Today was the last day of swim lessons. Nolan is swimming! AHHH! I'm so proud of him! He started out being so afraid to even get his face wet to jumping in the pool and swimming across all by himself. He did it about 4 times today. I honestly didn't think it would happen this year, but it did. Now we just need to keep practicing to build up his strength, but the hard part is over. He did so well for his first year of swim lessons and had such a good teacher who never gave up on him. Annika had a good week too. It definitely makes a difference starting them early before they develop a fear of the water.
P.S. There may have been a little bribery involved...or even A LOT...but that's ok. He did it, that's what counts! :)
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Ruffled Bags
I'm not a very experienced sewer, but I just loved the look of these bags, I had to give them a try. They were actually meant to be last year's Christmas presents and I'm just now getting around to them...sorry. So, if you like them, maybe you'll get one for this year's Christmas present. :) I had one more that I made, but already sold it. I'm thinking of adding them to my store selection, we'll see. Anyways, they're pretty time consuming, but I just love the way they turn out.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Swimming
Yesterday, swim lessons got cancelled, but we practiced for a while in the pool where we lived before this house. Then today, before swim lessons, we practiced in another pool that belonged to someone in our ward. Right after that, we went to swim lessons. Nolan had a major breakthrough today! All this patience is beginning to pay off a little bit. He jumped from the top of the pool down to his teacher. First try! This is a BIG deal for Nolan! Wahoo! I'm so glad we had this second week to give him a little extra time to get his feet wet. :) She told him a couple of times that after he jumped to her, she wanted him to do his ice-cream scoops and kicks to her. He didn't think he was ready for that. She kind of tricked him and backed up once he jumped. He ended up doing it! Silly boy. He has a ways to go until he's swimming by himself, but hopefully this will boost his confidence a little more.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Children's Festival
Friday morning, I took the kids to the children's festival in Nevada City. It was a Renaissance Faire for children. There was lots of people everywhere! Lots of fun crafts for the kids and people dressed in costumes. The kids had a good time.
Saturday, we helped in a friend's yard sale. Nolan sold cookies and lemonade. That evening we went to Pioneer Day in Nevada City. I don't know why, but I had it in my mind that it started at 7:00. When we showed up, they were serving dessert. Oops! We found some leftovers for dinner.
I've felt the baby moving around a little this last week. Can't believe I'm nearly halfway there! Two more weeks and I know if this is a girl or boy!
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| Fire breathing dragon |
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| Nolan building a sword |
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| Nolan wanted a lion face painting |
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| Annika wanted a butterfly face painting |
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| Before crossing the bridge, you had to "pay" the troll. The kids gave him sticks. |
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| Getting ready to paint the castle |
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| Painting the castle |
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| Macaroni Necklaces |
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| Nolan at the catapults |
Saturday, we helped in a friend's yard sale. Nolan sold cookies and lemonade. That evening we went to Pioneer Day in Nevada City. I don't know why, but I had it in my mind that it started at 7:00. When we showed up, they were serving dessert. Oops! We found some leftovers for dinner.
I've felt the baby moving around a little this last week. Can't believe I'm nearly halfway there! Two more weeks and I know if this is a girl or boy!
Swimming Lessons
I mentioned before, I wanted to get Nolan swimming a little more this summer. He is deathly afraid of putting his face under water. I regret not starting lessons for him sooner. He's very comfortable in the water with a life jacket, but once that's off, nope! I knew I needed someone very patient to teach Nolan. Someone referred me to a girl in our ward who teaches swimming. She just graduated high school. She works at the ARD swim park. I called to sign Nolan up. I didn't think Nolan would do well with a group, I wanted private lessons. I kind of gagged at the price for only 4 days of swim lessons. I knew it would take Nolan more than 4 days. I couldn't decide what to do and kept putting it off. Well, that phone call that I hadn't answered that I talked about in the previous post was this same girl contacting me about Nolan getting swim lessons. She said she could do it in her own pool. It would end up being twice as long (so 8 days) for the same price. I felt much better. Last week was our first week. Nolan went from being scared to death, to putting his face in the water, to going all the way under the water for a few seconds before bobbing up. He is still not comfortable swimming out to her, even with her super close. He will jump down into the pool with her holding one hand. But, I must say, he has come a long ways. I knew it would take time. His swim teacher is great! Tomorrow, Adam will practice a bit with him before his lessons to get him a little more comfortable. He just needs to build his confidence and I know he'll love it when he finally gets it! He just gets so nervous and it's hard watching sometimes. The first three days, Adam was able to watch Annika while I took Nolan. But, Friday, Annika needed to come with me. I hadn't brought her swim suit because she wasn't getting lessons. She started by splashing her feet in the water. Then, she stood on the steps, fully clothed. Soon, she was sitting in the water. Her diaper was growing. :) Well, eventually, since Nolan wasn't jumping out to the swim teacher (he was having an off day), Annika did. Several times. She loved it! Like I've said before, she has no fear (which might not be a good thing, but it is helpful in this case). I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did with Nolan though, so when the girl offered to teach Annika this week, for a great price, I said yes! She would mainly just work with her on staying comfortable with the water. I don't want a repeat of Nolan's fear. He is very cautious about things that could hurt him, which is a good thing most of the time, but it's going to be tough getting him to swim. I guess, I'll be posting later this week on how things went his second week. I am so proud of him for trying! Baby steps...
