Dog days of summer

We love summer.  Mostly we spend our days at the pool playing with friends and cousins.  We do keep up gymnastics once a week and Noah's also playing T-ball.  Throw in going back and forth between neighbors houses playing with friends and a few road trips and that's our summer in a nutshell.  It's hot outside.  Very hot.  Our mornings of having bike rides and going to the park have been behind us.  Instead we've been playing around the house and with neighbor kids more in the morning.  Then spending our days at the pool.  There is no end in sight from this awful heat in the forecast either.  It's even hot when we first wake up.  It's a good thing we love swimming :)

Elliot getting his high dive on

He thinks he is hot stuff

Noah's signature jumping style

Swimming at Aunt Karen's with some cousins

Nature hike in Aunt Karen's yard

The boys putting on a "dive show" for us.  Noah's cannonball.

Brothers taking a swim together

Noah learned to do a handstand - yay! 

hahaha

Now this is the life

Dive show

Charlie's "fountain" jump

High Dive

We are so proud of Noah for getting the courage to jump off the high dive!  At our regular pool we've been members of the past 3 years, he is still an inch too short (they require kids to be 48").  We got a "super-pass" this year so we can visit all the other pools because he has a lot of school friends that go to this other pool (which is the same distance from our home).  It's more chill, laid back.  There is one big pool and one little baby pool.  Nothing fancy.  But, there is no strict pool rules either, including no minimum height requirement on the high dive.  Our first time visiting there, Noah did it.  Between being able to go off the high dive, being allowed toys/water guns in the pool, and seeing school friends every time we have ever gone, let's just say it's pretty much our new pool.  We've only been to our regular/old one 3 times this summer.

Summer

I just realized I had not posted since the last day of school.  The lazy days of summer have kept us busy.  We've been swimming, road tripping, going to the park, playing t-ball, swimming more, and..... well it doesn't sound that busy, but the kids are getting worn out way more than usual and my house seems to always be a mess.  Without the routine of the kids in school, I've lost my homekeeping mojo.  Paul's not complained once at this house, which he deserves a medal for.  Not to mention all those evenings where I don't cook dinner because I'm at the pool too late or something.  Even though we havent' been lazy, we sure have been having fun.  This is the second Thursday in a row I've made both boys take naps (see, that's why I have time/energy to blog!).  Towards the end of the week, they are just so tired out and need that extra rest.

Here's a snippet of some of what we've been up to.  And I'll try to get back in the blogging groove.  I'm too tired at night.  I think I might make Thursday's nap & blog day :)

Road tripping to Dallas, TX to visit family

Boys in their bed at our hotel

Paul wrapped a hand towel around his waist after a shower & it cracked me up!

All the boy cousins with their Marine Captain Uncle Rafe (Eli graduated that day)

swimming at the Johnson's subdivision pool

Elliot decided he wanted to nap at the pool.  Thought this looked comfy.

After finally convincing him a chair would be better, he actually took a nap.

Special treat at the pool

Leap Frog at the Belton Water Park with cousins

Cheetos monster

Noah at the Belton Water Park

Low humidity has made for very nice mornings spent at the park monkeying around

I told you I was wearing them out

T-Ball Practice

T-ball

We met the Stuckey's and Paul's parents for a day at Silver Dollar City.  Amelia is BRAVE and rocked it!

Are you starting to see a theme with this child?  Fell asleep on the way home from Branson at 6:40.  Slept all night.

Noah & Nona Grace at their backyard pool

Elliot has gotten really good at diving for dive toys

Picnic with friends at a spontaneous pool/grilling out party

Swimming buddies

Noah getting his dive on

Worn out

TRYING to get him to use goggles.  He's underwater so much his eyes get red.

The "athletic supporters" playing at the playground while big bros play T-ball

"One of these things is just like the other..."

So Mandy tells me the other day that she's going to get a new swim bag for the summer, since we're not hauling around diapers and wipes any more.  She tells me she's going to get something more "manly", so I can take it to the pool too.

Disregarding the fact that I relinquished what little dignity I had when it came to pool and/or diaper bags about five years ago, when our first son was born, I was still hopeful that "we" would get something looking like a black gym bag.

Tonight, I get home and she tells me about our new swim tote.  Just the fact that I know the word "tote" is a sign of how far I've fallen.  She was happy about how much less girly the new bag was, because it didn't have flowers on it.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't think either one of these could be considered any more girly than if they'd been sewn out of bras and panties, and hair scrunchies.

Oh yeah, this is definitely a step up.

Boys (and girl) of Summer

We have pools nearby available, but sometimes, they just like to play in the yard.  Noah, Elliot, Liam and Ollie played on the slip and slide, the toys and the dirt/mud they dug up in our pitiful back yard.

No idea what this look was all about.

We showered them in the basement.  Nice forced smiles, boys.