One of the great things about Texas...

Is that our neighborhood pool opens in mid-April and stays open until mid-October. This year the pool opened on Saturday. It was cloudy and rainy this weekend so we waited until yesterday afternoon to head to the pool for the first time this season.

The air was warm (70s and sunny), but the water was still cold.

Some friends from the neighborhood joined us and we had a blast. J even swam across the big pool a few times with his noodle. He also had fun diving for items in the baby pool.
N enjoyed the splashpad and shooting people with his water shooter. However, with 0% body fat, he got cold quickly and eventually decided just to snuggle under his towel while soaking in some sunbeams.

Happy Spring, everyone!

Movie Monday Redo: In case you were wanting more...

More swimming movies. :)

J diving for rings:


He's gotten so confident with his diving skills!

J swimming:



Hasn't he improved a lot even since the last video? So proud of my J!

And, last, but not least, N and J swimming. Yes, N started swimming on his own yesterday.



It's just the early stages, but I am SO proud of my little 3 year-old.

And, now, I promise to not post anymore swimming videos--at least not for a week or so :).

More Family Fun!

Last weekend B's sister and her husband and children came to visit from Oregon. We had SO much fun! Here are some (a LOT) of pics.

My sweet niece Isla (who just turned 2) at our neighborhood splashpad:

My sweet nephew Oscar (almost 4) enjoying N's watering can:

Uncle Chris spraying N (sorry this one is blurry as Chris's expression is priceless):
My swimmer, J:

Isla LOVED the splashpad:

Walking home:

On Friday, we went to the Dallas Zoo.

Isla:

N checking out the Galapagos tortoises and a squirrel:
N picked out his own outfit today. He said he wanted to be a rainbow. :)

We checked out SOAR, the new bird show at the zoo. It was really fun.

Chris, Isla and N watching the penguins:

A hawk! One of the many birds who soared right over our heads:

Chris and Isla watching the children's favorite bird--the parrot who sang Old MacDonald:

We actually got a decent photo of all four children!:

Oscar and J outside of the African Savanna:

N checking out a lion outside of the Serengeti Grill:

Isla and the lions:

J pretending to be a lion:

Feeding the giraffes!:



Isla and a cheetah:

On Friday night, we went to Randy White's Barbecue (actually really good and very family friendly) and DQ for ice cream.

Isla:

N and J:
Oscar:

Can you tell that I am a little smitten with Isla? She was just so photogenic this weekend.

We are so thankful that our family ventured all this way just to spend a long weekend with us. SO MUCH FUN!

Movie Monday: Swim Lesson Edition

Last week J and N were doing swim lessons. It is AMAZING how much progress they have made in one week. Just had to share some videos from their lesson on Friday.











and a bonus video of N jumping to B:



and I can't resist including this photo because it cracks me up:

More Swim News

J is taking swim lessons at our neighborhood pool. The teacher is one of the moms in our neighborhood moms group and she is terrific! He's in a class with other 3 year-olds that meets for thirty minutes on M/W/F mornings for four weeks. This is our second week of classes and J is really starting to warm up to both swimming and swim classes. Some of the children in his class are way ahead of him in terms of both comfort in the water and skills, but he's growing and learning a lot.

Here's his first swim class:Yes, that's J hanging out in the corner by himself.

But here are some pictures from his class yesterday:

Looking cool with his new goggles.

With his classmates.

Doing "scooping arms."

Blowing bubbles.

In the pool with Ms. Abby.

He's still not too thrilled with doing things that are not with me, but we're getting there. That's just J. He's progressed a lot and we still have two more weeks to go! My main goal is for J to feel more confident in the water. I want him to be a good swimmer eventually, but for now I think he needs to be more comfortable and confident so he'll be ready to really try and learn to swim.

J just cracks me up. Just check out my little "swimmer."

Weekend Fun: Photo Shoot

This weekend B, J, N and I went to our neighborhood pools (there are two within walking distance of our house) for the first time. We also spent some time at the neighborhood playground. It was a lot of fun and a nice break from unpacking. Here are some pics of the first pool and the playground. Enjoy!

(photo removed)

Our house. We're not parked in the garage yet as it's still full of boxes. B was happy to see the Dr. Pepper vending machine greeting us as we entered the pool area.
J wasn't sure what to think of these turtles (there are two) in the pool.
B and J swimming.

Then we had to check out this sprinkler area next to the pool. We're not sure how we did it, but we managed to make some of the sprinklers come on. They felt really nice in the heat.
Every so often, water starts coming out of a different part of the sprinkler park.N got sprinkled, but he didn't seem to mind.On one side of the pool, there is a shelf that has 6 inch deep water. It's a fun place to relax and hang out.I put the camera on timer so I could get a picture of B, J and I on the shelf. More shelf fun. J loved it so much, he didn't want to go back in the main part of the pool with B.This is J's favorite new thing to do: the hippo face.J and N in our new double stroller on the way to the playground.The playground (right next to the pool) J likes to peek out this "window" at us. J trying some rock climbing. This was as high as he got.
Then J decided to climb up this "rock wall."He made it all the way to the top! This is a big deal as J has never been a very good climber.What's that? The hippo face. J on a swing. If you look closely...yes, that's the hippo face.J on the dinosaur stairs.And, in case you were concerned, N was having fun too!