Pooltime!

Summertime is Pool Time and relaxing on the deck! Sydney enjoys toddling around the garden and eating snacks under the umbrella. We spent a lot of our Sunday just enjoying the day. Sydney already knows to grab her "magic coat" (aka her lifejacket) as she heads out the back door. Here she models one of her new swimsuits.

Up, up, and AWAY!

We were all bobbing in the pool last night enjoying the last official night of summer, when Sydney decided to dazzle us with her latest accomplishment. She was playing peek-a-boo with her papa and I from her vantage point in the playpen placed at poolside. And that was when she decided to use the mesh sides of the playpen to leverage herself up to a standing position! We all cheered, perhaps a bit too loudly, and she tipped over and plopped back down into the mattress. However, she was ready to try again, much to the delight of herself and all her loyal fans. Look out world, she's going to be WAY more mobile now!

Look at the grin... she knows she's done something big!

Time Out for Swimming!

Rhylah enjoys her first time in the big pool!

Gabriel is our "fish" - give this guy a noodle and a pair of goggles and off he goes!

Taking a break from my recent travelogues to swim with the grandkids. Kate and the kids are here this week while between houses in their move to Michigan. This means that I have 3 wonderful munchkins keeping things lively around here for awhile, and I LOVE it! Add in some prime cousin interaction with Sydney at poolside and it's been tons of fun. The little people LOVE the water... well, all of them except Asher. He can't remember how much he liked it last summer and is being rather typically 2yr old cautious this summer. Anyway, it's been such fun that I had to share some of the photos!

Sydney wins the prize for best swim hat and bikini... mmmm ... tastes good too!

Asher came off the steps to float with his mommy!

Everybody (except Gabe the fish..) is all tuckered out after a busy swimtime!

Miss Them Already!

My grandsons have been on their way back home for about 5 hrs. now and I am missing them already! We had such fun for the past 9 days. It was wonderful being able to spend full days with them, getting to know their routines, likes and dislikes, and planning little surprises for them along the way. Both of them are so fun-loving! We can't get over how quickly the week flew by!
A few more "pool shots" and such taken after mom and dad arrived back from Florida.

Boys = Fish!

While everyone over 25 in the family is off to the Gathering in Orlando, Ed and I got to babysit our grandsons! So far, we've been having a LOT of fun. Took Papa to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time in 23 yrs. last night... and it was "insane Birthday night" there... so Papa had a real test of his abilities to survive in a chaotic environment! The pizza was good and the quiet when we reached the parking lot was even more appreciated than ever before! :-)

The boys LOVE the pool. Gabe has swum just about every chance he can... sometimes 3 times a day. Asher has discovered that leaping from the steps to Grandma is a good time and that pool water is NOT for drinking! Since he took swimming lessons, Gabe is gaining more confidence. He now will leap into the deep end and swim out to the shallow end and he's getting better at it each time he does it! (all under Papa or Grandma's watchful eyes, of course!)

My Two Favorite "Fish"

Summertime means Pool time! The boys came to visit this weekend and both of them LOVE the pool. Asher was pretty brave for being only one and a half. He laughed at the antics of big brother Gabe who was jumping and splashing enough for two! Then he got brave enough to do some serious splashing of his own. Pool time is some of the BEST fun two boys can have with water!

Pool's open!

As of 48 hours ago, our pool is open. Freezing cold, but open! It doesn't look quite this good yet, but within another day or two it will! I am so glad summer is almost here. I love it when the pool is open and even if I don't always get in it... I love to sit by it with my feet in the water or lie on a chaise lounge and read a book beside it! Ahhhhh summer! Only 10 more days of school... counting finals! yahooooooo!