Olympics

I love the Olympics and could sit in front of the TV all day and watch the various events. Unfortunately, I have 2 children that do not allow me to watch as much as I'd like. Gerrit will humor me and watch - until he starts to mimic the events. We've had a volleyball game, gymnastics on the couch, and swimming. It was perfect that Gerrit just finished swim lessons and remembers some of the things he learned. He's able to make connections with the 'real swimmers' strokes which has been fun to watch.

Today at the pool, Gerrit started to swim an IM (Individual medley) which was the first race we watched with Michael Phelps. Once I realized what he was doing, I grabbed my phone (yep, I got an iphone on Saturday and love it!) and took some video. Instead of doing homework tonight, I messed around with the video. Here it is:

Family Night Out

Last night we took a family bike ride to the skateboard park. I should say, Adam and Gerrit rode normal speeds and I was lucky to keep my bike upright waiting for Emmit. But, we all made it to the park on our own bikes!

Emmit was funny trying to do the things his big brother likes to do. He insisted he ride down the ramp but when he saw how steep it was, he decided against it. He is getting stronger and coasting longer and longer (Adam hopes to have him riding his 2 wheeler by fall). He did go down the big ramp at the end, with Adam's assistance.

 

The boys and their bikes:
 

On the ride home, Emmit was stopped by the local police. He was awarded a free ice cream cone from DQ because he was caught wearing his helmet. We caught up to Adam and Gerrit to learn, Gerrit was stopped too! So, of course we had to end our night by cashing in the free ice cream! 

Level 2, Here He Comes!

Gerrit finished his 2 weeks of swimming lessons on Friday. As much as I love that he gets 2 full weeks of lessons, it is a bit taxing to always be home and get there on time etc. Luckily only a few days of him fighting to go and was ready to go before I was ready. One morning he wore his goggles on his eyes in the car and said he couldn't see when we got to the pool - of course- they were foggy! It would not be so bad if I didn't have to keep Emmit entertained and out of the water. Luckily next year, they both can take lessons!
Gerrit made great strides over the 2 weeks and took a huge leap on the last day that convinced his teacher he was ready for level 2! I think he was the only one that was passed on to the next level that was in his class.
Gerrit was bummed because his group did not go off the diving board the entire 2 weeks whereas the other level 1 did as did the preschoolers. So, when everyone left, he asked his teacher to help him go off and here he is:
the first one is him jumping in the 5 foot area with his class and using noodles. He liked that he did it but is afraid to do it w/o anyone there to help him swim to the side. (During open swim, no one is allowed to wait in the water to help the jumper to the side.) So, we will see if he is brave enough by the end of the summer or waits till next summer. Either way, he is quite the fish and loves to swim!

 

Our Week in Review

Not too tough to see what we've done this week: BMXing and swimming!After visiting the BMX park a few weeks ago to see what it was all about, Gerrit agreed to race. We took Luke and Paul along and headed to Faribault (30 min west). Adam just bought a BMX bike so he could ride with Gerrit. (Ya right!) Paul actually raced it but Adam did take a few practice laps to give it a try. Gerrit only had 3 people in his race so he was able to raNot too tough to see what we've done this week: BMXing and swimming!
After visiting the BMX park a few weeks ago to see what it was all about, Gerrit agreed to race. We took Luke and Paul along and headed to Faribault (30 min west). Adam just bought a BMX bike so he could ride with Gerrit. (Ya right!) Paul actually raced it but Adam did take a few practice laps to give it a try. Gerrit only had 3 people in his race so he was able to race 3 times. He took 3rd the 1st race and 2nd the last 2 races for an overall place of 2nd. He was so excited to get his trophy too. Paul took 3rd overall and received a trophy as well. Luke most likely would've placed but he got a little too much air in the last race and went off course. The boys had a blast and are excited for more. I'm not sure I'm ready to be a BMX mom but I'll give it a whirl..

 

This week Gerrit started swimming lessons. He is very comfortable in the water and is doing a great job working on his rhythmic breathing, superman float (floating on his tummy) and floating on his back. He is excited to go off the diving board (although I wouldn't be surprised if he chickens out when the time comes). It is amazing how much he has learned in a few days and is excited for another week.
 

Poor Emmit - he wanted to ride on the BMX course so bad and put up quite the fuss when Adam wouldn't let him near the starting gates. He also is too young for swimming lessons so he gets upset when Gerrit gets to put on his suit and he does not. Its a rough summer being 2.
I think he'll like all the attention he'll get when he starts his 'official potty training' whenever we get a few days we don't have to be some place! Its amazing how fast the summer has filled up but I will attempt potty training before school starts...I think Emmit is ready its just that our schedule is not!

