Last Swim!

We had a few nice days this fall and the girls were warm enough to want to jump in the pool to cool off. Honey was first to jump  in and was already turned around and making a beeline for the ladder before she even surfaced! Apparently swimming on Sept 29 is a very effective way to take the heat out of a girl!

(technically I think Murray got the last swim of the year in Oct- just so he could say he did! but there's no proof so we can't guarantee his claim...)

The Party!

Knowing we were getting the pool installed before their birthday, I'd been nudging them to have a backyard party for a long time. Since they didn't know abotu the pool, they weren't sure it'd be much fun. Finally they agreed to it and eventually found out about the pool when it got put in.

Since they're only in 2 different classes this year instead of 3, I thought it would be ok to invite all the girls in each of their classes. That's what the singletons normally do and since we were going to be at home, it wouldn't be much extra expense or trouble right? Except that I forgot that their classes this year have 13 girls in them intstead of the usual EIGHT!!! This didn't dawn on me til I was making the invitations and got them to write down all the names. I had the brilliant idea of making the invites look like marshmallows roasting on a stick since we were doing a bonfire/pool party. Cute right? Yes they were! Well the first few were cute and then it got late and I got tired but had to finish them up because there are lots of girls with June birthdays and I didn't want our invites going out last! As it turned out,  Honey brought home an invite from another girl in her class for the same day as ours! Luckily it was earlier in the day and they were able to attend each other's parties. So by midnight I had a mess on the table, skewers everywhere, chalk dust up to my eyeballs but all invites prepped and ready to go. Unfortunately, when you create and assemble things at midnight, your proofreading skills are not at their peak. I sent in invites with requests to RSVP to a non existent email address. There was also a phone number and I sent a correction the following day but not all of them got to their intended destinations :S

I jumped in the shower to get ready for the party and got out just before the first guests arrived (early!) and then it was a tidal wave from there! They just kept coming!!! I think we ended up with 22 or 23 kids all tolled. They girls invited one boy, the only one that's not immature and always doing gross stuff. His mom said he didn't mind being the only one and he seemed to fit right in no problem!

Luckily I had lots of helpers on hand and all stations were manned. We divided them up into groups according to who had invited them and then rotated each group through the different stations. Pool/bonfire-s'mores-hotdogs-snacks/slip & slide-water balloon fight/present opening/facepainting. Eventually they'd all been through each section and still had some time left even after we'd had the cake so they ran around the yard chasing the teen helper I'd hired, Katie, or back in for another swim or bouncing on the trampoline. If the noise level was any indication, they were having a good time!

After it was all over, I asked the girls if they'd had fun and they looked at me and exclaimed "Mum, that was the best party EVER!!!"  It was so nice to hear that all the prep and efforts had been appreciated! All week long I'd worried about the weather. We'd had a good stretch of warm weather, had already used the pool lots and then the week of the party, the clouds descended. The forecast was calling for rain on Saturday until about Thursday. I had no idea what I was going to do with all those kids if we had to do the party indoors. Three hours of a potential 27 kids shrieking and running through the house?!?!?! I didn't even know WHAT to do with that concept! I fretted and ate icing until the forecast changed to sun. (but still ate icing!). Unfortunately it didn't warm up the pool much so the swimmers didn't last too long but they were able to get in and splash around for awhile.

When the parents came back 3 hours later, they had a hard time getting the kids rounded up to go so I take that as a good sign!

It was a great day & we are so thankful to all the helpers that got everything ready and made sure the day ran smoothly!!!

Making a Splash!

Our first family swim! Everybody went in and after the initial shock of coolness, the water felt great! It was only a little over 20° but we got used to it quickly. We are loving it so far and it is so much roomier than our other one. Murray's already been in this one more than we ever swam in the old one so that's a good sign!

We've had several days to get in, then a streak of rainy weather but the sun's shining this week! On hot days the girls get off the bus and the first thing they ask is if they can go swimming. It will be a nice way to cool off before bed on those hot muggy nights.

Looking forward to lots of water time this summer!

Another Surprise!

I love surprises! Especially when I'm the one doing the surprising :))) Last year our pool was on its last season. The leaks just kept coming and I couldn't keep them all patched. It had been well used and loved for at least 4 seasons and had stretched and was losing water and height! Murray received a little inheritance this year and we thought this would be a good opportunity to upgrade our pool, unbeknownst to the kiddos!



