A take on a favorite children's song:

"Oh, what do you do in the Summertime,
When it's 110+ degrees (even in the evening)?

Do you swim in a pool
To keep yourself cool?"

The end.
That is all.
This song could also be called "Cabin Fever."

 

Here is the kid's swim teacher, Miss Jennifer.  I hope she doesn't mind if I post pics of her. We went through quite a lot together, trying to get Brynn to the point where she'd leap in (rather than just try to step in while hanging on to her teacher). 
 

  Bryce didn't mind the jumping in so much....

 It was trying to find his way onto his back, and then getting back to the side of the pool that he wasn't a fan of. 

He just needed some more time. Like I said, it was survival swimming.  Bryce is pretty young and only had a few lessons.  I'd rather not think about what would happen if he fell in a pool.  I wish I would have put him in lessons earlier.  Brynn would survive.  It probably wouldn't be pretty, but I really think she could swim back to the edge and climb out, even if she was pretty far in.

 

Other really random and weird summer things: 

Bryce came down with strep throat.  I wanted to put him in a cool bath to get his fever down, but have you ever tried to run a COOL bath in Arizona in the summer?  Thus we stumbled on a new fun thing to do:

 Ice cube baths!  See all the ice?  Ahhh, feels so good....

Something that I loved doing with my toddler girl was crafts.  Then along comes Bryce and everything I make seems too girly for him.  So Marty is helping me with my boy activities.  Here is a milk jug mask and shield he made with Bryce.

Another day Daddy came home for lunch because he forgot to bring his.  Bryce was asleep, but Brynnie and I got pretty giddy for this because it has like never happens.  She decided to make a nice restaurant meal for him.  She put on the apron, helped me cook the food, made a menu, decorated, etc.  When I asked her what the restaurant was called she said it was Chef LouAY's.  No idea where she got that.

 Anyway, as soon as Marty walked in she said, "HELLO!  Welcome to Chef LouAY's.  Would you like to see a menu?  You can sit right here." 

I know I shouldn't encourage this, but I just love her curly letters.  I guess once she goes to preschool I'm going to have to start making her write them the right way.  :(

We also put on a little concert for Daddy.  We said at the beginning of the year we wanted her to know the 13 Articles of Faith, and so far she is right on track and knows them through number 8!  I'm a little worried about the next ones though, they are a lot longer and more complicated. 

 Bryce got to sing "Sunbeam" and some other things and was a great announcer.

 Combing brother's hair.  A lazy day.


And lastly, I should hate this picture, but I don't.  It's not flattering of any of us, nor is the big mess very flattering.  Brynn took it yesterday. 

I guess that I like that it captures our afternoons.  Daddy comes home a little drained (if you've ever seen him teach teenagers, you understand).  He usually finds me a little drained on the floor (if you've ever met Brycer, you understand).  Looks like this day we had been playing trains and Bryce decided to give me the snuggle of a lifetime.  And Marty and I are talking.  After-school talking time is sacred to me.  I think the kids understand this.  Every day is the same.  The kids hear the garage door open and they drop whatever they are doing and go hide somewhere.  Daddy comes in, follows the giggles, gives the kids a big hug, and then Mommy and Daddy get to talk about their day.  It's one of my favorite parts of the day.

And that brings me to the cabin fever.  After these types of things (not that they are anything big), I'm feeling tapped out.  A few days ago I felt like every 15 minutes I had to find some big new thing to entertain the kids to keep them from fighting over toys and things.  That was in addition to going to the store, to the library.  We even went to the park at 6:30 a.m. and pregnant mommy only lasted a half hour there.  At the end of that day I couldn't believe how exhausting it had been to have to entertain the kids like that every second.  It's not usually like that.  I think they just needed to get out.  So the next day we got to spend most of the day in Mesa at the Miller's house which felt sooo good.  I love being with someone who knows more of our family's history, as we've been friends with them since not too long after Marty and I were married.  Most days Brynn asks, "So who are we going to play with today?"  Play dates are a life saver in the summer.  It's making me start to feel more ok with sending Brynn to preschool in a couple of weeks.  She's absolutely going to love it, and it should cut into the summer boredom a little.