Fort Bragg Adventure
A couple of weeks ago, we had quite an adventure to Fort Bragg. It was just the kids and I, and Dad. We all rode down in his truck. We got quite a late start, so by the time we got there and finished setting up camp, it was time to get dinner made. We were already tired, but needed to at least go see the ocean (which is why we came in the first place) before going to bed. It was the perfect sunset. The kids loved climbing around on the rocks and playing in the tunnels. It was a fun evening.
The next morning after breakfast, we went and played on the beach. The kids had fun playing in the sand. Nolan spent most of the time teasing the waves. As you can see below, a couple of times, the waves got him and his pants soon became drenched. Annika had fun doing it too, but I wasn't about to let her out there alone. She has no fear! It was freezing cold water, but I stuck it out with her as long as I could handle.
After lunch, we went back to the beach that had the tunnels. After a while, I was ready to go for a walk along the boardwalk. Dad stayed with our stuff and I took the two kids. I was a little nervous with the distance, but decided it would be ok. Oh my, big mistake! The way there was fine enough. It was a long walk, but the kids did good. On the way back we were tired, feet hurting, etc. Annika was done! I carried her and she fell asleep. Nolan was limping along, doing the best he could. I have a horrible sense of direction sometimes and couldn't remember which was the turnoff to where Dad and the stuff was. We walked too far, turned back, finally found it! I thought I was going to die! If I had been any more pregnant, I don't know if I could have made it.
We had a good time, but two nights of camping is always just about right! As we were nearly packed up and waiting for Dad to tie down the truck, my phone rang. I had a feeling not to answer it, so I didn't. I didn't have much battery left to it. We didn't have time to visit the ocean that morning. We barely got out of camp on time. We were going to stop by the sneaker wave beach on the way home, but Nolan wanted to make it back to Auburn so we could go to the Best Of The Best evening. He really wanted to go see that ocean, but he said he wanted to support Dad and go to his special event. Weeellll, that didn't end up happening...
First of all, we reached Willits and it was time to stop for lunch. We stopped at a McDonalds. We got there just after a load of kids off a bus. It was CRAZY in there. I couldn't believe the price of a simple cheeseburger. No dollar menu there. A happy meal cost the same as a cheesburger, so for the fun of it, I ordered the kids each a happy meal and got myself a cheeseburger and ordered 3 cups of water. Well, when he called my number, there sat my two happy meals and three bottles of water. I told him, I had ordered a cheeseburger as well. But, looking at my receipt, apparently I hadn't paid for it. The price seemed right for what I had ordered, but instead of paying for a cheeseburger, I had ended up paying for 3 bottles of water, which I was a little annoyed at since I thought I was just going to be given 3 cups of water, like normal. But, whatever, he gave me a cheeseburger for free. Probably, just to get me to leave since it was crazy enough in there. I was still a little annoyed I had paid for the water, but it turned out to be quite a blessing. As we were driving along, all of a sudden, the truck is dying. It wasn't the best spot to break down, since right in front of us there was a big turn, where cars are going 60 mph around, but when an alternator goes out, you don't have much of a choice on where you get to pullover. We got a spot right before that big turn where there was a pulloff to a driveway. So, Dad pulled out there. This is when I became glad that I hadn't answered that phone call from earlier to save what battery life was left and that I had 3 cold bottles of water. :) I had some water from other bottles already, but we would have had to be skimpy on how much we could drink. If I was just given 3 cups of water, I wouldn't have taken it with us. I tried calling AAA from my phone, but had a really hard time getting reception and got cut off and couldn't get a phone call out again. I texted Adam to have AAA call me back. Once again, we got cut off. My battery was blinking at me. It was going to die any second. I was trying to get one last text out to Adam, telling him where we were located and the AAA membership number. Just before it died, the text sent. WHEW! We waited and waited. I began to doubt whether that text really sent. A few people stopped to see if we were ok, but mainly just people who were pulling off anyway to go up the driveway. I couldn't believe no highway patrol drove by in the 2 1/2 hours we sat there. Luckily, we had a spot in the shade behind some mailboxes, but it was quite warm. Finally, a guy pulled over and let Dad use his cell phone to call AAA. This was his second time passing by us, the first time he was in his Budweiser truck. The second time on his way home in his regular truck. He told us to remember what kind of beer to drink from now on...haha. Sorry, we don't drink beer, guy. Finally, our tow truck arrived. The driver said he got two calls about us. So, I guess the text I sent Adam sent after all. Also, the highway patrol showed up shortly after, also thanks to Adam. I am lucky to have such a caring husband who gets so worried when there is a problem with his family, but sorry to anyone who got a phone call of him freaking out. :) He doesn't handle these situations too well, but I've known that for a while. ;) In an emergency, I know that I am the one who will have to remain calm. :) ANYWAYS, the kids did so well the whole time. Of course, the tow truck ride was one of the hilites. They had a good nap on the way home. The driver had a phone charger I was able to plug in to my phone and let my worried husband know we were ok. This was quite an adventure, but I told Nolan, I don't remember many vacations growing up where a tow truck was not involved. They just went hand in hand with vacations. :) It was always quite exciting, I thought!
