Apparently little bugs can crawl in through the window AC unit. I found all these guys in Bug's room one day. Thankfully they are harmless little bugs that don't bite, but it's still creepy to find them in mass like this.
It seemed like there were a lot more than these pictures suggest. The creepiest part was I sucked them up with the vacuum cleaner and then couldn't find them!! They weren't in the canister and I didn't see any in the filter. Where did they go???
We were so excited to learn that Peanut and Boo won the chalk drawing contest for their ages!!! This is the drawing that one Bug's age group...she moved up to the 10-15 this year.
I thought it was pretty amazing...and this picture was taken two weeks later...after much fading!
Peanut was in the 1-5 division and won a box of chalk! She was SO happy!
One of our friends from church invited us to come pick raspberries at her house and we ended up with 20+ cups in only an hour! Noni was gone (my resident jam maker) so I decided to attempt freezer jam!
Lo and behold it actually worked! And better than that it was delicious and so sweet even though I used the lower sugar recipe!
Although it was hard to get my jam made with this little turkey asking for raspberries every two seconds. Love the belly-pat "please". :)
Thankfully the smoke hasn't been as bad as in previous years. We've only had a couple of really bad days. This particular day we could barely see the sun.
And it kept getting worse. Can you even see it in this picture??
The first week we were at swim lessons I noticed that there was an older group right before Peanut's class so we walked down one day afterwards and I asked if I could sign up Bug and Boo for the second half of the session. They had room so when they got back from Texas we started going at 9:30 so they could do a lesson too.
It didn't seem like they were too far behind and they did a great job learning some stroke development and diving. Here they are learning to breathe with their head to the side.
Bug.
Boo.
Peanut did amazing! I was so proud of her for just jumping in there and going for it!
We invited some friends over to have lunch and swim in our little pool after lessons one day. I put Peaches in her suit and she had a BALL splashing her heart out!
So fun!
Peaches was not so easy to watch at swim lessons. The second week I started making a lounge chair playpen/barricade that didn't keep her totally in, but at least slowed her down a bit. She loved putting her feet in the pool but didn't always wait for me to help her...just made a beeline for the pool!
Boo is always my good helper. :)
I took them to the playground one day after lessons but instead of playing they gathered sticks and made TeePees on the sidewalk. Haha.
Peanut and I started doing her lessons while we waited her turn at the pool. It gave her something to do and freed us up in the afternoon.
Peaches LOVES markers and once I finally started bringing some she stayed in my makeshift playpen much better!
I was really happy that the big girls got to work on diving.
By the end they were doing really well!
Bug.
Boo.
Boo found a caterpillar crawling by the pool one day. We looked it up later and found it is a yellow swallowtail.
I thought it was so weird/cool how you could see his blood (I assume?) pumping in the back!
To pass the Level they had to demonstrate mastery of a list of tasks so they spent the last few days checking those off.
The last day they got some free time in the pool and had a blast!
Boo wanted to show me her front float.
So happy!
Bug was too busy having fun for pictures.
The younger class got to wear life jackets and swim all over. Peanut and her friend L were swimming with their arms around each others' shoulders. So cute.
All three girls passed their levels so they'll be moving up next year. Good job little fishies!
One thing that kept us busy while the big sisters were away was swimming lessons! Peanut did an awesome job and had no hesitation about going under water or getting her head all the way under. My favorite thing was watching her jump in the water. She would launch herself every time.
She called it, "Springing to action!"
She had several friends in her swim class which made it even more fun!
It was so cute to watch them hold hands to walk over to the stairs when it was their turn to get in the pool.
Peanut's technique really improved! She learned how to do a basic form of the crawl and breast stroke. They worked on arms and legs separately and then put them together.
Peaches was a bit of a handful at the pool. She would sit for about twenty seconds before trying to get off and running. Usually straight for the pool. She loved to dip her feet in the water but she didn't always want to wait for me to get there so I could set her in.
See how the back of the chair has slats? She thought it was her own personal ladder...great for perching about three to four feet in the air and scaring Mommy. :P
Several of the days we went to the park since it's right next to the pool. Peaches really liked the swings. Since Mommy spoiled her fun and wouldn't let her eat the bark, that is. :P
We also went to the track a couple of days so my friend B and I could walk and the kids could play on the playground.
One day we had to go back to the house and for some reason Peanut decided to help me with the laundry. I looked over to see her crawling up there trying to transfer from the washer to the dryer. Haha!
