Swim!

Lily's on swim team this summer. She's loving it. I'm so proud of this girl! On the first day of practice they said, "Jump in and swim across the pool." She swam 25 meters right there, and has been doing it since then.

She looks so little out there in that long lane!

Lily swims freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke, and butterfly. I'm proud of her gumption and determination.

I love this photo! It captures a glimpse of the friendship between Lily and Carter. I love watching them play and get creative together this summer. I love summer!!!!!!

I'm also very proud of my Carter boy. As of yet, swimming is more scary than fun for Carter. But he was so brave in his swim lessons this summer!

Carter was so scared to jump. His teacher, my good friend Nancy, had to count down for him a few times to get him to jump. Look at his face...so scared, but brave!

Another brave jump!

Nancy taught him to roll over to his back for a breath...

...then roll back to his stomach and swim.
Carter's getting more and more comfortable, the more time with spend in the pool.

What do the other kids and I do while one kid is swimming?...play in the heat.

Hazel's first ventures on a ladder occurred during Carter's swim lessons. She was pretty excited about that.

First house guests!

It was so great to have my brother and his family visit us!! They were our first house guests in our new home. I really enjoyed time with my brother and his wife. I especially loved watching my children play with their cousins.

Braving the cold for a polar bear swim. Brrrrrrr.

Jason was the only adult to get near the water. We were way too chicken. Actually, he didn't want to get in either, but did so at his little girl's request. What a sweet daddy!

The wee babes watched from the side. Aren't they cute? This little guy reminds me a lot of my kids. He and Carter could pass as brothers with their blue eyes and blond hair.

The bakers, making rolls for Thanksgiving.

Jason and Kristen brought us an indoor smore maker. The kids thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

I'm so proud of him!!!

My little man is learning to swim. This is really out of his comfort zone. Carter has played in the pool every summer, but at his age, last summer was a life time ago and he doesn't really remember it. It's time for him to learn to swim.

Like I said, it's out of his comfort zone. He cries when his (fabulous) swim teacher takes him into the pool, but he's learning what she's teaching him. He swims to the edge of the pool and walks hand-over-hand to the stairs to get out.

I can tell that, even though swim lessons have been scary for him, he feels a sense of accomplishment and pride for learning to go under water, swim to the edge of the pool, go around the edge of the pool to the stairs, etc. I was worried that he would be scared of swimming and not have any fun. But today we hit the jackpot and he had fun in the pool!...We played tag and he loved it! He floated in a tube and we chased each other all around the pool.

He even goes off the diving board! Not willingly...but he does it, and then swims right to the edge and over to the step. I'm so proud of my little guy! Here's to a summer of fun in the pool!