Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to all the great daddies out there, especially the three dads who have been the greatest blessing in my life, my dad, Kyle's dad and Kyle himself. I've learned so much from all of them and am so grateful for the relationships we have and that they have with my kids. I have to say, though, that I think I married the sweetest daddy on the planet. From the time Ethan was born he has always been such a naturally tender father. He loves to spend time with the kids as much as he can and finds so much joy in watching them learn and grow. I admire all the sacrifices he makes for us and all he does to provide for us. I can't find the words to express the deep love that I have for him and for the loving family he has helped establish.

This week we finished up swimming lessons. It was a really good experience for Ethan. Although he still has a long way to go to get over some fears, I'm grateful we made the decision to start them this year. He really had a great time and looks forward to going swimming as a family throughout the summer.

Meg, one of Ethan's friends, had a birthday party this last week. Ethan was the only boy invited, and Meg was adamant that he come. He picked out a Little Mermaid toy for her and was excited to give it to her. Her family rented a bounce house for the party and Ethan loved it.

Ethan has already been planning his Halloween costume. He keeps flip-flopping between

Tangled characters (Him as Flynn Rider, Brooklyn as Rapunzel, and Dad as the horse, Maximus), Cars characters, PBS cartoon character Word Girl (which we are aren't going to support outside of our home), and a few others. Well, this week at a yard sale, we found these awesome Cars costumes. Both kids have been racing all over the house in them. This morning, Ethan "pulled" Mom out of bed using Mater's tow cable.

Today for our Father's Day dessert we had chocolate fondue with coconut covered marshmallows, strawberries, bananas, and pretzels. It was enjoyed by all but possibly ruined a t-shirt or two. Ooops!

Now that the warm weather is finally here, our peas decided to produce. Two days ago, Brooklyn spent at least 20 minutes picking them clean. Today, enough had replaced them that we were able to have fresh peas with our lunch. Yummy.

Swimming Lessons

Ethan started swimming lessons this week. He was very timid for most of the week, but by Friday he was "swimming" all by himself. When he finally let go of the teacher and floated by himself on Friday, the teacher quietly declared it a miracle.
He also got to the point where he would jump into the teacher's arms instead of cautiously sliding down the side of the pool.

He's getting more comfortable with each lesson. Here's a picture of the first time he "jumped" off the diving board. He's a little more comfortable now, but has a long way to go.

After swimming lessons the kids love to go feed the ducks near the pool.

These ducks are very friendly, and Ethan even got on of them to eat right out of his hand.

Houseparty.com is a website that gives free products from sponsoring companies as a method of marketing. They sent us a bunch of washable dry erase markers and marker boards to give away. We had a bunch of kids over on Saturday, and they all seemed to have a good time.

One of the activities we did was inspired by the kid's show Blues Clues. We hid little blue footprints around the yard, and the kids had to find them and draw a picture of the different clues.

Brooklyn likes to eat with her toes. It's funny to watch.