Summer Fun 2016

Along with some McDonald's Runs, a dollar movie and probably way too much television, here are some things we did on our Summer List:

Cub Scout Day Camp
Peter spent five days from 8am until 4pm at cub scout day camp one week this summer. I wish I could have gone, but thankfully Scott was able to go with him on the last day and get a few pictures. They did BB gun shooting, archery, swimming, wood working, fingerprinting, flag ceremonies, knot tying, and many other fun things. Peter said his favorite was the archery because he got the most bulls eyes.

Father's Day

The kids had so much fun helping me to buy candy to make this poster for Father's Day. I love watching the kids get so excited to see Scott come home from work or church. I am so grateful that our kids have such a wonderful Dad. We love you Scottie/Dad!

Insectarium

Peter, Adeline and I were brave and tasted cricket cookies as well as a type of worm cracker dip. Yummy!

 Reuben enjoyed throwing a 30+ minute screaming and crying tantrum. Thankfully Scott was willing to deal with him. They went out to the front desk area where he entertained everyone passing by.

 All the kids loved the butterfly garden where the butterflies will occasionally land on you--except Adeline. Every time a butterfly landed on her, she would instantly freeze in terror and start freaking out. Afterwards she said that she still likes butterflies and thinks they are "bootiful," but that she does not want them to get near her.

Picking Blueberries

A quick thunderstorm rolled by, so we ended up waiting 20 minutes under a little shelter until it passed.

 Adeline and Peter with some friends that we ran into while picking blueberries.

New Orleans Zepher's Baseball Game
We were able to attend a minor league baseball game on Independence Day. It was fun but SO HOT! Unknown to us, Adeline was still feeling unwell with a stomach bug. Between her queasy stomach and the heat, she ended up throwing up all over the ground and a little on Scott and I. I took her out to the car where she changed clothes and slept while the game finished and I was able to watch fireworks from the car. It really was fun despite Adeline's unfortunate event. Peter is really starting to enjoy watching baseball now that he has played for a few seasons, and Rigby and Reuben just enjoyed spending time with Daddy and watching the fireworks.

Pregnancy Projects
I have been crazy busy completing projects that have been sitting around for years. It is the only way I have been able to distract myself from the emotional roller coaster of this pregnancy. 

Here are some pillows I made with Peter and Rigby's artwork from school.

Here I am at almost 32 weeks. In pictures I do not look too big, but from my point of view I am HUGE this pregnancy!

Unwelcome Guests (NOT on the Summer List)
Lice again! Ahhhh! I think Adeline brought it home this time and we all got it. I had lice for the first time during Reuben's pregnancy and now we all got it again. This is one thing I hate about living in such a humid climate with so many bugs.

 

Library Reading Program and Snoballs
The kids had to read or be read to for 12 hours for the summer reading program. Peter and Rigby got a gold medal (olympic theme this year) and Adeline and Reuben got a little football. We went and got snoballs as a treat after getting prizes at the library. Snoballs are a big deal here in Louisiana and are basically finely ground snow cones with over 100 flavors to choose from.

Swimming
Adeline and Reuben spent a lot of time in the little pool while Peter and Rigby had swim practice.

Random Pictures

Popsicle's on the swing were a must in the Southern heat!

Adeline loves making silly faces for the camera these days. Here she is with one of her many primary creations. I think they were learning about being thankful for their bodies, so they made life sized posters of themselves to decorate. 

This is what Reuben does whenever Scott or I leave to go somewhere. He must open the door for us, then he closes it and lastly, he stares out the front door window as we drive off.

 

Swim Team

Here in Louisiana much of the summer and beyond revolves around swimming at pools because it is SO HOT and HUMID! I always panic when I go to the pool with all four kids that don't really know how to swim, so I decided it was time for some serious swimming lessons. I found this great swim team program that runs everyday for seven weeks and has three swim meets where the kids compete against their own times. The coaches were so patient, yet they also challenged the kids. It also got us out of the house which made the summer go so much smoother. Peter can now swim the entire length of the pool (25 yards) doing freestyle and backstroke. He can also swim part of the way doing butterfly. Rigby has made great progress in overcoming his fear of the sinking and can swim about six feet at a time when he has assistance. I am so proud of the progress both Peter and Rigby have made!

Swim Meet - Peter

Medal Ceremony

Swim Meet - Rigby

His coaches were so great to be in the pool and swim alongside Rigby in order to help him come up, breath and encourage him along.

One of his swim coaches bought him a plastic frog to help him focus on jumping into the water and swimming to get the frog instead of thinking about sinking.

Medal Ceremony

Rigby's "Scared of Sinking Story":

Rigby had a scary experience this summer when he jumped in a deep area of the pool, panicked and started sinking until one of his coaches saw him and pulled him out. He was really upset but as usual did not let his true emotions show at the time. The swim coach told me what happened and asked if he was okay. He seemed a little upset but not too traumatized, so I did not think much of it after I gave him a hug and we went home. 

After a few swim practices, I noticed that he was very hesitant to jump into the water and soon he was quietly crying at every practice. I talked with the swim coaches and asked them to continue working with him while I went over and encouraged him occasionally. It got so bad that he would cry loud enough for everyone to hear across the pool. I felt like such a horrible mother, but I knew if I did not push him to overcome his fear, he would never get back in the pool again. I also felt like this needed to be one of those life lesson about working through a challenge. 

Scott and I had many long talks with him about how pushing himself to continue to swim would help him overcome his fear. We prayed for him during family prayer, he and I said prayers before he went to practice each morning and Scott gave him a priesthood blessing. There still many bad days and some good ones. He really started to improve when one of his swim coaches got him a little plastic frog that he could jump into the water and swim towards. That frog ended up being the magic key because he was able to focus on the frog rather than his fear of sinking. At the end of the season he was able to swim about six feet at a time with some encouragement. Even now he continues to ask us to help him practice swimming when we are at our neighborhood pool. I know he is still scared, but I am so proud of the confidence he has gained to keep trying despite his fears.

After this experience I was in the car with all the kids having a conversation about our baby coming soon. They all have clued into the fact that I am upset with a certain aspect of this pregnancy, so Rigby said this to me while we were talking about it in the car, "Mommy, miracles can happen. I am going to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father for a miracle." He stopped right there amidst the chaos of the other kids and said a quick prayer just like we had done during swimming when he was scared. It melted my heart and almost made me cry. Rigby is so sweet and kind, and I love it!

Rigby with his special "diving frog." He hates pictures and will never look at the camera and smile naturally unless I trick him into smiling using potty humor.

Team Pictures

All the kids on the Wahoo Woodlands Swim Team and their coaches.

(A Wahoo is a type of fish.)