Portrait of a Summer . . .

I'll have you know I was prepared to neglect this blog post.
It took me three evening session to upload all the pictures.
I have been feeling a bit of blog burn-out because of that! Haha BUT then tonight JC is getting things organized and ready for his upcoming hunt - - Yay, the first one of this fall/winter! He has a few coming up and I am excited for him - - and anyway, he is busy (I'm used to being the busy one), my house is actually somewhat clean (We are even caught up on dishes...this happens about three times in a YEAR), and though there are other things that I could be doing, nothing feels ahead of this in priority so darnit, I'm blogging. :)
And, actually, I'm pretty glad about that.

So, here's the deal with this post: It's not for you.
Okay, so it is. In theory. I love to share what my kids are doing, the fun...and less fun...moments we have, how we spend our days, where my thoughts are, etc. But I know I could do all that in about 5000 less words and 1,000,000 less pictures every time around. But...then it wouldn't be mine. It would be Stephanie Nielson's or someone else who can create amazing, informative, and beautiful blog posts in charmingly small spaces with like, five words accompanying one picture and make you fall in love with her and her loved ones.
Shoot, she's awesome.
I'm probably awesome too...just 4995 words and 999,999 pictures different.
And more just for people who already love me. Because if you didn't already love me and you decided one day to read my blog you would probably get overwhelmed after the third paragraph introducing the blog post and lose interest.

Like...right now.

Okay...for those of you left...probably a couple sisters and parents...(but very possibly not even my own husband..."It got long" he would say), you get to see how we spent 'our summer days.'
(That is in quotes because it fits just right with the song that's in my head..."Those Canaan Days" from Joseph-the-musical...always in my head...pretty sure I have blogged about it before.)

So, here I give you the longest post ever. Even for this blog.
And the reason I said it is not for you is that even though it is, I include so much because I really do use it as a family journal of sorts and I just love including every. last. drop. of it all!


SO!
This summer I had a plan. I had a routine all set in place. I had plans to enjoy it immensely.
And lo and behold, things went wonderfully.

Every morning, Ben would make his way up the loooong staircase to our bedroom at what JC would like to call the buttcrack of dawn. (I don't like that very much, but I had to include it so I could show him, when he is old and tender-hearted, that he used to say such vulgar things. And okay, okay, I really shouldn't be talking...I have unfortunate favorite words that make me laugh whether I want them to or not...like words people in junior high would say to each other as insults that made no sense whatsoever. They didn't make me laugh then, but for some reason I am more immature at this point in my life. Go figure. Case in point...I am now laughing hysterically to myself, alone in my office, because, when explaining this just now I couldn't help but think of examples. Like buttface. Stop. Stop. I can't talk about this anymore.)
You're welcome.
So, back to the story.
Ben would come in super early. Which means anywhere between four thirty and six fifteen. My rule is, anything after five is fair game. But if you come wake me up before five, do not expect me to get up. You may lay in bed with me and neither of us will probably get any more sleep. But my feet will not touch that floor and my job as your entertainer begin until after five. That is my rule.
First five seconds of my day:
"Mama, it's morning! Can you get up right now?...Why you not getting up?....Can I have a snaaack? ...I need-a go potty...Can you get up right now?...I want you-a hold me...Why you not getting up? You said you'd get up right now!...I need-a go pottyIwantasnaaack!!!"
I would get up with him, and the other offspring would trickle out of bedrooms at some point. James would sleep as late as eight sometimes! Gotta love him.

A big part of my summer plan was to work out every day. With nowhere to be all day, I felt a little more able to make it happen. Of course, the dependent children would still act as stumbling blocks to that particular plan but I felt more able to deal with it when I could stay in my workout clothes and put off a shower for as long as it took!
The thing that also made it challenging was I had 30 minutes of walking/jogging to get in every day and not a single child willing to sit in a stroller anymore.
And seriously, I don't believe my children are meant to be accessories to my workout anyway. You want to have a conversation with me about that mentality? No, I promise you don't.
But I was determined to somehow make this happen.
Determined enough to blaze a trail around the perimeter of our backyard.
Yep. Every morning I literally ran in circles.
Until JC asked me to stop because it was doing this:

My "blazing a trail" was his "ruining our grass."
He mapped out a new way for me to run the same distance but not have to step on the grass.
All while still in our backyard.

