last day of swim lessons

two weeks of swim lessons has turned these kids into little swimmers! omg. it is truly amazing to see how much progress they have made. ken was doing every stroke really well and loving every minute of her lessons - although she was worn out from doing all those laps across the pool. it was strange to see her doing lessons in the area where she couldn't touch at all! lots of water treading! :) mck was just great - volunteering to go first all the time, beating the boys in little races they had, and really doing well at everything they asked her to do. it was great to see her so independent and confident. and little kam . . . well, kam walked in rather shy and timid, but by then end of lessons she was telling the instructors to back up so she could swim farther! she was amazing! in fact, she passed both pre-school levels. wow! she was so fun to watch. what a treat lessons were this year. b and i chilled on the side watching the girls and playing with toys! what a difference a year makes.

swim lessons

here's the girls on the first day of swim lessons. all smiles! they were so excited! all of them did SOOOOO well! :) it was fun to watch them all swimming at the same time! can't wait to see how they progress through the week!

swimming with cousins!

we met a and s for a pool playdate at their neighborhood pool. the kids were in heaven. it was a real treat . . . waterslides, falling water, and a giant baby pool! the kids all had so much fun. and then to top it all off . . . an amazing meal from t and m! homemade lasagna! delish! what a perfect way to spend a day!

little fishies!

the kids and i have been passing the time away at grammy and grampy's by swimming EVERYDAY . . . and i mean EVERYDAY! it is so wonderful to have an instantly fun activity right in the backyard and i am starting to wonder how this could ever get old. everyone is happy! everyone is all smiles! i think i see a pool in our future!

our own little spot!

we found this little park on the river. it is so quiet and usually almost empty! it is like our own little paradise. we take a little walk from the car and settle in to a little rocky area by the water. the kids can play, swim, fish, and be crazy! :) it is so fun! we cannot wait to get some rain and some more water in the river! for now it makes for a great (and super close!) weekend outing. oh how we love georgetown!

rockin' river!

the last of our summer "to-do's" . . . a trip to the rockin' river. had to put it off because i knew i couldn't handle all four by myself . . . glad i waited. the kids had so much fun . . . .but were going in four different directions! it was great. ken was tall enough for the slide. mck loved the lazy river (even though there were only like 4 floats . . .). kam loved the play scape. and b.c. was in love with the frog pool or just splashing in the water! what an awesome last "hurrah" before we start school!

a little fun in the sun!

the kids, grammy & grampy, and i headed to have a little fun with the kiddos to the rec center pool! this is a fav of our family! it is the perfect pool for the big age spread we have! :) everyone is happy for a very long time! :) it was so wonderful to have a few extra sets of hands! the kids had a great time splashing, swimming, and sliding! the only thing missing was daddy! can't wait till he's all better and can join us!

end of swimming lessons for mck and kam

we had a rainy, but successful end to swimming lessons this year. mck and kam both did great . . . both working on many of the same skills, but at very different levels! the girls were little water bugs . . . loving every day they got to go to lessons. ken was a great sport this week . . . hanging out on the deck with b.c. and me. . . actually she got to color and play games while i chased b.c. around and kept him from eating other people's snacks and shoes!
today, our last day of lessons was crazy. at times, pouring down rain! the girls loved swimming in it and b.c. loved playing in the water. what a fun end to the two week session! both kam and mck passed their levels . . . i was almost wishing i had signed them up for another one later this summer . . . almost! i think having the rest of our summer days free will be great! :)

swim lessons round 2!

kam and mck started swim lessons today! :) they were both super excited! mck was first and new someone in her class from school (a little boy she really likes!) so she had a easy time. she was just great and so happy to be there. she spent the time after her lesson laying out on the chair "tanning"! too cute!

this was kam's first lesson EVER. she was sooooo excited . . . she almost went in the pool with her shoes on! :) she was a great listener and did so well! she was so excited after her class to tell me all the things she did! she was soooo excited that she was bouncing to the car and totally fell face first into the pavement. poor. poor. baby. ooooh. she got a fat lip, some scratches, and a bruised nose. she was a tough cookie . . . crying, but holy crow, sort of holding it together. i think i was the one freaking out! sooooo . . . the face injury is the reason for the missing picture. we took the pictures after swim lessons . . . she wasn't quite in the mood for a picture . . . so we'll get one of the last class! :)

all smiles for swimming!

