I didn't take very many pictures at swim lessons, but the kids did great this year! Kaitlyn has taken them twice before and honestly been worse by the end of the week than she was at the beginning. And Tyler has never been potty trained enough to go before. But they really did improve this year! Tyler's forte is jumping in. He has NO fear of the water, and just giggled with joy the first week and a half of lessons. He would fling himself off the diving board with glee, and can even pop up all by himself and attempt to get to the side (he usually needs help with that part, since he has his legs down instead of flat in the water). We loved watching him because he would spend all of his down time in the lesson putting his head in the water and then coming up, laughing, and going back down. Kaitlyn had a bit more of a struggle- she was better at following directions, but a bit more scared about it all. Every time she jumped off the diving board she would say "I'M NOT READY I'M NOT READY!" before finally letting go of her instructor and trying to swim to the side from there. Stinker. They had a great time with their cousins, though! One of the cousins was even doggy paddling by the end, and even the 3 year old made great improvement.
After that it was a week at the cabin, painting and getting things ready for our annual party. This isn't the most recent picture, but at least you can see some of the progress!
We now have the two "ends" of the cabin done. The front still needs a bit of trim to the right side there, and the dormers are on their way. And then the back side of the cabin hasn't been started. I'm just glad we got colors that we like. The new red has a lot less purple in it, so in the shade it is a nice dark red, and in the sun it just looks more like a bright, primary red. I think it will look great once we are done, which should hopefully be soon.
In fact, we were still painting when our first guests showed up for the annual July 4th party! We always host Christopher's entire family, and it is a lot of fun.
That isn't even the whole group! I'm just glad we get to host up there, where it is 15 degrees cooler than in the valley. It was still hot up where we were. We smoked some pulled pork for the occasion (Christopher has been obsessed with his new smoker lately), and I had fun trying out some new cookie recipes.
Of course, the day before, I got the urge to make outfits for the kids. I tried to put that off, but when I saw a tutorial for my new(ish) serger, I couldn't resist.
It turns out I have a ruffling foot that does this by itself! It took me longer to find the fabric in my stash and cut the strips than zip the skirt out. So cool.
And if I have a crafting addiction, the least I can do is spread the love. This "crafting table" is always a hit. Over the years I have learned to just put out suplies and let the kids go at it, rather than dictating a particular craft to make. They have a blast, and they come up with things they love that I never would have designed myself!
For example, one cousin decided to proclaim her love for her shoes.
Tyler made . . . I have no idea what this was. But he loved it. And the other 5 objects he put together.
And Kaitlyn taped together this gigantic book all about her day.
Translation: "Once upon a time there was a girl named Kaitlyn and she was having a party with Miriam." She might have misspelled almost every word, but I love that she is figuring it out as she goes!
In fact, my kids were still at that table, working away, even after everyone had gone home and everything else was cleaned up.
In the meantime, there were lots of friends to play with . . .
. . . doggies to run around with . . .
. . . swings to ride on . . .
. . . and most of all, dirt to get all over yourself. Apparently.
A good time was had by all.
And now, onto part two - summer school starts tomorrow!
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