Mom's Taxi

I've heard the cliche about Mom's Taxi service before, but last week really felt like it was true. Garrett wanted to go to Upward basketball camp, so he had to be at a gym across town every morning by about 8:45. Then Paige and I had a few hours to run errands before coming back to pick him up at 12:00. On several of those days, we also picked up friends we were carpooling with or babysitting. In the afternoons, the kids had their final week of swim lessons. My poor car put on a lot of miles last week!
The good news is that Garrett thoroughly enjoyed basketball camp. Because he's so tall, we are always getting comments about how we should get him into basketball. We didn't feel like he should play just because of his height, and he was never very interested. Last year, however, several of his friends played Upwards, and now he's decided maybe he wants to play too.
On Friday, we were invited to watch the kids play a scrimmage game. I had a little deja vu --it was kind of like his first soccer game. Garrett ran up and down the court, but he seemed more interested in his wristband, talking to his teammates, or guarding the girl on the other team. He had the guarding thing down, but didn't seem to want to actually touch the ball. It didn't help that there were 2 or 3 older kids on his team who were "ball hogs".
In the end, though, he had a great time, and even remarked this morning that he missed basketball camp. He and Dave played around in the side yard with the ball, and Dave ended up buying a basketball goal for Garrett to practice and play with. He has spent a large part of his time outside perfecting his shots, and he's actually not too bad. So, maybe basketball will grow on him just like soccer did. Who knows?
I'm also including a few pictures of Paige's swim lessons. She was all smiles until they took them to the big pool to have them practice going underwater. She kept turning around with this tragic, heartbroken look on her little face, and finally she jumped out and came to sit with me. As soon as they went back to the baby pool, she was all smiles again. We'll keep working on that one....

It Sounds Vaguely Cultish...

So, after a year and a half of blogging, I've just discovered the "Followers" feature on my website. (I know, I know, I'm slow!) Anyway, it's a little button I added to the right of my blog where you can click to become a follower of my blog. This will show you whenever I update my blog, so you don't have to click on it to check it. I don't expect anyone to do it, necessarily, but it would be nice to know if anyone is reading this (besides my mom --she has to because I'm her kid and all). So, if you're interested, click away and become a follower of our crazy life! I promise that becoming my follower will not result in living in a compound somewhere away from civilization with the ATF knocking at our door! Thanks!

"Adventuring"

This past weekend, several members of our extended family came to town for a "post-funeral" memorial service for my grandpa. We held his funeral on Valentine's Day, and the weather was bad throughout much of the west. So, his brother and sisters weren't able to attend his funeral. They came out last weekend instead to have another little service. It rained throughout the service, which was grave-side, and then amazingly cleared up beautifully after lunch.

My brother and his family and our family took the kids up the Sandia Tramway to play on the mountain. The kids had a fabulous time "adventuring" through the forest. They decided they would try to make fire by rubbing sticks together. Lucky for us, they never got a spark, or the rangers might have escorted us down the mountain. It was a beautiful day of remembering the old and making new memories together!

Little Fish

Summer's in full swing around here, complete with kiddie pool in the backyard. The kids are so excited to be in the water now that it's warm. Well, let me clarify...they are excited to have their bodies in the water, but are pretty adamant that their faces should not touch the water for any reason. Thus, the swim lessons we are taking this week and next. I am not all that fond of the water, and apparently my hesitancy was inbred in my children as well. Paige thinks she can swim, but really is very happy just to sit on the steps of the pool and splash. Garrett knows he can't swim, and so begins to freak out any time he thinks he will be even a millimeter out of reach from the edge of the pool. I could care less if my kids like to swim, I only care that they know HOW, in case they need to save themselves some day.

So, amid protests and some tears, we got ready on Monday for the first day of swim lessons. Garrett kept saying "But I can't swim! They'll make me swim and I can't!" I tried fruitlessly to explain that the whole point of lessons is so they can teach you to swim. Eventually I just told him that he would continue taking lessons until he learned how, so he might as well suck it up and try his best. (Please note: not my exact words!)

When we arrived at the pool, the lifeguards "tested" each kid to see which class they should be in: beginner, intermediate, or advanced. The test pretty much consisted of them telling the kids to put their face in the water and blow bubbles, and then asking them to do some strokes while the lifeguard supported them. I think the lifeguard just looked at Garrett's size (as usual, one of the biggest), because she immediately put him in the advanced class. The mom in me wanted to run over and explain that he couldn't swim, could he go in the easier class??? But, I held my tongue and decided maybe a little peer pressure would be good for him. Never mind that the other 5 kids in the advanced class were like little fish paddling all over the pool.

Long story short, it only took about 10 minutes (and several near-drownings) for the advanced class teacher to send Garrett over to the intermediate class. The good thing was, Garrett actually tried to do everything the advanced class was doing, so when he got to the easier class, he was all confident and full of smiles. So, the end result of our swim lessons is this:

Yes, that is my child's face actually in the water. And then! Followed by a smile! Will wonders never cease??

Paige loves her lessons, although she diligently tries to blow her bubbles without letting her entire face get in the water. For her first time by herself, though, she's doing great!

How's your summer going?

In Case You Were Wondering...

...here's the front of our house, which I left out of the photo montage last time.

It won't change much, beyond some new paint for the trim (pale green isn't our favorite), and eventually some different landscaping. However, I have made very clear to Dave that his first priority is building us a new master bedroom. Paige is sleeping in the current master bedroom, Garrett has the other big room, and Dave and I are relegated to the very small office room. I am already a little tired of bumping the wall every time I get out of bed! We did this on purpose, however, to motivate us to finish the remodel quicker! So, front yard landscaping is about as far down on the list as it can get!!

The "After" Pictures May Take Awhile

We spent the day putting up the kids' swingset and cleaning up the backyard. As we worked, I realized that I needed to take some pictures of our new house before we rip it up and change it completely (or at least mostly!). So, for those of you who haven't seen the house (and for those who remember it the way Grandpa had it), here's some pictures for you along with explanations of how we'll change it!

The backyard:

We will be adding on a master bedroom, bathroom, hallway, and office area off the back. It will cover the area that is now rock, plus a little.

The living room:

The new hallway will be where the window is currently, and will lead to the new back patio, the office area, and the new bedroom.

The kitchen:

The refrigerator side of the kitchen will be removed and opened up. Where I stood to take this picture will be walled in to make a more "L" shaped kitchen with an island instead of a galley kitchen.

I just realized that I didn't take a picture of the front of the house. It won't change much, except for some landscaping at some point in the future. I'd run out and take one right now, but it's dark, so that picture will have to come later.

My descriptions leave a lot to be desired, but I will post pictures of our progress so everyone can see the "vision" taking shape. I don't really have any idea how long this will take...Dave hasn't given me a time frame, probably so that he won't have to be held to one! But, he hopes to have it done as soon as he can. We don't want to be a family whose remodel becomes a way of life! We are so excited about this project, and we plan to make this home a place we will love forever. (I never plan on moving again, just so I don't have to keep the house clean for realtors!)