ken just loved her first swimming lesson! i watched the whole lesson from the side of the pool . . . it was HARD! they were doing each stroke . . . she had never done the backstroke or some of the other things he was having her do. i thought she would come over at the end of the lesson in tears . . . but the girl was walking with a giant smile on her face and exclaimed, "mom, that was the best swimming lesson ever! it was so fun!" ummmm, okay. so, we're headed back for more tomorrow! can't wait! :)

splash pool 2010

with daddy's trip to china cancelled at the very last minute, we had more time to play this weekend! we kicked off the first weekend of our summer with a visit to the g'town splash pool! LOVE this place! the big girls are in heaven with the water slides and the fact that they can be pretty independent! and it has amazing stuff for b.c. and kam! not sure i can handle a trip with all four by myself this year . . . maybe next year! we'll be visiting this pool when daddy can join us! what a fun summer treat! :)

weekend at grammy and grampy's

we had a great time hanging out at grammy and grampy's this weekend. . . the weather, despite some rainshowers, was great! the girls loved playing in the pool and just having fun! :) b.c. had a weekend of firsts . . . his first roadtrip and his first "dip" in the pool (okay, only his toes touched the water, but it was a first!)! the girls also enjoyed a little bit of time with "baby sophia", whom they just adore! :) we had a great cookout and some yummy dessert before heading home on sunday! :)

a wonderful wednesday!

We had a wonderful day on Wednesday! Bailey took the day off to spend with us . . . one last day full of fun before we start school next week! We got an early start and headed downtown to the big top candy shop . . . an old fashioned candy store. The kids were so surprised and LOVED picking out their candies from the bulk candy section! Bailey and the girls enjoyed checking out the bug candy too . . .crickets, scorpions, and ants . . . all ready to eat! Ewwww! We all shared a cherry limeade from their old fashioned soda fountain, got a box of candy cigarettes (ken’s comment was “it’s okay mom, I know smoking is really bad for you!”), and each of them chose a giant lollipop to save for home! It was great!


after we got our fill of sweets we headed to jo's - a great sandwich place. their fries are delicious too! :) then we walked over to the children's museum and played for 3 hours! the girls loved that both of us were there so they actually got to create things and explore! mck and ken even sat for a very lengthy story time . . . 30 minutes! :) ken loved that the slide was open . . . we tried to send mck down, but she was too short!
at around 4:30 we went to the car . . . only to find that the girls had left the lights on in the back (they were playing in the car while i was nursing!) and the battery was DEAD. nice. so we're in a parking garage with 4 worn out kids and a dead battery. thank goodness for a really nice guy who helped us out!
when we got home we filled up all the pools (despite the drought!) and made a picnic supper and hung out outside until 8! the girls dug in the dirt, put it in the pool, and then swam in it! lots of dirty fun!

the boat still floats!

we finally got to take the boat out today! :) we had so much fun! the girls LOVED every part of it . . . driving, jumping off the boat, and swimming to the rocky shore and exploring! kam was so good this year (last year was a real struggle to get her to be still . . .) and loved the wind blowing in her face!

daddy driving . . . looking studly in his elmo shirt (yes, the girls dressed him this morning!)

exploring the rocky shore . . . can't believe they weren't scared to venture through the slime and up onto the rocks all by themselves!

ken and mck LOVED jumping in the water!


kam had fun holding onto my jacket while we swam and hanging out on the boat!

everyone took a turn driving . . . kam wanted NO help "i drive by MYSELF!"

enjoy the wind in their faces . . . it was 105 today!

we realized we needed to get out on the lake soon . . . with the baby coming we have only a few days left to head out there as a family and enjoy the warm weather! we had planned to spend only an hour and get back home to get stuff done . . . well, 3 hours later we decided to call it quits because kam was falling asleep in her seat!

okay, so the boat is totally ghetto, and sooooo not my favorite color, but wow, it sure made for a great day yesterday . . . i am almost willing to admit it was a good deal! :)

my water bugs!

okay, signing up for swimming lessons that started at 10:50 in the morning was not the best idea i've ever had . . . especially since we've had no rain, record heat, and i am 9 months pregnant! but WOW, was it worth it! ken and mck made soooooo much progress! :)

ken was in the seahorse 3 class . . .with 8 and 10 year olds! (okay, not entirely sure how that happened . . . but she did really well!) the class was almost entirely in the deep end and worked on really developing all of the strokes, her endurance, and diving! the girl did so well! it was really challenging and she had to work really hard, but she didn't complain once! she doesn't want to do ballet in the fall . . . she wants more swimming lessons! :)

mck's class was a little too easy for her . . . but i think this was a good thing! she was the best in her class (of 3 boys!) and knew how to do most of what her teacher was expecting . . . so the teacher worked with her on things that she could improve on! by the 3rd day of class she was swimming to the side after jumping in with no help! she did so well and it was really a confidence booster for her. every time you looked in the pool, there she was with her little head just sticking up with a giant smile! :)

kam is still too little for lessons (other than mommy and me) so we spent time playing in the baby pool trying to keep cool! she was a good sport about hanging out at the pool for 2 hours each day. she had so much fun retrieving items out of the pool drain and trying to steal the teacher's toys! :)