5 days and counting

... until I get to do the "job" that I love most in the world. I'm often asked if I teach summer school, this usually makes me giggle and say, "I have 4 kids!" So yes I teach summer school - swimming, exploring, exercising, reading, and we even do math (lots of elapsed time!). I teach and I love what I do - but this last week of school is painful. It is painful to watch my students who I have grown to care about leave (saying goodbye is never easy) and it is painful to watch them so anxiously waiting to be DONE! But all of this leads to two things that enjoy - playing with my kids all summer AND a new group of kids next year to learn from and share with.

Last weekend my brother came to town to take B scuba diving AND to share a special moment with Z&A - he camped out with them in the backyard! I've said it before and I guess it will come around again but I've become a fan of this guy, Mark. He's not nearly as irritating and horrible as he was when I was 10!


This weekend we celebrated Family Sabbath at our church - Pastor Kyle has spoken often about the importance of the sabbath and I'm thankful to be a part of a church that believes practicing what they preach. I am especially thankful for my church family that helps me and loves me so much.
Yesterday Z decided that he wanted to jump off the diving board and into 9 feet of water (be reminded that he no longer wears a SEAL - life vest - and he is generally not fond of getting his face in the water). Thankfully we had friends that could support me as I went to wait and watch and encourage him to swim from the middle of 9 feet of water to the edge of the pool. Thank you Mr. Curtis!
A is learning to use her SEAL and had lots of encouragement from our church family too.
Finally - B&K were surrounded by their friends as they wandered from the pool, the lake, swimming, jumping off a rope swing and canoeing.
KZA and I also went canoeing yesterday - my little sailors did a great job.
We stayed the night in a cabin and it was quite an adventure. I am greatly and truly blessed with my wonderful family & church family.
Thank you all!
I don't have many pictures but here are a couple.

The low down on H2O

Let me break this down for you:
B - fish
K - fish
A - fish
Z - terrified of water!

This year we have been to our local pool once (busy mom syndrome) and in that one visit I became convinced that this is the year that Z will learn to love (okay maybe accept is a better word) the water. Why?
1. He asked me on the way - where is my floaty mom? Um you are 6 years old - too old.
2. B trying to coax Z into the deep end, but Z's momma didn't raise a fool he wouldn't have anything to do with B! Good for him!
But as you can see I knew it was the year - we've catered to the fear for too long. So I signed him up for classes at the YMCA - Tuesday & Thursday once again would have an event to keep me running.
Last Tuesday I loaded them up and off we went, me singing praises of swim lessons the whole way - telling Z&A what big kids they were and how good they would do. Teacher introduction was the deal breaker for A - Mr. Michael, big guy, young, smiling but completely uncomfortable with small humans (A and I could both see it and feel it) so A did not jump up immediately and go, sort of hung onto my pants until I pealed her off and threatened her with sitting by the pool for the entire summer (good thing she didn't push that threat!). Z actually went very willingly to Ms. Peggy and I was thrilled. A finally got more comfortable with me standing right beside the pool. I thought we were good to go - first mistake, me thinkin'!!
Thursday - we (being good little students) got to the pool early. A was nervous about Mr. Michael and Z had a bad cough that made him more tentative than on Tuesday. Suddenly a siren began to wail and life guards were running, yelling, grabbing equipment and we saw a woman floating in the pool. E-gads!!! We were assured that it was a drill but that didn't calm my already stressed kids. After all the hoop-la we were introduced to A's real teacher, Ms. Dani and Z now had Mr. Michael who promptly took him to the "big" pool and plopped him in - he turned and looked at me, red eyes as big as quarters and began coughing. He looked terrified and I couldn't blame him, he was holding on to the side, no floaty, no body fat to keep out the cold and a rope between him and the stairs to freedom. I did what I never thought I would do - I pulled him out of the pool (I had told him that if he coughed I would get him out - of course I meant a coughing fit). A loved Ms. Dani and did great.
Fast forward to today - Tuesday, May 10 - we started to the car and the tears began. See Z had a run in with a friends head today and had a double nostril nose bleed so his nose hurt and so of course it would probably be a bad idea to swim... ugh! I assured him he'd be fine and that it was important to go and try to learn to swim. A's only concern today was that she was able to wear her pretty blue cover-up. We got there and I assured Z that I would make sure Mr. Michael knew he wasn't comfortable in the water, so he could be a little more gentle then plopping him in the water without ceremony. We found out that Ms. Peggy was actually Z's teacher and that was a relief, she was very gentle and gave him a lot of freedom to say what he wanted. While I was talking Z began to cry and with that came yucky red snot (oh lovely), A walked briskly to Ms. Dani (happy little girl) and I went to sit right by the pool so that Z could see me at all times. He started with feet in the water and then began to get in when Ms. Peggy asked him to, finally swimming with assistance - successful day (thanks to a very patient Ms. Peggy!!!) But we had catastrophe on the other side of the pool - right as A was getting out she swallowed some water and got choked. Quick reminder A has a REALLY good gag reflex and when I say really good I mean this is really bad! I could see she was coughing and through sign language with Ms. Dani I was able to determine that she'd swallowed some water, I got her out and sent her toward the bathroom. She didn't make it - blah! Thankfully it was on the side of the pool not IN the pool but still. I am convinced that I heard applause and some cheering as Z&A and I left the premises! Goodness - never a dull moment! Not complaining - just saying!

