Swimming Lesson Highlights Of 2011

Dude got to play in the kiddie pool while Brenden and Tayler had their lessons the first week. The next week the other two played while Joshua had his lessons, it worked out well. (lessons were at the public Kiwanis Pool this year)They turned the mushroom fountain on early one day and he had the best time.

Just splashing around. This is Joshua's mischievous grin.

First time he put his face in the water. Practicing in the kiddie pool, determined after seeing Brenden and Tayler he was going to learn how to swim!

Off the high diving board for the first time.
Poor guy saw Brenden run at full speed once and jump off and thought it might be a good idea. Didn't work so well for him, he did a belly buster that took his breath. He toughed it out and finished his lesson.
He is a brave little dude!

And here it is! He has made me beyond proud! I can't tell you what relief it is for me to have them swimming, it has been goal of mine and will help me rest easier. Dude has lots of practicing to do but compared to not wanting to put his face in the water last year this is amazing!

Our Diving Girl.

Flying Pie.

Brenden has learned more swimming strokes than I ever knew existed.

Back Stroke

Brenden looks like he is doing a Superman jump.

So super proud of these two! They owned the deep water this year!

Alexander Nibbles Update

Look how I have grown!

Me and my friend MayFlyer

I enjoy coming in at night for a bit to cool off.

Visiting with Joshua

Here I am with my new leash, guess they don't want me to get away when I munch grass and get exercise.

Here I am in my boxing chilling out.

Look at this amazing house my dad made me, and the kids stained it so it will look nice for a long time.

Frogs Galore

Meet Boot Frog
Coming home from swimming lessons Joshua found this frog in his yellow boot taking a nap.

Josh's window frog

He would come to the window by Josh's  chair to eat bugs often singing while he hung out. The poor guy was hiding under the lawn mower when I went to cut the other day. He seemed fine, didn't even get cut. I am guessing the ordeal gave him a shock he couldn't recover from. He is know in heaven among other frogs and will be missed. I learned to move the mower before I turn the blades on from now on!

Frog Portrait
I found this one behind the hose hanging out by the boys bedroom window. One of the largest I have seen.

Brenden was holding the frog and it jumped off his lap. I was lucky to capture their look of surprise.

Taken in my hands to show how big this guy is.

A frog to save!
The day before this we arrived at swimming lessons and found a poor frog that had drowned. I told Joshua to throw it over the fence(he already had it in his hand). He later asked me why the frog had to die. I told him that God needed a good frog in heaven. He told me the frog wasn't in heaven it was in the yard behind the fence. I then told him about spirits and that the frogs' spirit was in heaven with God. The very next day we got there just in time to save this one! He was so happy and excited!

Joshua wanted to see him swim, but the poor frog was just to tired. He swam to the bottom and just stayed.

Finally able to rest at last.

We walked around the pool fence, and left him in a park under this tree.

House Plants

There are at least two names I can think of for this plant the one I grew up with was Mother in Law Tongue, another on that I have heard is Snake Plant.

From what I know it is rare for them to bloom, and normally they have to be very old. This one is only just a few years old. My mom says hers is blooming this year as well.

Dill

I didn't know Dill bloomed. Last year when I planted herbs Tayler knocked them off the porch accidentally while skating, saying the wind blew them off. Ha, like it wasn't hard to spot that one. Needless to say they never had the chance to bloom.

Jade
This is one of my favorite plants and also a piece from one of my moms. I am so proud of how big it has grown!

Fathers Day

For Fathers Day Josh didn't want us to get him anything. Instead he wanted to build a Fine Bubble Aeration System. We have been stocking the pond and other than rain water we have no other oxygen source. So in order to have a variety of fish and give them oxygen we needed aeration.

Josh made two fine bubble air diffusers. This is one of them.

Josh and Brenden dug this ditch from the garage to the pond.

And then from the top of the levee to the pond.

This is self weighted air hose, so it would not float in the pond.

They used floats to get the "systems" where they wanted them in the pond.

All of the kids went out there to help hold tools and such.

Josh is trying to cut the strings he used to lower them into place, he used plastic chain and a water bottle filled with air tied to each one to be able to located them later if they need work.

Josh and Joshua sharing a float.

The Josh's hooking up the pipes to the air hose.

Hooking the plastic chain to the system.

Bren taking a zip tie back to the bank.

All done enjoying the cool bubbles.

A view from the bank. Our babysitter had not seen this yet it scared her to death bless her heart! She couldn't find Tayler right away and thought at first until she came from the front yard this might be her. She is hilarious and said her next thought after looking out again who ever was out there was doing pretty good to be having all those bubbles.