All In

Today was warm enough that we all decided to take a dip,

even me, in my ‘not used in 15 years but still fits’ bathing suit. Ahh, the miracle of modern stretchy fabrics! 

Leanne is three-quarters dolphin, 

flipping and diving for hours, not wanting to ever leave the water.

And Jac? 

After an hour of hanging out on the top rungs of the ladder - staying well above the waterline - 

she voluntarily went down another step and actually touched that wet stuff.

And with 15 minutes of pool-time left, she allowed us to bribe her into stepping onto the bottom rung. Hooray! (You’ll notice the water is still well below her bathing suit . . .)

Photobomb!

Will she take that last step tomorrow? Or on Friday when Donovan gets his first turn in the pool? If anybody can get Jac in the water, it’s her best buddy, Donvee. 

 

Fill ‘er Up!

It’s far from finished, 

but the pool is far enough along to start filling with water . . .

The water is coooooooold!

and Leanne could.not.wait to get in.

Jac was a bit more hesitant 

but Leanne eventually coaxed her in,

using the leaf catcher as a bribe. 

Whatever works, right?

Jac is NOT a fan of water, insisting that bath water be barely above her ankles 

and that n.o.n.e of that liquid stuff get anywhere near her face.

Today, with the pool water up to her knees, she flat refused to let go of the ladder, and no amount of coaxing, bribes or pretty pink float jackets were going to change her mind.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this summer goes . . .

She’s 5!

Look who turned 5 today!

This year’s theme was rainbow unicorn, currently Jac’s “most favorite thing ever!”

Most of her gifts were unicorn or horse related,

including this sweet headband Leanne made from clay. 

Throw in some chocolate cupcakes (also made by Leanne)

and a rainbow unicorn quilt (and pillowcase)

 Backing includes my favorite Tula Pink rainbow birds print

and you have one very happy birthday girl. 

Happy birthday cake, Noodle!

The Helpers

Lots of progress on the pool this week

The grand unboxing

thanks to the long hours Pop put in 

and all the help he got from the baby grands, 

 View from our bedroom

especially Leanne, 

who was out there working every day.

Jac helped by staying out of the way. Good job, Jac!

We’ve gone from boxed to (almost) ready for water in just four days.

Leanne was really (really!) hoping the pool would be ready for Jac’s birthday on Monday, but I don’t think we’ll quite make that deadline. 

Calling in the big guns for final pool placement

Getting close though! (If you don’t count the finish work like decking and walls and steps and plants and . . . ) I can almost smell the chlorine!

Grandma Cake

Donovan has helped me bake before 

but this was the first time he was interested in licking the spoon when I was done. 

Whenever I’ve offered it before, 

he looks puzzled and says “no”, even if Sissy or Jac are chowing down.

But this time I found the magic words . . .

“It’s Grandma cake.” 

In his world that has come to mean sweet and chocolate and delicious, ‘cause Grandma always has the good stuff. 

Yummmmmmm.

Pool Progress

The new gate is installed,

the second bin is dumped and gone,

the retaining wall is almost complete

and the pool is finally here, after an entire week of “it’ll be there tomorrow, trust us!” Yeah, right. 

Swim time is soooooooooo close. 

Summer!

Today was about as perfect as it gets when you’re a kid -

the first day of summer and the first day of summer vacation.

Check out Jac’s peace sign. Sooooooo close. 

Then mean grandma makes you turn off your electronics and play. So sad!

Ping pong table art center

The new summer rule is no electronics from noon to three. Today, three came and went and they never even noticed. Hoping we can keep that up all summer long. 

Reorganizing games and art supplies

Father’s Day

Got all our California chicks and grandchicks together for dinner to celebrate Father’s Day

Jac and Donovan have matching bandaids from separate injuries. So much alike, those two. 

and I took exactly *two* pictures. 

Bad grandma. 

That Other Pool

While we wait (and wait) for the outdoor pool to be delivered,

Pop uncovered the pool table 

so he and Leanne 

could show Jac the finer points of the game.

Fortunately, Jac didn’t much care if she hit anything,

(she didn’t hit anything),

she just liked being the boss of a big stick.