Fish

It's been awhile since my last post. As usual, things have been busy around here. The boys have made some awesome advances in their swimming skills over the past week or two. They are in swim lessons, but the bulk of their enthusiasm is coming from having our pool here at home. Ethan has started being able to hold his breath and swim under water all the way across the pool. Ryan has also learned to hold his breath and go under water several times per swim. He has fallen in the pool a few times now, completely unprepared, but he just shakes it off and gets right back in.

Yesterday we went to City Park Pool for my mom's company picnic. The boys had a blast!! Ryan mastered going down the slide by himself. He was also mimicking Ethan who was walking on his hands and going under. Ryan wasn't going under the water, but he was walking around on his hands. Then Ethan saw the rope that divided the kiddy area and the deep end. He was holding his breath and swimming under the rope back and forth. Then he saw a boy whose Dad was throwing him in the water and he wanted to try that. After that, that's all we did the rest of the afternoon. I would throw him over the rope into the deep end and then he would swim under water under the rope back to me. Well, then Ryan saw him doing it and he said, "My turn, my turn." So we threw him over the rope into the deep end. He would go under and then one of us would be there to catch him and pull him up. He would come up saying "Again, again!" We were also playing ring around the rosey in the deep water. They loved it. Many people commented how good their water skills were. It just makes us so proud of them. We didn't have the camera with us, but we're hoping to go there once more this summer and we'll get some pictures then.

Ryan's vocabulary has just exploded. He talks better than some 3 and 4 year olds I've heard. Even mom's boss commented that he acts more like a 3 year old. All four of them are just amazing kids and make us burst with pride!!

McDonald's
Jen, Vanessa (not our nanny Vanessa) & I took the kids to McDonald's for a playdate one day last week after school. It was fun for the kids to play together and for us mom's to sit and chat.

L to R: Anderson, Garrett, Aaron & McKenna (hmmm... could one of those boys be McKenna's futue husband?!?!?!)


L to R: Broggan, Ethan, Ryan & Paige ... Broggan & Paige both started going to Miss Sarah's school with the boys this summer. It's a great learning environment and the kids (& we parents) all love Miss Sarah!

Family Movie Night

We've started having family movie night every Saturday night. We pop popcorn and all sit as a family and watch a movie together. Since we started this tradition, we've watched Brother Bear, 101 Dalmations and Alvin & The Chipmunks.


The boys love to watch their popcorn popping in the microwave.

Windsor Family Campout

Two weeks ago our town hosted their 1st annual family campout at Windsor Lake. Families brought their tents and pitched them in the park and the town had a cookout, story telling, s'mores, a big screen movie showing and breakfast in the morning. We all went Friday evening and then I brought the babies home for bed while Matt and the boys slept overnight in the tent. It was a great time and I hope it is something they will continue to do every year. It gave the kids the chance to go camping, but close enough to home where I could bring the babies home to sleep.


Daddy and the boys in front of the tent.


Ryan & Ethan playing in Windsor Lake.


Aaron & McKenna's first time in a tent.


Kristan, Addison, Kelly & Gina


Ryan, Ethan, Evan & Cole


Ryan, Parker, Ethan, Cole & Evan ... it was a really windy evening and the sand kept blowing in the kids' eyes.

Ethan & Ryan playing at Windsor Lake!

Babies!!!

Aaron laughs!!

McKenna Laughs!!

Fun with Games

We're using a new reward system with the boys. They each have a chore/behavior chart where they can earn star stickers for good behavior and helping out around the house. They have to earn four stickers each day and then they can choose a prize from the prize basket. Ethan's first prize was this fun little Backyardigans checkers game.