Jumping for Joy!

I have to admit, I was more than pleasantly surprised at how swim lessons turned out on Thursday. Both kids were naturals stepping up to the diving board and jumping off. Jacob had no fear and just walked up and jumped right in. Merrilee, who has expressed a very healthy concern regarding jumping into deep water, was a natural. I told her the diving board was like the vault in gymnastics and that she could run and jump at the end and spring into the water. So her first try, she just ran and jumped off the end. I was amazed! For her second try, she decided to run and spin in the air as she jumped. You can imagine, my jaw dropped. The photo is below. This is only her second time on a diving board over 12 feet of water.

I must say, I was expecting some scary faces and a little fear, and maybe even hoping to get a good picture of a little flash of fright on one of their faces, to no avail. Both my kids were valiant swimmers yesterday, and I am reeling in joy for them!

So we are all pleased with Merrilee and Jacob passing their starting levels after just two weeks of swim lessons. Merrilee will go into level 3 and Jacob into level 2. Now the tough stuff starts because both kids are entering into swimming levels where they will be challenged much more. Merrilee must master the butterfly stroke before she can move on to level 4. Since she only has two weeks to learn it this summer, she'll most likely not pass (I'm not going to hold her to high expectations on this...I was never taught to do this swim stroke, and it looks difficult to me!). I believe she'll pick up on level 3 next year when we start lessons again, unless I go crazy and decide to extend lessons and push my sanity envelope a little longer this summer.

Merrilee's very first diving board jump.

Jacob's second diving board jump.

And just for the record, Katie Mei has also been enjoying the baby pool and getting more comfortable being around lots of people during our two weeks of swim lessons. She's always been a little hesitant about walking too far away from me, and to play in the water without me standing right next to her was outside her comfort zone. But now she is able to play in the baby pool while I sit 15 feet away. She is growing so much, and it's great to see her become more comfortable in a larger social environment.

Thanks for letting me brag on my kids a little bit today. These little successes are some of the things about motherhood that bring me so much joy. Knowing my kids worked hard and endured, and successfully accomplished their goals without my help, is a goal accomplished for me!

Love,

Petrie

Summer Fun for a Little While Longer

I'm starting to get that itch to start up homeschool again, but Merrilee is not the least bit interested. Of course, I wouldn't do it in July, but this time of year makes me feel like I need to get started or I'll get behind. It's probably left over thinking from last year when I knew we had to start in early August because we had a trip to China and a hospital stay looming ahead of us. This year we've got a likely move to another state which will eat into our school year. I also think it's because this is the time of year I order books and teaching materials, and once they start arriving I want to use them. I love the feeling of new text books, fresh subject matter, and the lure of a new science book.

But instead of starting school, I'm trying to let the kids enjoy the nice, not-too-hot days we've had. Swim lessons will last the entire month of July (and I'll have some more fun photos after Thursday, when the kids get to end the first session with jumps off the diving board into the deep end of the pool. We're all looking forward to that, though I wonder if they'll chicken out when they finally step out onto that board over 12 feet of water. This will make for some interesting photos.)

Jacob got a new tent last week. He's been begging me to make a tent in the backyard, but I was not that excited about taking my blankets and sheets outside into buggy tickville. So I went ahead and dished out the bucks to buy him a nice little tent. He had instant friends.





We also got out the Slip-N-Slide last week when we had some technical difficulties with the backyard pool, and the kids enjoyed tearing up the lawn. Katie Mei always wants to do what the big kids do, but she didn't quite get the hang of running and sliding. She would lie down on her belly and let me give her a big shove, sending her sliding to the end. However, her preference was to crawl down the length of the Slip-N-Slide on her hands and knees until she got to the end and then lay her chin on the orange bumper as if she had slid into it the way Merrilee and Jacob did.

Yesterday we went to the playground and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Katie Mei has developed a bit more strength and independence on the playground equipment. She can now climb the steps to the top without any help and go down the slide on her own. Her balance and upper body strength, which had diminished after her long stay in the hospital, has improved and I was able to step back and just let her have fun. I'm looking forward to having Jay home this weekend so we can take her back to the playground and he can see her accomplishments for himself. By the way, I did not pull her socks all the way up her legs. She insisted that her socks be maxed out yesterday, and wouldn't have it any other way.

We've got to get ready for our swim lessons once again this morning, but stay tuned for diving board photos at the end of the week.

Love,

Petrie

Busy Summer

Introducing the new CO....

Jay's Change of Command ceremony was June 26th, and the kids and I drove down to NC to be a part of Jay's day. The weather was hot, but there was a decent breeze out on the tarmac, fortunately. The outgoing CO and his wife planned a wonderful reception following the ceremony at the Officer's Club, and everyone had a joyful time. Jay had some family members drive all the way down from Indiana, and to say we felt blessed by it is an understatement. That's a long trip, and we were honored that so many people loved us enough to share that special day with us.

We stayed in NC for just a few days and then headed on down to SC to visit my folks. It was a great week. The kids got to go to the pool nearly every day; Mom and I shopped; we ate the best home-cooked food; and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with my nephew and some family friends.

We came home on July 2 and are still trying to get back into a regular routine. Between Jacob's Tae Kwon Do and Merrilee's gymnastics, it feels like we're going all the time. I'm starting to look forward to school just to get us on a schedule again.

We still have VBS to get through at the end of the month. I'm volunteering as preschool director for the first time. We'll see how that goes. I may need a vacation from vacation Bible school after it's all over!

Hope all of you are having fun and enjoying your summer.