This Week at Our House # 27 Beach Trip, July 4th

Wow! I cannot believe we are more than half way through the year!! I remember how slowly time went when I had all little kids. Now time flies by so quickly, I hardly know that it has passed. This week we made some real progress on the roof, painted a bedroom, went to the beach, and had a holiday day.

Monday, Johnny, Adam, and I got up early to get some roof time in before it got too hot. Monday afternoon, we all went to the beach. The waves were tall and crashing. We could not go out too far. But the water was warm and nice. We all had a good time. Sam played in the sand a lot and enjoyed himself more than he usually does. I brought him a change of clothes this time, and once he got wet, he wanted an immediate change.

Gideon enjoyed the water and the feel of the sand. I liked watching him experiment with the textures at the beach.

Susan, Arwen, Joshua and Anya swam happily in the shallow water the whole time. They like the waves knocking them around as long as they feel safe and remain close to shore.

Rachel spent about half her time swimming with the younger crowd and about half her time trying to swim deeper with the older crowd. She's a good swimmer and her confidence matches her ability. I don't worry about Rachel at the beach. She had a good time.

Joseph, on the other hand, has too much confidence for his ability. He was more obedient this year, which I appreciated, but he still kept going out deeper than he should have. We all had to watch Joseph carefully and grab him back when necessary. I took Joseph out 3 times. It was hard to get past the initial break. When we did, it was easy to float over the tall waves and really enjoy the water, but that was over Joseph's head. When I was not with him, he still wanted to be out in the deeper water. He needs to understand that he still needs help to navigate the water safely.

Johnny and Adam and Ruth and Kate are all quite capable. They are good swimmers and know how to navigate the waves and tides. They all had a blast swimming.

I am a good swimmer, and I love swimming in the ocean. I am glad that I have had the opportunity to teach my kids safety at the beach and a love for the ocean. The water here is amazing. I love how warm the water gets in the summer.

Tuesday, John, Johnny, Adam, and I got a huge portion of the roof done. We had spent a lot of time repairing wood and putting in flashing and new vents and measuring and drawing lines. It felt good to get lots of shingles finally nailed down.

Wednesday, Anya and Joseph had cavities filled at the dentist. They both held perfectly still and remained calm. I was impressed at how well they handled the needle and the drill.

Thursday was of course, the Fourth of July. We opted to stay home and out of the big crowds.  We made a steak dinner. We had chips and soda cans and ice cream cones, and we rented and watched a family movie. We do movies rarely enough that it was as much of a treat as the beach. The kids were fine with our low level holiday celebration. We promised more beach trips and even some park days on days when it will not be so crowded. We play to go again this coming Tuesday to make up for no beach day on the 4th.

Friday, the cps worker was supposed to come again, but he did not. We got up early and cleaned the house real well.  We always clean on Fridays, we just don't get up early to do so. So we will continue to wait for the case to be closed. Kate and Ruth feel a little miffed that again we stayed home and waited and readjusted our schedule for nothing.

Saturday, we did a lot of laundry and painted the boys bedroom. Rachel made macaroni and cheese for dinner. She did a good job and it was eaten up really fast.

Susan was the star for saying funny things this week. She told the kids not to forget about her sister that lives in the purple house. She laid down on John and said, "You'r belly is soft and squishy." Then she looked in his face and asked, "Is there a Gideon in your belly?" Another time, she showed me her belly button and said, "that is where my Gideon is going to come out."




More Pictures

Josh loves insects, especially praying mantises. He's caught two this year.

This is when Sam got wet