Progress

We've made some exciting progress in the last couple of weeks with our summer goals. Probably the most exciting - at least for me - is the leaps the girls have taken towards being independent swimmers. They've been able to hold their breath and go underwater from the time they were babies, but they always have said they don't like to get their faces wet. A couple of weeks ago I offered Skittles as a treat for anyone who would go underwater in our baby pool. Suddenly they were swimming all over the pool underwater! If only I'd known...I'd have broken out the Skittles a LONG time ago! :)

Lily swimming in our little pool

After that success I was excited to see them go underwater in the big pool at Lake Johnson. Cassidy said she still couldn't go underwater in the big pool, but once we were there they both put their faces in the water. Progress!

However, I never would have imagined what happened next. We spent the 4th of July weekend visiting our family in Boiling Spring Lakes, NC. Uncle John and Aunt Elizabeth have a pool so we spent several days swimming. On the first day, Cassidy asked me to watch her...then she stood on one of the pool steps and jumped into the water, went completely underwater and then resurfaced (with the help of her water wings). I was stunned and thrilled. Lily joined in the fun, also jumping from the steps. Cassidy quickly progressed to jumping off the side of the pool and letting Joey throw her into the air and letting her fall back into the pool! We have definately dispelled any lingering fears they've had about the water...HOORAY!!!

Daddy throwing Cassidy in the pool

Jumping into the water from the pool steps

The other wonderful thing about this family trip - besides all the family time and great food - is that we were not on a schedule. Usually this would send me over the edge. I like to have at least a general plan for my day...I feel like I accomplish nothing without one...but we decided to go with the flow for at least a few days. It started with a relaxed departure plan...ie. we'll leave when we're ready to leave. We took our time organizing and packing, feeding the kids, allowing for a short nap for Finn...Joey even mowed the grass. We didn't hit the road until after 3:00 p.m., arriving just before dinner, and it was fabulous! We abandoned our usual planned days and embraced sponteniety, fishing after breakfast, eating doughnuts BEFORE lunch, only changing out of our jammies to put on our swimsuits. And then on our last day we took a last-minute swim in Uncle John's pool - at 7:30 p.m. (which is typically bedtime) - before packing to come home that evening. We didn't pull into our driveway until midnight, but it didn't matter. We had the freedom to make that one last family memory because we had no commitments, no appointments, no people waiting on us, no early morning Driver's Ed class to teach...and it was AWESOME! :)

My sewing and embroidery is going well. I am close to finishing Lily's ECU Cheerleader dress and I've embroidered two pieces of clothing. I am still very slow and often have to relearn how to do something each time I try to repeat a process, but I AM learning. My machine does weird things at times, but I chalk it up to being a beginner...I'll figure it all out eventually! I'm having lots of fun and am excited to finally be making some things for the kids. One of my next projects is a towel with Cassidy's name on it...she has to have one for Kindergarten, so she's going to have a REALLY cute one! :)

Lily's ECU dress...still in progress

I even managed to use a leaf stitch to sew the yellow and white ribbons together before attaching it to the dress. :)

Joey's been on vacation this week, so we've had more family game nights, more movie nights, more cuddling, more silly time. We've made a point to try to be together as much as possible...even if it's just a boring trip to the grocery store...and it's been so much fun. Joey and I are also going to TRY to reorganize the kitchen and repaint the trim in the kitchen, entryway and master bathroom before he goes back to work next week.

So far it's been an incredible summer for our family. I'm excited to see what July has in store! :)