Let the Summer Begin!

6/1/15 It is always exciting to start summer vacation. No more school, time for a break from all the hustle and bustle of school life. I look forward to the time off, the freedom, and the fun. Somehow, it always takes off like a rocket with busyness. This is not how it is supposed to be. June 1^st we started the boys swimming lessons in Ames daily from 12 to 1:00. Swimming lessons are at the instructor, Liz's home in her own private pool. She has an awesome home and great pool. It is perfect, the boys each have a half hour lesson with 2 other kids. I get to sit on a lounge chair beside the pool, watch and tan with Jayden. Luke made leaps and bounds progress. He discovered he likes the water and spends most of his lesson under. Yeah! I have been waiting for that moment. On day two he was under the water doing arm strokes and kicking. He was actually swimming!! Jake too is learning his techniques for the front crawl, butterfly, and back strokes and some others. It is so nice to see them making progress.
 
In making one trip to Ames, I try to coordinate as much as possible in those trips. Monday I took the dog Daisy for her body clip. In the evening on Mondays,  I started going to a bible study in Boone at 7. I thought it would only be an hour and left after 2 hours early at 9. Tuesday after swim lessons Jayden had her first vocal lesson with Melodee in Huxley. Wednesday we took Ace to the vet school for his ultrasound check of his tendon. He still needs more time. He will be used only for light riding another 8 weeks. If we were told at the first appointment Ace would be out for his entire summer, I think Jayden and I would have been crying. This has been so frustrating. I dropped the horse and trailer off at the vet shcool so we could make it to swim lessons. Thursday swim lessons, then Serpetine practice from 7-9. Friday we skipped swim lessons to prepare for the girls party. Jayden invited the girls from her youth group to come spend an evening on the farm. We never slowed down! Saturday was going to be my day to rest and catch up on housework. The laundry and house were out of control. Then, Mark suggested Adventureland!! We just keep going and going and going and going. Sunday was church, lunch, and 4-H meeting. We also put up a swimming pool on our deck. It is 3 feet tall and 10 feet diameter. Just big enough to play around in. It was super fun on day one, the boys were in it for over 2 hours. Of course they never got in beyond standing in it, but they had fun playing and pretending they were floating barges of stuff around. After that, they never cared much for it. There is daily maintenance and I am hoping they will make use of it.  So much for a summer break. I do want it to slow down and be enjoyed.