Swim Lessons

Jay and Carly took swim lessons for the first time this summer and overall is was a success. Jay LOVED them but Carly was not a huge fan. Jay has always been terrified of water, so it was great to see him warm up to it and start the process of learning to swim. He is no longer afraid to go underwater or be by himself in the water (previously, he would only go in the water while an adult was hold him and gripping his arms around the adult's neck). Carly (who last summer had started going underwater and swimming by herself) was terrified of the water. She didn't perform all the skills to "pass" the swim class, but by the last day (bottom picture) she would at least sit in the shallow water with me and play.

Jay and his teacher (Funny story: His teacher has braces, so when we show up to lessons, I pointed to his teacher and said "Jay, go over there by your teacher" and he said "How do I know its my teacher if I can't see his teeth?"

Wow. I just allowed a picture with a portion of me in a bathing suit onto the blog.

Galloping Grace

Some people in our ward invited us to go to a great kids ranch in Rio Rancho called Galloping Grace Youth Ranch. The kids get to ride the horses for free, but they are required to do chores around the ranch before they get to ride. I don't know that the kids really understood that they were doing work though, because they thought scooping horse poop was a blast!

Jay rode the horse for a long time and even got to ride for awhile without the trainer guiding the horse. I was shocked that Jay wasn't scared one bit and didn't even flinch when the trainer said he was going to let go of the reins. I guess this boy is growing up!

They offered to let Carly ride (even though they prefer that the kids are 3), and she was so excited...until we tried to put her on and she freaked out. Maybe next year!

4th of July

We enjoyed our 1st 4th of July here in Albuquerque with just the 4 of us. We had a fabulous time celebrating with a 4th of July package from Grandma Melinda and the kids' first fireworks show. We went to see fireworks in Rio Rancho and sat in the football stadium to watch. The kids LOVED the fireworks and Carly was even caught saying "Oooo, that's awesome!". The show and the music were incredible. We will definitely be heading back to Rio Rancho for next years fireworks!

Chad bought fireworks and set them off in the driveway for Jay and I. Carly went to bed early and missed the show. This was my first time ever doing fireworks at home. Chad thinks it is crazy that I never did fireworks as a kid. We always had sparklers, but I never remember fireworks. Chad thought I was unnecessarily nervous.