Swimming Lessons Complete!

For the first time ever, we were home for two, consecutive weeks this summer which meant that I could sign the kids up for one session of swim lessons.  Since we are constantly in and out of town over the summer, I have always had the kids take swim lessons on Saturdays during the school year.  And this past year, I even had Logan take them twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings since he didn't have preschool on those days.  However, when I realized that we would be in town for the first session of the summer, I signed up Logan and Lia.  It consisted of two weeks of four days of classes each week.  I chose the 9 a.m. time slot over the 9:30 one so that we could be done sooner in the morning if we wanted to go on a day adventure after the lesson was over (which happened several times).  I must admit, it was a bit of a push to get everyone up, fed, dressed, and out the door by 8:40 every morning for two weeks when I was soooo ready to slow down and go into "summer mode."  But we managed to push through it and make it on time almost every single morning.  Both kids did a great job working hard in their swim classes.  Logan was the smallest and youngest kid in his Level 2 class, but he really worked harder than a lot of the older kids and learned a lot.  Lia was enrolled in the Level 4 class for the fifth time and was so close to passing this time around!  This level is quite challenging as it requires the students to master several different strokes and swim these strokes for 25 meters.  Overall, I was proud of my kiddos for giving this round of swim lessons their all and I hope that it will make them even more confident and competent swimmers this summer in the water!

Lia and Logan standing by the pool before the start of their last swim lesson today.

Lia goggled up and ready to swim her first lap with the kickboard.

Lia swimming away!

Logan floating on his back with the help of his teacher.

Logan swimming back to the edge of the pool.

My cute boy flashing me a smile.

Logan heading back out into the pool with his other teacher.

At the end of every swim session, the bigger kids get to jump off the diving board into the deep end of pool.  Lia was so excited to do this today!

There she goes!

Lia giving me a stellar smile as she swims back to the ladder.

Pedals and Pumping

Although Logan rode a "big boy" bike for the first time at the beginning of May and had a few days to work on improving his bike riding skills, the breaking of his arm on May 13th shut everything down in this department.  So, just as he was getting started, he had to stop and go back to riding a bike with training wheels while he had his cast on.  Luckily, his cast came off the beginning of June, but the rainy weather continued for a few more weeks. So, when school finally got out and the sunshine came out, Logan started trying to ride his bike with no training wheels again.  In the past few days, it has really clicked.  He now is riding his big boy bike all over the backyard--grass and all.  It is really impressive to see how quickly he picked it up this second time around.  In addition, something else happened this week:  Logan finally figured out how to "pump" with his legs while on a swing.  I went called outside tonight to find Logan swinging back and forth as high as Lia on the swing with NO one pushing him from behind.  I was so surprised as he really hadn't been trying to figure this out recently.  I am so proud to report that Logan is now officially riding a bike without training wheels and swinging on a swing without any pushing him and it all happened in the same week.  Well done, Logie Boy!

Logan and Lia swinging away!

A close-up of my pumping boy.

More Logan in action.

Look how high up he is!

Ella's First Trip to the Dentist

After a late night followed by an early morning of swim lessons, I continued to torture the kids by dragging them off to their annual, dental check-up after swim lessons.  It isn't the easiest thing to get three dental appointments in a row at our dentist office, so I hesitantly signed them for their annual appointment knowing that it would be the day after the 4th of July celebrations.  I am proud to say that everyone survived and no cavities were found in Lia's and Logan's mouth.  When I took both Lia and Logan to the dentist for the first time when they were three, they both did a good job cooperating and opening their mouths for the hygienist and the dentist.  Logan even allowed the dentist to scrape a large build-up of tartar that had formed behind his bottom, front teeth which is amazing considering the fact that he was not the most cooperative, three-year old!  However, little Miss Ella would have nothing to do with anyone.  Although she begrudgingly agreed to climb into the dental chair and wear the protective glasses and dental bib, she refused to do anything else.  Ella barely would look at the hygienist when she tried to show her the air and water tubes and completely refused to open her mouth for any kind of examination.  She also behaved the same for the dentist.  So, although we successfully got Logan's and Lia's mouths cleaned and x-rayed, Ella was a total bust!  Oh well, there is always next year.

Our cute girl all geared up and ready to go for absolutely nothing on her dental exam chair.

