pool day in Haiti

Hudson spent fourteen months living at an orphanage in Haiti.  this amazing place was life-changing for him.  they were the "game-changer" that began to get his little life heading in the right direction~ toward health and wellness and family.  God's Littlest Angels orphanage continues to stay-the-course in Haiti, consistently developing new ways to meet the needs of its country's littlest ones.  they clearly care about these kids in a deeply sacrificial way that speaks to the hearts of those that oversee this ministry.  check out God's Littlest Angels pool day to get a small glimpse into a very exciting day they recently shared with the children.  for many of these toddlers and kids it must have been a few hours of pure delight...i can't help but parallel our own experiences this summer, where my kids have access to a swimming pool each and every day if they wish.  they have green space all around to explore and play.  more than that, they have a forever family where the question of permanence never has to enter their minds.  there is little thought or concern about the future for them.  they do not share the same uncertainty these kids face....all that considered, a fun, splashy, silly pool day at GLA must have meant that much more to them.  such a treat!!

bliss

a summer stroll, watching my boys on their bikes with arms in the air, soaking up summer....

 

 

life is good....

 

more than just a haircut

an old camp friend visited a few weeks ago.  well, he's not old, but our friendship is old.  :) or maybe long-standing sounds better.  tried and true.  comfortable.  cherished.  we have been friends forever  (since we were around 13, we figure...) and the friendship was solidified every year at youth retreats and summer camp. such fun times!!!  it was an absolute joy to revisit old memories, make new memories, and just connect with him and his sweet wife and family over a couple of days, together with another dear family of long-time friends.  the older i get, the more this sort of stuff means to me. 

 

one of the highlights for me, on many different levels, was watching C. give Hudson a haircut.  out of the blue he offered to cut Hudson's hair, and Hudson of course jumped at the idea.  what started as a very handsome fade, turned into more of a faux-hawk that Hudson had requested.  either way, it was very special and so much more than a haircut...

 

 thanks C. for sharing a bit of yourself with our dear son.  he loved it~ as much as he loves his new haircut.  your hair skills are solid :), your kindness is genuine, your presence was meaningful.  thanks, my friend!

lunch

summer lunches are so much more fun and relaxed than the rest of the year...

 

 

i read about this muffin tin idea on another blog a few years ago~ hardly anything i do is my own creative genius~ just being real! :)  anyway, it's funny how giving lots of choices to kids is always a successful way to get them to consume healthy foods.  i also read that many years ago.  and it's true!  when given the choice between two healthy options you allow the child the control to choose, and therefore distract from the fact that the choices usually aren't Twinkies and Swiss Rolls!  mmmm, it's been too long since i've had Swiss Rolls....

anyway, this is a fun way to present lunch in the summer.  throw in some ranch dressing or veggie dip and it also helps.  this is another secret i found worked well when my kids were small and even now.  when there is something to dip into, such as salsa, hummus, yogurt, etc....it makes the meal more interesting.  interesting is good when it comes to meals that have a way of getting repetitive and boring over time...

other muffin tin ideas~ popcorn, carrot sticks, celery, dried fruit, apple slices, cut up watermelon, pineapple, crackers, nacho chips, pretzels, cheese cubes, etc...you get it, right?

iron kids

our four youngest competed recently in the Ironkid Triathlon in Brights Grove.  this is a really fun event.  two had done it before, but for AJ and Hudson this was their first time.  for them, the race included a 50 metre swim, 2.5 km bike ride and a 1 km run.  for Layla and Adam the race distance was a 100 metre swim, a 5 km bike ride and a 2 km run.  i could go on and on about this day, but i'll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves.  below, pre-race registration and bike check...

 

listening to the rules of the race.  all four "getting their game on"....worth noting was the intense questioning we received from AJ the whole week prior to the race.  he covered everything...."where will i leave my bike?", "how will i know where to go?" etc....thankfully, a few days before the actual race we'd gone for a family bike ride and pretty much taken them all through the course, so it wasn't completely unfamiliar....

 

walking to the starting point down on the beach...

 

 

entering the chilly water...worth noting~ Layla took on some water early in the swim.  there are, after all, bodies all together in close proximity, and separating from the pack is difficult at that distance.  she was struggling enough to catch her breath after swallowing water that she instinctively rolled to her back and floated/did back stroke until she was breathing well again.  she finished last out of the water, and there was much ground to make up...but my fierce and determined one did not let that get her down...

 

 

Hudson~ racing like he'd done this before.  his face said "i'm good, i'm going for it, i'm strong"...how far he's come.  and if you're thinking the pics are really just average, you are right.  me with a cell phone, just trying to see all of them and get them through each transition point.  between Jeff and I we still didn't catch each one.  it was a whirlwind and over so quickly.

