Swimming Lessons

For the last two weeks the kids have had swimming lessons. Benjamin had a traumatic experience with a previous swim teacher, and he has not like getting his head wet at all since then. We had a bit of trouble getting him to go, but with the promise of a new lego set if he at least tried everything the teacher asked of him every day, he was willing to go. I signed Emma up for a parent/tot class during the time that Benjamin's class met because I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep her out of the water while we waited. After the first day of class, I was exhausted and didn't think I could do it everyday for two weeks straight. But we did get into a routine with snacks on the way home, and it got much better. Benjamin did great. He will now put his head underwater and even jumps in from the side and goes under the water. Both of these are huge improvements. Emma on the other hand started out loving lessons with lots of participation and grew to not want to do anything at all. Benjamin passed his level. Emma did not, although I think they aren't suppose to go to the next level until they are three so she has ample time to try again. Stephen took last day Friday off of work and so he did Emma's class with her. Here are some pictures of the classes. (My camera was running out of batteries and so a few are blurry, but they record the event so I included them.)

Benjamin swimming alone with a noodle.

Emma practicing kicking to the other side of the pool.

Benjamin waiting his turn.

Emma swimming to her teacher . . .

and then back to Dad.

Emma doing back floats.

Benjamin swimming away from the wall with big kicks.

Emma is suppose to be jumping in. She didn't like this at all.

Historic Fort

I happened upon a website a few weeks ago that had some fun things for families to do in the area during the summer. One thing that was listed was Friday Family Fun Night at an Historic Fort near us. We hadn't ever been there before and so I added it to my Google calendar as a possible future activity. On Friday night, we headed to the store to grab a picnic dinner and then to the park where the fort is. We learned a little about the history that is was built in 1833 when trappers came to trap fur animals and trade with the Indians. After touring the buildings, enjoying lemonade and ice cream, seeing the blacksmith, and hiking up the bastion, the real highlight was the candy cannon filled with taffy. Benjamin rushed out and got two pieces. It was a great family night!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

We heard about a LDS Mariners Night and so we got tickets and headed to the game. It was Emma, Benjamin, and Stephen's first major league baseball game. The kids got a certificate to celebrate their first game against the Chicago White Sox (I thought this was fitting). We all got a free t-shirt and hat for LDS night. Benjamin was a bit worried about sitting up so high, and we had a little bit of convincing to do to get him to stay. He insisted that he needed a seat belt. Once we got him distracted with a hot dog, we were all set. Stephen enjoyed researching the food before hand and informed me that this ballpark is rank in the top three for food. We arrived early to enjoy the adult dinner before the game of garlic fries, gyros, and ice cream during the game. Then we enjoyed 4 innings of baseball before heading back to get the kids in bed. We are planning on making this a family tradition.

Jam

One Berry
Two Berry
Pick me a blueberry.
Hatberry
Shoeberry
In my canoeberry

Raspberry
Jazzberry
Razzamatazzberry
Berryband
Merryband
Jamming in Berryland
(From the book Jamberry by Bruce Degen)

It is a bit ironic that Emma has found the book Jamberry from the bookshelves and is carrying it around. We have reading the book incessantly and indeed we are in berryland around here. We have eaten 5 of the half-pint jars of strawberry jam and now the raspberries are out, and so I get this idea to make raspberry jam. This time is was much easier because there were no stems to take out. We now have 16 little red jars of deliciousness in the freezer. I am already starting to think about when the blackberries are ready!

Water Fun

It finally warmed up around here and so we headed outside after dinner to water the lawn and clean out the outside toy box. We filled up the water table with bubbles and these two played for an hour and a half before bed. It was a perfect summer evening!

Strawberries and Freezer Jam

I was a bit happy that summer came so late to the NW because that meant that the strawberries were on when we got home from vacation. Last year we missed the window because we were gone. I headed across the river to the local berry farm and got three flats of berries to make strawberry freezer jam. My only mistake was that I grossly overestimated how make berries I would need. We now have 9 gallon size freezer bags of hulled berries for waffles and smoothies and 34 half-pint jars of freezer jam. It was a ton of work, but I couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome. The kids and I have eaten pb&j for the past few lunches because the jam is so good.

The strawberries were so sweet this year. In fact for dinner a few nights ago, I pureed some strawberries with a couple of tablespoons of sugar to make the most amazing strawberry syrup for our waffles. We were all in heaven from that feast as you can tell from the pictures.

The 3rd of July

Stephen had a conference to present at today so when he got home, we had dinner and a few fireworks. Emma was a mess and screamed the whole time. I guess it is a good thing that we aren't taking her to a real firework show this year!