A remotely interested Ella and a very interested Logan looking at the dental hygienist's tools.

4th of July at Lake Sammamish

We spent a wonderful 4th of July at Lake Sammamish yesterday.  Since all of us would be staying up til midnight, I knew that it was important Logan and Ella take a nap in the afternoon.  This meant that we needed to pack up and head out early to enjoy the morning at the lake before heading back to my parents for afternoon naps.  We left Ron at home to work on a big project of fixing a section of our fence on the back bank while we headed up to the lake for the late morning and a picnic lunch.  Just the four of us were out there and we had a great time playing together.  We then packed up after lunch and headed to my parents' house where I was fortunately able to get both Logan and Ella to fall asleep.  We headed back out to the lake around 4:30.  My parents, Chris' family, and Eric's family had all arrived by this time.  The children spent a funfilled afternoon running around with the cousins before eating a potluck dinner on the beach.  Ron and my Aunt Myrna and Uncle Gordon had joined us by this point in the day.  After dinner, we broke out the fireworks and tried to kill a few hours before the massive firework show started across the lake at the crazy, late time of 10:15.  Between the fireworks and some evening swimming, the children managed to stay entertained until the "big show."  As always, it did not disappoint.  I marvel every year at this Disneyland-like firework show that is privately funded by someone who lives on the lake directly across from our property.  We always have such a great view and it is always such a fun and late way to end the day.  After getting home after midnight, it was pretty tough to drag the kids out of bed this morning for Logan's and Lia's 9 o'clock swim lessons.  Everyone was still asleep at 8:15.  Needless to say, we didn't make it on time!

Lia and Logan enjoying the paddle board all to themselves in the morning.

The hilarious pose I found Logan in while relaxing on an inner tube.

The awesome picture I got of Logan and Lia jumping off the dock.  Logan sure has gotten a lot braver this summer after a year's worth of swim lessons.  He never would have jumped into the lake like this last summer.

Cute Logan and Ella paddling around in the shallow water.

Lia playing with her older cousins Brynn, Callie, and Vivi in the afternoon.

Most of the kids lined up and soaking in some sun while taking a break from their afternoon swim.

All of Ella's older, girl cousins now like to fight for her attention every time we get together.  I have never had a child get this kind of attention from so many cousins at once.  I guess it is because they are all growing up and taking more of an interest in little ones for the first time.  Regardless, it is a funny thing to watch especially since Ella can be quite fickle with who she will allow to hold her or play with her.  Here she is at the current moment gracing Callie with her presence.

As always, Logan and Trenton were inseparable all afternoon and evening.

Logan and Trenton eating together at the picnic table.

Some of the gang eating dinner.

Logan enjoying an evening dip.

Ella has really blown me away with how brave she already is being at the beginning of the summer. She jumped off the shallow end of the dock over and over again this evening without any help from me.  Here she is swimming back to the shore after jumping in.

The kids playing with sparklers as the sun was beginning to set.

Ella trying out a sparkler.

Two of my favorite things: the Hartland fam and Lake Samm.

Ella twirling away.

Logan doing double duty with his sparklers.

It's almost dark!  Lia posing with Logan and Ella.

The boys lined up on the dock waiting for the show to begin!

Our view of the fireworks across the lake.

One of the many beautiful fireworks we saw that evening.

The beautiful reflection on the lake.  There just isn't a better way to spend the 4th of July!

Twinnies!

For quite some time now, Ron and I have stuck to the same getting-ready-for-church routine when it comes to getting the children ready.  I am in charge of getting Ella dressed and doing her hair.  In addition, I still style Lia's hair after she chooses her own outfit and gets dressed on her own.  Ron, on the other hand, is 100% in charge of Logan.  He helps him pick out his outfit, put it on, and then does his hair.  I really don't know how to do Logan's hair.  I mean, I can comb it with a brush, but that's about all.  However, Ron can do this fancy "do" every week that involves gel and the cutest hairstyle I have ever seen on the boy.  It has become a tradition that whenever Ron is "done" with Logan, he sends him on his way to find me in order to show off his outfit and hair-do.  Logan is always met with ample oohs and aahs from me and even some kisses on the face and head.  I always give Logan a big reaction which I know he loves.  However, today was a total treat when not only did Logan look absolutely adorable in his shirt and tie combo, but when I discovered that he was a total twin with Ron.  Apparently, they have one matching tie: a black one with tiny, white dots.  They both decided to wear it with their dark slacks and white, dress shirts.  It was so cute that I forced the two of them (well, mainly Ron) to pose for a picture before leaving for church.  So, here are my handsome twins!

