The Big Jump

As far as Ida is concerned, her summer can't get any better.

Today was her first day of swimming lessons. We had no plans of signing her up this year, but she so desperately wants to swim. Seeing her friend Hannah swimming each time we go to the pool inspired her to want to learn.

In fact, on the way to her lesson this morning she said, "Maybe today I'll be able to keep up with Hannah." High hopes for her first lesson.

There are only three girls in her class and she knows one, so she was comfortable and eager to go as soon as she hit the water.

John and I occupied ourselves with a snack and watching the swimming classes while Ida gleefully did everything her teacher asked. She just loves being in the pool.

Then she was walking by us...heading for the deep end...when she said, "Mommy, we are going to jump off the diving board now!" Sure enough, they headed over to 11 feet where the two diving boards loomed. And sure enough, Ida got up and jumped in...to the waiting lifeguard who made sure she got to the ladder. Not once, not twice, but three times. Then she mounted the taller of the two...and she froze on the very end. She calmly walked back down and I heard her tell her instructor that the big one was just a little too high.

I was still surprised she had jumped off even the smaller one. No whining, no worrying, seemingly no fear.

She has repeated the diving board story at least a dozen times...to me, Daddy, John, anyone who will listen.

If summer ended tomorrow and there was no more pool time until next year, she would be completely satisfied. Her desire to swim took backseat to the big jump.

Our Own Drive In

This afternoon, Ida asked if we could have a movie night. That sounded like a good idea, as it has been quiet a while since we had one of those.

But why not make it even better? Not just a movie night in the great room...but a drive in movie night...in our van!

I called Tom to see if he was on board with this plan. I should have known I didn't need to worry about that. He offered to stop and pick up a DVD on his way home from work.

After dinner Tom put down the van seats. We grabbed blankets, pillows, and popped some popcorn. We were set. When John and Ida discovered we were having movie night in the van, they were so excited.

I had suggested plugging in our old portable DVD player. But Tom's plan was to set up his laptop and watch the DVD on that. For some reason, the DVD wouldn't play in his laptop. So he put the movie in the van's DVD player. I worried that it would drain the battery, but Tom assured me, several times, that it would not.

Guess who was right. Half way through the movie, the screen went blank. The battery died.

I bit back my "told you so" and herded everyone back into the house to finish watching the movie. Neither John or Ida seemed bothered by the slight delay.

Even with our ummmm...technical difficulty...tonight's movie night was definitely one of our best family night activities and we'll come up with a way to do it again.

Fair Fun For Four

This year our annual trip to the fair seemed a little more fun.

As always, Ida couldn't wait to get there. And this yearJohn was much more interested in everything going on from the moment we arrived.

We took him on the carousel, plopped him on a horse, and just as we were about to move, he turned to me with a look of total terror on his face and whimpered, "Down!"

So he clung to me as we went round and round. After that, he was quite content to sit in his stroller and watch other people on the rides. Until...he discovered the animals. Due to a large crowd, he couldn't see the Sea Lion show, which Ida thoroughly enjoyed. So he and I went to look at the animals. He just love looking down at the chicks and mooed at all the cows.

Just as we were thinking about leaving, it began to drizzle. Not wanting to lose our chance for dessert, I suggested we stop for ice cream on the way home. I thought that would be the perfect ending to this fun family outing.

But John had me beat. He came up with the perfect ending when as we were pulling out of the parking lot, he said, "Mommy...fun!"

Yes, it was fun. Fun watching the fair through their eyes.

VBS And Crazy Husbands

Ida is attending Vacation Bible School again this summer at a nearby church. She is gone for three hours, but when I ask her about her morning, I get a lot of one word answers. They are all positive words, but not a lot of detail. Except snack. I can tell you morsel by morsel what she has eaten so far this week.

But as in previous years, I learn about the message of VBS through the songs. If I give it a day or two, I am guaranteed a constant singing of the songs she learns throughout the week.

It started Monday night as she played outside. Then I heard her singing in the shower last night. Today she sang in the van on the way to the pool. Then again during quiet time. And tonight we heard a beautiful song as we ate dinner.

Word for word, motion for motion, we see the whole performance. And most of it is even sung on key.

It's a very neat way to learn about VBS.

Only one concern. When I was little my mom always said that if I sang at the table I'd get a crazy husband. Should I worry about Ida's future husband...as some days it appears my mom was right. (I love you, Sweetie)

Our Fourth

Our Fourth of July...

A bike parade.

Lots of good food.

Wonderful neighbors.

Sparklers.

A pretty impressive fireworks display.

And the expressions on John and Ida's faces as they watched.

Gearing Up

Ida has been gearing up for the Fourth of July since Memorial Day. She just loves holidays. And now John is getting in on the act.

All this week we worked on decorations for inside the house. It's looking quite patriotic. Then on a trip to Wal-Mart, Daddy, Ida, and John bought a flag for our front porch. John was more than willing to march around the front yard with it.

Tomorrow will be a fun day...a neighborhood bike parade, a cook out, and fireworks.

Moving On

Earlier this week, John decided that he is done with his potty seats. At least the little potties that sit on the floor.

Although we've had the small toilet seats that fit on top of our toilets, he didn't use them very often, preferring to pee on his little potties.

Then he just switched. On his own.

So I decided to clean and pack away the potty seats. And there I am scrubbing away on my deck feeling quite sad. Sad. How silly is that?

I'm not even sure why I was sad. Because my baby boy is growing up? Because it appears that he is the last child I will have to potty train? You would think that would have me rejoicing! Whatever the reason, there I was with three potties, a bucket of water and Lysol, about to burst into tears.

John is definitely pee potty trained. Still waiting on the first poop though. I bet I'll cry on that day too. But those will be tears of JOY!