Summer at the Pool

We have had a blast this summer!  Or should I say we have had a "splash" this summer!  We decided that the only way to beat the heat and humidity of Virginia was to join a neighborhood pool and go EV-ER-Y DAY!!  So that is what we did!  We would go after Lyla's morning nap and swim for a few hours then head home so Lyla could get a little nap in the late afternoon.  Of course our Saturdays were pool days too.  Just so much fun to be had at the pool!

Alli and Andrew celebrated their birthday at the pool with their Feldman cousins.  We spent most of the day splashing and diving!  And perfect timing, we enjoyed some pizza while we waited out a classic "10 minute summer downpour". 

Ty got really good at swimming.  He hasn't officially had swim lessons but he has managed to learn by watching others.  And an occasional swim lesson from Dad or Mom!  By the end of the season he was swimming the width of the pool unassisted!  He even tried his skills at freestyle.  I noticed him swimming the freestyle one day and asked him who taught him.  He said "no one, I just did it!" So there you have it...the third child can teach themselves lots of things!  Including freestyle!  His cousin Alyssa would be so proud!

Kids loved the ice cream truck that rolled in every day around 2pm.  Ice cream trucks always provide great childhood memories!  It also emptied the pool!  As soon as the music was heard the kids would run and get in line for ice cream.

We knew lots of people at the pool from church or school.   It was fun to swim with our acquaintances from VA!

The pool had a diving board and the kids had so much fun testing different dives! 

 Lyla even loved the pool.  Lyla and I would mostly work on our tans, but we did venture out into the cool waters when it just was too hot to sit on the sidelines!  I covered her in sunblock but she managed to get herself quite the little tan.  She has little tan piggies!  So cute! 

Lyla would people watch drinking her juice and was very content!












At the end of the summer we asked the kids what they enjoyed about summer.  It was unanimous!  They loved the pool this summer!  It was well worth it.  Happy kids all around!

Bring on the "nines"

Today my babies are 9!  It seems like forever ago they were just tiny little wads of blanketed bundles riding home in the back of our Integra.  Shane and I thinking...whoa, what next?  Well, I tell you it has been an amazing "9" years that those two have been blessing our lives.  I don't know what I would do without them!

*Alli has such a sweet spirit and loves to help with her baby sister.  She loves to practice her mommy skills and slings Lyla on her hip like she is a seasoned pro.  She loves to teach her brother Ty math & fractions!  (She sets the bar high for him.)  She excels in school and loves every moment of it...well, except math homework with mom!  She is loving jewelry, hair accessories, & LOVES her earrings!  She likes swimming in the pool, loves fruit (any), loves basketball and recently received "the Coaches Award" trophy at her basketball camp, enjoys playing the Wii & enjoys reading.  She is a terrific 9 year old!  Happy Birthday Alli!!

*Andrew is an amazing kid!  He just loves playing tricks on his family and has recently become fond of scaring his mother! (had to put a stop to that one!)  He giggles and laughs at all of Lyla's funny faces.  He is very creative and is always drawing something or another.  He likes to play with his creations.  He loves to read and is currently reading Harry Potter #5 & a "Heck" book!  He excels at school.  He has found a new love for baseball and was even privileged to attend a Nationals game & a Yankees game!  He loves swimming at the pool, playing Pokemon with Ty, playing Wii, setting up animal families, collecting ev-er-y thing & swinging on the rope swing outside.  He is a terrific 9 year old as well!  Happy Birthday Andrew!!