 

 

AJ coming in from his bike course and ready to transition to the run.  also worth noting, AJ apparently fell at the very beginning of his ride, and had the skinned knee to show for it at the finish line.  neither of us saw him fall as we were helping our other kids get dried off and onto their bikes.  he says he fell, got up, and then just kept riding!  AJ also just mastered two wheels officially last month.  the training wheels have been off for a lonnngg time, but after many delays he finally agreed to keep practicing until he got it, just last month!  when he was four he'd say "i'll learn when i'm five", when he was five he'd say "i'll learn when i'm six, etc....so, this summer his siblings bribed him to practice riding for time on their devices, and it finally worked! i had started to give up and figured he'd learn when he really wanted to~ but hey~ their bribes worked!  thanks Adam and Hannah!

 

 

Adam~ solid and strong all day.  he made it look easy. 

 

 

Layla, gaining ground and almost at the finish line!

 

 

AJ~ almost there!!

 

 

done....

 

 

 

 

post race picture~ a few smiles look a bit forced, which i think is understandable....they were all tired and glad to be done. 

 

 

lunch!!!  yummy hotdogs, cookies and water bottles for all competitors.  discussing the race with dad.  speaking of dad~ also worth mention is his completion of the Sprint Triathlon the day prior.  he competed himself with lots of other brave people and finished strong.  especially considering he didn't train for the day at all...because that's how he rolls... :)

 

 

so, the final results are:

AJ~ sixth place out of twelve in his age group

Hudson~ seventh place out of twenty-six in his age group

Layla~ third place out of fifteen in her age group

Adam~ sixth out of eleven in his age group

Jeff~ thirty-ninth out of ninety-seven total competitors

 

great day~ great kids....and the big kid too!  so proud of all of you for your courage and effort!

at the pool

so, i'm a few weeks late on these pictures, but even still, i wanted to post about our annual summer session of swimming lessons at the city pool.  there is just something about this way of kicking off the summer.  it feels very "old school", just the way we go every day, rain or shine.  the community feel to it.  the way it's been done for years with very little changed in the format.  the kids seem to enjoy the predictability it brings, and there is the rewarding feeling of passing the level at the end of the two weeks.  the final day is always "fun day" with pool activities and candy at the end! what's not to love about that?? 

Layla, Hudson and AJ...

 

unless, of course, you are Hannah, whose final day would be more suitably called "the not-so-fun-day" or if you are dramatic like her "day of death" :).  she is now into the higher levels of swimming lessons and training to be a lifeguard~ so to complete Bronze Cross you must pass a written exam as well as an in-pool exam.  she did~ and she is so relieved it is over...she is already using her skills this week on "Beach Crew" at the summer camp her older sister is lifeguarding at.  so good for them both...which means next summer we will be down to four at the pool, as our older two are beyond the levels offered by the city. 

 

 

honestly, this is for sure a summer routine i will miss one day.  it can be taxing to get them to the pool on time and commit to the two plus hours required, for two weeks straight.  but as i sit and observe, i see their skills improving and the very real personal satisfaction they feel as they learn and achieve.  i love watching the rapport develop with their teachers.  these instructors are all highschool or college-aged kids who impress me year after year.  they are solid teachers with a nice dose of patience and fun mixed in as well.  below is a picture of AJ "schmoozing" with the lifeguards before class. the picture is taken from a bit far away, but he's the small brown guy in the middle :).

 

 

i love watching my kids do jumps and flips off the board.  i love seeing their endurance displayed as they all do distance swims within set time frames.  i'm so thankful for their healthy and able bodies.  so blessed they are to be able to use them in this way.  it is just good...

oh boy....

the saga continues....a certain letter arrived for my dear son the week after i posted this.

addressed to Hudson, complete with a stamp and return mailing address.  super cute.  Hudson's friend had taken the time to journal her early weeks of summer and share bits and pieces with him in the two cards contained inside.

 

 

these pictures just get me~ not sure why...

 

if you could have seen the look on Hudson's face when he laid eyes on the letter (with his name on it!!!)....absolutely priceless...

 

so, as it turns out, this little letter exchange has proven to be a teaching opportunity....about letter writing and stamps and addresses and return addresses.  Hudson did his best to respond, with way, way fewer sentences than Miss E. had included in her cards, but hey, he's a guy!  why overdo it??!!  get to the point as fast as possible and be done with it! :) 

 

so, perhaps Hudson has a summer pen-pal venture underway...we shall see...