But before that point, while I was "ruining our grass," I was also "splashing in all the mud puddles created by our sprinklers."
And every day, my calves would look like this:

And this:
(Notice I actually have a mud line where my sock would start. Like a tan line, only gross.)

So, after my morning workout, it would be time for breakfast. At that point, the kids had their fill of their shows and playtime and were ready for some sustenance.
Usually in the form of fruit and veggie smoothies. Refreshing and energizing. I love the feeling of all that goodness zipping through my body! It makes such a difference in my day when I start it like that.
So, once that was out of the way and we were all juiced up for some activity, then came outside playtime. Usually water playtime. Well, really, always water playtime. Because during the Arizona Summer, if you are going to be outside at all after eight a.m., you better involve water! We would play in our little plastic pool, slide on the slip n slide, or sometimes I would just chase them with the hose! It all worked.
But then my friend in the ward got wind of the fact that we were trying to teach our kids to swim this summer. And she offered to teach them. So, pretty soon, a couple mornings out of the week, swim lessons became our outside playtime!
See, the kids were not swimmers at the beginning of the summer. They have had their periods of being okay with the water and being terrified of the water over the last few years. But had yet to be swimmers. And, at the beginning of this summer, they were all in a phase of being terrified. We knew we needed to get them swimming, simply so they could be safe around water and so that going swimming as a family could go down several notches on the stress scale. It was just TIME. We had been attempting to teach them, using my parents' pool a few times a week. It had been going okay...but only okay. We weren't getting a whole lot of progression because, when it's Mom and Dad, it doesn't happen as well as if it's a stranger. Or...a somewhat familiar friend from the ward.
So, anyway, into swim lessons we dove!
Susan's (or, as the boys call her, "Sister 'Snahka" - - not at all her real last name, just their best effort at pronouncing it) stipulations were as follows:
1 - I not be there during swim lessons
and
2 - . . . I not be there during swim lessons

Yeah, well, we all knew the kids were going to SCREAM and CRY and KICK and BEG for mercy and we all know I would have tried my best to hold up against it but we all know it would have made it a lot harder for everyone involved if we all had to ride that roller coaster together (I guess after four or five years as my visiting teacher, she knows a little something about me) SO, I obliged.

The first day, I left them all screaming and crying.
Reports were that they continued in the same fashion after I left...for pretty much the entire time. This was the case for the first couple of weeks, though they did lessen a little each time. I think Susan and her daughter felt a little afraid for their lives at the clawing and kicking monsters my sweet children became. After the summer was over and it was all said and done, they told me that even though they knew we would make some progression, after how crazy hysterical the kids were during the first couple of lessons, they were a little afraid we wouldn't move past that. Haha.

BUT, I am here to tell you that my children are SWIMMING like maniacs at this, the end of summer! Seriously, like little fishies. And, darn it all, it makes me a little emotional. Because I am proud of them. Or...pleased with them. (My Mom always said that about her children, since "we're not supposed to be prideful." I love it.) And also because someone cared enough for my family to take such time and effort out of their summer to serve us in such a way. I will certainly never forget their kindness and love for our family.
And SERIOUSLY...my kids are SWIMMING!!!
See for yourself...these are the pictures I took on the last day they went for swim lessons this summer.
And this is why the post is so stinking long.
Here goes.

This is a little girl who lip-quivered at me, clung to my leg, and screamed when led into the water.
Like, a really awful scream.
But LOOK how happy.

And look at them go!

And go!

And go!

One of the first things they learned was 'monkey walks'...holding on to the side and walking themselves around the pool that way. Every time they would practice that.

