Future Swimmer

She may not be swim team material yet.........but that doesn't stop Catherine from trying really hard to sneak her way into the pool.  When Catherine sees Lizzy and Peter getting ready for swimming, she often asks me to put her suit on her too.  Catherine has become so comfortable in the water this summer too.  She loves the shallow step in our pool, and will sit down on it and float around it by herself.  She loves to "jump" to me in the deeper water, and is very comfortable playing in the pool.  There's no doubt in my mind, we've got a little fish on our hands.  And while I know Catherine likes swimming, what I think she really likes, are the popsicles we always have when we're done swimming for the day. She's always the first one to say, "All done!  All done!  Pops?  Pops?"  This girl knows what she wants, that's for sure!

Swimmers......Really

This summer has been full of new adventures, but I think one of our highlights has to be Lizzy and Peter conquering the pool.  These two had taken swimming lessons for years at our old public pool, and they learned a little bit, but never really took off with swimming.  This summer, they've joined a swim team, and it's absolutely amazing to see how far they've come.  When we first arrived here, neither of them could swim across our pool.  They didn't really want to jump in, neither felt comfortable putting their heads under for a long time, and they steered clear of the deep end.  Now, you should see them!  Peter loves to jump into the pool.  He can swim across, dive for rings, do cannon balls from anywhere, and is all over the deep end.  Lizzy can "stream line," is working on learning all the different strokes, loves to do handstands and dive for rings, and jumps in all over the pool.  It's been a lot of work, and they're not always super excited to go to their practices, but their hard work has certainly paid off.  It's so fun to swim with them and see how much they enjoy the water.  I'm excited to have lots more fun together in our pool. 

Arboretum Adventures

One Saturday morning it was hot.  We were stuck inside with nothing to do, and nowhere to go, and we were all getting crabby and bored.  I could see where this day was heading, and it didn't look too pretty.  Sometimes, it can feel like a lot of effort to get everybody all packed up and ready to go, but if I've learned anything, it is always, always, worth it.  We attempted to find a part of the arboretum that we had previously visited with our cousin.  We drove around, somehow took a wrong turn, and ended up in this new part we'd never seen.  It was awesome!  We felt like adventurers, we felt excited, we felt alive.  Thankfully, I had remembered Lizzy and Peter's scooters in the car, so we put Catherine in her stroller and were off.  What a great walk!  We saw ducks, and frogs, and all sorts of birds.  It's amazing how being outside can melt away all your crabbiness, and your heart opens, ready to appreciate the world around you.  We now consider this our "special" place, and we love to visit it, and share it with others.

Spy Kids

These guys love to make a good fort, or a hide-out, or a secret spot.  Lately, they are very busy fighting lots of bad guys and being secret spies.  Sometimes, they just refer to themselves as "The Agents."  Thank goodness they're around to keep us safe........  

Swim, Swim, Swim

I don't think I need a crystal ball to predict how this summer is going to go........ if we're not in our own pool, I think we'll be spending lots of time in our cousins' pool.  There could be worse things than a summer spent poolside.....

School's Out For Summer!

It's hard to believe, but Lizzy's school has ended, and she is now officially on summer vacation.  Even harder to believe is that come fall, she will be a big second grader and Peter will begin Kindergarten!  This past year has been full of changes for our family- new school, new job, new house, new town, new, well, everything!  The kids have handled everything in stride.  I'm so proud of Lizzy, how she was able to seamlessly join her new class, always with a smile on her face.  It will be so great to have some time over summer to settle into our house and explore our new town.  Then, in the fall, we'll all be ready to make a fresh start at school.  Here's to some great summer fun!

Little Flipper

If you ask Lizzy what she likes doing at recess these days, she'll probably tell you she loves to play on the bars.  She's learned all sorts of cool flipping tricks.  It's pretty amazing.  We might have a little gymnast on our hands.

S'Mores, Yes Please!

Our cousins have just finished landscaping their new backyard, and boy is it beautiful.  We have already had so much fun swimming in their new pool and having tons of delicious dinners outside on these gorgeous summer nights.  One of our favorite spots in their new backyard is their fire pit.  Guess what we love doing there?  Making s'mores, of course!  Yum, yum, they are the best!  I love this new summer tradition.

An Old Fav

Blocks....... they're just the gift that keeps on giving.  We have always loved blocks, and Lizzy and Peter have built all sorts of amazing creations over the years.  Now, in our new house, the space in front of the fire place has become a new favorite spot to build.  We've seen police stations, secret spy hide-outs, and space stations.  What's fun now too is that Catherine even gets in the mix a little bit....... when she's not crashing everything down.  We love blocks!

Jack Goes Back....

And just when we thought we had him home for awhile....... Jack goes and gets an awesome internship down south and heads back to L.A.  We are all happy for him, but his many admirers were very sad to see him go.  We stopped by to wish him well and to see him off.  He will be missed, and we can't wait for him to come home for a visit very soon!