Summer Swimming Lessons

Brian and Timmy finished their two sessions of swimming lessons this summer.  They take lessons just down the street at a neighbor's.  We love walking over there in the mornings and enjoying class with friends from the neighborhood!



Brian surprised us all with his abilities in the water this year.  He is swimming and doing great!  He listens carefully to everything the teachers say and puts it into action.  I was so proud of him and it was so fun to watch him really swim this summer!

Timmy made the most improvement within just a few weeks.  The first week he cried going into the water and would only ride around on the teacher's backs.  The. whole. time.

The second week he started standing on the platform for a few minutes at a time, if a teacher was there holding his hand.

By the last two weeks, he was fearless.  So fearless it was a little dangerous.  He thought he could swim, when most of the time he sank like an anchor.  The important part for me was that he got used to the water, and that he loved it by the end.  He still asks in the mornings if we get to go to swimming lessons.  That's Timmy below with his face in the water swimming like a pro.

Great job boys!  Swimming is important.

Ranch Visit for Will's Birthday

My sweet little nephew Will turned two years old a few weeks ago.  We got to celebrate his birthday at the Ranch!  It was so fun.  My boys love birthday parties and this one was no exception.

Timmy was particularly excited about that cake. It was a blue airplane and delicious!

Allison gave all the kids an airplane to play with and keep.  Brian loves loves loves his and still, after weeks, keeps it and plays with it.  It was the best party favor in the world for Brian!

In addition to the fun party, the kids enjoyed "The Ditch."  When I was a kid this was the place to be at the Ranch.  Countless hours were spent playing in, on and around the Ditch.  Without ANY suggestion from me, Timmy just jumped right in and started playing in it.  I was so surprised I didn't even know what to say.  I just started laughing.  He was in heaven.  He would get in, splash around and then pick up the biggest rock he could carry, take it to the bridge and throw it back into the water as hard as he could.

Both boys were already soaked after the first few minutes up there, so I decided to let them experience one of my favorite pastimes, floating down the Ditch.  They thought it was so fun!  They floated down to the bridge, then walked back, floated down to the bridge again, then walked back up and the rest of the cousins joined us for a ride almost to the end of the property line!

 So much fun!

Alta Adventure

A few weeks ago I took the boys up to Alta for some clean mountain air. We did a little bike riding, hiking, snack eating, and general enjoyment of the vistas and wild flowers.  It is gorgeous up there.

Neighborhood Party

Each summer our neighborhood puts on a party of all parties.  It is always a highlight for our summer.  Mark takes care of the sound, music, setting up, and assigning the Young Men different jobs.  Our boys LOVE this evening.

 Ready for the bike parade!

 

Rainstorm

Earlier in July, we had a huge storm, and the kids ended up playing in the gutters.  They couldn't have been happier.