Wow!





Friday was the last day of our four week swim lessons and the finale was a "swim meet".  People told me that by the end of four weeks, the kids are swimming across the pool, but I was skeptical. 

Not only did Kara swim the length of the pool by herself, she did it without touching the lane line!  It was a proud parent moment for sure.  And to top it off, she was the only girl (and one of three kids) to jump in off the high dive board!  Go, Kara!



Ben had his own accomplishments to celebrate... he was "swimming" across the pool with his teacher, Jessica, and at the meet, he swam and grabbed the wall on his own. 

At the end of the meet, all of the kids received ribbons for their efforts and our kids are so proud and excited to have their ribbons!

Ben has become really attached to Jessica... he told me last week that he's falling in love with Jessica.  He said, "Mommy, I love Jessica this much" and he'd put his hands about 18" apart.  When I asked if he loved Mommy more, he diplomatically replied, "Mommy, I love you both."  Really?  Already?



To thank Jessica, Ben drew a picture of the two of them swimming together, holding hands... Jessica with her long hair, Ben in his goggles.  How can she resist this cuteness??

Finally!!



After much anticipation, Jason fnally sprouted teeth!  The bottom two came in first and before we knew it, there were four little, sharp teeth ready to go!

Jason has been eager, but patient... like the little dog sitting under the table just waiting for some scraps to drop... he's literally been standing next to the table and looking up at us wondering why he's not getting what we're having.  So he's now had some diced fruit, cheese and pasta... some Cheerios... and some small bits of Ruffles and Veggie straws!

He is so happy... He eats everything we put in front of him.  We say "yeah for Jason!" and we clap.  He claps too... and Ben says, "Jason's getting the good stuff!"

Our Week in Review

Last week we celebrated Grandma 'Rene's birthday!  Luckily for us, Grandma loves ice cream!

Kara and Ben have been taking swimming lessons every day for the past two weeks and they have two weeks to go!  From the beginning Kara was excited and eager, while Ben was hesitant to put his face in the water (even though he did last summer).

Having Kara at the deep end of the pool made us pretty nervous at first, but Kara is now swimming by herself and she can go about half the pool length before having to hold onto the lane line for a quick rest.  She told me today that she is really proud of herself for being able to be in the pool without a teacher beside her.

Last week we had to bribe Ben to stay in the pool during swimming lessons and we had the 'no crying at the pool' talk a few times.  After a weekend of practicing in Grandma and Pampa's pool, I think Ben has turned the corner, for he now loves to put his face in and kick and paddle... at swim lessons today his teacher, Jessica, had to remind him other kids need a turn to swim too.

Even Jason is loving hanging at the pool...

With the 100 degree heat, you gotta be cool!

Our Graduate!

Kara's preschool graduation was really cute... all of the kids in school sang songs, including "The World is a  Rainbow" with hand gestures to go along with the lyrics... On the large screen, they displayed what each graudate drew to show what they want to be when they grow up...

We're really proud and excited for Kara... We know there is so much to look forward to when she starts kindergarten in August!



The picture below is Kara with Keizo, the son of my girlfriend, Andrea, who I've known since kindergarten.  Kara has always liked Keizo and recently she said, "Keizo said he's going to marry me or something."  And when we talked about graduation and kindergarten, Kara asked, "is Keizo graduating too?"  I said yes and that he'll be going to a different school, but that I think they'll always be friends... and then she asked, "but what if he meets another girl?"

Oh, the stress of being a 5 year old girl...

A Little Piece of Hawaii at Home

Sho has talked for a long time about wanting to have a Hawaiian shave ice stand/cart/truck.  And with every Hawaii trip, we'd do a little more "research" for this project.  Before going to Maui, Sho came to the realization that we did not need to have a business to enjoy true Hawaiian shave ice, so he bought himself an early Father's Day gift and got a shave ice machine, just like the ones they use in Hawaii!

I'm happy to report that it is delicious!  And it brings big smiles to the faces of all of the littles ones.