Big H Turns 12!

Today is Henry's 12th birthday.  I think he has had a pretty good day so far.

1 - He woke up at 6:20 (par for the course for Henry) and opened his gift from the family with Jay - a new NY Yankees jersey that he is saving for the big Yankees/Padres game this weekend.

2 - No party this year, but he did invite a few friends to the Logan Aquatic Center for fun and swimming.  We got pizza and had soda and snow cones.  The kids came home tired but happy.  We decided against the party because A-he couldn't really think of anything that he wanted to do for a party and B-we are leaving for So Cal on Friday and it just seemed like a lot to organize a big party (Henry usually invites 8 - 10 kids to his parties) and then leave two days later.  Anyway, this was a good compromise, especially for me.

3 - He is going to his last 11 year old Scouts meeting, followed by dinner with Jay.  We usually let the kids pick out a fun dinner for their birthday,  but William is going to be gone hiking with his Cub Scout group and we had pizza for lunch so we were just going to do something else.  But Jay is feeling bad that he had to leave for work early and hasn't been around for his birthday so he is going to take Henry out for a little Father/Son bonding time.

Henry is a great kid and fun to be around.

Happy Birthday, Henry!  We love you!

Camp Grandma

Camp Grandma has come and gone.  It was a fun two weeks with Grandma (and Granny) hanging out in Hyde Park with us.  Once again, no pictures because I am really that lame.  Sigh.

Some highlights - 

1 - Everyone got their own lunch with Grandma.  William picked Cafe Rio, Tessa picked Olive Garden and Henry picked La Beaus.  Not too shabby.  

2 - Despicable Me 2 - apparently very cute and funny.  We may have to get this one on DVD when it comes out.

3 - Bowling - Not one, but two games - followed by Pink's Shaved Ice.  Grandma has much more patience than I do to allow two games of bowling.

4 - Hyde Park Days Parade - Once again, the Hyde Park 1st Ward Primary showed up to ride on our awesome float.  This year we had music and bubbles and all kinds of fun.  

5 - Swimming - We went to the Aquatic Center and to Sky View pool for swim time.  Grandma just watched because she forgot her swimsuit but she enjoyed just hanging out.

6 - Games - we played multiple games of Uno and SkipBo and Life.   The kids played Mario Kart with Grandma on the Wii.  Tessa especially loves this because Grandma is the only person she can actually beat at Mario Kart - they usually come in 11th and 12th.

7 - Jay's birthday!  Jay turned 47.  He didn't want any gifts because he had spent thousands (not really, it just seemed like it) of dollars on camping and backpacking equipment this summer but we had a nice cake and ice cream.    Again, no pictures.  Come to think of it, I better find our camera before we leave for our vacation next week.

So a good time was had by all with Grandma and Granny here for a visit.  Although we are sad that they live so far away, it sure is a good time when they are here.

Oh and look what I found - a video that was emailed to me of our parade float.  The song that we played is from the movie The Croods and is called Shine Your Way:

So July is almost over.  Coming soon - Henry turns 12.  Gulp.

Scuba Steve

Who is Scuba Steve?  William.  Yes, William's new nickname is Scuba Steve because he is spending so much time underwater (in a good way) at swim lessons.

If you know William, you know this is nothing short of miraculous.  He has always been anxious in a pool and our attempts at group lessons through the local high school have been underwhelming.  He never even got out of Level 1 because, as one of his instructors said, he is too scared of water to move on to the next level, where they have to do stuff like, well, go underwater.

After four lessons with my good friend Nicole, he is actually starting to do stuff.  He picks things up off the bottom of the pool.  He glides, face down, through the water.  He is starting to actually, you know, swim.  It's quite something to watch.

The other kids are doing well also.  Tessa wouldn't put her whole face in the water a month ago and now she is going all the way under and doing great back floats - soon she'll be following in William's footsteps.  Henry, who started out a bit ahead of the other kids, is now learning to do the crawl stroke and breathe to the side.  It's not a really pretty stroke but he's doing it.

I know this probably seems like a silly thing to be excited about.  But we've never really made that much of an effort to have the kids learn to swim beyond signing them up and hoping that no one cried during the lessons so to see progress like this in just a few sessions is really exciting for me as a mom.

All of the credit goes to our great teacher.  She is a good friend of mine who I asked about doing private lessons and she has been fantastic.  My kids know and like and trust her and she is so great with them.  I'm excited to see where we end up by the end of the summer.

And William?  He informed me today that we wanted to learn how to play water polo.  Scuba Steve, indeed.

July Already?

How is it already July?  This summer is going by so fast!

Baseball is winding down.  A few more games and then tournaments for both boys and we are done.  We should be gearing up for swim lessons this month - I have the kids taking private lessons from a friend and I have high hopes that it will work out.  Grandma is visiting starting next week so the kids are excited about seeing her again.

Henry has found himself a little summer job.  My friend Melissa owns a Shaved Ice business and also does Sno Cones for special events and she has hired him to make sugar water for her a few days a week.  His pay is an old iPhone that they have laying around.  He won't use it as a phone but it will be a good replacement for the iPod touch that died a sorry death in our washing machine back in March.  He is excited.

Oh and every year I tell Henry he absolutely cannot start talking about his birthday until July because he drives me crazy with it.  He would plan his party in April if I let him and it really annoys me so I have given him a July 1st start time to even mention his birthday to me.  Honestly that's pushing it a little too because his birthday isn't until the 31st.  So guess who started yacking at me this morning at 8 am about planning his party?  You guessed it.