Family Fun

My mom and step-father came to visit us today, and they spent some time with the kids in the pool. A couple of the kids wouldn’t cooperate for a group photo, so this was the best I could get. I’m glad they were able to come and spend the day with us.

This boy has had a growth spurt recently. He has grown two full inches since his birthday in January! He is now 5′ 4 1/4″, which means I’m only one inch taller than him, and he will be taller than me in a few months.

Big sister didn’t want her photo taken, but I was able to snag one with her carrying the watermelon ball. My kids love that silly ball, but they don’t play with it like the directions suggest. They like to play solo instead of a group game, which means they usually end up fighting over who gets to play with it.

Little sister was happy to pose for a photo with Grammy in the background. When we first started swimming again this year, the twins told me they needed more swimming lessons. They wore their puddle jumpers the first few times they swam, but they are jumping in and swimming across the pool now. They also love to throw dive rings and torpedos in the pool and dive to get them. Ms. Alisha taught them well the last three summers!

Sissy was too busy swimming and diving to stop for a photo. She kept asking me last week to teach her to swim on top of the water, so I tried helping her swim freestyle, but that’s not what she really wanted. Yesterday, I finally figured out that she wanted to learn to tread water and dog paddle. That was easy for her to learn.

Before we got in the pool, I asked my mom to take a photo of me and the kids. I had to convince big sis to change out of a hot pink shirt so we could all match. This photo shows the dramatic height difference between my oldest two children. They are only 2 1/2 years apart but 12 inches apart in height! Big sis is 4 1/2 years older than the twins but only six to seven inches taller than them. We literally take clothes from her closet and pass them directly to the girls now. I expect all the girls to be in the same size clothing at some point in the near future unless big sis has a sudden growth spurt.

We had fun as a family today. I hope you were able to enjoy some time with your family today too!

Chillin’ in the Pool (quite literally)

We had a pool put in a few months ago, but we made the kids wait until the water was somewhat warm (73 degrees yesterday) before we would allow them to swim at all.  It is still too chilly for me (74 degrees), but I did put my feet in today.  

They are enjoying the pool already even though I catch them with chattering teeth from time to time.  The sun helped keep them warm yesterday while I sat in the shade under an umbrella.  Today’s cloud cover is keeping all of us cooler. 

They lined up on the side so they could all jump in together.  They get along so much better in the pool than anywhere else.  That could just be because it’s new, but I hope it continues through the summer.  

We didn’t realize we were down to three pair of goggles, so the kids shared today.  We probably need to buy a few new toys too, although it’s nice not to have too many to pick up.  This pink Puddle Jumper belonged to Big Sister years ago, but the girls love it because it’s pink.  As long as it keeps them afloat, I don’t care which one they wear.  The twins have swimming lessons later this month, so I’m hoping they will be able to swim without the floats all summer.  

Water, Water Everywhere

The weather the past couple of weeks has been very hot and dry, so we have been playing frequently in water to keep cool. Last Monday, we went to a children’s garden with some friends, and all of the kids had a great time playing in the water. Naturally, Little Sister was more cautious, but she jumped right in after her more adventurous twin. You can see Big Sister in the background, but Big Brother was running and jumping with his friends–too busy for photos but great for entertaining the girls! The little boy was no one we knew, but he made the water spray all over the girls, and Sissy tried and tried to do the same but wasn’t quite tall enough.

The big kids have had swimming lessons last week and this week and have made a lot of progress. I got my hair cut on Thursday right before their lesson and snapped a photo while they were swimming to send to my husband, mom, and sister. It’s so much more stylish than the ponytail I’ve been sporting every day since the weather heated up.

On Friday, we went swimming with some friends at their neighborhood pool. Sissy and Little Sister had their floaties on and were walking around in the water on the wide, top step while I was putting Big Sister’s hair in a ponytail, and the next thing I knew, Sissy just stepped right off into the pool and starting splashing around in the water. The nice thing about the Puddle Jumper life jacket is that it positions them correctly for swimming, and Sissy started kicking her legs and using her arms to swim. I was amazed. Again, Little Sister was more cautious and sat on the top step for awhile, but she did get in the pool now and then. I also snapped a photo of Big Sister and her friend, but once again, Big Brother was too busy with his friends.

As if I didn’t have enough to do already, I started another garden on one side of our backyard for vining plants like cantaloupe, watermelon, pumpkins, and fall/winter squash. I planted all the seeds about four weeks ago, and God sent rain four days in a row that week! Our sprinkler system doesn’t extend that far, so I’ve been hand watering it every other day, and the babies often come with me. Saturday morning, I went ahead and put their swimsuits on because they usually get soaked. I saved and rinsed some milk jugs for them to help me water, but they usually just pour it out on the grass or on their own feet. They lost interest in helping me and walked over to our vegetable garden. Sissy brought me a tomato she had picked. At least this one was ripe! I bought some 18″ wooden stakes at Home Depot and used a Sharpie to label them and create simple row markers.

We went over to the vegetable garden next so I could pull some weeds in the beds. I filled the water table for the girls to play in while I worked. The garden is shaded by the house in the morning, so it’s a great place for them to play. Sissy started helping me pull weeds and wanted to throw them over the fence into the pasture like I was doing, so she climbed to the top and then fussed because she couldn’t get down. After the third time, I realized what she was doing and told her to put the weeds through the fence like she was doing the week before.

We have picked a few zucchini squash and over a dozen tomatoes already. The grasshoppers are eating our corn, but I think we will have plenty.

There is finally rain on our forecast this week, so maybe we will really have water everywhere. We sure need it. Hope you are staying cool this summer!