Swimming Lessons 2012

We had 4 kids in swimming lessons again this year.  That is an expensive 9 days and I always dread bad weather that steals away days in the water.  We did have one day with lightning that kept the kids out of the water.  They made it a safety day and kept the kids inside.

This was Joseph's first year in the pool.  He had been looking forward to it! Daniel was gone to Scout Camp   for the first week, so it was just me and Sarah hanging out pool side (or on the other side of the chain link fence).

Joseph was in Level One.  They take it easy and get the kids used to being in the water.  They do something called "washing machine" at the beginning of the lesson which swishes the kids back and forth and then submerges them.  Some kids handle that better than others!

This is Joseph in the washing machine (he's in the middle).

This is Joseph's washing machine under the water.

Joseph had to "eat a lot of cookies" to get his belly full enough to float.  I'm sure he had no trouble visualizing real cookies.  We can still see his ribs, though.

Joseph really likes trains.  This one was no exception.  He is the 3rd cute kid from the right.

Rebekah was in Level Two this year.  (She is the one with both hands on the wall.)

I got an action shot of Rebekah jumping off the wall to her teacher.  She showed little fear in the water.

 Leah and Nathan were in Level Four together.  They were the farthest away and the hardest to pick out through the camera lens.  Here they are in the middle of the picture with another kid between them.

They did a lot of swimming back and forth across the width of the pool while trying to dodge the Level Six kids who were swimming across the length of the pool.  It was a tricky thing to do!

 They also did a lot of diving.  There were a few belly flops.  Of course.  :)

 I didn't expect anyone to pass, though I thought Rebekah had the best chance.  She did, but the surprise was that Joseph did too!  Leah and Nathan get to work at Level Four again next year.  This all means that we will have 5 kids in swimming lessons next summer in Levels One, Two, Three, Four and Four!  (Sarah will start.)  Yikes.  I should start saving now.

I have a sense of peace that the kids are learning to swim.  Sadly, we don't really go swimming as a family and our tub isn't that big.  I hope it's like riding a bicycle.

HOT Summer

This summer has been very hot! There have been more days in the upper 90's this summer than any other summer I can remember.  That makes it very hard to be nice to each other. ;)

On that note, Daniel had a much better day today and only almost got himself in trouble at bed time.  I am hoping that tomorrow will be good as well.  If not, Operation Solitary Confinement will start.

Daniel had a physical therapy appt. today for his jaw.  It was a scheduled visit and he wasn't hurting, but he has been, so we were hoping for just an adjustment.  Then we got a call saying that his PT was sick, but we could get in with another guy. We did that and it may have turned out to be a good thing.  We are trying to watch his posture and strengthening his neck muscles.  Doesn't it sound strange that something like that would affect his jaw?  There is so much about the body that I don't understand.  I am amazed.  And I am hopeful that we will find a way to manage his jaw pains.

Nathan's leg is still really tight and he lags behind when we go out.  He hasn't asked for medicine for a while, so that is something.  He sees an even more specialized PT next week. 

Leah sees the doctor about her sleep walking tomorrow afternoon.  I would love an answer about that, too!

Despite the pain and money it takes to look for relief from the pain, the kids are still robust and healthy.  I know we could have it much worse and I'm thankful for what we don't have to face.  Even so, we are getting very weary with the challenge we've been given.

My kids were introduced to "Kid History" on youtube.com this week.  If you haven't seen it, you should check out the videos.   There are several of them and they are very funny.  (Little kids tell wacky stories and grown-ups act them out, lip syncing to the kids' voices.)

This is a short one...we thought it was funny.  Search "Kid History" on youtube to find them all. :)


I am looking forward to possible rain/thunderstorms tomorrow!!

Summer Cancer

I am looking forward to school starting next week.  We are suffering from a cancer that is eating our family from the inside.  When the kids start school, they will be able to reconnect with friends that they have been missing all summer and use up their energy in more structured activities.

Things have been so crazy around here that we've had very little structure.  Sometimes we had swimming lessons, sometimes we were catching a movie from the summer kid series, there was a week of basketball camp for Daniel and Leah, we've made several trips out of town, there were two different scout camps, and we've been missing our Daddy. 

It's been hot this summer and our house doesn't have air conditioning.  That hasn't helped the temper flare-ups much.

Daniel composed a poem for Leah tonight. 

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Your shoes smell like poo,
And you look like some, too.

She wrote it down and showed it to me while I was working on dishes and they were supposed to be going to bed.  So I composed one of my own and wrote it down for Daniel.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
When you are unkind to others,
They will start to avoid you.
-And you will be sad, mad and lonely.

Daniel is the main source of contention in the house.  I am ready to confine him to areas that we are not in during the day tomorrow.  He won't have to stay in his room the whole day, but he will have to leave whatever area we are in.  He may find himself with a lot of thinking time in the garden, too.  I am to the point of desperation.  (Out of respect for him, I won't go into all the dirty details.  I still believe that he is better than he's showing us.)

So while our family is struggling with getting along and making happy memories, I have the assignment to teach the RS Presidency message/lesson next month.  The topic?  Strengthening families/Making a home where others want to be.  HA HA HA!  I am twitching, laughing hysterically and pretty sure I'm the least qualified to teach this lesson.  I suppose that means I have the most to learn. It should be interesting...right up to the final AMEN.