First Swim Lessons

I've been wanting to see the children in swim lessons for years, but didn't dare take all of the kids to the pool by myself (read-before Cory graduated college), so this summer was the first time we were able to put them in lessons. We put Kaith and Trevor in the same class. Their teacher thought Trevor looked a little small, but let him stay anyway. He was a little piranha. At the last lesson, his teacher said he could progress to the next level. Miriam was sick the first week, and her teacher was a boy, so she didn't want to go to lessons. We figured it would be easier to put Sterling in a Mommy-and-Me class than to keep him out of the pool for half an hour, but he hated the first five or so lessons. Then I saw a ball. Once we let him stand on the side of the pool and throw the ball in, he loved the pool. He got very brave about jumping in (more like a big step into the water). With a couple days left, Cory got permission to take her into the Mommy-and-Me class. She loved those last two days.

Trevor's Sprinkle Cake

The commissary had tubs of sprinkles. I thought Trevor would love that for his FHE treat responsibility. I was right.

Creative Letters

Every now and then I get around to a "supermom project." This was one of them. I collected pink rose petals for Miriam, and green leaves for Trevor (their favorite colors, respectively). On a sheets of paper, I drew bubble letter initials, then let them fill them in and glue on the nature. The project didn't last long, and I probably valued it more than the children, but it turned out looking good (okay, I helped Miriam a little).

Oregon Coast

What we did for summer vacation . . .
we drove down to visit our wonderful relatives (on my mom's side). We made a large group outing to the beach. When we got there in the morning, it was cloudy, windy, and chilly. Sterling wouldn't let go of me, and I shuffled my feet in the warm sand as I walked. Eventually, he drove a tiny dump truck in the sand, and found food in easy reach. My other children? You'll have to ask someone who knew. Perhaps Alex. Later, the clouds disappeared, Sterling chased waves, and the tops of Cory's feet burned dreadfully. Judging by the end of the day photos, we all got a bit of sun on our faces.

Miriam and Family Home Evening

We were shopping in the baking aisle shortly before Miriam was responsible for a family night treat. She started hopping up and down shouting "pink cake! Pink cake!" I usually bake from scratch, but she was so excited, we bought a pink cake mix. Then, hoping to build skills, I got a little tube of pink icing, imagining that she would decorate the cupcakes with pink squiggly marks. She didn't. She decorated with pink puddles. The cupcakes with squiggly marks are the ones I did to show her how. She was happy about it, though.

Pioneer Activity

Early this summer our Primary had a Saturday Pioneer activity. They had a handcart replica, and learned how little could be packed (less stuff than I'm packing in the back of our van for our one week road trip, although more food). Afterward, the children made ice cream. The ingredients were put in a sealed glass jar, which was put in a #10 can with ice, then sealed. The children rolled their containers back and forth for about ten minutes, until dessert was chilled and thickened. The most interesting part of the day was watching Miriam "adopt" an older girl, whom she tagged along with most of the activity, like a new-found sister.