As the weather turned from snow to sunnier days, the girls got to thinking about that pool. They wondered what they'd do without one! They asked if we could get another pool so I mentioned that pools were expensive and we'd have to wait and see. Sweetie asked if we'd consider just even getting a wading pool so they'd have something. I assured her we'd get them something to slash in and that we could definitely manage a wading pool. I did warn them that a new pool would definitely NOT be the size they had last time. They nodded and seemed to understand. They did keep asking occasionally, usually on a hot day, when we would have a new one.
I went to a home show several weeks ago and checked out pool companies and got some info. Then I put down a deposit and picked one out. They came to check the yard while the kids were out and then yesterday, they came back to do the installation. It was a bit tricky keeping the secret all day with guys working in the backyard and boxes of pool materials all over. But I am a master of secret keeping!!! muahahahha!!!

They only had a half day of school so were home well before the guys were finished. I'd warned them all that the girls had no idea and that they weren't to mention anything and if anyone asked, they were just doing some landscaping. The girls came off the bus, instantly curious. "what are they doing Mum???" I said "well, they're fixing up the lawn where the pool was. It got all messy and muddy there." (TRUE!) "now come in and get washed up, it's lunchtime." (TRUE!) "But Mum, aren't we getting a wading pool!?!??" (ooh good question!) "Well, a new pool won't take up the same space the other one did so we still have to do something about all that mud." (TRUE!)

Luckily, they're easily distracted and we had lunch, finished homework and they played and watched tv the rest of the afternoon. Then I was in the backyard taking Checkers to pee when Honey had a question and came to the door to talk to me JUST as they were putting the pool walls up!!! She was turned in the wrong direction so I answered her question, silently willing her NOT to turn around. It was all fine until she started to shut the door and something caught her eye. I could see the guys all freeze in position, wondering what I was going to do now. Honey, miss inquisitive, of course wanted to know what they were doing. I could only reply "ummm, not sure, I guess they're blocking it off or something so they can work in there." and then I asked her something unrelated as I scooted her back inside to finish whatever she was working on.

The guys looked at me and said "pretty good. but what are you going to do when the water truck shows up???" I replied "well don't you have to water new lawns????" They laughed and shook their heads and went back to work. At supper time the water truck came with the first load but the girls were watching tv and didn't see or hear a thing. Murray wondered if they'd even notice a difference or know that this was a "big" pool. I was dumbfounded. Had we just blown the bank on something they wouldn't realize was any better than the previous one? Surely they'd be wowed??? Finally, I couldn't stand the suspense anymore and told Murray to call them for supper and then to say "hey let's go see how they're doing with the backyard." while I set up the video and regular camera out on the deck. Just as they were about to come out, the water guy comes over to ask me questions and distracted me!!! I missed their initial reactions but they were definitely surprised and very excited!!!

We're looking forward to some sunny weather now!

 

Fun Summer!

Summertime fun! What are we up to? Why are blog posts so few and far between??? We are enjoying our summer of good weather and seem to be running the roads a lot! We're in the pool on sunny days which has been often. We've been to the beach a few times. The kids have done a vacation bible school, 2 weeks of swimming lessons, a sports camp and Lovey will have some violin camp and the other 2 are hitting crafting camp while Lovey's doing that and then we have VBS at our own church later this summer. We've gone to birthday parties, golf tournaments, camping, and made lots of trips to the library to keep Honey up to date on her various series that she's consuming this summer! We've had a few dog sitting stints and are out for walks often and have been enjoying having a dog in the house again.

We currently have Rudy for his 2nd stay this summer and he'll be back for 2 months in the fall while his owners are away visiting family in the northwest.

We've made jam, had fresh strawberry shortcake, got a garden from a neighbourhood intervention project which I now have to somehow maintain... we've had lots of friends over to play and the girls have been at other houses visiting too.

I've had a few photography clients and have 3 more gigs this month and I'm gaining fans on my business page on facebook! (are you a fan??? c'mon, show me some love!!!) Exciting developments for my little business and looking forward to some high school seniors for the fall!

Needless to say the house is a disaster and I'm not getting nearly enough baking done to Murray's great disappointment! But on the upside, we're having a fabulous summer and enjoying lots of fun activities with friends and making the most of the great weather we've been having.

Roadside Assistance

Oops I did it again! We were on our way to swimming lessons this morning when a strange warning light that I've never seen came on. Not knowing what it was and considering it was only a yellow light and not having much spare time to get to the lesson, I figured I"d just look it up after I'd sent the girls off with their instructor. Then I thought better of it and pulled over, just in case. The road is so noisy right now, you can't hear anything so I was surprised to find a very very flat tire! and none too pleased I might add! I hadn't allowed for half an hour of wrestling in heels with a tire iron on a dusty road.

I have to say that of all the vehicles I've changed tires on, Pontiac, Ford, Subaru and now Honda, the Honda has the worst jack by far. Getting the vehicle up and down was incredibly awkward with the way they have the tire iron connecting to the jack and it fell apart at almost every turn. This did nothing to speed up the job at hand and we were 20 minutes late for the 45 minute lesson at the pool. The girls almost didn't want to go in as they didn't feel it was even worth getting wet for such a short time. Since I'd gone to the trouble and effort to get them there, I sent them in anyway!