Until the side got too hot on their hands. Then they would swim out to Chloe.
They love Chloe.
I think sometimes the side wasn't that hot.
They just wanted to swim to her.

In between practicing different skills, they would "rest on the step." Whenever Ben started to feel uneasy about going to swim lessons, he would ask if they were going to let him "rest on the step." Here is James doing just that.
He is a goggles guy. Doesn't like to swim without them.

Ring around the rosy, though a much-feared activity weeks earlier, ended up being a favorite part of the whole process.

"All fall DOWN!"
(Chloe would normally go under with them but this was a few days before school started, she was starting junior high, and she had just gotten her hair done. Understood, Chloe, understood.)

For some reason, this is one of the more adorable parts of them learning to swim - - watching them learn to take breaths while they swim. They just look so cute lifting their little heads out of the water and saying, "Side breathe!" haha
Here, Susan is helping Ben practice.

And Bethany has it down pretty well.

Random swim out to Chloe.
See?
Swimming.

Floating was a little harder for them to get used to - - still is. But, here they are practicing like champs!
James floating.

Even though floating still makes him nervous, James took off so fast with swimming. Within a couple of lessons, he was swimming the length of the pool. He amazed me! So happy for him!

Bethany floating.

Chloe brought her over the step to make her feel more secure, because she wanted to show me...

that she could float on her own!
I know it looks like she is touching the step but she wasn't! Yay!
I am really pleased with her efforts here...she was so scared of this before and I think it's amazing that she is not only swimming but floating as well!


Ben playing "how long can I hold my breath" while waiting for his turn to practice.
This might be why he likes to "rest on the step."

But, of course, it is always eventually his turn!
And although it's not his favorite either, he makes a solid effort in floating and is always willing to try it! Look at him relax!

This particular time, he even agreed to try on his own, so Susan slowly let go of him.

And I know it looks like he is falling into the water, but this was really as far as he went! He was totally floating! Most of his body was under but it cracks me up how his eyes are open and he's looking around, all relaxed. Haha I think if he were more relaxed, more of his body would have stayed on top but he was doing really well! And if he needed a breath, he just needed to lift his chin, so it certainly counts!!!
Haha, I just love this picture. It shows a really willing heart. And a swim teacher trying to not laugh.

James, happy as a clam. Just a random shot.

And a random one of Bethany working on treading water.
I love that they can do this. All three of them are fantastic at it!

This appears to be either Bethany being held under by her swim teacher OR Bethany getting kicked in the face by James.
It is neither. Just a weird angle.
This is the beginning of the part of the lesson where they get to dive down to retrieve rings from the bottom of the (shallow end of) pool. It is harder for Bethany and Ben to swim straight down so they need a little push.

Success! All the rings!

James goes it alone. Swims straight down like he was born to do so.

And he got all the rings every time.

I still can't believe Ben was doing this.
It's just nuts!

All rings are safely gathered in!

Bethany has gotten to where she can swim down more by herself! Yay for progress!

The last couple of lessons, they started working on diving. Susan knew it wouldn't be something they mastered quite yet but wanted to get the concept introduced.

With help, James was catching on!

They would "dive" in and swim through a hoop!

James practiced from sitting down as well.

Swimming through the hoop was his favorite part.


Bethany had her own little form going as she attempted it...

And even though she was nervous, she was doing really well!

With some practice, she even got up a little straighter. :)
Though I personally like the first stance better.

Here is Ben, taking his turn!

Right through the hoop! Yessss.

Bethany practiced her diving in the shallow area.
She would often just jump into the water, feet first, but with her hands pointed down. And it was, therefore, a dive. I love it.

It was decided that the grand finale of their swim lessons would be for each of them to swim the length of the pool!
Ben was a little bit not on board, as you can tell from the classic fist-rubbing-the-eyes bit. He had never done it before and doesn't move quite as far quite as fast as the other two. So it made him nervous. But we knew he could do it! See how James is encouraging him? It was so sweet.

