Reunion

Well, I wasn't sure if I could make it, but I did get to the family reunion this year. The kids had a great time playing with their second cousins on the playground and also getting their feet wet in the Columbia River.

At 7 days post-op, I'm doing pretty good. I have had some allergic reactions, first to the surgical glue, and now to the vicodin, so I'm off the heavy drugs and going to see if I can make it from here on out with just benedryl and tylenol. I'm feeling pretty sore though. Very happy with the results, but need to get beyond the healing process.

There's a quilt show coming up in Reardan, WA where they hang quilts all over the outside of the barn and nearby fences. I'm looking forward to seeing that and possibly getting a good picture of the scenery there.

Summer is flying by!

Just a quick post. I took the kids to Ohme Gardens near Wenatchee, WA the other day. It is really pretty there, and I'm glad to find that there was lots of shade, given the temperatures. It must have been hot at home, as well, as a grass fire burned around 5000 acres near our house in Soap Lake. I figure it got to be about 10 acres away from our property. I can see the blackened area from our kitchen. Thankfully, there was a large armada of firefighters helping, from ground crews to airplanes dropping water.

Last week, I was told by an optician that Bowen has amblyopia in his right eye. I'm taking him to an opthalmologist to see if his eye needs to be patched. Also last week, it was confirmed that Bowen has Asperger's (if you're interested in learning more, check out http://www.autismsocietyofwa.org/Resources.html for more information.

The kids finished up swimming lessons last night. I'm really proud of them. All three kids can retrieve toys from the bottom of the pool, which makes for a fun game. Jimmy and Bowen both have declared that they don't like jumping off of the diving board. (Bowen insists that he NOT be enrolled in swimming lessons again because he doesn't want to go off the diving board anymore). Well, as it goes, the rest of the summer is spoken for, so we won't be doing another session of swimming lessons this summer. I'll take them to the pool when I have a chance, and I do feel much more confident that the 3 older kids won't drown while playing near the frog slide or the fountain.

Little Swimmers

The kids continue to improve during swimming lessons! I am really amazed at how quickly they are picking up the skills. I never did any official swimming lessons as a kid, because I couldn't get my ears wet, and the techniques the lifeguards use to teach the little kids is very interesting. Emma is doing great now, as she is very comfortable going under the water. I went under about 5 times while holding her, and she liked that a lot. Then she was excited to try it on her own. After that, I couldn't get her to stop putting herself under the water! That makes me happy for her, since putting my head under the water was always a challenge for me when I was learning to swim. Bowen says he doesn't like to do "bobs" which is where they jump up and down, each time putting their heads under the water, in quick succession. He does quite well at it, though! He doesn't plug his nose much. Both he and Emma have been opening their eyes under the water as well. I went under once with Emma and told her to look at me underwater...I started laughing, she looked so cute underwater...She just might graduate from the parent-participation class this time! Who knows! Jimmy is really enjoying his class. The only part he doesn't like is when he has to get out into the cold air. Tonight was particularly bad...we were all freezing--it was 68 degrees when we got out of the water, and mommy was the only one without a sweatsuit to put on! What was I thinking!!!

One side note: I will be having surgery on July 21st. Those of you who know me, know my chest got outrageously huge after having kids...well, I visited a plastic surgeon and he submitted a request for the insurance company to pre-approve the reduction surgery. I figure the people at the insurance company took one look at the pictures of me and said, "Yes,,,hurry up and help that poor woman!!!" In case you are wondering, I will be losing seven cup sizes...I'll let you know how much that actually weighs after the fact. I've debated on making a separate blog about the before, during, and after experience (blogs of other people's experiences have been helpful to read), however, I haven't made up my mind yet. Anyhow, when this is all completed, I look forward to swimming for exercise purposes...right now, I can't do much moving around in the water as my suit won't stay on, on top. I do plan to have a bra-burning party afterwards...:)

Here's a sweet photo of Andrew in June. I can't remember if I shared it or not!

Swimming lessons went very well for these kids. By the end of two weeks, Bowen and Jimmy showed that they love playing in the water. It surprised me, but Bowen ended up being the one to virtually swim, face in the water, unassisted. Jimmy is having more trouble relaxing as far as getting his face into the water. Emma really had fun in her class (with me in the water helping). She's nearly tall enough to keep her head above water in the deepest part of the swimming area. the first day, she kept saying, "can I swim now by myself?"... She did go under water a few times, but not exactly willingly. By the end of the first week, she was clinging to my neck...She's more like Jimmy, in that it's hard to relax going under water at first. Anyhow, the kids are schedule to start more lessons this coming week. Jimmy will do level 1 again, Emma in the parent-participation class with me, and Bowen has graduated to level 2. No matter how well each child does by the end of the summer, the best part about it is that they each have tons of fun! There is even a little frog water slide (2 years old and up), that is a huge hit. There is one super giant water slide also, but it's for kids about 10 years old, or so. It's a pretty awesome facility...much better than the one in Pleasanton, for sure!

A week ago, Jim took Bowen and Jimmy to work. They had a great time seeing the dams up close and personal! That was a pretty big treat for the boys to see. They went places that no tour takes people in our times of increased security!

Emma picked some flowers at cousin Wendi's house...you can sort of see her left eye is swollen from a mosquito bite. Still, a cute pic of her.