Proof we did more than just watch TV all Summer. . . . .

although we did plenty of that as well.

Sure, we started school the beginning of July, but it was for less than three full weeks.  We are now nearing the end of a track-off, and so now it feels like Summer is coming to an end.  Here is some documentation of how the Summer of 2009 was spent by our family.

SWIMMING

Swimming with the Griffiths

    Reagan loves her life jacket.  It keeps her just enough out of the water that she doesn’t drown, but she really has to kick her legs to keep from swallowing a lot of water.  I loved seeing her cruise around the pool by herself.  And look at that cute bum.

Swimming at Homestead Pool with either the Hansens or the Weeks (and sometimes both)

And lots of swimming lessons.  I signed up Ellery and Bennett for a month at an expensive swim school called Safe Splash.  I immediately regretted it (based completely on the price), and had filled out a withdrawal form before the end of the first lesson.  But we were committed for a month, and had five lessons there.  We just finished a two-week session of lessons at Look Out Pool.  At the start of the session, Elle and Bennett were still (after several Summers of swim lessons) hesitant to fully submerge their faces in the water.  They both made so much progress in the last two weeks.  Bennett passed his level.  He is actually swimming, both the front crawl and the back stroke.  He jumps in the pool and swims to the steps, he dives for rings, he floats on his back, glides on his tummy.  Elle didn’t pass her level (no one in her class did, which might say more about the teacher than the kids), but she has made so much progress as well.  She is going all the way under the water to dive for things, which is huge for her.  She is jumping into the pool, and actually enjoying it.  She is much more comfortable floating on her back, and has the beginnings of the front crawl.  This may not seem like much to most people, since a lot of Elle’s friends are fully swimming already.  But it is really amazing to me how far they have come these last few weeks.  It is wonderful that all the money and time spent on swimming lessons this summer hasn’t been a total waste.

 

I know this pic is blurry, but that is Bennett swimming!  Miracles do happen.

OTHER WATER RELATED ACTIVITIES

The Fountains at Southlands

Splash Pad at Great Plains Park

FREQUENTING GREAT PARKS IN THE AREA

Belleview Park – Petting Zoo, Train, Playground, and Creek

Westlands Park and Fountains

LAKESIDE AMUSEMENT PARK

 

 

That looks like a whole lot of Summer fun, huh?  Campbell was always with us.  She didn’t get in on a lot of the action, but could usually be found either:

a – looking cute

b – being loved by Maya

c – amusing herself in her carseat

 

or d – hanging out with Hunter.

She’s a really good baby.  But I recently made the realization that Reagan was a really good baby also.  And
“good” is not a word I would ever use to describe Reagan now.  Which makes me a bit fearful for Campbell’s future.  Or, more accurately, my future with Campbell.  We shall see.

And finally, on a very different note, if you can find nothing in all of our Summer activities to comment on, surely you will have something to say about this next picture.  Last week when I was at Ross, I came across these babies:

Straight out of 1990.  I had white and hot pink Reebok high tops just like this when I was 10 or 11 – they even had the ball to pump on the tongue of the shoe.  These were in Reagan’s size, and at $12.99 very hard to pass up.  I was strangely drawn to them, but then really couldn’t imagine myself every putting them on her, so I resisted.  It really is true that everything comes full circle, and all fashion eventually comes back in style.