A Busy Weekend

What else is there to do when it is 90 degrees all week except swim? We joined Nikki and her kids at their athletic club in Rochester on Friday:

Emmit has stepped  it up in the water these days. He is no longer afraid to get his face wet (although it is not his favorite thing if he's not prepared for it). Gerrit, well, he could stay in all day and surface dive for torpedos.

We have a new addition to our home: a play set! My coworker wanted to get rid of it as his girls are getting too old for it and seeing it was fairly small, we said we'd take it. Its on the side of the house which we rarely use. We figured we'd keep the back yard free of permanent structures so the boys could continue to play ball (they are a bit contained with the house and church in the backyard vs the street on the side).

 

 The boys enjoyed helping dad put it back together. I think I spend as much time finding the boys' their hard hats, tool belts, and tools as Adam did putting up the structure! Saturday we finally had 'cooler' temps so it wasn't too bad working in the yard. I assisted as needed and tried to keep the boys out of the way. Gerrit couldn't find his safety goggles so he used his swim mask! The boys love it and it is nice to watch them from the porch and not need to go to the park all the time to swing and slide. All that is left  to do is lay down a lot of wood chips!  

Yikes!

I didn't realize it had been over a month since I last posted. Wowza! I'll blame grad classes on the absenteeism...I'm finally getting a handle on my classes and feel I can breathe. When I signed up for 4  (somewhat traditional) classes, I didn't think it would be all consuming...then a friend reminded me that that was a full load. Add in the family and I've been trying to stay afloat. That does not mean we have not had fun, others have had more fun than me, but I'll deal with it and realize I'll have a summer vacation - next year. Rather than taking time to think things through, I just put all the pictures in one post...so here goes:

First week out of school I packed up the boys (and Luke) and we headed for Sandy Pines. We had a short (6 days) bonus trip as we will be coming back in Aug. for my parent's 50th (and taking Adam too). Opa learned that watering the flowers/grass when Emmit was awake was not the smartest move:

Being wet didn't bother him and his driving abilities!

And Opa still didn't learn when he put a bucket of water out for feet washing....

We did a lot of this:

One night Opa, Luke, Gerrit and I went to go-karting (what I don't do for boys!):

After 2 races and being passed by everyone, Gerrit had enough (thankfully). We let Luke finish up the ride points and Gerrit played a video game...good choice - basketball!

We made a lot of trips to the new BMX park at Sandy Pines. It was very rutty (Opa said they fixed that after we left) but it gave Gerrit an idea of what a real BMX track is like. Luckily, after a few laps he was tired so we could go home (rather than spend our whole day here).

An early morning golf outing...lesson learned by Opa - Gerrit is NOT a morning golfer!

 We spent some time at the Lake. Opa is quite the hole digger:

 And Gerrit is quite the hand stander...

 And a trip to the lake of course meant a trip to the ice cream shop:

 Luckily, Gerrit is a fast eater - I didn't have to clean up his superman flavored ice cream (ick!)

We took a boat ride around the lake, here is captain #1

with a little assistance as needed

and here is captain #2

We made it back to MN in record time - 9 hours 15 min! Don't ask how many times the boys made it out of their car seats....
We made it back in time for our town's summer celebration....here is the newest member of the color guard for the parade:

yes, that is a utility flag he is waving...

Gerrit gained some new sporting equipment....

 he is a fast learner but will admit - its not his first love...unlike basketball camp:

Emmit tried to get in on the action

Gerrit chose his MSU jersey for the last day - here's the little lefty dribbler!

one of the few (but becoming more frequent) times the boys are playing together. this is the neighbors front yard...cute little spot for them!

VBS - they did the new GoFish curriculum and it was a hit! At the end of each day, they sang songs and here Gerrit is dancing with his 'girlfriend' Olivia. She is such a sweetie, I hope they stay friends for a long time (and I hope they are in the same K-garden class too).

 oh - this one is out of order - this picture was taken at our church...we went to the youth's fundraising dinner and someone took this picture. What is so cool is that it made the newspaper!

OK, that covers the month of June....we are off to a BMX race tonight so stay tuned...July is coming and I promise, it won't be a month before I post again. (1 class is done, 1 is almost done, and 2 classes are manageable!)