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| Beautiful Sunset |
The next morning after breakfast, we went and played on the beach. The kids had fun playing in the sand. Nolan spent most of the time teasing the waves. As you can see below, a couple of times, the waves got him and his pants soon became drenched. Annika had fun doing it too, but I wasn't about to let her out there alone. She has no fear! It was freezing cold water, but I stuck it out with her as long as I could handle.
After lunch, we went back to the beach that had the tunnels. After a while, I was ready to go for a walk along the boardwalk. Dad stayed with our stuff and I took the two kids. I was a little nervous with the distance, but decided it would be ok. Oh my, big mistake! The way there was fine enough. It was a long walk, but the kids did good. On the way back we were tired, feet hurting, etc. Annika was done! I carried her and she fell asleep. Nolan was limping along, doing the best he could. I have a horrible sense of direction sometimes and couldn't remember which was the turnoff to where Dad and the stuff was. We walked too far, turned back, finally found it! I thought I was going to die! If I had been any more pregnant, I don't know if I could have made it.
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| The kids loved these little squirrels. They came right up to you. Very friendly little guys. |
First of all, we reached Willits and it was time to stop for lunch. We stopped at a McDonalds. We got there just after a load of kids off a bus. It was CRAZY in there. I couldn't believe the price of a simple cheeseburger. No dollar menu there. A happy meal cost the same as a cheesburger, so for the fun of it, I ordered the kids each a happy meal and got myself a cheeseburger and ordered 3 cups of water. Well, when he called my number, there sat my two happy meals and three bottles of water. I told him, I had ordered a cheeseburger as well. But, looking at my receipt, apparently I hadn't paid for it. The price seemed right for what I had ordered, but instead of paying for a cheeseburger, I had ended up paying for 3 bottles of water, which I was a little annoyed at since I thought I was just going to be given 3 cups of water, like normal. But, whatever, he gave me a cheeseburger for free. Probably, just to get me to leave since it was crazy enough in there. I was still a little annoyed I had paid for the water, but it turned out to be quite a blessing. As we were driving along, all of a sudden, the truck is dying. It wasn't the best spot to break down, since right in front of us there was a big turn, where cars are going 60 mph around, but when an alternator goes out, you don't have much of a choice on where you get to pullover. We got a spot right before that big turn where there was a pulloff to a driveway. So, Dad pulled out there. This is when I became glad that I hadn't answered that phone call from earlier to save what battery life was left and that I had 3 cold bottles of water. :) I had some water from other bottles already, but we would have had to be skimpy on how much we could drink. If I was just given 3 cups of water, I wouldn't have taken it with us. I tried calling AAA from my phone, but had a really hard time getting reception and got cut off and couldn't get a phone call out again. I texted Adam to have AAA call me back. Once again, we got cut off. My battery was blinking at me. It was going to die any second. I was trying to get one last text out to Adam, telling him where we were located and the AAA membership number. Just before it died, the text sent. WHEW! We waited and waited. I began to doubt whether that text really sent. A few people stopped to see if we were ok, but mainly just people who were pulling off anyway to go up the driveway. I couldn't believe no highway patrol drove by in the 2 1/2 hours we sat there. Luckily, we had a spot in the shade behind some mailboxes, but it was quite warm. Finally, a guy pulled over and let Dad use his cell phone to call AAA. This was his second time passing by us, the first time he was in his Budweiser truck. The second time on his way home in his regular truck. He told us to remember what kind of beer to drink from now on...haha. Sorry, we don't drink beer, guy. Finally, our tow truck arrived. The driver said he got two calls about us. So, I guess the text I sent Adam sent after all. Also, the highway patrol showed up shortly after, also thanks to Adam. I am lucky to have such a caring husband who gets so worried when there is a problem with his family, but sorry to anyone who got a phone call of him freaking out. :) He doesn't handle these situations too well, but I've known that for a while. ;) In an emergency, I know that I am the one who will have to remain calm. :) ANYWAYS, the kids did so well the whole time. Of course, the tow truck ride was one of the hilites. They had a good nap on the way home. The driver had a phone charger I was able to plug in to my phone and let my worried husband know we were ok. This was quite an adventure, but I told Nolan, I don't remember many vacations growing up where a tow truck was not involved. They just went hand in hand with vacations. :) It was always quite exciting, I thought!
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