It's Been a Busy Few Weeks... Swimming, Swimming, and More Swimming!

Frankly, we are all exhausted but it has been a great few weeks, complete with swimming lessons, bible school, a 9-month doctor check-up, army crawling, canoeing and fishing and a trip to Dallas to top it all off!

The first two weeks of June were spent driving to Arkadelphia 4 days a week for swimming lessons at the aquatic park. The boys did excellent! Nate is cautious and a really good swimmer considering he's only 5 and doesn't spend a ton of time in a pool... Zac is a daredevil and is doing pretty well for a 3 year old! Both loved jumping off of the diving board with a noodle and going down the big curvy slide. Both "graduated" top of their class! You still have to watch my "throw caution to the wind" Zachy as several times he has jumped in and "swam" behind my back. Which means someone yells at me "can that kid swim" and he is "swimming" which means keeping his head just above water but not going anywhere! He scares us to death! We enjoyed the extra time that we got to spend with Nanna and Papa Doc these two weeks. The boys love swimming in their pool and playing on all the motorized toys!

During the last week of swimming lessons our evenings were occupied by VBS at FBC Glenwood. The boys loved bible school and had a great time. I worked in Zac's class which was fun but stressful as sweet Zac is so full of energy and has such a Zest for life and loves to lavish attention on others (read between the lines)! It was a great week.

We were also so excited to have my dear friend Mica and her sweet little man Eli come and visit us for the weekend! They came complete with a spirit for adventure and a bunch of Krispie Kreme donughts! Tim took the big boys digging for worms (Nate is convinced he is a worm farmer) and fishing and canoeing on the Caddo. This allowed Mica and I time to catch up on girl talk and enjoy sweet Ben. We were so busy during the short time they were here I didn't even take pictures... next time I definitely will!

The boys spent Father's Day on the river with their dad. This is there favorite place to be. They love swimming, fishing, and watching the "tourists" tump over! Every free minute in the summer seems to be spent on the river or helping daddy "work". Tractor/Lawnmower rides are a big hit too!

We spent one Friday in Texarkana hanging out with Aunt Julie, Uncle Jimmy, Grae, Eme, Grandma and Grandpa! It was a lot of fun. The big boys played tennis and everyone enjoyed swimming in the pool at the country club. It was fun to watch Grae, Nate and Zac play together and sweet Eme is a little princess.

Last weekend was spent in Dallas where celebrated Matthew's 4th birthday! He had a fabulous party at a place called "Pump it up"! Full of huge bouncy houses and inflatable slides and play areas. The kids LOVED it. It was really a neat place, very clean and organized. The kiddos were exhausted after the party and took good naps. After that the boys were in for another big treat... a night at the new Grey Wolf Lodge... complete with very cool rooms, a hotel-wide treasure hunt, multiple pools, and an indoor water park! Very, very cool. The kids swam themselves into exhaustion. The boys all spent the night at the lodge while Jenny, Mom, Molly, Ben and I spent a quiet evening at Jen's house. The hotel was one of the neatest I've ever been too! It was a great weekend spent with my sis and her crew.

As for sweet Ben, he is growing and changing daily. He now has 4 teeth and is such a joy! He is army crawling everywhere and loves to stand. To my dismay, he is not a big napper but oh well, he is pretty perfect in every other way! Summer is in full force and we are preparing for the upcoming 4th of July mini family reunion with Tim's family.

Thanks once again to the wonderful grandparents who help to care for and entertain my crazy but sweet kiddos!

Hugs, KMO