Dada's boat

Last night, we all went out on our boat (according to Alexis, though, it is just Dada's boat) to eat dinner & do some crabbing. It was our first time out on the boat as a family of four & things went great even though both girls were pretty grumpy & tired. We'll definitely be going out more often now that we know how well they do.

Sam took a turn behind the wheel-

Daddy pretending he is one of the guys from "Deadliest Catch" showing off his big crab-

After a slow start, we ended up with 6 keepers... yummy!

Hanging out at the pool

Most sunny days we head out back to our pool after nap.

Practicing back floats-

Sam loves swimming-

Success at swim lessons

Today was Alexis' last day of swim lessons for this session. Since Tuesday, she has been swimming like a champ. We got her a pair of goggles & that has made a huge difference. She still had a few issues... she still hasn't been sitting on the stairs waiting for her turn & yesterday she pushed a little boy into the pool (she was waiting for her turn to jump in, he was in front of her, I guess he was taking too long because she just pushed him in). She got a "needs practice" mark on her report card next to water safety- no big surprise!

Alexis doing backstroke- watch out Micheal Phelps!

Right before I took this picture, she was sitting on the stairs like she was supposed to. This is what happens when she jumps off- she sinks. See the blond boy? He (and the rest of the kids in class) are tall enough that when they get off the steps they can stand with their heads out of the water.New goggles- blue, of course

Using the kick board-For those of you wondering what Sam does during class- she just hangs out in her stroller.This video is a little boring, but this was a huge accomplishment for Alexis. At the beginning of swim lessons, she didn't have enough strength & coordination to "monkey crawl" down to the deep end. The other kids could do it, but one of the teachers had to carry Alexis. Today she got down to the deep end all by herself.

The kids only get to do the diving board on Thursday. Last Thursday she did the diving board 2 times by herself. Today she needed some help, but for the second week in a row she was the only "tiny tot" to do the diving board.

Showing off her lollypop & report card-Stay tuned for updates from session 2 of swim lessons- starting next Monday!

Swim lessons

Alexis is currently taking swim lessons. She started last Monday- it goes for 2 weeks. For those of you who don't know, I taught swim lessons during high school & college, so I have been really excited about Alexis starting swim lessons. Unfortunately, she has been a nightmare...she is the kid I never wanted in my own swim lessons class! You may think I am being harsh but I'm not. Day 1, she was overly eager...she had a few near drowning incidents when she jumped in and her teachers were with other kids. Day 2, 3 & 4 (class is only Monday-Thursday) she refused to get in the pool. She cried the entire time, constantly trying to run away to the shower or the car. Well, not the entire time. When it came time at the end of class to go to the deep end and jump in, suddenly the tears would stop & she would go jump in. She even did the diving board twice- no problem (she was the only kid in her class to do the diving board). So, she is obviously not scared. Today, she was a little better. She got in and swam with her teachers, but cried while doing it. She constantly was getting out of the pool, running to the deep end to try to jump in- but no one was down there to catch her- scary! They finally gave her some goggles to wear. That seemed to distract her enough to keep her on the steps, where she is supposed to sit and wait for her turn. Anyway, here she is in swim lessons. Hopefully the rest of the week will be better.

Happy Birthday to you & you!

Can you believe it...we got to go to not one but 2 birthday parties yesterday!

First we celebrated Uncle Steve's birthday...
Then we headed to our cousin Joel's party. The pinata was so fun.
After the party, Sam, Alexis & Zoey headed to the swings. They sure had fun!

Happy Birthday Elise! (or in Alexis' language "Appy Day Dese") Wish we could party with you too!

Sam is sure silly!

Sam likes to climb in the cupboard of our TV stand. She just sits in there and plays.
Here are some more shots of Sam having fun...

Back to the zoo

We went to the zoo again on Friday. This time we took our friends the Cruzes. Alexis had a tough time listening & staying put at the zoo this day- this seems to be happening more & more these days.

Flower girl in action

Thanks to Aunt Diana, we now have some pictures of Alexis walking down the aisle, performing her flower girl duties.

Happy 4th of July!

For the 4th of July weekend, we headed to Grayland, on the Washington coast, and camped in the front yard of our friend's beach house. On the 4th, we watched a local parade. It was the first parade for Alexis & Samantha. No surprise that Alexis' favorite part was the candy that was thrown to the kids. A close second was the horses. Alexis' first sparkler. More to come once the sun goes down.
We went to a picnic lunch, where Daddy & his friend Sean participated in the balloon toss competition. They came in second place! They are the second team from the left.
That evening, we headed to the beach for fireworks. The one that shot out a parachute was pretty exciting.

Sam had an accident...she fell face first out of the kid's camp chair. Even though we rinsed and rinsed, she woke up with sand in her neck rolls and had sandy eye boogers the whole next day. Poor Sam!

Taking in the fireworks-

Alexis did more sparklers when it got dark. You can hear all of the fireworks in the background. The beach was lined with people shooting off fireworks. It was pretty amazing.

Even Sam got to do a sparkler-

Happy 21st Birthday Ba!

Last week Auntie Michelle (AKA Ba) turned 21. Alexis & Sam were there for the party!
Before the party got into full swing, the girls cooled off in the sprinkler.

Sam is getting close to walking on her own. She is so happy when she is up on her feet taking steps.

Michelle's friends made her a special sign to wear. Look who made the sign! It's Alexis showing off her cross-eyed skills. (If you click on the picture, you can get a better look)

Things got a little crazy later in the night, so Mommy, Michelle & some friends went out to do what only 21-year-olds can do so that Alexis and Sam could sleep.

Here comes the flower girl

Two Saturdays ago, Uncle Ken & Aunt Diana got married and Alexis got to be the flower girl. First, we did a run through before the ceremony. Although she had been so excited for weeks before, during the practice she wanted nothing to do with it.
After she got into her pretty dress and shoes and practiced walking down the aisle about 15 more times, she could hardly wait for the ceremony to begin.

Flower Girl & Bride-

I don't have any pictures of Alexis walking down the aisle (maybe we can get one from the bride & groom to post later) but she did great. She only dropped one handful of rose petals on her walk down the aisle, so about 1 minute into the ceremony, she walked back up the aisle to drop the rest. She spent some time standing between Ken & Diana too. She had a hard time standing in her spot during the wedding. I guess that is to be expected from a 2-year-old.

Sam loved the meatballs at the reception that followed-

Of course Alexis' favorite part of the whole day... the cake!