Heat, Ice and Some Family Fun

 It was hot... so hot that my parents pool was like bath water... to put it this way, it felt cooler outside of the pool at 105.  SO... what does every extremist do (speaking of my father)... buy 400lb of block ice and put it in the pool.  

It just happened that my cousin Jonathan, from Auburn, Washington was in town shadowing my dad... and, my sister and her boyfriend DJ were in town.  So, hot was EVEN hotter to them!

At the grocery store... 

 dad: "I need all your block ice."

grocer: "ALL of it?"... "that's a lot of ice."

dad: "Yep.  EVERYTHING you have!"

 The kids couldn't quite figure out what was going on.

 The boys unloaded the ice in 2 loads... by the time the second load came in, the first was almost melted!

 Auntie Lolo and Riley.

 Riley was getting a little daring also!

 D and Bapa

 The following day we enjoyed a pizza party at our house and lots of pool time.

 We played basketball, yes, LAUREN and I played... (a first)... and it almost ended with the thug Lauren smashing my face in... :-/ 

 DJ and Riley made a special connection.

 Great Grandma and Grandpa even got out in the heat!

 Pizza time!

 Peek-a-boo 

 The best part of every pizza party is the dessert pizza.

Jed's Swim Lessons

 Jed has always been a little fish but we definitely tuned that awesome corner this year where we feel very comfortable with him in the pool... which is AWESOME for a parent's mind!  We took swim lessons from Jan Thomas.  It was a fantastic experience.  The first day, Jed did awesome (no tears)... the second day, like they said, he tested our sweet teacher Holly.  But, they took care of it with some tough but productive tactics.  Not everyone agrees with the process, but I do, and it WORKS!  Jed went back the third lesson and got so much out of the process and loves Holly... "I listened and obeyed today with miss Holly, mommy..." Said very proudly.  And in the pool, I think, based on the little looks he gives her that he is flirting with her.  It is so cute.  

One of the best parts of the experience was doing the lessons with his BEST BUDDY... "Austie".  They are so cute together.  

Jed and Austie getting ready to go for a swim.

 And here they go!

 Floating... this year in our pool he floated by himself for 20 seconds!  What a great skill to have.

 The beautiful Aubrey Rose, who is so big she doesn't need lessons, but enjoys the kiddy pool while they boys are busy.

 Jed loves diving boards.  He sees what Aubrey does off of them and tries to mimic it.  If she does it, he wants to try it, which is scary at times... spins, dives, back dives... I guess it's good to hang with older kids!

Riley getting in on the action with Auntie Cherie and Aubrey Rose. 

 Austin getting ready to jump in.

 The boys together.

 Austin and Jed holding each other on the duck.

 And the highlight... the slide.  He feels so big going off of the slide!

 And introducing, the Champion Swimmers, Jed and Austin!

 Buddies for life!

Fun with cousins...

 

Last month we drove to Visalia to see my cousins (second...once removed...???).  FAMILY.  One of my cousins and his family are missionaries in Saipan, a small island the western Pacific Ocean.  Anyhow, they were visiting home and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see the whole family!  We counted and profoundly, we have so many kids... 2 under 1, a 1yr old, 2yr old, 3yr old, 4yr old and 7yr old... all that to say, we were busy!  

My aunt made a fabulous dinner, as she always does.  

 Riley loved the swing.

 Ava loved the slip in slide...it was too cute to see.  Her sweet little lips were blue in 10 minutes...

 Shylah trying to convince Jed to slide.

 Brianna sliding away.

 Finally, he slid and had a ton of fun!

 The cousins minus Ava who was asleep.

Thanks for all the fun!