Swimming Lessons II

It's Johanna's turn for pictures!  She is in a different pool than Ami, the diving well.  It's fun for those watching their kiddos during lessons because they also get to watch the high divers being coached.  I think I'm getting in the mood for some Summer Olympics!

Johanna is doing great and improving on her strokes and diving.

10 Years Ago

Ten years ago today we closed on Wolfe Park.  We had fallen in love with the property and so many other things about the house worked for us.  Chris convinced me to look at the "good bones" of the house rather than focusing on all the 70s decoration and upgrading that needed to be done. 

Here are some before pictures and then some taken just today:

We have redone every single room in the house except for the master bathroom, paved the long gravel driveway, enclosed the garage, added on a back deck, put in a whole new HVAC system, redone lots of landscaping, and much more.  It's still a work in progress as time and money allow, and it's already time to start upgrading some of the rooms we originally changed.  But, this is home.  We are so very thankful for God's provision.  Little did we know when we moved in with three little ones (5, 3, and 1) that we would need the extra square footage for two more treasures!  Happy anniversary, Wolfe Park!  :)

Swimming Lessons

Unfortunately we had to cancel Elijah's lessons, but Ami and Johanna started today.  They are in two different pools, so I only got pictures of Ami today, but I'll be sure to get some of Johanna, too.  We love the facilities and lessons at MU!

Remodeling

With more free time on their hands, the kids decided it was time to remodel the Great Wolfe Lodge.  Previously, it had just been owned by Elijah and Benjamin, but they decided to expand and make Johanna co-owner (something she has been requesting for a long time), and Michaela pitched in with her architectural advice.  They basically tore most of it down, leaving only a remnant.  They've assured me that it will look better than ever, and that they'll repaint when all is settled.  It has taken quite a bit of *ahem* "teamwork" to get matters figured out and agreed upon, but they are in full swing now and enjoying the process. 

(Of course this was BC - Before Cast)

 

Ami and Johanna have also loved a new-found friendship with two neighbor girls (6 & 8) that live just through the woods.   They holler to each other to see if they can play.  Then they race to meet at the property line in the woods.  The other day Chris asked if he should use the trimmer and make a path for them, but when I checked things out there was already a well worn path.  Too cute!

Here's the path from our edge of the woods to the "meeting spot".

 

Then they cross a long fallen log across the ravine (a bit of a balancing act!).

They even buried an old mail box where they leave notes for each other EVERY DAY, multiple times a day.

There is also a cute little fort that they've built.  I love the creativity!

The boys have also been earning some extra money doing yard work for Grandpa H.  I caught this picture as they were taking off to do some mulch work.  It was just a bit later that Elijah wiped out on his way home.  :(

Deja Vu

This was 2009 when we had just been home from China for three weeks with Elijah:

This was last night, three years and three months later.  Same arm, same scooter, same driveway:

The boys had just been up at the neighbor's helping with some yard work.  They finished up and scootered down the driveway ready for a care free evening, until Elijah wiped out in almost the exact same spot as before.  No, there is not a bump in the driveway.  The first time, Elijah hardly had any balance or scooter experience and was just going too fast.  This time, he was attempting a jump.  I kind of don't think that couple seconds of air was worth it.  :(

Unlike 2009, this time we could easily communicate in English and Elijah just kept saying, "It's the same thing, it's the same thing.  I can feel it's twisted!"  Poor kid, he was in a lot of pain, a ten on the pain scale.  I quickly took him to the ER and we were thankful that there wasn't much wait time.  Last time he had a compound fracture and the doctor had to put him out for surgery to reduce it.  This time it was a simple clean break, so they put him in a splint over night.

Number two!

This morning we checked in with the orthopedic doctor.  He agreed that the fracture was simple enough to not require surgery.  He put a cast on and gently but quickly manipulated the arm a tad, but oh, this poor kid was in a lot of pain.

We'll check back in a week for another x-ray.  Hopefully the bones will have held and they'll simply grow back together.  Elijah is young and his growth plates are way open, so this is good.  You couldn't even tell on these x-rays where the previous break had been, and his bones look otherwise strong and healthy.  This was just a case of deja vu and a boy being a boy!

Elijah will have this cast for about 5 weeks, then hopefully a short arm cast or even just a small brace.  He's been so brave.  He was rewarded with ice cream and is now enjoying his private movie session as he rests on the couch.

Another picture from 2009:

Hopefully he'll still get some swim time in at the end of the summer, but he'll definitely have to take things easier for a bit.

Summer Days

It seems like school has already been out a while because we've enjoyed the free time so much.  Elijah and Ami have spent a lot of time catching butterflies.  Much to their chagrin, Marshmallow found their bug box and "released" their captives.

 (Maybe I should have shooed the cat away instead of taking pictures.)

Benjamin's buddy (and our neighbor), Sam, has been down a lot to hang out.  They found a snake, the likes of which I've never seen before in our yard and hope to never see again.  According to the expert (Sam), it was just a non-venomous rat snake, but no snake is a good snake to me!  It was probably about four feet long.
 

And summer means popsicles.  Yum!

Kitten Update

They are only getting more and more adorable!  At three weeks old now, Momma Twix is okay with letting the kids hold the kittens and play with them.  We officially have Harley (black), Snowball (white), and Little Boots (grey).  On shaky legs they are starting to move around more.  They prefer the old cut up carpet squares we have laid out, but will bravely venture off them once in a while.

Memorial Day

My favorite parade of the year is the Memorial Day parade.  There is no candy, no advertising or campaigning, no dressed-up characters, it's just a respectful parade that honors those that have served and are serving our country.  We wave and yell "thank you" to those that have protected our freedoms and given us the security that we too often take for granted.

We purchased a pool membership for this summer, and hope to take advantage of it often.  It's fairly close, and we also have friends with memberships, so we're look forwarding to spending sunny days ahead with them.  Today was our first day there.  Although it was over 90 degrees outside, the water was still a bit cold.  That's the way it should be though!

Daddy, teaching Ami the art of water squirting.  :)

My fair child, the one who doesn't like to swim either.  She'll enjoy lots of reading this summer!

Happy Dance

Ami has this cute little way that she dances around when she's happy.  It's just pure and unabated joy.  Wish I could capture it on video, but this picture was about as close as I could get.  It makes me smile every time and teaches me that I need to express joy more often.

Swinging

We are all really enjoying our new hammock!  With great spring weather, it's been common to regularly find someone on it doing school work.  Michaela will even go out after the others are in bed and use the porch light for reading.  I've loved grabbing a book (reading John Muir, Dad!) when I have a few spare minutes and using the rope the kids tied to the deck to swing myself.  :)  It's going to be great for star gazing this summer, too!

Yes, we all had to learn (albeit the hard way) the art of getting on and off this huge contraption.  :)