Kids Are Like Talking Parrots

Yesterday I had one of those moments where I realized that my kids listen to EVERYTHING you say, good and bad. Mostly the bad stuff you don't want them to hear. Here's what happened. We were getting ready to go feed the chickens and Kate was standing by the sliding back door. It has a lock on the handle and a safety lock on top. She was waiting for me to open the top lock when she said;
Kate: Mom, open this stupid damn door.
Me: What did you say?
Clark: Kate said open the stupid damn door.
Me: Hey! We do not talk like that.
Kate: Ok Mom. I won't say stupid damn door anymore.

I should have just sent her to her room, but I was trying so hard not to laugh! So don't judge me because I'm a horrible parent and my kids hear me swear!

Clark

For those of you who don't know Clark- he can be quite the little spit-fire when he wants to. He can also be very stubborn.

Today after swim lessons I let Kate and Clark get in the pool to swim with me. I have been trying to get Clark to roll on his back to take a breath and he will NOT do it. So today he was swimming from the play step to the rocks, jumping off and swimming back. I was trying to get him to take a breath in the middle and he did not want to. One time he got to the rocks, climbed up and was ready to jump when I told him to swim to me, take a breath and then swim the rest of the way. He just said," Mom, I am an expert. I can swim all the way across by myself."

I was flabergasted! When did he know what an 'expert' is? Although; he did jump off and swim all the way across with no breath!

Floaties are the Devil

I finished my first week of swim lessons and again I have decided that floaties are the Devil and whoever created them should be severely punished.
Case in point. I have at least 3 kids that know how to swim, but because they have been using floaties, freak out in the water. It is so frustrating as a teacher to try and reverse the effects of floaties. For those of you who think floaties are great, let me educate you as to why I hate them. First they create a false sense of security for a child in the water. They develop their self awareness in the water with floaties and as soon as you take them off, they have no idea how to function in the water. And what's gonna happen when (in Arizona you might as well plan on it) they accidentally fall in the pool? Instantly freak out. Second a child becomes mentally attached to them. They think they cannot ( or even worse, parents tell them they cannot) swim with out them. Third, they teach kids to swim vertically instead of horizontally. Who do you know that successfully swims vertically for long periods of time, besides synchronized swimmers who can tread water indefinitely?
So this is my plea to you- DO NOT EVER PUT YOUR KIDS IN FLOATIES! Or a life jacket or any type of floatation device. Be a loving and responsible enough parent to get in the water with your child. And put your child in swim lessons. There are more than enough resources out there for you.
Ok. I'll get off my soap box now.

Last Week

So much has happened in the last week- it's just easier to lump it all into one post. To start, for our anniversary Ryan bought me a new camera. Yeah! Our other camera was just dying. The screen wasn't working anymore- so it was nearly impossible to take pictures. Ryan wanted to buy me an adapter kit for my iPod, so I could listen to my tunes while I swim, but I'm just too practical and opted for the camera instead. That being said, that's why it's taken me so long to post anything- I had to download new software for the new camera. (Not that it's a difficult process, I'm just tired and lazy!)
So last Thursday (our anniversary) we were supposed to go up to my parents cabin for the weekend. We were at Target picking out my new camera, car loaded and ready to go when Ryan got a call from Bill Okland (boss) asking about some issues on his job site. Needless to say, Ryan felt it unwise to go to the cabin. So we left the Tahoe packed up, just took out the food and stayed home Thursday night. I left first thing Friday morning with the kids and Ryan went to work, then joined us later Friday afternoon.
We had a great weekend at the cabin. My sister Nancy, brother Rob, their families and my parents were all up there. Ryan and I slept better there in the cold basement than we have in along time! The kids had a great time going fishing, riding the tractor, watching movies and playing with cousins.

These first few pictures need some explaination. Ryan and his great imagination got the kids playing "pirates" on the back porch. They would look through their monoculars to find pirates and guard their treasure in the cooler. Very cute. (You can tell the first few pictures were taken by Tiffany and her great camera!)

Found a lizard by the camp fire.

Kate playing her guitar.

Sunday was Auntie Ellen's birthday, so we had a little party for her with cake, lemon bars (she loves lemon goodies) and stayed up until 1am playing Beatles Rock Band!

Monday afternoon we hung out with our friends Brett and Jess and their kids Peyton and Colton. Here's the kids in the play pool.

Last of all today we picked our first zuchinni from the garden. It is quite large, due to the fact that my pumpin vines and weeds covered it up so I couldn't see it. It's amazing what you find when you weed the garden!