I got my first flat tire in 1995 in Mum's car. I hated not knowing what to do about it. A friend's boyfriend was pretty handy with car stuff so I called him and he came right over and offered to change it for me. I declined and told him I wanted him to show ME how to do it so I'd never be stranded again. He looked at me strangely and said his girlfriend would never ask him that. LOL not the first or last time that I've been accused of not being like most girls! In the end he did teach me and every single time I mentally thank Troy for that lesson. It has come in handy more times than I ever imagined (unfortunately). When the girls learn to drive, this will be mandatory learning also. No helpless damsels in distress here if I have anything to say about it!

Birthday Pool Party

So far behind in pictures and posts!!! Now that we're on summer vacation, I should have more time right? WRONG! Hopefully I'll get back on a routine soon and get caught up! I'm still working on pictures from the workshop in Michigan. Some days I don't even get my camera out because I know that's just another pile of files that will add to my to do list!

The pool party was a big hit, lots of little girls were able to make it and a good time was had by all. It was rather noisy at the beginning as we waited for everyone to arrive so we could do the cake & presents. Once they were occupied with food and watching the gift opening, things moved along well. I gave up trying to watch what each girl opened. They were all ripping and tearing at the same time so it was impossible to catch everything. I just tried to stay on top of keeping the gifts & cards out of the garbage.

Once they'd gotten through the pile, it was time to suit up and hit the water so that worked out perfectly. I stayed in the pool area for awhile, got my shots and then cleaned up the party mess and loaded everything back into the car while they played.  As soon as the guests left, we were ready to roll so I liked that!

 

This year's cake wasn't nearly as fancy but they liked it so that's the main thing and it looks like I can safely retired the castle kit! I was afraid they'd never get tired of that thing! I had the birthday message on the front as I forgot to leave room on the top for that! Then I put one name on each of the remaining sides so it worked out perfectly. I totally meant to do that too. ;)))

Fun in the Sun!

We had another nice day and made good use of the pool today! We even found 5 friends to come over and play!

In the morning I went to a class at the gym and then squeezed in 15 minutes on a lovely little thing I like to call "stairway to he!!" I see the really really fit kids using this beast all the time and decided maybe there was something to it. So after 3 years of studiously avoiding the darn thing, I hopped on a couple weeks ago. Knowing I'm not at those other girls' level, I thought I'd start out for 20 minutes at oh, I don't know, let's try level 3. It was tough! and although I was sure my heart was about to explode out of my chest at several points during that session, I made it to the end! Whew! After I got off, a couple of the aforementioned superfit girls asked how long I'd been on for and were surprised that I'd gone for 20 minutes. Then one of them thought to ask "What level did you start on?" I explained that I was just testing it out and wasn't sure I could do it so was only on level 3 that day. A quick look of understanding flashed in their eyes and they tried to change the subject. I wasn't having any of it! I hounded them to find out what level they start on. They tried to evade the question but that just made me more curious. Obviously it was WAY more than level 3 and they didn't want to make me feel bad. My persistence paid off. They do 15 minutes and START on level 10 and jack it up throughout the 15 minutes. Instead of being discouraged, this gave me a target! So for the last couple of weeks I've been increasing my level and every time I do, I'm positive I'm not going to make it. The machine is pretty high up and it's already warm and sticky in there at floor level. Take it up a few steps and the air gets even hotter. Do some high speed stair climbing and voila, I'm barely breathing!!! I totally have to cheat a bit by leaning on the arm rails but I figure that will get better over time right? Anyway, I'm excited to be now up to level 8 for 15 minutes! That's not too far from level 10..... theoretically anyway! How's that for exciting summer vacation plans???

Ok enough about the gym! We went into town to pick up a parcel, my newly repaired lens! How I missed that!!! Once we got home we were starved so I whipped up some french toast and we got ready for the pool. Honey ran next door to round up the troops over there and then her friend from school arrived with her older sister and a little later, Tulip joined us! They all had a blast, jumping and splashing around, making whirlpools and getting out to bounce on the trampoline and hang out in the playhouse. We had some freezies and watermelon to cool off and I finished reading a book while they played. It was a great afternoon!

Apparently it was too much activity for Honey though! She was so tired she had trouble finishing her supper! At 6pm, she asked to go bed and brushed her teeth and tucked herself in! I didn't really think she was going to go to sleep. When I peeked in, she was reading a book so I expected her to run back out at any moment. Fifteen minutes later there still wasn't any sign of her so I went back and she was out! She wasn't feeling well on Sunday after Lovey got sick and had a bit of a fever last night so I guess she's not fully recovered yet. Hopefully a good night's sleep will do the trick.