They are ready!
(At least Ben isn't crying anymore at this point!)

Bethany takes off first!
(Notice the cannonball style jump, but her hands are together and pointing down. Total dive.)

She swam the whole way without any help.
She did a great job taking breaths and keeping herself going!
Amazing!

Before I knew it, James was in the water and on his way across. This was old news to him by this point but it was still awesome for me to see him swim that whole way all by himself!

He is a very strong swimmer. It is really neat to see him go!

Tears far behind him, Ben jumped in for his turn!
He got some help along the way, getting some breaths...

But he made it across and did a great job doing so!

He even asked for a second turn! (As did the other two!)

Now.
The kids decided they wanted their own grand finale in the form of THE SLIDE.
This slide taunted them all month. It was this super scary, super awesome thing hovering nearby always.
James even went down it once on a whim!
On the last day, the other two decided they needed to conquer it as well.
Up Bethany goes.

And down she goes!

Eventually, she was sliding down, then swimming to the step on the other side of the pool. Talk about coming a long way in a few short weeks!

Ben found his courage once again (they had to do that a lot with the swimming) and decided to try the slide.
Here he is.

Chloe came up behind him to make sure he was safe and to give moral support.

And to help him along a little when he changed his mind.
Haha, but look how great he did! All the way down and into the water.

And then swam all the way to the step.

James didn't do the slide that day since he had already conquered it, but he did jump in and swim across the pool several times.
Little fish.

Though the boys had both felt like once was enough for them, Bethany decided that the slide was her new favorite thing.

See?

After swim lessons were over, every time they got a treat, a towel, and a spot to relax.

Also, after every swim lesson, the kids would drool over the little power wheels Barbie Jeep type thing that resides in the backyard there. And every week they would try to climb in it. And every week, either Chloe, Susan, or I would get to them just in time to keep them from careening off into the glass backdoor or the patio furniture or something. At this last lesson, Susan said, "Let's take it out front for a fun finish!"
So we did.
These are nice people.
So, here's James giving it a try.

Susan walked him around the cul-de-sac after we convinced him it was seriously okay to go in the street since the grownups were right there saying it was okay.
I guess it's good that he felt so wrong about it haha.

Bethany took a turn too.

Super cool.

So, before abandoning the topic of swim lessons, I just have to reiterate how grateful I am to such a kind and generous family...my goodness, two mornings out of the entire month of July, they dedicated time to getting my kids safe in the water when I wasn't quite accomplishing it myself! I will always love them for that. And the kids, though they used to scream at the sight of their house at the beginning, haha, now run and hug them in the hallways at church and it is wonderful.
And it is exciting!!! We are SWIMMING!!!

But before the days we were swimming, and on the days that we didn't have swim lessons, we splashed in our pool at home (looks lame now that we've gone through the pictures of the other pool!)

Slipped and slided

and ran and played while Mom sprayed us with the hose occasionally.
(This is actually the boys playing outside one day when Bethany was at a bday party. It was so cute how much fun they had running around out back in their swimsuits with their action figures! Possibly its own post at some point in time!)

But whatever we did, at that point in the morning, we always tried to get outside and play in some water and get some sun on our skin! It is such a bummer during the summertime, (yes, I purposely avoided a rhyme), it gets so hot that we just cannot be outside for the majority of the day. That is why we set time aside for it first thing in the morning. It wasn't a lot but it was still wonderful!

