Grandpa's Visit!!

The day after Father's Day my dad came out to Rock Springs for business. His new company Sport Sites provides new software for Rec Centers and City Sports leagues and stuff and he had an appointment with the Rock Springs Rec Center in the morning so we met up with him for lunch when he was done!

The kids were so excited! Payson called him a couple of times the night before to tell him where she wanted to go to lunch and to ask if he would take her on a motorcycle ride (he was bringing his bike out). They went to bed so easy that night with the promise that we would be meeting up with Grandpa right after swim lessons!!

So we took Grandpa to Bonsai (a super yummy Asian place out here) and enjoyed way too much delicious food. We ordered way too many rolls by accident. But everything was good and the kids loved hanging out with Grandpa. And I had a blast chillin with my Daddy!

Of course, after lunch the kids had to go for motorcycle rides! Jack jumped on without hesitation which surprised me because as a baby he would cry whenever it would start. And when he got a little bigger he would run from it whenever it was on. :) But he LOVED the ride!! Which is great because he is in a family of bikers!

Halfway through our lunch Payson whispered in my ear, "I don't want to go on the motorcycle anymore." Which surprised me because her whole life she has LOVED the motorcycle! So Grandpa coaxed her. First she was just sitting with the bike off. Then she tried on the helmet. Then he turned the bike on. And finally he climbed on with her and she was okay going for a short ride. :) I think she realized that she still loves the bike. She just seems to get a little uncomfortable with new things lately. Funny girl.

Anyway, it's so fun to have family come out and visit us! We still see them pretty often, but it's not the same as living just down the street like we used to. We miss them and love them and LOVED having Grandpa out for a lunch visit! Hopefully everyone else will make it out later this summer for some time at the Lake or a river day!!

Swim Lessons

A couple years ago when we were living with my parent's for a short time my younger brother, Brennan, gave Payson private swim lessons. He was a life guard and my parents had a pool in the backyard so it was easy. Jack was still a baby and we spent pretty much every day in their pool. Payson started to jump off the steps and side of the pool when I wasn't ready (I was usually holding the baby) so she either needed to learn to swim or she was going to drown. She was just getting too brave.

Brennan taught her the basics and we've continued with that every summer since. Both of my kids have just always been natural fish, but Jack has never had any swim lessons of any kind and Payson seemed to be forgetting things she'd learned a while ago. So we decided to sign up for swim lessons here at our local rec center all summer! It would help the kids stay safe in the water and give us something else to do to keep busy this summer!

The kids had their first 2 week session earlier this month. We paid for the regular group classes, but because sign ups for the particular time we chose were slim and because the teachers were training new swim teachers we really got private one on one lessons. I wasn't complaining!!

Parent/Child classes are required until age 4 so I get to be in the water with Jack until next summer. At his first class the first thing his teachers, Miss Mary and Mr. Brandon, asked him was if he liked putting his face in the water. He shook his head no and clung tighter to me. He doesn't freak out like some kids do when you put him under water or splash water in his face but it's not his favorite thing either. But within a few days his teachers had him sticking his head all the way under completely on his own blowing bubbles and ENJOYING it!!

On his last day his teacher gave him his "report card" and left him a note calling him a "Wild Child" because he would go crazy putting his head in the water. He would throw his head back and then slam it back into the water to blow bubbles which scared us all to death! We worried about him slamming his face onto the bottom or side of the pool many times! But he loved it! He passed almost everything in his level so we'll mostly be working on his floating the rest of this summer. He's good at floating and kicking on his own with a life jacket or floaty of some sort, but hopefully he'll float on his own by the end of this summer!

Here's Jack showing Mommy how strong he is with one of the other classes floaty things. (By the way, "floaty things" is the technical name.)

Payson was so excited for swim lessons! She learned to swim when she was about 3. Not well, but well enough that she could get herself to the side of the pool if she fell in or she could jump off the diving board and swim to me if I was right there. But every summer she has forgotten and we have to completely start over. So I figured she'd need plenty of time to figure out level one this summer.

On Payson's third day of lessons one of her teacher's found me with Jack and let me know that she was being moved up with the older kids. They said she was a natural and later I heard some of the life guards telling each other that she should be on the swim team someday. :) I beamed with pride. Payson was so excited to hear that because Uncle Brennan was, and Aunt Madie and Aunt Maren are on the swim team. Of course she wants to be just like them.

Of course when she saw her brother posing she had to join in. :)

So instead of working on floating and learning to blow bubbles and breathe in the water and such, Payson is learning strokes and kicks and things. And she loves it!! You should see her back crawl. I was seriously surprised to see her do so well. Not that I don't have confidence in my children, I just didn't know they would pick this up so quickly!

Here she is showing me (in the shallow end) how she floats on her back).

The kids warm up together before lessons. They stretch and practice some strokes and then separate into classes. Jack wouldn't do it at first. Then he would only do it if I stood with him. But by the second week he was telling me to go sit down and leave him alone. :)

Oh! And here's a little video of Jack blowing his bubbles. And crazy enough, this was mild because he was busy playing.

Anyway, we can't wait for nest month's session to start! I love watching my kids grow up and learn new things. And I love the smiles on their faces as they develop confidence in themselves and their ability to learn. It is so rewarding to be their mother!!

Why?!?!?!?!?!

I have a whole bunch of fun stuff I want to post! But I can't because I can't find my pictures! Boo! They're on my computer. When I go into iPhoto they're right where I organized them. But when I come into blogger and want to choose a file all of the sudden they're not showing up! This has been driving me crazy for DAYS!! Maybe even WEEKS! Anyone know why or how to fix this? Mac users out there?

Don't you want a Swagger Wagon?

