advances in swimming

it seems like every year, ashley “forgets” the fact that she knows how to swim.

this year she even took to screaming when we would try to take her to the deep end, just as a reminder that she knows what to do…

every summer, by the end of the summer, the kid “remembers” that she knows how to swim, is going down the slide and off the diving board no problemo!

last summer, sadly, she didn’t “remember”.

(but she would jump off the back of the houseboat at lake powell?)

i am happy to say, that this summer, she remembered.

(finally.)

lynn lives with goggles attached to her face…

and little peyton, who started out not liking the water much, has fallen deeply in love.

seems as if all my girls have grown gills and fins.

You can’t beat a long weekend.

This weekend, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

(We are very thorough people, especially when it comes to our fun.)

We spent Saturday evening, swimming and bribing the girls to re-discover their excitement for diving and going down the slide into the pool.  Lynn was the only brave one, but somehow we were all rewarded with ice cream treats from Arctic Circle.

Sunday, we went to my parents house where we cooked giant marshmallows (very delicious by the way..  I should know, I think I ate the most.) and cooked hot dogs.  The kids played, we visited, and then enjoyed quite the fireworks display.

Monday, we spent the day at Merrill’s parents.  We were in the pool for nearly a solid 5 hours.  It was awesome.

Ashley has quite the tan (she is my girl!!!) and cute little blonde streaks in her hair (see, MINE!!).  We ate, swam, ate, played, dove, went down the slide, played sharks with Dixon, raced (I lost by a body length to Merrill EVERY time), went after the dive toys..   see, too much fun.  We came home and changed to head over to Brooke and Austin’s to play volleyball and watch more fireworks.

It was quite the full weekend, and we loved every second of it!

A rockin’ awesome sunburn.

Today, was Merrill’s day off.

Oh, how we love those kind of days!!

We spent the morning and early afternoon doing yard work.

Then we went up to Merrill’s parents to take a much deserved dip in the pool.

(It was the hottest day of the year, thus far.)

We rescued a dragonfly..

Went diving for sunken treasures.

Chilled..

Wished the cherries would ripen faster!

Laughed, a lot.

It was quite fun to watch Merrill and the girls play different games.  He helped Lynn master treading water.  He was the shark in their game and he feasted on Ashley’s guts for a while, while she screamed (that is what she does best!).  Peyton and I played.  I helped her get comfortable with her back float.  She got comfortable enough to jump into the pool, whether or not someone was there, ready, and waiting to catch her. :O

I also read while Peyton snoozed, and all of the splashing, laughter, and screaming, were the perfect soundtrack for me to also doze off to.

We had a fun day and even managed to live through a wasp sting.  I just hope that Ashley doesn’t remember all of that too clearly.  It might make for more poolside scream fests.

P.S.  Did I mention that we are ALL sporting some sun-kissed skin?  Well, we are, and I love it!

Catchin' up..

So, everyone is better, me included ;), and we have been doing summer all week!
Let me tell you a little of what we've done..

Went to the parade..

Went swimming..

And more swimming...

The only person who still needs the aid of a float or life jacket is Peyton.. Ashley and Lynn are both all over that pool floaty and life jacket free!! YAY!!
Keeping an eye on the garden..

I now know why "ear wigs" are called "ear wigs"..

Harvesting some yummy things from our garden..

And eating our yummy harvest..

Yesterday, we went school shopping.. found all needed supplies for both Lynnie and Ash and also found Peyton these cute flip-flops at Target.. I felt so bad putting her sandals on her, it had been a while, but she is no longer a 4..

And today, we went to the splash pad with some new friends..

And Peyton showed all her belly button. ;)

The girls enjoyed getting wet, then sitting on the cement and made "butt-prints"! They would look at the wet mark, and decide what it looked like.. some were hearts, some were bunny heads, complete with ears, and some looked like, well, butts.. it was a fun day! Thanks Kaycee...

Still have projects going on around here.. can't wait till it is all done!
I also got a new toy, but won't post until I get better acquainted with it. ;)

Pristine Condition..

We received a phone call last night to come and visit.. "the pool is in pristine condition" Dixon told us. As soon as this message was relayed to the girls, there wasn't much time between the "YAY!" and the event of swimsuits being put on.
They came out of their room, arms around each others shoulders, singing, "Matching swimsuits!!" in stereo.


It was a nice break, and even funner to have had the call go out to all of the kids.
Grandpa flew the kids through the water..


Bucky Horse also came out to give rides to the kiddos..


It was nice to wear out the kiddos, get them off to slumber land a wee bit faster.
I think that they had fun.


Sad part..
My phone ended-up taking a dip with me.. :(
I was just keeping it close, anticipating a couple of important phone calls.
It has spent the night in the freezer, and is now relaxing in a bowl of rice. I hope all of these quick fix-its, that I am told "really work", do just that, "really work". Otherwise, this was one expensive mistake..
Merrill is home today, not feeling well.. so on it goes...

Whatcha doin'?

Just a bit of what we've been up to..
Keeping busy around here!

South Ogden Days Parade... Lynn marched the whole way!

Had lunch at McDonald's..

Played and probably caught Swine Flu..

Peyton fed me french fries.. this is what it looks like when she feeds us bites:

Worked on Peyton's room some more.. I love IKEA!

She LOVES her room!

Resurrected the "Rose Petal Cottage"..

Which every little girl residing in this house is more than happy about. :)

Peyton is diggin' it.. the baby also ends-up in the oven. :0

ONE birthday cake..

An afternoon of swimming...

These two are so tight now..

These two are such posers...

ANOTHER birthday cake..

For Mom's birthday this time..


We love her!!
Watched some trains..

Went for a drive..

In celebration of the lady's birthday, we lit some sparklers, popped some pop-its..
This was Peyton's face when the pop-its started going off:

And enjoyed another dip..

With some other friends.

Now why on earth did I need a nap so bad today?
A doctor's appointment is in there somewhere, along with fireworks, a trip to DI (finally!!!), and just the daily funnies..
More stories to come in greater detail..
Until then..