After outside time, we did the necessary...bath time! It became kind of routine (which I guess is the whole point)...finish playing outside in the water...swimsuits off...robes on...get in the bath when it's your turn...get dressed...
three times in a row.
As they took turns trickling out of the bath, I would help them get started on their chores. (And I would like to point out that at this point I am still in my workout clothes, still without a shower, and yes...still with dried mud halfway up my legs. Did you ever come to my door at this time of morning this summer and not get an answer? Yes, now you know why.)
So, anyway...chores. I had tried to establish our chore charts at various times over the last couple of years. I worked on making some, worked on getting routines in place, worked on figuring it all out...then life would happen and the chore charts would not. And neither would the chores. At least not at the hand of the children. At least not in any particular order or fashion. But we all know how I like order and fashion. ...wait...that doesn't sound how I am wanting to mean it....anyway...
I was excited to get chores happening this summer. I really felt like it was time to train these kids in some important things around here. My goal was to get them functioning with all the daily/get ready for the day/pick up after myself type chores before the end of the summer. I knew it would take a lot of extra time to train them on what to do/how to do it, so summer break was the perfect time. Where did we have to be? Nowhere. (Did you try to get me to go somewhere during the day this summer and not succeed? Yes, now you know why.)

So, here's how it went down:

Here are the chore charts I made for them, pieces at a time, over the last year or so...
You can see they are just decorated foam poster boards, with two baseball card sheet protectors attached, and little chore cards inserted.
The morning chores are on the left and the afternoon/evening chores are on the right.
And the whole system was born in the mind of my dear friend, Carrie. She and I used to exchange emails daily, back when I managed to set aside time for the computer every day. (I think that is when she was in school full time too so she was at the computer a lot for that.) Long emails about everything, but oftentimes about kids and chores and chore charts and all kinds of other things. And she gave me this idea...and clip art as well...and she is wonderful.
Hi Carrie.
I love you.
No, I will still not join facebook haha but I love you and miss you.
Here is Bethany's.

And James's.

And Ben's.

The cards looked like this on one side:
describing the chore.

And this on the other side:
points earned by chore.

So as they worked through their chores, this is how it would start to look...they always knew the ones that were done and the ones that still needed to be done.

And, eventually, when things started to look like this, they got to add up their points for that day!

That's where that jar on the shelf comes in. They all have one.

For every point, they put a "puff ball" (probably called something different but that is what we called them) in the jar. When the jar looks like this and is full, they have earned a reward!
For our rewards, we took trips to the dollar store, we rode the carousel at the mall, we went for ice cream...we just decided on something every time!

I eased them into the work, they got one new chore a week after school had gotten out. So, at first, they just worked on getting dressed on their own every day. Putting their pj's in the hamper, practicing getting their own clothes out, practicing putting their own clothes on (the older two could kind of already do that, but Ben learned it all this summer!), etc. It was really amazing, after supervising them a few times and giving pointers, I was able to just say, "Okay, now please go get dressed!" and they would all be able to go to their rooms, get their own clothes, and get them on.
I know it sounds like a small thing.
But seriously, after four years of dressing three children every morning and every night, to have them just run off and do it themselves was...a big deal.
It was awesome.
Anyway, that's just one example. By the end of the summer, they were responsible for getting dressed, taking a bath (able to wash and clean up toys themselves, etc.), brushing their teeth, brushing hair (for Bethany), picking up their room (putting things where they go), taking care of their dishes at mealtimes, participating in scripture and prayer time (which is how we always ended chore time), and wiping down the bathroom counters (getting the washcloths from the drawer they are in, wetting it down, ringing it out, wiping down, checking for spots left, etc.), helping clean the playroom before rest time, getting pajamas on at the end of the day, and brushing teeth again at the end of the day. It was so fun to watch them work hard at things. It really does take a lot of time and a lot of work, teaching kids do chores, but it is worth it for everyone in more ways than one!

SO, after chore time/bath time, everyone was ready for some free time, relaxed time. And I was always VERY ready for a SHOWER!
So I turned on Signing Time for the kids (totally made a comeback this summer...the DVDs that survived the toddler years, that is), gave them a snack, and I showered.
It was a good, calmer time of the day.
Well, sometimes. No guarantees on calm times of the day. But, it was at least not very busy!

Sometimes we built couch/sheet tents for them to watch their show from and eat their snack in.

