The Other Stuff

We obviously cant blog EVERY playdate, there's plenty of "other stuff" that happens that doesn't make the website, but here's some cute shots of fun times with friends this year...

Boys are not Girls

My little guy got to have his first sleepover recently.  His sister was gone to church camp for the week and he was feeling her absence.  So a couple of us moms whose boys were in the same boat decided to let them tough out their sisters' absence together.  It's funny because up until now, I had only seen a little girl's sleepover, which they really should call a "Stay awake over".  Not these boys.  When it was time for bed, it was lights out.  No gossipy whispers, no crying, no fussing. 

The play was different too.  The girls do each other's hair, play barbies, dress their baby dolls, practice gymnastics, giggle, gossip, play games and put on fashion shows all in an hour's time.  It's a madhouse.
The boys played legos. . . . . . That's it.  Just legos.  And it was enough.  No crying, no fussing, jeez, they barely even talked except as it pertained to their lego imagining.  Now I get it.  THIS is why they say boys are easy.  They really ARE easy.  This mom was so excited at how well they got along and how easy it was that we celebrated by going to the pool the next day where they swam all day.  Boys are AWESOME!  Not that girls aren't, but it's a whole new awesome I didn't even know existed.

Grandma Tanyon's Pool

About a week ago we went down and visited Grandma and Grandpa Tanyon for the night.
The kids were excited to see them and after working in the hot sun all day, Daddy was excited for a little time in their pool. Here he is playing with both kids in the water. Is it that obvious which of the kids is the daredevil? Well then it should be no surprise to you that she swam all on her own for the first time that day. What a big, brave girl.

Burn Baby Burn

One of Heidi's goals for her vacation to visit us was to get a nice crisp burn on her shoulders. Where better to do that than the pool?

In Over His Head

We are having a fun time with the kiddos at the pool this summer. Our ultimate goal is to try to get them both to swim without the aid of flotation devices. I'm sure Daddy has visions of going on rafting trips with them and boating and all sorts of adventures, but Mommy's vision is more along the line of getting to take them to the pool without having to get in and out thirty times to assist them....and a nice suntan wouldn't suck either.

So ahem, where were we? Oh yes, we want them to be able to swim. Well, along the path to this ultimate destination there are several obstacles. The first of which is them having the courage to float alone, without holding onto either of us. We worked at this all summer last year and they have pretty much accomplished that feat this summer. The next hurdle we are facing however is getting their heads in the water without them throwing a fit once they resurface (it's easy if you don't count the tantrum). Our solution with our little girl was to get her "swimming princesses" that Santa brought her last Christmas and have her dive for them. Thanks Sunshyne for that idea. But her brother has been more difficult. Granted, he IS a year younger, so I'm cutting him some slack, but man, he sure can throw a fit when he wants to.

The breakthrough happened last week when Daddy came with us to the pool. We brought the camera and our little darling wanted his moment of glory captured on film. It took Daddy several takes to finally get the timing of the camera down correctly (our poor little guy got several dunkings but was patiently cooperating). But we finally got our proof...