Swimmin Seth

Since Zac and Seth have been back, we've been working more intensely on improving Seth's swimming. He's taken three private instructor lessons this month with fantastic results.

While we were in Texas, Seth discovered the magic of swimming goggles. I guess the eye-opening part of swimming underwater has been part of his hesitation. At Mike Avery's pool, he slapped on a pair of goggles and saw a whole new world. So we ran quickly to the store after we got back home and bought him some.

Three sessions later, our boy who previously was loathe to stick his head underwater was going off the diving board with a noodle under his arms. He still needs to work on the mechanics of breathing, but he can actually submerge and ambulate now. The next Micheal Phelps (minus the bong).

Grandparent Tour

I guess I should start with the older boys' Grandparent tour. Last summer, of course, they went to the Harndens for B-ball camp for one week. Mom and Dad were still in the condo, so we did not do the McGregor side last year. I remember being glad to see them when we picked them up, but at the same time thinking, "Wow, that was quick!"

Well, this year, we doubled the time they were gone. Greg and Susie had them again for HU B-ball camp, then the four grandparents rendezvoused south of Little Rock for the hand-off on Sunday. Mom and Dad kept them at the farm for the following week, then we went down for a long weekend to pick them up.

The first week was (funny enough) their "city" week--I'll explain that in a minute. Lots of basketball camp, swimming and building of Legos. The boys even had a day and a night they had to spend with just Papa, while Nana was on an overnight conference for her work. All I know is there were lots of peanut butter, cottage cheese, McDonald's and ESPN involved. Papa survived and the boys had a great time.

As I mentioned, the grandparents traded out at a Cracker Barrel in Benton, AR, on Sunday. Mom and Dad took them home to the farm, starting their "country" week (since it was more countrified than Searcy, I made Searcy the "city" week).

Dad had them in straw hats and picking blueberries that night when they got home. Over the course of the next week, they camped, swam, picked lots of berries, fished and built birdhouses. When we arrived on Thursday night, the boys looked glowing and happy, just like you should when you are kids in the summer. I even got a real hug out of Zac!

We had a fantastic weekend with our family before we headed home on Sunday. Ben and his family came up on Saturday, so all the kids were able to hang out together. Over the course of the weekend, we went to Bodacious BBQ, Caddo Lake, went swimming, checked out the Robertson's amazing farm next door and worshipped together on Sunday with so many of my old friends and parents of friends.

Did I think the two weeks went too fast? Well, the first week was busy and went by very quickly. But as we entered the second week, I started really longing for those little guys. Blane was very lonely, even though it's usually a daily throw-down with Seth here in the summer. All three of us were ready to be reunited by the time Thursday came. What would I do without my guys if it was the whole summer?

I'm so glad we have two sets of grandparents who love and enjoy my precious boys so much! Next year, it might be time to send Blaney along with them. Then what will I do?

Hello again

Yes, we're still around. It's been kinda a crazy summer, but I guess that's always the case! I'll try to catch up with events, now that we only have about 3 weeks left before school starts.