After shower time/signing time (as it was called in my planner thing), we had artsy crafty time. (Not what it was called in my planner thing.)
I had all kinds of high hopes for artsy crafty time. I was going to do super cute things every day of the summer. Or maybe like, two or three times a week.
Yeah, we colored every day.
Ooh, we did play-doh a couple times.
So, yeah, at least we sat down together and did something creative, yes?
Toward the end of summer break, we did do this:
Paper chains to count down to school!

They all chose their own colors.

And apparently, my children can cut AND staple by themselves.
What's next, mastering algebra? Because seriously, we should slow down.

Okay, fine, if you're going to have so much fun, then cut and staple all you want.

Oh yeah, and Ben had like, 43 days until school started or something so he lost interest real fast. I forgot to think about that detail when I invited him to participate.
But he busied himself with his books and his dominoes.
And he didn't try to cut, glue, or staple any of the above mentioned books and dominoes.
I guess them growing up has some really good points.

They colored pictures that represent school for them and attached them to the top of the chains. Then chose a place to hang them!
Bethany hung hers in her room above her bed.
Her walls are cluttered. It happens.
Oh and she drew a picture of a bell at the top of her chain.

James drew a picture of a schoolhouse.

After he attached it, he took the whole thing downstairs.

And hung it outside his room, by his chore chart.

Another thing we actually did a LOT was make "puppets." Which really meant coloring a picture, cutting it out, and gluing it to a stick.
Bethany got really into "Wicked" this summer...we listened to it sometimes, we played it on the piano sometimes...she wanted to know the whole story, so she got really into the characters and what not.
Here is her Elphaba puppet.

And haha her Fiyero puppet.
I seriously can't see this without giggling. And not because she was winging it on the spelling...just because it's funny to me that she knows who Fiyero even is and perhaps has a little crush on him.
And if you don't know who Fiyero is, then nevermind.

And here is Galinda. After she is changed to Glinda.

Anyway, then it was always lunch time.
I...didn't take any pictures of lunch.
But don't worry, I took pictures of snack and dinner.
"You know that's right."
(Anybody?)

Then, after lunch, of course, as always, as will forever be...
was rest time.
Here are some shots of our less conventional rest times...

If you were to ask my kids what comes after rest time, without a second's hesitation, they would yell, in unison, "SNNNAAACK!"
I had mentioned earlier on this summer that I was going to focus on making more homemade snacks and treats and...everything...and we did pretty well for ourselves.
Some of our favorite snnnnaaacks this summer:

Homemade wheat thins.

Cinnamon Honey Roasted Chickpeas.

Granola Balls. Huge hit.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.
Just made some of these today.

Apple Carrot Coconut Muffins.

Sometimes snacktime and playtime merged a bit.
Here, Daddy read a book.

Sweet potato muffins.

Snacktime could also turn into learning time.
If you have Bethany for a sister.
Here, she is teaching James about addition and subtraction, using what appear to be granola balls.

Homemade popsicles always get a thumbs up!

Wanting to keep their skills sharp, we did a sort of 'centers' thing with our mid-afternoon.
I would sit at the table with them and work with them, one at a time, on some age-appropriate things. When it wasn't their turn for that, they would color or practice on our writing white board from Grandma Trudie, or take a turn on the computer.
Ben, practicing his letters.
He loved this.
This is a lot of what I did with him all summer...letters, shapes, colors, writing his name, numbers, etc.

Did you know he is a lefty?

We would also finish up snacks at this point. These kids are the biggest grazers ever.

Usually, after the boys got through a couple of these practice 'centers', they would end up just playing together on the kitchen floor, then eventually find their way through the rest of the house. And that was plenty fine by me. My life sort of revolves around finding the moments in which they will play nicely together and then making whatever arrangements required to let that happen. Haha.

Bethany, however, thrived off this routine, loved it when it was her turn to work with me, and called it "quiz time" because we would review everything we had covered thus far. This summer she became proficient in knowing and writing her full name, her birthday, her phone number, her address, both mine and JC's cell numbers, and obviously the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, etc. She loves to memorize things and practice them over and over, particularly with Mom and Dad.

