Too Tired...

Between the mountain of laundry to wash and fold, plus sorting through "too small" or "too worn" pieces of clothing and shoes, I am wiped out!

I'm glad we went swimming today and there was another family who ended up playing "shark" tag with us. We had so much fun!

Gotta rest to see if I can peel myself off the bed tomorrow and get some dusting, more laundry, vacuuming and gardening. And oh yeah, the kids' room, still IN PROGRESS... *yawning*

We watched the new season of Monk and the first three episodes of Design Star over popcorn and rootbeer. *big smile*

Bread Anyone?

But before you can earn that wonderful, soft, warm slice... You have to learn about how our day started! (What, you didn't think I was just going to give it away that easy do ya?)

First, we swam at our complex pool! Yes, I did, too! But you know, pictures come first. LOL

Oh, what's this? Synchronized swimming in the works? Oh no, just playful wading. ;-)
After a good shower, and some downtime, we hit...
For some trailing geraniums. And from the lack of proof, it shows we found NONE! So not happy about that! It was also threatening to rain (drip, drip), so what do we do about that?

Bake some bread, of course! Here's Michelle, eagerly getting the dough started. Isn't she darling in her pink top? We found the recipe from Simple Dollar dot com.

Then it's kneading time...

After letting the dough rise twice, an hour each, and Michelle "slapped" it on the counter 3-4 times, it was time for the 400 deg oven for 30 minutes, but I think 20-25 would have sufficed.

Here's Michelle again, ready for bed, but also quite proud of her baked bread. And why shouldn't she? Look at how great it turned out! It was delicious warm, with butter... *mmmm*

Go on, take a slice, you won't be sorry... You'll want to thank me for sharing!

How was your Thursday?

Last Thursday: Goodbyes in Utah

Too Hot Not to Swim!

Today was a rather dry 96 deg F with only 31% humidity.

We kept inside for most of the day, but since we promised a batch of brownies to Heather and we promised to pick up our neighbor's mail, we had no choice but to endure the heat! So... I also let the kiddos swim! I couldn't swim because I needed to act as the lifeguard so that I can see them both at the same time. Of course, I had the trusty Canon Power Shot with me and got some action shots!

Let's start with the "peek" move where I had to go in close just to catch those smiles.

Then here's the "big splash" move where you can barely tell who jumped in...
And here are the "random" moves where it's swimmer's choice.
I love these rare "we're cute" moves. This shot is worth keeping the camera a few years longer. ;-)
How about this "dolphin" move under the vacuum hose. Smoooooooth...
I also captured this "backwards jump" move complete with a "hi-yah!" LOL
Or how about this "standing on water" move where she looks like she's standing on the water! What explanation were you hoping for? ;-)
Or the "pinch and run" move so you can instantly breathe underwater. Clever move this one!
I was also lucky to have shot this great "run on the water" move where the body is angled just right to simulate, well... running on water! LOL

What great swim moves my kiddos can do, ha? LOL

I'm so glad the two smallish kiddos had a wonderful time swimming! I sure did had a lot of fun taking pictures!

Have a great weekend to all and stay cool!

J-Pony and Swimming!

So, while L-Infinity enjoyed being YW's "Miss Knowledge" and I-Dude had a 3-day birthday celebration, J-Pony, too, has something to be happy about. She just finished her school mandated 4th grade swim lessons held at the district's Rec Center.

In five days, she managed to learn how to do:

the breast stroke
the dog paddle
floating on her back
maneuver while floating on her back
cruise to the deep end with a boogie board
dive and surface on her back
dive, surface and do breast stroke to the sidelines
and dive into 12 feet, 10 inches of water!

Wow! I am amazed since we couldn't come with her, these reports came directly from her very happy and accomplished self! They will be handed their certificates of completion soon and I can't wait to see her in action! She is a natural like Mr. Man (who was personally recruited by the swim coach of his high school, but since Speedo was the unifom, he turned it down...) and we are just so pleased with her about it. She loves swimming and knowing that she's able to do all of this on her own in front of her peers who initially mocked her was nothing short of "sweet revenge"!!!

I love how our three darlings can be doing different things at the same time; it's almost overwhelming at times, but the looks of accomplishment in their faces are always worth the effort and frustration. I am just crazy about my children!

Hooray J-Pony!!!