Train's island, out of the trains and other assorted toys. They finally did it last week. I told them they could build it in the livingroom, but that it could only stay a few days. They were very creative.

The living room of Sodor

We'd been promising the kids we'd go to the Lego Store up in Castleton ever since the grand opening and there was a two hour wait which we decided not to do. Finally on the 12th, we piled kids in the car and drove up there. Eric bought two of the "pick your own" cups and filled it with wings, walls, windows and what the kids call, jewels (the little colored, usually see through one piecers). I told him if he spent that money on legos that he had to build with the kids the next day. So he did and they thought his ship was awesome.

As you can see, we have a dresser drawer dedicated to legos.

Everyone wants to build with Daddy.
Everyone loves building with Daddy.

I guess I didn't get a picture of the final project. If they haven't broken it, which was a matter of heated discussion a few days after it's creation, maybe I can get a picture of the massive ship. It kind of looked like one of those big Star Wars triangular ships.

I love watching my kids play (nicely) together. I love playing with my kids and need to take more time to do that; to enjoy the now as it will too quickly pass and they will be grown and gone before too much llonger. Have you heard the song "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney, I think. That's what I'm thinking of right now. Anyway, I love my family adn the fun we have together!