Intermediate Class, Here James Comes!

After an entire summer of swim lessons, all in the beginners class, Thursday was not only the last day of swim lessons but James' first day in the intermediate class. Wow...was he ever excited! James worked harder than ever before and completely wore himself out (to the point where Lang was actually concerned). He even swam 1/2 length of the butterfly!

Before swimming a length, James really likes to get into racing position.


Is it me, or is James' face actually in the water?


After swimming the length, Ms. Johanne put James' backpack back on him for the rest of his lesson. Good call...


James breathing while swimming butterfly for the first time ever!


James after finishing his lesson. He is one tired (but very, very, very happy) pup.

One of our other family goals this summer we have not met, trying to teach John to ride his bike. Lang raced him to the pool (John with his training wheels). Somewhere along the way, he took a little tumble. The good news is that he is finally ready to take the training wheels off. The bad news is that we leave the flat beach and return to hilly Virginia in 6 hours.

Of course, I think these wounds are a badge of honor. Last fall I challenged John to get a bruise in baseball (so he wouldn't be so timid). I had to run home during a game, but when I got back all the parents and coaches were telling me about the great bruise John got! Finally, John earned that milkshake!


John swimming freestyle. He tends to "attack" the water which is apparently a very boy thing to do.

After John's lesson and a 30 minute rest, we asked James if he wanted to swim another length. My camera takes only 60-second videos and it probably took him 80-90 seconds to cross the pool, but here's the first 60 seconds.

Swimmer boy.

Beach Adventures

Interestingly, it seems that the last few weeks of August at the beach the temp starts to drop. We have had lots of gray skies with rain the forecast, although we have had very little actual rain. This makes spending time at the pool and even at the beach a little less fun. However, with Daddy in town these things weren't going to happen anyway. The weather was perfect for what he had in mind.

On Wednesday, Lang and Al took the boys fishing up at the pier in Lewes. Lang left with instructions to take pictures. After the amazing picture fest from James' mini golf experience, I had high expectations. Lang said none of the fish they caught were picture-worthy. I don't think he understands I am more interested in the experience than the prize!

So...on Thursday when Lang, Al & the boys headed out for kayaking or sailing (they didn't decide which until the arrived in Bethany Bay), I gave Al strict instructions that I didn't care what happened...I wanted pictures! I received three, two of which are below...

For sailing, they rented a catamaran. James spent most of his time dragging his hands in the water and hanging over the side of the boat.


Granddaddy captained the boat and then trained John to take the helm. John managed to keep the sails full for a good 5-10 minutes. Lang is so excited about John's new sailing prowess that we are now considering the purchase of a Sunfish.

The next morning Lang went fishing. Only James agreed to get up and go with him...a first miss for John. Once again, Lang was given strict instructions to send pictures!

James with his new rod. He has been talking about getting this rod all summer long.


I don't think James realized that if he caught a fish he would have to hold it so Mom could have her picture!

Two More Days

When we returned home from the beach on Sunday our neighbor came over bearing gifts. We now have two new videos, a puzzle and best of all, an electronic version of Battleship which squirts water at you when your ships take a hit. These are all leftover treasures from her three sons, all of whom are high school age and older now.

This morning was cold...so the water I complain about for water aerobics was suddenly warm and I was eager to get in. Imagine my dismay when after getting in the water I realized I had forgotten my floatie and had to get out, shivering, in the cool wind.

Of course, all of this translates to the boys' swim lessons. John's friend Charlotte came down from Rehoboth today to join John for swim lessons and play in the pool. However, it was just too cool for that sort of fun. So, we sent James early with Mom for his lesson and upon his return stuck him and Joseph in the hot bathtub. John and Charlotte played Battleship before we raced off to their lesson. John looks so good swimming with fins...

Beth was wonderful and took John home for an all day play date with Charlotte. While he was gone, Daddy took James out for a special play date. Poor Joseph got the short end of the stick...and spent the day home with us.

I missed the water squirting at Lang, but John definitely got a hit.


I know you can't see James, but you can see the little hand getting ready to take a shot at John.


James was able to pick his mini golf location. As Lang drove into Ocean City, James chose every single one of them. I'm not sure how they settled on this one, but I think it had a jungle theme.


Can you see how James is matching the jungle surfer dude's stance? Think we will be able to stay upright on a real wave?


Somehow James came home from mini golf thinking his adventure was pirates. He wasn't here 10 minutes before he assembled and dressed in his "pirate costume."

Finishing the Day

As I finished updating the blog this afternoon the activity began once again. So much for our lull in the action...

