the little guy

The older kids aren't the only one's enjoying the pool this summer.

There are some who claim to have never heard Nathan fuss. Although, I would say that he is certainly a happy guy, you can certainly hear him loudly complain when he is taken from the pool.

Swimming lessons

The long awaited time of the summer....swimming lessons. This year it was Ryan and Emma's turn. Again, the lifeguards amaze me with what they can get the kids to do!
Ms. Kelly has taught our kids swimming lessons for 5 years. This year she's with Emma's class. Emma is improving her diving and getting the hang of freestyle!
Mr. Craig has the little guys. I always question myself, "Are the lessons really worth the money? I can teach the kids to swim." Then Philip reminds me they are. It's moments like this that remind me....that they are worth every dime.



There was no need to convince Ryan to go off the board. Mr. Craig just had to be sure to be ready to catch him quickly. Ryan went barreling down off the board at full speed.

Beach excursion

We headed to my parents last week for a few days in the sun! We had a great time and packed a lot into two days. We started off at the Sea Turtle hospital and swam in the sound the first day. The second day we started at the beach and ended the day with a canoe and kayak trip. This was Peter's first solo kayak excursion. He loved it and did a great job.

Bye Bye Blonde

We've kept Ryan's hair long for the summer. We did it to protect the scar on his forehead from extra sun exposure! It couldn't get much longer than it had. It was time to say good bye to the long blonde hair...
I have to admit I was sad to see it go. He has really nice hair!

Time with the Taylors

We had a whirlwind visit with my sister and her family. They arrived Saturday at 4pm and left Sunday after early service. We were sad to see them leave but tried to remain thankful for our short but sweet visit.
I love how the kids continue to truly love their time together.

Watermelon time

It seems like a tradition to post some photos of the kids eating watermelon! So I would be remiss if I didn't add the 2010 pictures.



Here's 2009- well I can't find any watermelon ones but here's July 4th 2009
Here's 2008
Here's 2007 Ryan would have been

He's swinging

Nathan received a swing for his birthday. The swing we had for the older 3 finally gave out sometime during Ryan's toddlerhood! It was the perfect day to hang the swing. I'm thinking he's going to like it.
Unless the novelty wears off, he shouldn't have any trouble finding a sibling to push him.