It's SUMMER!

A mere 9 months ago I never would have believed I would say this with enthusiasm, but, IT'S SUMMER!  The weather has hit the 90 degree mark, the sun is shining, and the pools are refreshing but not too brisk.  Over the course of the past two weeks, we have graduated from a gently heated hot tub into the real deal pool, and let me tell you, it's fun with the kids!

I'm tempted to let the photos speak for themselves, but I also want to highlight a few early season fun facts.  Hayden has taken back to the water like a fish - jumping off the side and swimming back to the edge, diving for his dive sticks, and begging to be thrown around (higher, higher!).  And after a winter of doing "tricks" on his snowboarding game on the Wii, he is now insisting on doing "tricks" when he jumps into the pool.  And by tricks I mean cannonballs, grabbing one foot, and belly flops.  Hysterical.  I love watching him grow into such a good swimmer, and I wonder what the next few months of non-stop swimming will do to his already impressive skills.  It's such a relief that he knows how to swim, and it makes it easier to relax at the pool this year.

Pierce, however, is less thrilled about the water, and is very timid.  He loves to stand on the bench in the hottub and just play with his toys, or more recently, splash on the shallow ledges and steps in the pool.  He always wears a swim vest, and someone is always dragging him into the pool in an attempt to get him to kick and swim, but he usually wimpers and cries "hug you" the whole time, with little to no enjoyment :(  However, today I feel like we reached a break-through in our neighborhood pool.  It is beach entry and he wandered in up to his shoulders, with a huge smile, yelling "mommy I swimming!".  Too cute.  He let us take him into the deeper water today and swing him around, and he even kicked and paddled on his own a bit without too much drama.  And what he lacks in enthusiasm for swimming, he more than makes up for in his enjoyment of the neighborhood splash park.  Since we've only been in the pool for a few weeks, it's hard to know where his comfort level and skills will be at the end of the summer, but I certainly look forward to seeing him have fun in the sun.

And here is a collage of them having fun at my parent's fab pool, which we plan to live at this summer (THANK YOU mom and dad!).

And Ruthie, Ruthie, Ruthie.  What can I say?  Girl can rock a bikini :)  She is so darn cute in her swimsuits and matching bows and hats, and in typical Ruthie fashion, she just goes with the flow, and chills in the pool as if she was born to swim!  She giggles, and blows bubbles, and smiles, and I just love her!  And I'm incredibly thankful that she is so easy, so I can enjoy my boys while still keeping her happy.  She's another blessing, that's for sure.

Happy summer everyone.  Hope you are enjoying it as much as we are :)