Right before swim lessons the FedEx man made Z's day -
delivering a present from G'ma Bonnie & G'pa John.
(look close you can see the watery eyes & bloody nose - sniff sniff)

I think he liked it!

Gymnastics

Z swingin'
K can touch the ceiling!
Coach James helping Z to swing.
A on the balance beam.
More swingin' with Coach James.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now for the silly ones...
Put your feet in the bucket and use your arms to spin around - simple...
Hi Mom!
Hey this looks like more fun -
stick my head in the bucket that 100+ kids have put their feet!
Gross!

I got NEW schwag!

Today my friend Joy and I ran (okay mainly I walked) the Hell Run! It was insane! I had run the Warrior Dash (similar but not nearly as hell-acious) so I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect - wrong!
Before starting we ran into a few people that we knew and they said, "it is really hilly." Already scared we tried to blow it off, then we heard a few people say, "it was really hard." This was concerning because these people have run 1/2 Ironman triathlons! Now I was freaking out a bit. Joy and I had agreed we would push ourselves but even pushing myself I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with her so we knew she'd finish first - we developed our after the race plan and proceeded to "challenge" ourselves with this "hard, hilly run."
I started off running with the pack, didn't last long before we went up a minor hill, then we went down a big hill covered with what appeared to be sand - okay... I'm dealing with this. I lost Joy and met up with a lady, Wendy. As we bottle-necked at the first "obstacle" a steep, narrow decline I began to realize that my hopes of actually running this race were coming to a grinding halt. The terrain was uneven, VERY jutted and rocky (not gravel, ROCKS - fist sized rocks that would roll under your feet as you walked/ran on them). As we came down to the bottom of the steep narrow decline we were presented with our next challenge - a VERY steep rocky incline. The math teacher in me would have said it was an obtuse angle, approximately 95 degrees! Oh my heavens! I wish I could have taken a picture, it was truly astounding how steep it was. So to sum it up I spent the next 45 minutes (okay closer to 65) doing more of the same, protecting my behind going down steep declines and then panting and praying up steep inclines all the while climbing walls that were about 4 feet tall, crawling under barbed wire, sloshing through mud pits, creeping through holes and running over makeshift bridges between those insane hills. Wendy - my new friend (because that's me, I like to make friends) prayed with me through a lot of the climbing and we decided that a better name for this race would have been Hill Run! It was seriously that bad. Later I found out that Joy had her own share of make-shift comrades, one of which complained loudly about how hard this was, to which her friend replied, "they said Hell Run, not Heaven Run!" Finally the run ended with scaling a 10 foot wall and flinging ourselves into a cesspool, most would refer to it as a pond but let's be honest about this thing, 7 other heats of 100+ people each had gone before us - they had stirred up every kind of micro-organism and piece of cow poo that was in that thing and it smelled disgusting. Finally there were tires to "jump" through and lastly a nice blazing fire to hurtle!
Did I rock this race - NO! Did I go out and do something, burn some calories and have a good time - YES! I had fun, I feel good (now that I don't smell bad anymore) and I'm proud of myself for going out and putting myself to the challenge. Oh and the best part - I have schwag - a new t-shirt, a cape (yep that is right I have a cape cuz I'm that cool) and a medal that says I finished!
Last note - notice our t-shirts (not planned but so funny). Joy is wearing a Longhorn t-shirt and I'm wearing my husbands "cut the horns off the wicked" t-shirt. We couldn't have done better if we had planned. Fun day!

