Chill...

Just chillin' on the steps before a swim.

WET...

I always love the "after the swim" shot with the blue blue blue eyes!

Megaphone...

Pool noodles make such good megaphones. 

Jump!

Now "H" was a whole different story.  She  was jumping off the board by the end of the first couple of times in the water.  She remembered a lot from her swim lessons last year, but still isn't strong enough to swim unassisted yet.  She's trying HARD to learn though.  I think next summer will be the time she finally gets it!  Her eyes are closed like this in EVERY jump shot.  lol.

Finally...

Eventually, we even got a few smiles.  She's come MILES from where she started at the beginning of the summer.  She even jumped off the board last week.  Hopefully, I'll post those photos some day.  lol.

Coaxing...

Kara finally managed to coax her out by saying a Bible verse.  Psalm 56:3  "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You."  She said to "A" a few times and eventually "A" was saying it herself.  So sweet. 

Cautious...

I'm so late posting any kind of swimming picture.  These were actually taken in June.  "A" started the summer feeling VERY apprehensive about the water.  She envisioned herself swimming all over with her puddle jumper life vest, but when it actually came to getting in the pool she wanted NOTHING to do with it.  So much crying!  lol.  I'm sure the neighbors thought we were torturing her.  This was about all we could get her to do...play at the step with a few toys. 

Shadow sisters...

We watched a short video story that night about animal friends (who oddly talked with a British accent...um...OK).  Part of the story line involved one of the animals creating sort of a treasure hunt with clues where the other animals followed arrows he had placed in the forest.  It was after watching that we went outside to play with the sidewalk chalk.  I loved it that H drew arrows all up and down the sidewalk leading to this message for Abigail.  So sweet. 

The old games are the best...

On this particular Grammy Day, the littles stayed for dinner while their mom and dad had a date night.  It was fun to have them at golden hour and teach them how to play hopscotch.  I'm not too good at action shots, but I still think these are fun.  Love that A's tongue is out while she jumps! And I love that I actually managed to catch them both with both feet off the ground.  Yay me!

Summer days...

And a little sidewalk chalk art with their pretty toes...

Spa day...

It was a little like a spa day.  We fixed hair and then we did our nails.  Fun! 

New "do"...

On a recent Grammy Day, H asked for a new hairdo after swimming.  She wanted one braid like Elsa from the movie Frozen.  So I tried my hand at one french braid that wound around her head.  I think it turned out pretty well for the first attempt.  And believe it or not, that doll belonged to her mother Jenny when she was a little girl.  It was one of the treasures we found when we cleaned out closets 3 years ago for our remodel.  Or course, braiding hair feels like old times to me too...since I raised two girls myself. 

Counting with colors...

H had never seen an abacus before, so she was enjoying some simple math.  I was enjoying all the pretty colors!

Ready, set, READ...

Just stop where you are, because the books are "calling you". 

Books are the BEST...

Showing me something funny...

Clearly absorbed.  BTW....She's only four, but she does already read.  So proud of her!

For love of books...

So sweet that H enjoys reading to A.

Different strokes for different folks...

This one spends her time looking for one book at a time.

And this one holds as many as she can at once.  Ha ha!

Book worms unite...

I've been wanting to go to the library with the littles for a while.  Finally did it and brought my big girl camera.  Of course, being indoors my ISO was pretty high.  These aren't terribly sharp, but I still love them.  I had to document their love of books. 

Yankee Doodle Toothless...

It was the 4th of July and we were all eating hamburgers.  This little pixie stopped in the middle to say, "there's something in my hamburger I don't want to eat" (thinking it was some kind of nut or seed).  Her mom took one look at it and laughed.  Yep....It was her tooth!  Now she REALLY looks like a 1st grader.