Swimming Lessons

In July we did a month of private swimming lessons for Kyler. He was begging for them and we finally had the time to do it. He really does much better in a one-on-one environment and not in group lessons. In a group setting, he just messes around and doesn't listen to the teacher, making it hard to really learn anything. But in the private lesson, he is the only one and the teacher's complete focus is on him.

Over the 4 weeks, he progressed pretty well. I feel like his capability is better than his confidence. He is scared he can't swim, but when he actually listens and does what the teacher tells him, he does a great job. So it's just a matter of building up his confidence so he will advance and do well. But for the first time in his life, I actually feel like he is “water safe”. The last session of the month, they had him come fully clothed, including shoes, and had him swim like that. They said they hoped it would help him know what it felt like if he ever fell in the water or was pushed in the water on accident. And if he knew what it felt like, he wouldn't panic and would just swim to the edge. He did a great job that day and I am so proud of him! I took him to Jamba Juice afterward to celebrate.

Back float

Torpedo arms up...

Safety day - getting ready to jump in with his clothes and shoes on

San Francisco Girl's Weekend

The weekend of July 22-24 a group of my friends from high school were meeting in San Francisco for a girls weekend. Because I was in the delivery room with my sister-in-law that weekend, I didn't make it to San Francisco until late Saturday night. But I made it and had so much fun with the girls (there were 9 of us after I got there!)

We had a hotel in Union Square, took the trolley down to Fisherman's Wharf (all the times I've been to SF, and I've never ridden the trolley), and had brunch on Sunday at a fun bistro. I haven't seen some of the girls since high school. Others I have seen and talked to more recently but it was great to get everyone together in one place at one time. Good memories.

Me and my friend Shelley riding the trolley

Our ride to Fisherman's Wharf

All the girls:
Back row (l-r) Christianne, Kim, Debbie, Me, Shelley, Heidi
Front row (l-r) Jenn, Allison, Laura

Brody

On July 23, I was honored to be at the birth of my nephew, Brody David. This is Greg's sister Natalie's baby. He weighed 9lb, 2 oz and was 21.5 inches long! He is absolutely adorable and we are so happy for Natalie and her husband, Bret for their new addition. :)

Natalie holding Brody

I'm the proud Auntie!

Kyler holding Brody - he absolutely LOVES him!

Sweet boy all dressed and ready to go home :)

Tahoe Getaway

The weekend of July 8-10, I got to have a girls weekend getaway with one of my best friends. We both live in the Sacramento area and have kids so having time together with uninterrupted conversation sounded like heaven! So, we scheduled a weekend to get away, just the 2 of us. Thankfully our husbands were both willing to take over at home for the weekend so we could do this. :)

We had the most wonderful, relaxing weekend. We stayed up late talking, slept in late, cooked food in the kitchenette at our condo, went on a beautiful hike, and watched movies. We had such an incredible time, we would really like to make it a regular event, but we'll see if we are able to make that happen.

I am so blessed to have a wonderful, genuine friend like Suzanne in my life. I treasure her and value her so much because friends like her don't come along very often. What great memories we shared together that weekend!

Suzanne and I on our short hike around Squaw Valley

MLH Bounce Event

On Thursday, July 7, Mended Little Hearts, held an event for our group at Bounce U, a facility that has large inflatables for kids to jump in and play on. They were so great to donate the space to us for a 2-hour time slot so the kids in our group could come and bounce!

It was so much fun and the kids had a blast! We all had a great time. A couple of the pictures are blurry but that is because the kids were in constant motion I couldn't get a decent picture. But, that means they were having fun! ;)

Kyler going down the big slide

Caden trying to collect all the balls, no surprise there...

The whole MLH group of kids that came

The boys in their inflatable throne

4th of July

For the 4th of July this year, we went to a friend's house for an afternoon of BBQ, games for the kids, and fun fellowship. As it got a little later, we all headed down to watch the local parade. This is the 1st year we have gone to a parade since Kyler was born. It was super hot, but the boys still seemed to have a really good time.

Caden was so cute waving and saying “hi” to everyone that went by. It really was fun. We opted out of fireworks because Caden didn't get a nap that day and was melting down. Hopefully next year we will get to do fireworks with them because I think they will both enjoy it. All in all, it was a very fun holiday spent with friends.

Waiting for the parade to start

Greg and Kyler with their flags and party poppers

The boys being silly together

I took a picture of the Shriners since Caden receives Orthopedic care at Shriner's Hospital in Sacramento :)

Toward the end of the parade, Caden was zoning out he was so tired!

4th of July is such a fun family holiday

Panda Mania!

The week after we got back from vacation, our church held Vacation Bible School. Last year we were gone when they did it so we were really looking forward to this year. Our church goes all out for VBS every year. The whole church is completely covered in decorations of whatever the theme is. This year it was Panda Mania!

Kyler had a fantastic week. We had to work through some behavior issues (probably a response to us returning from vacation) but once that was resolved, he had fun. He was in a crew with a couple of his best buddies and they had a blast. What a fun way for kids to learn more about God!

Kyler with his best buddy, Brayden, and crew leader, Zack

Kyler with our fearless Pastor Walt! We love him!