Off to St. George!

Our new charter school was supposed to start on August 22nd, but construction delays pushed the start date out to Sept. 6th.  So 2 bonus weeks of summer for us!  We decided to take advantage of the extra time and go visit Grandma and Grandpa in St. George.  And as an extra treat, Uncle Dallin and Aunt Holly were there too!  My kids were so spoiled...  Grandma and Aunt Holly took them to just about every water park/pool in St. George and the surrounding cities.  Why do other places have such cool water parks?  Our favorite was this GIGANTIC, completely covered pool with multiple slides, play structures, fountains, etc.  We could have gone everyday, all day.

Once again, I was reminded how blessed I am to be a part of this wonderful family...  Thanks so much, 2717 Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Holly for such a fun week!

Just when you thought our pool couldn't get any more awesome...

...we added this little beauty thanks to Craigslist! Can't wait for the cousins to get here!

Expensive Swimming Pool 2.0!

I actually did consider for a bit a REAL expensive swimming pool to replace our previous expensive ($8) pool that bit the dust at the end of last season. But I settled instead for this new $16 beauty:I came from from work today and was greeted by 3 of the happiest kids I have ever seen. They were SO pumped about playing in the pool all day long! Trevor had a lot to tell me about it when I walked in, but unfortunately I only understood about 2 of the words. But the enthusiasm was undeniable. I would post the video, but it contains a little 2-year-old going commando... No tan lines for that kid!

Welcome summer!

A Sad Day

Some of you may remember a couple years ago when Scott asked for a VERY expensive swimming pool, and he got it! Check out this post to see just how awesome and expensive the pool was.

Sadly, we enjoyed the pool for 2.5 summers, but it is not going to make it another year. So thanks to our $8 pool for so many fun memories!

Another swimming lesson adventure

I had VERY low expectations for Charlotte's participation in swimming lessons. She never wants to go in the water, and when forced in she will cry and whimper the whole time. Here is a shot of a serious glare thrown my direction during last year's lessons:

So even though she technically was too old for the parent-participation swimming classes, I signed her up for the baby class (again) since I knew there was no hope of getting her in the water without one of us. Amazingly, she liked it! No tears or tantrums at all. Of course she did not want to go under the water or blow bubbles, but we have definitely made progress.

Why the change? I think 2 reasons: First, I promised another visit to Chuck E Cheese. It is totally worth $5 for tokens. Second, she LOVES wearing her 'babysuits', so she was excited each day to pick the one she wanted to wear. And boy, did she look cute! Be sure to watch the video of her telling me about it all:

Miracles do happen!

Today was amazing...

If you haven't read last year's post on swimming lessons, I'll catch you up by just saying that Scott and Charlotte were NOT 'A' students in their swimming lessons last year. Most days, the lessons involved tears and drama from Scott and Charlotte and bribes from us. We all survived, but no swimming skills were actually learned.

Bravely, we decided to try again. The "motivation" (aka bribes) involved a chart with stickers, trips to Target for special prizes AND Jelly Bellies. I think the Jelly Bellies were the trigger for Scott to realize it was worth it for him to be a good boy. So here is the report of how things went so far:

Day 1: He got in the water without complaint, did NOT want to go under the water and only sort of listened to his teachers.

Day 2: We bought goggles, but didn't fit them on his head right for this lesson. But he was happy to get in the water, listened to his teachers and did some kicking. Still not interested in going under.

Day 3: We figured out the goggles, so they stayed on! What a difference... He was laughing, smiling, paying attention to the teacher, and VOLUNTARILY putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles! I just sat there with my mouth wide open watching this amazing event.

Day 4: Much like day 3, except the teachers couldn't keep him from trying to go under water. I asked him is favorite part about swimming lessons: "Going underwater!"

Jelly Beans are miracle pills.

And as if all this wasn't exciting enough, we had dinner at In-and-Out after day 3, and Scott tried a new food! This NEVER happens... He ate half of a grilled cheese sandwich (just the hamburger bun and cheese)!

So how did Charlotte do through all of this? She has been a huge wimp and just whines and cries the entire time in the water. Check out the nasty glare...

What a Difference a Life Jacket Makes!

With Aunt D (Cindy) and Uncle Ryan visiting, we invaded the Bearry's home and went swimming and had the best Evers family dinner ever - flank steak. Well, remember the kid who had to be bribed and threatened to participate in swimming lessons a few weeks ago? I bought Scott a little life vest at Target, and with that on he transformed into a fish! We were there for 3 hours, and the only reason Scott got out of the water was to go on the waterslide that of course dumped him back in the pool.

And Charlotte also turned a big corner... She also was not a star student at swimming lessons, but with Aunt Nancy's help, she went under the water a bunch of times and actually seemed to like it!



My cousin, Alisa, was also very creative with all her different ways down the waterslide:

After having SO much fun swimming, we are even MORE excited for Mom and Dad to build their sweet pool at the new house!

The Swimming Lesson Adventure

Kids are supposed to love swimming, right? We signed Scott and Charlotte up for swimming lessons through the city of Roseville. I thought our days would be filled with excitement, laughter, and complaints about having to get out of the water. Instead the week was filled with tears, drama and bribery to get IN the water. Scott threw a few major tantrums and Charlotte just whimpered through the whole experience. I realize some day my children will beg to get in the water, and actually WANT to eat and take naps... But that day seems so far away! At least Charlotte looked adorable in her pigtails and swimsuit :)