Lake Powell

We are beyond grateful that Christopher's brother invites everyone to come and stay on his houseboat every year.  It is a truly expensive vacation for him, and there is no way we could do it otherwise!  This year was a bit adventurous- it rained nearly the whole time I was there (I had to leave early to get the kids home to meet their teachers), and the boat ran over a rock one day and had an expensive repair to get it up and running for the rest of the week.  But my kids didn't care!  They had a blast anyway.

Jasmine loved digging in the dirt.  Tyler loved that too, and was very proud of his "castle" (which was one bucket of sand turned upside down) until Jasmine stomped on it.  He then found other things to do the rest of the week.

Mostly landing in the water.

Over and over again.

Seriously, it was cute to watch him be "all boy" that week.  He had a couple of other cousins who liked bouncing around on the tube next to the houseboat, and jumping off the houseboat, and that's basically how he spent his week!

This one spent the entire week right there.  On the ladder.  She didn't want to have her legs dangling, and she wanted to be part of the action while Tyler was playing back there, but she would complain loudly every time he would try to climb past her onto the houseboat so he could jump or slide again.  It was her kingdom, and hers alone.  Nothing I did could convince her otherwise.  I don't know why both of my girls have done this at this stage, but it drives me crazy.

And I didn't see much of Kaitlyn, which is really impressive when everyone is trapped on a houseboat!  She declared these girls (and another little one) her "new sisters" and they would find little hideaways all over the boat to play games and color pictures.

Christopher and I went to see a waterfall during a rainstorm . . .

spent some time wake boarding or surfing (I only wake boarded once, but I like watching everyone else go) . . .

And even got some tubing in.  Thankfully, he didn't stick with that vest long.  Tyler stuck with the technique you see here- firm grip, as flat as he could go.

Overall, it was a great week.  As always.  I always get horribly nervous beforehand about the kids and how dangerous the water can be, but they really are very used to it all by now.

Oh, I had to throw this picture in here!  Jasmine loves to sing about the monkeys jumping on the bed, complete with actions.  "Two little monkeys . . ."  Except right now, it is mostly a chant to her "Two monkey jump - a - bed.  Bonk on head.  Talk - a - mom.  No more monkey jump - a - bed."

Summer fizzling out

I haven't blogged in a while.  But sometimes, life is busy with mundane things, and not with blog worthy things.  That pretty much sums up my summer from the Fourth of July until the middle of August.  I kept trying to do summer school, but I have to admit is mostly didn't happen.  I knew it would go like that for me!  I was hoping to be better this time around, but it just fizzled out.  It seems that whenever I try to improve something in my life or achieve a goal, I am good as long as I do it every single day with no excuses.  But as soon as one day doesn't happen, it is all over.

And in the case of summer school, I had to have a one week break so I could get things ready to host our party at the cabin for the 4th.  After that, getting back in the habit was excruciating.  Which is why I don't homeschool.  I need deadlines in life, or else I just don't have the self-motivation to truly get things done.

All in all, though, I have to console myself that summer home school was not a total failure.  Kaitlyn learned to sew.  We got more reading and math done than I otherwise would have.  We went to the Aquarium twice, the pool and skating place once a week or so, and had a great summer.  In fact, the kids made great progress on swimming- especially Tyler!  He figured out a doggie paddle, and while we are still working on getting him to close him mouth underwater (his underbite means that he rarely closes his lips together anytime), the doggie paddle meant that he can get around pretty well.  And he loves going off the diving board now!

Notice how when he jumps, he looks like a cat.  All of his limbs spring out, ready to land!

Kaitlyn helped me make her mermaid skirt.  The cheap fabric didn't hold its color in the pool all summer, but she didn't care.  She doesn't want to anywhere swimming without it, and it makes her day when little friends come and admire it.

It is basically just a long, skinny skirt that has elastic at the bottom so she can scrunch it up when she wants to.  I thought it might be tough for her to swim in, but she actually did just fine.

Jasmine like "simming" a lot, too.  Thank heavens our pool has a large "zero entry" area for her to play in- she doesn't like being held in a spot too deep for her to touch the bottom.

For our Anniversary this year, Christopher and I stayed at a local bed and breakfast some friends of ours own.  We also took advantage of our kid-free time by hiking up to the "G" on the mountain.  The best part was that it was a holiday weekend, so we had a great view of everyone's fireworks from up there!