Swim Lessons

Andrew is in his 2nd year of swim lessons at the YMCA. Last summer he started in Pike class which is a Beginner I level for ages 3-5 years. He did just fine and moved up to Eel class which is a Beginner II level class for ages 3-5 years. He only did those 2 months of lessons and was swimming pretty well for the remainder of the summer.

This year, I wasn't sure if I needed to start him back in Pike or have him start where he ended up; in Eel. I wasn't sure what he has retained over the past year so I decided to start him all over again in Pike so he wouldn't be freaked out if he couldn't remember some stuff from last year. He's been very confident in the water and he is by far more experienced than the other kids in his class. It's too easy for him, but the teacher is doing more advanced stuff with him during class. I'm happy though because he is enjoying it and really showing confidence in the water that he didn't have last summer (even after 2 months of swim lessons). Thursday is his last day in the Pike class and he'll start Eel in July. He's looking forward to it!

He loves swim lessons!

What happens when the boat tips over??

You float. No big deal.

just keep swimming...

just keep swimming...

just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

don't forget to breathe!

Birthday Party Mania

Well, if you follow me on Twitter, you probably saw my eventful Saturday a couple weeks back. Andrew had 5 friends invite him to their birthday parties all on the same day. The weirdest thing is that the times were completely d0-able! We had his buddy Jade's party from 10-noon, we had a combined birthday for Olivia and Emma from 1:00-3:00, then we went to Camryn's party from 3:30-5:30, and finally we went to Christopher's party from 6:30-9:00. How weird is that? I kept getting invitations thinking that I would have to turn someone or multiple people down because of time conflicts, but it just so happens to have worked out. I thought I'd be exhausted while running around, but I wasn't. It wasn't until the drive home from Mesa at 9:00 pm that the sugar high from all the cake wore off and the exhaustion from being in the sun and swimming pools all day kicked it that it hit me. And I have yet to catch up on my sleep. I can't wait for swim lessons to be over so I can stop setting my alarm on my days off! Yeah - I know, life is rough!

It felt a little like Christmas in June.

Ready to swim at the Anthem water park for birthday #2.

Andrew had fun on the little water slide!

Jeremy, we are only half way done with our birthday party fun!!! You can't be tired yet!

Andrew is taking his turn on Christopher's pinata.

The mad dash for candy!

Yummy!!!

This was voted the most elaborate cake of the day. Randi made a Bakugan cake - that's a Bakugan opening up (made out of rice krispy treat and covered in fondant frosting).

Nevada

It's been awhile since I've posted. You are so due for some updates, I know... Sorry!


Let's start off with our adventure to beautiful Elko, NV. We offered to help our friends, Dallas and Kayla, move their belongings back to Nevada. We were supposed to leave on a Thursday afternoon and drive all night (12-14) hours from Queen Creek, AZ to Spring Creek, NV. That plan did not happen as the realization sunk in that driving that long after a long day/week of packing and working was not the brightest idea. So, we left at 3:00 am on Friday morning.


I woke up with knots in my stomach and I assumed it was from lack of sleep. I am NOT a morning person and I don't even consider 3:00 am 'morning' it's still 'night' to me. I also figured I was a little anxious about the long drive ahead of us.


I was wrong on both accounts. I had some sort of bug that chose to attack this very day and affect the entire drive (which ended up being a 15 hour trip due to stopping so much). I was sick all over AZ and NV from Surprise to Alamo. Then it was gone, but my nauseousness didn't end until the following morning. Not a fun drive, I tell ya. I had to bail on Kayla and the three kids in the van to sleep in the truck Jeremy was driving because I could lay down in there. I felt so bad!


Anyway, Elko is a beautiful city and we really enjoyed our trip there! The weather was cold and rainy (which we loved - a nice change from AZ).

Andrew loved feeding the ducks. There were a TON of them!
Notice Kayla and I are not in this picture. We were huddling in the background snapping a couple pictures saying, "hurry and give them all the bread - lets get out of here!" (It was COLD)
We drove up to Lamoille (sp?) to see snow. It was nice and warm up there, but there was still snow on the ground. Crazy, huh? Here's Andrew and Mackenzie.

Me and Andrew by this beautiful running creek.

The Dalmacio family really enjoyed the scenery - that's for sure!

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to Utah. It was Dallas and Kayla's anniversary and her mom bought us rooms at a hotel so we could see that area. We wanted to find a nice restaurant to eat at, but the kids were crazy and the adults were cranky from the car ride so we ended up at Denny's. It was fun just the same.

The next day we shopped at The Gateway before we had to head over to the airport and say our goodbyes. It was sad to leave, but we really look forward to going back to Nevada to visit.

Jeremy found a sign that they should post here in AZ to remind him to not sleep while driving.
At the Gateway. Shops galore! It was fun!

Andrew is always obsessed with these contraptions. It's the gears and pulleys and whatnot that the balls roll around in. He'll watch it all afternoon if you let him.
Andrew and Mackenzie made new friends in Old Navy. They are just the kind of friends for them, they just smile and never argue with them.

This picture is for Kimball. He's in Salt Lake now probably riding his bike somewhere. =)

JEEPERS

Today was the 2nd week of our summer fun Thursday for Andrew and I. We went to an indoor amusement park in Mesa called Jeepers. It was fun! Andrew ventured on to most of the rides by himself, but I joined him on a few. Here's the monkey barrel ride that he loved to spin. I still have a slight headache from getting dizzy on it... Another spinning ride that Andrew went on by himself. He was a little bummed the worker didn't spin him faster. I told him to tell them to spin him faster next time, but he didn't.
They have a big indoor play area and this is a slide that is made out of tubes so the tubes spin as he slides down. He loved it!
Andrew was a little timid on the bumper cars because I couldn't go with him (it was a one-seater), but after his 2nd time on it, he was more comfortable and said it was his favorite ride.
Andrew rode the roller coaster about 8 times. All it does is go forward really fast and then backwards really fast. There are little hills and dips it goes on, but it just goes in a wide circle. He really loved it though.

Let Me Badger You For A Minute

I received a text message from Jeremy yesterday that said he just came across 3 badgers in the middle of nowhere (Eloy, AZ). I thought that was pretty weird, I didn't think they lived out here, but they do. I googled it.

Anyway, if you don't already know, my dad grew up in Wisconsin and my mom vacationed in Wisconsin every summer since about 1956 and she eventually ended up moving there and marrying my dad. They are big University of Wisconsin (Madison) fans (aka Badger fans). So, I texted my dad to let him know thinking he'd get a kick out of it. He called me later to ask if Jeremy meant badgers as in the animal or as in some football players or students from the University.

Now, on another note, my parents have passed on the badger craziness to Andrew. They once got him pumped up for his soccer game by listening to the U of W marching band all the way from Gilbert to Queen Creek. In fact, when asked what his favorite animal is in preschool, Andrew responded, "the badger." Enough said.

Well, when I told Andrew that daddy saw 3 badgers out in the field Andrew said, "Were they like marching around?" Hahaha! He thought daddy came across the marching band out in the middle of nowhere! Too funny!

New Moon Trailer

<a href="http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/2009/" target="_blank">The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Trailer'</a>

The Twilight Saga: New Moon 'Trailer'