June and July 2015

Might as well cram two posts into one!

The first half of June was busy with SWIM LESSONS! 

I enrolled both kids this year and did the parent/child class with Marcus. To say that he HATED it would be an understatement. Ha! I thought he'd love it since he loves the bath and will even put his face in and blow bubbles, but boy was I wrong! He despised every second of it from the first day there and by the last day, two weeks later, he was screaming, "Adi (Marucs), wah-wah (water), no!!! Uh-uh!!!! Nooo!" while we were still at home putting our swimming suits on! Poor guy, I felt like I scarred him for life! 

Layla, on the other hand, is my little fish! As much as Marcus hated the water, she loved it! I have never seen her work so hard at something or have a bigger smile plastered on her face (the whole time)! I would watch her and the other two girls in her class, and I noticed that Layla was the only one of the three students who could actually tread water for 15 seconds, and do some of the other skills required to pass the class. I told Mitch I thought she might actually be a gifted swimmer and that it might be "her thing" seeing how much she loves it. 

Well, on the last day of class, the teacher told me that Layla is a "natural and gifted swimmer" and he is having her skip the next class level! My suspicions were confirmed and we have ourselves a little swimmer. Needless to say, we will be signing her up for another round of swim lessons this summer (we're just too busy this month, so it will have to wait until August). I will not, however, sign Marcus up again this year. He needs some positive experiences with water and then I'll sign him up for the preschool class next summer. :)

They crack me up! ;)

And, I was so proud of Layla for jumping off the diving board for her first time ever! I honestly didn't think she'd do it (she's scared of most new things like this such as riding her bike, etc.), and I really didn't think she'd do it after the first girl in line chickened out, but she surprised me and jumped off without even hesitating! I was so happy and proud of my girl!

 Layla also graduated from her online preschool the end of June. While it was a pain the butt a lot of days to have her log on and do it, I am so grateful for the program because it taught her so much!
This picture is of the last time Layla logged in to online preschool. The smile wasn't normally present, this is just special because it was the last day.:)

I told Mitch that when we went to the graduation, I hoped I would get a diploma too since I was the one constantly reminding and nagging her to do it. Ha! Well, I wasn't disappointed ... they gave the parents a certificate too!

Poor Marcus had a pretty crappy May and June. He had nasty mosquito bites on his face in May. Those went away and he came down with croup! One Sunday we went to visit Mitch's grandma and while we were there Marcus had a fever. We came home and it was 104! I told Mitch I had a feeling I would be taking Marcus to the pediatrician in the middle of the night. And that's exactly what happened. I'm glad I listened to what I believe was the Holy Ghost, because he would have been much more sick had I not taken him in that soon.

From Layla

After the croup, he got two nasty bug bites on his face. It must have been some sort of gnat or spider this time. We ended up back at the doctor and on an antibiotic. The doctor was pretty concerned, and told me he was worried the swelling and infection (cellulitis) would go behind the septum and into his brain! Ahhh! That freaked me out and made me sick with worry for a day or two. Thankfully the antibiotic kicked in and the swelling and infection were dramatically better within a day or two!

Layla has been so tired and grumpy lately. I think she could benefit from a 45 minute nap every day, but of course she refuses. The other day she did tell me she was tired and then I found her like this. Pretty awesome. I have a feeling this will happen more often once she starts kindergarten.

She loves to peel the garlic and I love to let her.

 
He is such a messy eater and loves to show me his food while it's in his mouth. So gross.

The are cuddle bugs!

She loves to do little homework worksheets. Always reading and learning, this girl. 

So is he. Still has a ways to go on his Ph.D. and is constantly reading more material. Can't wait until he's done!!!

Sometimes he just reads his car magazines and dreams about the car he's going to buy when he graduates. Marcus likes to join him at breakfast.

 We had a swim party with our friends the other day and I decided it's time to buy a bigger swimming pool. ;)

We bought a lemon tree and have since purchased a lime tree as well!  

 This year's garden. I think Mitch planted the rows too close together and too dense. But we have enjoyed eating the peas! Still waiting on everything else to be ready. We also planted raspberry bushes and I am most excited for those! We're trying cantaloupe for the first time this year. Every time I look at the garden I think of the primary song, "The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden."

Mitch and I ran Ragnar this year with our neighbors. I was a slacker and took one picture.

 

It was fun, I guess. To be honest, it was really hot, we all suffered from slight heat stroke, I was exhausted, and the Ragnar people kept costs the same but cut back on things and we all felt ripped off. We decided it's our last Ragnar. But I did honestly enjoy the experience and our neighbors. My parents watched the kids while we were gone and they had lots of fun of course. My mom sent me this pic of Marcus literally napping on Layla. They slept like this for over an hour! If he doesn't have his momma, he wants his sissy. :) 

 We had a get together with Mitch's dad's side of the family (the Botts). Haven't had the whole group together in a couple of years. It was great to see them all again.

 Also wanted to say we had a great time celebrating Mitch for Father's Day! We bought him a punching bag and it's been a hit (no pun intended) with him and the kids! We made him breakfast and sent him on a treasure hunt to his gift. It was fun to help Layla make up the clues! She cracks me up. She also filled out a questionnaire about Mitch. Most of her answers were typical (his eyes are blue, hair is brown), but her logical answers are what killed me. For example, for the question, "If my dad were to go on vacation he would take: (fill in the blank)," she answered, "A suitcase." Of course! Ha, ha! My logical little girl.

I went hiking with the young women recently. We hiked over 6 miles roundtrip to Elephant Rock. The view was amazing!

 We had a lot of fun celebrating the 4th of July! On Friday Mitch and I went and saw Jurassic World and loved it. The kids loved having a babysitter (Katie Oliphant, our neighbor). Friday night we ordered pizza and set off fireworks. Marcus did not like the fireworks and would cover his eyes and say, "Bright!" Layla loved them though. On Saturday we went boating and the weather was perfect! Layla, my parents, and I all swam in the lake and it felt wonderful and Layla had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. Marcus loved the boat and didn't mind his life jacket at all! That night we went to dinner with Kevin and Kathy. And Sunday was another great day at church. It was a great 4th!