Aw Man!

5:48 am! I had my alarm set for 7am but at 5:48am my sweet Z came in to let me know he didn't feel well - hoping that he didn't eat a "good" dinner I tried to convince him that he was fine, then I remembered he helped his daddy finish his dinner, he ate plenty! Sadly within minutes of telling me he didn't feel well he proved it! Aw Man! Now our big plans (that included me having an hour here at the house by myself -when was the last time that happened?): B's first baseball game, my hair appointment, taking a walk and going to do some shopping have been completely turned upside down. Waiting for 9am to see if I can reschedule my appt. Jason is going to try to take the girls to B's ball game and I am going to put together my grocery list. I suppose that the good thing (not Z being sick) is that when life does this it makes you slow down. Praying it is over quick and that we all stay healthy.

Miss me?

So I was told by a wonderful lady that I never did post pictures of my 11 year old - 11 years ago. Trust me she was a cute as a button. :)
March has been a crazy month - B started his scuba class, he has now successfully passed the test and only needs to complete 5 open water dives to be certified. He's very excited about his trip to the Bahamas this summer with my brother Mark.
K & I have been planning our summer trip and she is still playing the piano and participating in gymnastics. She is an awesome student, but how can she not be with 6 mothers watching over her every day at school.
Z is going to be the straw seller in the Kindergarten Piggy Opera in a few weeks, aw I am SO proud! He's learning tons and is now trying to read everything, I see him reading the Kix box in the mornings while eating his cereal. He and his little sister are in gymnastics every Monday night and I think it is a good outlet for all of his energy.
A can successfully write her name, sometimes she struggles with the E but she tries every morning to sign in at school and you can tell she really wants to read too. Love how much she looks forward to learning.
Personally I have been getting up early to exercise. Now I'm trying to get the healthy eating habits but I've not been very successful - will keep trying. Also trying to encourage my husband to join me and get healthier! Wish us luck!
Like I said CRAZY - maybe (no promises) we'll actually see pictures in the near future.

LG

To borrow from the LG company - Life is Good. Busy, but what do we expect from a family of 6? B just finished with his play, 'Beauty & The Beast' - he shared the role of Chip with his friend H. They were both fantastic and A was especially happy with the choice of script! They had practice every day (except Sunday) for over a month. In addition he was playing basketball at the same time. Now baseball and track start up.
K is still playing piano, practicing gymnastics and just tried out for middle school band. They requested that she play the oboe, because she has music background but she stood her ground and accepted the flute. What a girl!
Z is doing well in kinder and continues to be well-loved by all of his 'mothers' at school. Recently he and his little sister, A have begun taking gymnastics at the same place that K goes (they go an hour earlier). They both LOVE it and ask me daily if it is time for 'gyn-nastics' (A quote) day.
A is learning and growing, she's a smart one and I feel confident that she will keep us hopping and praying daily for a long time! She's full of it but OH so sweet!
Jason has been working hard - lately on a very high priority job, great for career - hard on family time!
I got my braces tightened and now I am wearing rubber bands at night - kind of like having your mouth wired shut, very weird feeling. Each time I go I get a new color on my braces, first - pink (breast cancer awareness month), second - purple (my class voted), third - orange (for my sweet Z, his favorite color). Any suggestions for my color in April? I keep wanting to get green - so it will look like I'm actually eating my green veggies - ha ha!
Next weekend I will celebrate 17 amazing years with the man I love & adore - how very blessed I am to have him to share my life. Funny thing is that on our anniversary I will be participating in a church bible study and then leaving right after that to stay the night with a bunch of lovely ladies - we ARE tough cookies (just one of the things my husband loves about me I'm sure!).
Life is Good!