Lang returned from taking the boys to the fishing store (I vaguely heard something about getting up at 5:30am to go fishing) and I immediately started dinner. The boys went out and picked the carrots we grew this year which were lousy. We were very disappointed because we have had fabulous cantaloupe, watermelon and tomatoes. The corn never really made it and the peppers and strawberries never happened.

The boys with their really rather short carrots. Lang says the ground needs to be tilled 12"-24" in order to have normal length carrots. Oh well. Next year...

While I grilled the chicken the boys came out and played t-ball. Joseph was the batter and the two older boys fielded. Joseph can bat quite a ways (see earlier post). Thereafter the big boys became restless and decided they wanted to ride their bikes. This is something because neither of them can really ride, or at least ride well.

Al, Janne and Lang took the boys out to the court in front of our house to practice their riding skills. Granny managed to get John to pedal relatively fast and book up and down the street by running with him. Lang says that tomorrow the training wheels come off. James decided the pedals were too "slippery" and chose rather to chase John and his bike down the street that to ride himself. I have lots of pictures of Joseph because after his initial run he stayed close by and attempted the wheels left behind.

Joseph loves James' scooter. Tonight he actually rode it correctly but quickly tired of it. Usually he wants to put both feet on the scooter and be pushed.


So then Joseph tried James' "slippery" bike. He spent quite a bit of time sitting there and even moved a bit!


Mom came out with Lucy who was missing out on the action. Here she is passing Lucy off on Al so she can finish preparing for dinner.


As I write this my boys are in the next room watching "Cars." Didn't Lang say something about 5:30am? I'd better go get some pajamas on the boys!

Last Day on the Beach? I Hope Not!!!

It has been a few days since I have updated the blog. There are many reasons for this...primarily that we haven't done anything noteworthy in a while. I mean really, how many times can I journal an afternoon on the beach? Well, it would appear we haven't reached the upper limit of that experience, as evidenced by today's blog entry.

But first, we must start with our boardwalk experience last night. The boys behaved beautifully. After John finished his ice cream he went to get me my much anticipated 50 cent diet coke. The young woman who was working the window came out and asked for a picture with John. Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity myself. She and John have exchanged quite a few 50 cents this summer!!!

John and his friend from Boardwalk Fries!

And now, we are back to today. For some reason I had it in my head that we needed to go to the beach today, and boy did I pick a perfect beach day. The weather was perfect and the ocean fully entertaining. Everyone had a great time.

I have spent much of the summer trying to get a good head shot of James. Today I got it on the first try...


and on the last try! See how sandy he is now? It has been hours since my initial success.


How is this for a head shot? I didn't get any good ones of John today but I have two great ones of James and I think this shot of Joseph is out of this world.

The ocean made everything quite interesting today. A very good day to have Daddy along. High tide was scheduled for 3:30pm, but we had to start digging to preserve our spot around 1pm.

Lang and the boys working on Phase I of our Beach Site Preservation Project (BSPP). You will be glad to know we did not convene a task force even though we live inside the Washington Beltway!


I'd like to say that Joseph is bringing the Gatorade to refresh those working on the wall, but then that wouldn't be true...


We were counting on Granddaddy to keep the waves away. We figured if he is lucky at cards he should be lucky at the BSPP.


Sam taking a break from his work on the BSPP.


Joseph saw the camera and said "cheese!" This erupted into quite the singing competition between Jana and Joseph.


The kid singing his "cheese" song!

Meanwhile it was time for Phase II of the BSPP. Do you still remember what BSPP stands for? Just checking on the value of giving everything an acronym. Lang and I started digging behind the initial wall since the original ditch and filled with water and then sand. For Phase III, Lang went to go protect his Dad (remember lucky at cards, lucky at BSPP?) with a giant pool which was a big hit with Joseph.

Joseph playing in Phase II of the BSPP (the part dug mostly by me - although you can't really see the fruits of my labor - oh well).


Once Daddy's pool filled up there was no place better to be.


Well, maybe until a giant wave invaded the pool and took Joseph out. See the water dripping from his chin?


Our master landscaper. Lang just finished a big project at James' pre-school re-grading the playground to get rid of standing water. You will see the fruit of today's success below...I can't wait to see the new playground!


Can you see that all the people on either side of us have abandoned the beach? Can you also see the other beachgoers hovering behind us?


Granny took Joseph in the ocean several times which was a hit until a big wave got him.

Finally, the waves overtook all of our engineering and there was a general consensus to bag it instead of continue the fight. I don't think the people behind us were terribly happy about that as there were still 45 minutes to go before high tide.

Lang brought this zucchini from our yard in Arlington. Can you see how it turns downward? John thought this to be very cool and wanted to ensure a picture was placed on the blog.

