The Best Thing About Summer Reading

The best thing, sharing a book and a comfy chair with your best friend.

Wet Hands

This is what I'm talking about when I say F is "on all the time." He runs at 110% during all waking hours. There's no downtime, no break, no mellow bits. It's full tilt boogie from 7am to 7pm.  Drying hands on a towel is just so BORING!

SIX

Guess who is a stupendous SIX today?
Happy Birthday little man, you're awesome and I love you heaps and heaps!
Want to compare to last year's Q&A, click here.  The biggest change? He's given up on Qantas and now wants to fly for Southwest (it's a cool purple plane you know).

Rookie Swimmer

Saturday was F's first ever swim meet.  He's loved swimming for years, no exaggeration.  Back when he was a mere one year old the Bejing Games were on and I had the TV on in the background most of the day when we were home. He wasn't really interested except when the swimmers competed.

Prenatally he was a wiggly bump, so much that I had motion sickness. Anytime I got in the pool to swim, or later just float, he'd settle down and take a nap.  His first trip to a pool, at four months, he threw his head into the water and came up giggling.  He had excellent swim lessons in Australia and mediocre ones here until we met his current teacher, Ms. Louise.  He's been anxious to get involved in a swim team for about a year and a half now, Missy Franklin is his idol, and he just about exploded his first week of practice he was so excited.

F and Emma after the team cheer to start the meet

Saturday he was excited, but very focused.  He knew all of his event numbers, exactly when and where to go for his heats, and managed to keep track of his towel, cap, and goggles the entire meet.

He swam in two relays (8 and Under) and three individual events (6 and Under).  His first relay got disqualified, the swimmer before him quit halfway and pulled himself along the lane ropes for several meters.  His second event he forgot to kick.  His third event, 25 backstroke, he pulled it all together and not only won his heat but got 2nd overall! His last individual event, 25 breaststroke, he also took 2nd.

swimmers take your mark....
F's in lane 5, the one closest to me in this shot

leading his heat, in lane 5 closest to me

super happy swimmer!

F and Emma both had a great day. We did, too. The weather was gorgeous, our volunteer jobs were fun and easy, and it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.  Our team runs a fast meet and we were done before I expected, even though F swam in the last set of free relays. I had a very nostalgic day, remembering the countless meets I swam in and the hours spent playing cards or reading a book waiting for my events.  He's already asked me if he can swim year round, but I think we'll stick to summers for a few years.

Florida Family Reunion

Last week we were in Florida, Sanibel Island specifically, for a family reunion. It was nice and low key, super hot and humid, and a good time over all.  We stayed in a condominium on the beach, and spent a lot of time in the water of both the ocean and the condo's pool.

This is how we spent most of our mornings... life was pretty rough.

 When it got too hot to stay on the beach it was usually time for lunch.  After lunch half of the pool was shaded and it was a great spot to spend the afternoon.

The next day...back to the beach!

 and to the pool!

We did some exploring, but living in a landlocked state we opted to maximize our time in the water.  One morning, a super hot inferno day with zero breeze, we headed out for a short and successful fishing trip.