Favorite pictures from last week

Shots from swimming lessons, Round 2

Summer Session Two

Swimming lessons ended midway through July, but the swimming fun did not end there! It has been so hot and by the end of the day fighting the kids into the tub is really the last thing I want to do.  I decided to make it easier on myself so we have been having a few outdoor bubble baths.  The boys love it and it makes bathtime bearable. Don't judge me!

Luke took soccer at the rec center for second session.  He did so good! Maybe a future soccer star! He now knows this teacher because she taught his basketball earlier this summer and the soccer class he took last year.  He was real excited that his friend Sebastian, our neighbor, was in his class and they palled around the whole time. I can see these two getting themselves into some adventures when they are a little older.

Will watching from the sidelines and dying to get in on some of the action!

GOAL!!!

Just for fun. . .

Will chilling out in the puppy bed. My kids love the dog bed. I could probably do an entire post of pictures of my kids in the dog bed.  Maybe I will save money on buying them furniture and mattresses and just purchase them dog beds for their bedroom.  Think of how much space that would free up!



Rec Center Classes

Every summer, I put the boys in classes at the rec center to keep them busy. This year we went a little light on the class load due to my work schedule, but they are having a blast regardless.

First session Luke had basketball and Will had tumbling.

Luke was so excited on his first day of basketball. He watched a lot of the basketball playoffs with us and roots for Dirk. Here he is with our tiny basketball at home before going to his first class. 

On the last day, they let the parents into class to show off their skills.

Luke is in the red shirt and white shorts. The greatest part about this is that he actually PARTICIPATED in every class! And did everything his teacher asked him to. This is a huge milestone for Luke and we were so proud. He has a history of being really excited to do things but then chickening out at the last minute and refusing to participate.

He was worried about dribbling. He couldn't do it (probably because he only has that tiny, mostly flat basketball at home and can't practice). We really encouraged him to try and talked about how important it is to practice something if you want to get better. Finally in show off day, he dribbled the ball three bounces in a row! He shot us a thumbs-up afterwards.

Our friend Ryan was in his class. Here are the two boys plotting something. . .

Will LOVED tumbling. He loved all the running and climbing. He did everything everyday and loved the big red mats.

I had to do it with him. He's not quite old enough for the beginner class so we did Mommy and Me. This picture describes exactly how I felt most of the class--BLURRY. Will is so dang fast!

(If you can't tell, he's doing a roll. His head is down and feet are up)

Next comes swimming! We just finished up swimming lessons this Friday and both the boys had a blast! Will literally could not wait to go in the gate everyday and threw these gigantic temper tantrums every morning when we would wait for his class to be called to come in. 

He loves everything about swimming except for the fact that you can't quite let go of him in the deep water. He has even started "swimming" at bath time.

Luke has progressed so much from last year!

Here's a refresher from last year. . .

Refusing to put his face in the water. . .

This is supposed to be "snorkeling" but he wasn't buying it.

Clutching to the instructor. . .

And crying on the side. Poor thing. His mom must be real mean to put him through all that.

And now for this year. . .

Happy in the pool.  Ready to snorkel. . .

His face was all the way in!

Swimming with his instructor.

Even jumping in!

Way to go Luke! We are so proud of you!

Move over David Beckham

There is a cuter soccer player in town now!

Summer Fun

Our summer is off to a busy, busy start. Luke has been taking a bunch of classes up at the rec center, we just finished two weeks of swimming lessons, and Will has been on the move lately. Will still doesn't consistently sleep great, but we are having more and more better nights. So combining the lack of sleeping with the early morning rising for all Luke's classes has really worn me out this month!

He first started Little Tot Tumbling. He did great for the first few times and tried everything, but one day he got in a scuffle with a bully boy and after that he didn't want to do anything so he spent two classes just watching. I was still proud of him for going into class without fussing, staying in class the whole time, and minding his teacher.

It really was a cute class to watch. Here they are stretching. . .

It's hard to see him in these, but his teacher is helping him onto the inclined mat to do a somersault in the first one, then the second one he is going head over heels--you can see his legs in the air (she is holding on to them), and thirdly, a grand finish!

Obviously, I took those in the early classes. He really was having fun and I was going to sign him up for the next session, but that changed.

He did, however, L-O-V-E "pirate class!" It was a little class with an awesome teacher where they sang pirate songs and made an art project every day. One class they made a crown. Luke brought it home and tried it on all of us, screaming out "King Luke!" "King Daddy!" "King Will!" "King Mommy!"

And lastly, we have swimming lessons. He spent every day for two weeks fussing about getting his face wet but thanks to Mr. Jake, his teacher, he made it in the pool and under the water every day, whether he liked it or not. There were only three kids in his class which was great because they got lots of one-on-one attention. In these pictures there was only Luke and our good friend Ryan as the third child didn't show up that day.

The last day, the parents got to stand up close and watch. Luke started off well. . .

Until the jump in the pool. Jump is a term used lightly as it implies a voluntary action. This was more of a dragging into the water.

Then the fussing continued during the "monkey crawl" along the side.

After they showed off all their skills, it was time for the best part of swimming lessons. On the last day of the session, they open the pool up for free swim and turn on all the slides and water fun! Jake snatched Luke up without even telling him where they were going, and ran him up to the top of the big blue slide! Luke didn't even have time to get scared.

Then he took both boys down the white slide.

And here they are on the pink slide--which they went down a few times.

This day was one of the few days Luke admitted to having fun in swimming lessons! When I asked him what his favorite part was, he said "the big blue slide!" I was so surprised!

Well, we got our money's worth from swimming lessons. Luke spent July 4th at my moms, doggy paddling, doing the monkey crawl, voluntarily putting his face in the water, and ASKING people to dunk him! Who is this child?? I am amazed!

We have a week off then summer session II starts at the rec center. Drawing class and soccer!