Even More Lazy August Days at the Beach

On Monday night, after our day on the beach, I packed up the two older boys and we headed to Rehoboth Beach for a performance of Snow White by the Rehoboth Childrens' Theater. The performance was so much fun that we almost headed back again tonight (Thursday) but were too lazy to get ourselves together.

John, James and Sam on stage after the perfomance of Snow White.

When I returned home on Monday night, imagine my surprise to find Joseph dressed in his winter fleece! In the morning, Joseph offered yet another surprise..

Can you see that the kid has put on his Crocs? He is in love with these shoes! The most amazing part is that he often has trouble with the back strap, but here he got them on just right with the big "socks" and they are even on the right feet! In this picture he thinks he is playing Webkinz. That will be a few years still!

The next morning the boys played soccer with Sam, Jake and Amanda while Jana and I did water aerobics. John is very funny. He kept telling me on Monday all about how they practiced passing, needed to finish their shooting practice and that they would have a game on Tuesday. I think Coach Henry would be proud!

Of course, none of this can happen without a little excitement. John dropped his ball on the way to soccer and it landed about 7 feet in to a large patch of poison ivy. Remembering my massive breakout before my wedding, I was rather timid about recovery. It took three of us to save the ball, Mom, Jana and me. It has been two and a half days and still no breakout...I think I am safe!

John's poorly placed ball.

Mom left for Virginia on Tuesday, but not before John walked Lucy one more time. John is loving dog walking. He has begged me to take a picture of the two of them and put it on "Family of Bests" as he calls it, so here it is...

Can you tell how big Lucy is in this picture? She is only 9 months old!

James and I were actually only 20 minutes behind Mom on her way to Virginia. We stopped to drop Harriette, John and Joseph off at the boardwalk before hitting the road. I managed to pack three appointments, dinner with my husband and a school board meeting, plus the drive both ways into a 12 hour time slot. I even managed to get my Dairy Queen Blizzard fix on the way! I had help from Al & Janne and Kendall & Cindy who took on James' schedule and entertained him during our dinner.

Wednesday started out with the boys playing soccer. When I arrived home I found Joseph out hitting balls off the tee with Mimi. I didn't realize he was actually hitting the ball 15-20 feet at this point. Before I got there he would hit the ball and run after it. Following my arrival, he preferred just to throw the ball at me.

I took a lot of pictures just to get one with the ball in the air. It is an art when your camera has a delay!

On Wednesday afternoon we met friends at the pool across the street. The kids bored quickly of swimming and went inside to play ping pong. It didn't take long before there was a consensus to go for a hike around the pond beside the pool/across the street from our house. Somehow I ended up being the accompanying adult. Harriette was wonderful and took a complaining Joseph home for a nap.

John crossing the creek. The crossing was really just a bunch of sticks. John's friend Morgan was confident I would not be able to cross because it was so difficult (all four kids crawled over and I was holding my camera and a diet coke). Imagine her surprise when I just walked over in three steps. I didn't live across the street from Gulf Branch as a kid for nothing!


We saw several crabs in the pond. Most were babies but this one had some size to it.


From the top: Dylan, John, Morgan and Sam all on our pond hike adventure.


John has not done the greatest job of watering this year, but he has done well. Here he is rewarded! In the past two days we have picked five cantaloupe.

The front pool was finally fixed this morning (Thursday) so we were back at swim lessons. When we first got there we lost Joseph. I was running all over, as were many of our friends but we couldn't find him. We were just about to call the police when it was suggested I check the car one more time. The kid had climbed into the far back seat to play with the seat belts.

As I was trying to calm down, John and Dylan decided to take pictures on the playground.

This picture was taken by Dylan. John chose his location and pose. I think the kid is angling for more modeling work. Do you think he can earn enough to pay for continued private school?


Joseph decided to check out the flippers, breaking lots of rules in the process. He even wore them in the baby pool, which is where he is headed in this picture. In the background you can see the boys swim teacher, Ms. Johanne.

Our original plan was to go back up to Rehoboth to see another play by the Rehboth Childrens' Theater and for Harriette to make a stop at the outlets. However, by the time our afternoon was drawing to a close that was feeling like way to much effort. So, once again, we did my favorite. Back to the boardwalk!

Can you believe the background on this picture? It is real! How do I get a picture like this again, only with a happier Joseph?


James looking quite comfortable with his Mimi.


When the boys "run the boardwalk" they generally go straight, well, except for Joseph. He likes to take a number of detours. In this case he has climbed and gone around a bench.


When we got back from our run, it was a bit chilly so we decided to go for a funnel cake instead of ice cream. James wasn't too sure but agreed to give it a try. Do you love that look on his face?


Look at who has gone after more funnel cake! It was a hit...good thing because I love it!