3 and 1/3 Years Old!

I know I say this every time, but it is hard to believe that my baby girl is now 3 and 1/3 years old today.  Ahhhh!  Can I just push the "stop" button on her life?!  Apparently not.  Ella continues to just grow up and become more of a little girl and less of a toddler.  She is so full of energy and constantly one step ahead of me.  She loves princesses, riding her bike outside, playing hide-and-go-seek, singing made-up songs, and looking at books.  She also thought of the funniest thing to do whenever she wants to play dolls with one of us, but doesn't have any dolls around (like when we are in the car).  She will ask either Lia, Ron, or me the question, "Can you play with your hand?"  We then will have to use our hand to move and talk like a doll.  This little game can go on for several minutes with her and it is just the funniest thing.  Ella really loves playing with her brother and sister when they are around and will allow it and she has also started to interact with other children when we are at a park or during a play date.  Ella is all girl and loves anything Disney princess, Barbie, or dress-up.  She has also asked on several occasions if she can take ballet class.  Ella is also in the current phase where she asks questions all the time.  She will also ask the same question over and over again even though I repeatedly answer it over and over again.  The funniest question that she likes to ask me on an almost daily basis is, "What time is it?"  This just cracks me up since she has zero concept of time in the first place.  Ella has also not mastered the art of whispering and consistently talks really loud in Sacrament Meeting in church which bothers Ron a lot.  Ella has also started to refine the art of tantrum throwing.  Although she pales in great comparison to her older brother at this age, she still throws a couple of short-lived tantrums a day right now.  It's not my favorite thing, but I will take it any day over what Logan put me through when was three years old.  In addition to throwing tantrums, Ella has no qualms about expressing her dislike of certain people at times.  She will shout, "I don't like you!  I don't like anyone!" when she is mad at you.  She also likes to yell, "Never!" when she is not in the mood to do something. On the other hand, she can say, "I don't know," in the sweetest voice in response to questions like, "Ella, why are you so cute?"  Other funny things that she says are "waters" and "mines" (just like Logan).  She also recently asked me, "How old me?" when wanting to know here age.  And, this one was my favorite of the last three months.  When we were talking about something that had happened before she was born, Ella said, "I wasn't there.  I wasn't born.  I was still up in Jesus."  So cute.  We love you, Ellie B!

School's Out For Summer!

Well, it finally happened! School's out for the summer!  It seemed like summer vacation took forever to arrive this year due to the fact that Lia's last day of school wasn't until June 23rd, but it finally came.  Luckily, this wasn't the biggest bummer this year since it rained a lot in June.  Although Logan finished up his preschool the end of May at the Lutheran church, I organized a co-op with three other moms from his class to keep the schedule going Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning for the three weeks that he was out of preschool that Lia was still in school.  This helped to keep him busy and happy while waiting for his sister to join us for the summer fun.  Today, we met his co-op friends and their moms at the splash pad in Puyallup for an early picnic lunch and some play time in the water and on the park.  We even found a few minutes to run into the library to check out some more American Girl Doll books for Lia.  We then dashed over to her school to pick up Lia right at noon.  Surprisingly, she and Mollie (who I had to take home) both met me at the side gate with glum faces and even some tears.  After learning that they were upset that they had to say goodbye to most of their friends for 2.5 months, I told them that this was absolute nonsense.  I would have nothing to do with this!  After reminding them in the car ride home of all of the wonderful things they get to do in the summer that they can't do during the school year, they started to perk up.  Good grief!  Has the girl drama already started or what?!  Anyways, by the end of the four minute car ride home, all of the girls were smiling and laughing.  I sent everyone to play in the sunshine in our backyard after lunch until Mariah picked up her girls.  I think it is safe to say that we are all officially excited for summer to begin!

Our tall, grown-up, third grader flashing a confident smile before heading off to school this morning.

As always, we had to take a sibling pic with silly Logie and darling Ellie B.