Jack's Bedroom Progress

Jack's room is on it's way! I have a super clear vision of it in my head and have found inexpensive products all over the place that I think will bring it together perfectly!! It's not exactly like the RH picture I posted before but I was only using the photo for inspiration anyway. And I think it's going to look even better than the picture, if only because we've made it our own.

I went shopping this week for a bed. I found a steal of a deal on a bunk bed and mattresses in Utah but with no way to get them back here I realized I was going to have to look closer. So I went to the only local furniture showroom that had bunk beds here in town. They had a few beautiful options. I knew they were good quality. But the bed alone was more than the deal in Utah and I would still need two mattresses. I thought about just getting a single twin bed for Jack, but when I started looking into it I realized that it would actually cost me the same amount for the bunk bed and mattresses as it would for the twin bed and mattress and box springs. So I just went with the bunk bed. It really was a good deal. Just not as good as the one in Utah. But by the time we rented a truck to get it here we wouldn't have been saving any money. And I hadn't seen the Utah bunk bed in person so who knows what the actual quality was.

The bed looks pretty much like this one.

So I'm happy with the bed I bought. And I can hardly wait for it to be delivered (for free) this Tuesday!! And Jack is so excited about his new bed. He was having so much fun in the furniture store climbing up all the ladders and trying them all out.

After purchasing the bunk bed we headed around town to find sheets and bedding. I had looked online and new what deals I could get on the things I wanted there, but I figured I'd check around town just in case. And I'm so glad I did! I found a killer sale and got some GREAT quality blankets and sheets for less then half of what I expected to pay online. The only thing I didn't find were the duvet covers I wanted. So I ordered the ones I'd found from overstock. They showed up today and I am in LOVE with them! I was a little worried about them after reading some of the product reviews (most everyone loved them but a few people said slightly negative things which freaked me out a tad) but they are exactly what I wanted! Now I'm even MORE excited for his bed to come so I can get his bedding all set up!!

The only thing missing on the bed are the decorative numbered pillows. I LOVE those RH pillows!! Initially I had planned on finding every. single. thing. for that room for less and then I would just splurge on those pillows because they're 1) super cute. 2) I don't sew, and 3) I don't think I'm going to find the right look anywhere else. I've been looking anyway, but so far no luck. Then I realized that the pillows are $22 a piece. And that's only the COVERS! So I'd have to buy the right size insert as well (which aren't too expensive, but still). I would want four of the pillows so that would be over $100 in decorative pillows. I just don't know if that's worth it or not. I'm still deciding. It might be if I can spend a whole heckuva lot less than I expect on everything else. But still. One hundred dollars for pillows? Anyway, I don't know yet. We'll just wait and see.

Aside from the bedding I still need to find some storage for his room. What I'd really like to do is find some quality pieces at yard sales and fix them up. But like the bed, I have no way to haul them. And the yard sales around here are seriously lacking. So I'm thinking I might go to Ikea and then maybe do a little painting/embellishing. I have some ideas that I think will be really cool. But we'll see. Still working on that.

As for accessories, I found a rug identical to the one in the RH photo for $70 instead of $180 at Ikea. Lamps are easy. I'm planning on just finding some at a yard sale or something, then painting them and adding some brown or navy ribbon to the shades. Window treatments I'm still working on. Any suggestions? I was thinking about doing some simple blue panels like the RH photo or even just making some. I can make curtains, right? But should I do a valance? Or panels? I need ideas.

As for the rest of the accessories in the room, since we are avid baseball lovers we're sticking with a vintage baseball theme as far as accessories go. I'll be framing Jason's old high school baseball jersey (after I tea stain it for a little added age) in a shadow box. His number was 09, which has continued to be his favorite number. So I thought I'd get the "0" and "9" number pillows to tie that in too.

I found a really cool old vintage bat, a catcher's mask, and an old glove for super cheap on etsy. I love cheap stuff. :) I also found some vintage wire baskets and metal bins for cute storage. I love them! I was thinking of adding a little chalkboard paint to the fronts of the metal bins for easy labeling. I also plan on painting and distressing some wood letters to spell out Jcak's name. Those will be pretty easy. Oh! And I found this adorable little baseball piggy bank!! The kids stash their change and birthday money in their Easter baskets and are constantly playing with and losing it. So I've been looking for piggy banks for them anyway. When I saw this guy I had to grab him!!

And last I found some really cool vintage metal signs from 50's Retro Signs to hang on the walls. I picked out a few black and white signs with quotes and photos of famous old baseball players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Shoeless Joe Jackson and a big American Flag. I can't wait to see them all up in his room! It's gonna look so great!!

Anyway, can you tell I'm a little excited about it? Hopefully it will all be finished sooner than later. And when it's done, it may just be the first room in my house that is fully and completely decorated!! Wouldn't that be something!

Baby Jack Jack

I honestly can't believe how quickly my baby boy went from THIS...

...to THIS...

On the one hand it feels like the last 3 years have FLOWN by. And on the other hand it feels like this guy has been in our lives forever.

Jack is still my "Baby Jack Jack" and of course he always will be. He is my sweet and sensitive little momma's boy. And at the same time he is tough and destructive and completely BOY.

For the last several months Toy Story has taken over. Buzz and Woody are his absolute favorites. He almost can't believe that they are releasing Toy Story 3 for his birthday this weekend!! ;)

Every time I look at him lately all I can see is his beautiful future staring back at me. I have no doubt that this kid is going to make an incredible difference in this world. How could something as wonderful as him not?

I'm sitting here thinking of the best way to let him know how much I love him on his third birthday and all I can do is cry. I love him more than he'll ever know.

Happy birthday Baby Jack Jack!!