James practiced knowing and writing his full name, remembering his birthday, and learned part of our phone number. He also practiced a lot on letters, numbers, shapes and colors and all the other fun things he had used in preschool!

Ben practiced recognizing and tracing numbers and letters, memorized his full name. (Which he thinks is King Benjamin Kenton Ballard...because of the Book of Mormon king) He also became great at recognizing all the colors and shapes, letters and numbers, and started learning our phone number too! He is just going to take off in preschool!

I really enjoyed the one on one time, working with and teaching them. It's one of the best parts of being a mom.

Every day, after 'quiz time' rolled to a stop, it was time to get started on dinner. So I would turn the kids loose (sometimes that went well) and get busy. Here are some pics of new dinners we tried this summer:

BBQ chicken wings. This was a lot of work. I would like to say it was delicious and worth it but...I undercooked the chicken. So, pretty much the worst thing you can do.
But the sauce was good and I was proud of the work I put in. Making sauces is one of my favorite things to do.

Remember our 4th of July dinner? Super awesome.

A new kind of lasagna I decided to try.
It was a lot of work haha.
But probably the cheesiest, sauciest thing ever.

A new enchilada recipe...we tried a few of these!

Taco pizza with sliced mango.

Many days throughout the summer, we ate an early dinner so that we could spend our evening swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Before swim lessons began, it was our time to teach them. After swim lessons began, it was a good time to reinforce and never let them spend many days away from the water!
One of the days we went, JC bought a disposable underwater camera! Now THAT got some fun pictures!

James, being a fish.

Bethany, all smiles.

Another little fishy!

I still can't believe that after a few lessons, she would willingly do this! And happily!

The whole crew! Though, Ben didn't get the underwater memo...

Going under...

Jumping in!
Do you see his excited face? I LOVE his excited face! He makes is while he's jumping in and he is still making it when he comes up for air!

Another excited face.

And another jumper.

Dude swims like an alligator or something.

Still more jumping!

And a crash landing for Ben!

And they love playing with Daddy in the water.

I love Ben in this picture...he is trying so hard to smile for the camera but, being an anti-goggle guy, he's not quite sure where the camera is exactly...

A shot of James swimming over Daddy.

And a daddy/daughter moment! (She's a nose plugger! We need to get her some nose plugs to do the work for her.)

One of their favorite things to do is dive down for toys! Cracks me up how good they are at this!

But, more fun that diving? Being thrown in by Dad. :)

Miss Bethany here, swimming up a storm.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believe it. :)

After swim time, it was a nice solid rinse off (brought to you by Grandpa's innovative outdoor shower...meaning he built it on the side of the house, meant for rinsing off after swimming...not meaning that is where he showers...), pajamas, a snack (usually brought to you by Grandma!), and a drive home and bed! If it wasn't a swimming night, we would usually watch a movie and/or play until bedtime.
But we always had bedtime, yes we did.
That is a constant.

And...there you have it.
A day in the life of our summer.
I guess I could have just said, "I worked out, we played outside, we took swim lessons, we got chore charts, ate food, had rest time, practiced academics, and swam at Grandma's house a lot.
And now I've said it.
And illustrated it.
And commented it.
And apparently I feel the need to continue to make fun of my long-winded post.
Oh. Well.
It is September 3rd, almost one month since I first started working on this post. Life has been crazy. The summer is over. Only not over. School has started. Only not preschool. We've abandoned our old routine. Only not begun a new one really. Just kind of hanging on. Just kind of getting through! Looking back at the summer makes me miss it! It was such a fun one! This year up ahead will be wonderful, I just need to catch up to it I think!
And figure out how to keep the wicked tan I acquired over the last three months of playing and working out in my backyard, plus swimming.
Yes, that goes at the top of my priority list.

Here's my official goodbye, Summer!
(I think I'm having trouble ending this post because I don't really want it to be over!)
But since there's no getting around it...
Goodbye.
I loved you in 2011.
But I'm pretty sure 2012 will look good on you. See you then!