Afternoon at the Pool

We took the kids to Jesse's aunt's house to let them spend the afternoon swimming with their cousins. We left immediately after the babies awoke from their morning nap.

The trio enjoyed lunch poolside while Jesse took Jackson and Levi into the pool. 

Amelia was the first of the three to get in the water. She was too curious to finish her meal.

Jesse, his mother, and I each took turns holding babies and swimming with the bigger kids. We made sure each child had time to be held outside of a float so they could splash around and practice swimming.

Jesse conducted a boys' club meeting.

James nearly fell asleep in his float.

Maddie loved being immersed in the water,

almost as much as she loved cuddling with her MiMi.

Amelia was perfectly content eating her cousin's dolls.

Jackson raced me to the deep end, shot water guns, and floated merrily.

All was going well until Jackson had a near drowning incident when he slipped out of his tube. It was one of those moments where time stood still. I scooped him up and rushed him out of the pool. The poor boy is still apologizing for going under water 24 hours later. I don't know why he feels apologetic, but Jesse and I continue to assure him that he didn't do anything wrong.

Jesse and I dried each of the kids off. It became increasingly difficult trying to prevent the babies from crawling into the pool. We loaded them into the van while Jack snuck in a few minutes swinging with his cousin.

Food and Family and Swimming, Oh My

It's a rare treat for all of Jesse's extended family to gather together at one time. (Rare, as in, I've only been with all of them a handful of times in the past decade.)  I don't know if it's because of Father's Day weekend, or Jesse's parents celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary, or just because family decided to come into town. Whatever the reason, we all joined together at Jesse's aunt's house for food and fellowship.

There's always potential for food challenges when we're eating in a social setting. Jesse and I had more than enough variety of meats, cheeses, and fruit. Everything was so good that I wasn't tempted by any poor choices. In fact, it just now occurred to me while writing this that I never had any dessert and I didn't even think of the croissants or potato chips at the time. (Obviously I didn't eat the pound cake, though I was happy to be asked to contribute it.)

We swam after dinner. The kids were beyond content in the water. Jackson confidently tested out every flotation device available, including multiple inner tubes, floaties, and a noodle. Maddie was kicking and moving her arms about joyfully. She especially enjoyed drinking pool water. Amelia was easy going floating around. James cried real tears at his first attempt in the pool. After cuddling with his PaPa for twenty minutes he had a pleasant take two. In typical James fashion, he made it his goal to splash as much water as possible.

We were even able to snap some family photos. While none were outstanding, there's at least photographic evidence that Jesse and I do exist.

Of course the best aspect of the day was being able to share in the fun with Jesse's cousins, aunts, uncles, siblings, and parents. I absolutely love big families and the shared responsibility of caring for the children.

Often times when the family gets together, time is spent reminiscing on past events and stories. While there may have been memories shared, today was about creating new memories and simply enjoying the present.

Pool Time!

Jackson LOVES water. It's hard to get him out of pools, sprinklers, and baths. Over the past month I've been on the search for a large, affordable, inflatable pool. I did not want the standard round baby pool because I knew Jackson would overpower the babies. I finally found a good size pool at Sam's for $30. 

Jackson and his MiMi picked up a bicycle pump. A few hours and quivering biceps later, we finally had the pool inflated!

Jackson tested out the pool first thing Sunday morning.

It was overcast and the water was cold, but that didn't deter Jack. He played with his new toys.

I got my bathing suit on and joined him. I was impressed that the inflatable seats held my weight. I could sit down and put my feet in the water instead of immersing myself in the cold water.

The trio had their turn this afternoon when the water had warmed up. I just kept them in their diaper covers. and let them splash around.

James took this role a bit too seriously. He was absolutely giddy. I think his constant kicks and splashes annoyed the girls.

Maddie preferred to sit on the seat while Amelia tried to eat the starfish.

My favorite thing about the pool is there are two sections. We intentionally placed the pool on a gentle slope. The babies were on the higher end where the water was shallow. Jackson was able to play on the lower side with deeper water.

Unfortunately, Jackson enjoys drinking the pool water. Or maybe he just likes to impersonate Gene Simmons.

I allowed Jackson to continue playing while the babies played on the deck.

The babies air-dried in their shaded baby jail. Amelia and Maddie weren't nearly as modest as James.

I surprised Jackson with a popsicle. (This kid has an obsession with popsicles but I stopped buying them once we started eating better.)

It Takes a Village

We so frequently visit family, but I don't post enough pictures. We had an eventful week visiting both sides of the family. Jackson accompanied his uncle and cousin to the lake on Saturday. Jesse and I took the trio to Jesse's parents to meet up with Jackson later that evening. 

James and Amelia are unimpressed by the chickens.

Jack and his MiMi share a snack.

James, Amelia, and Maddie took turns swinging.

Most PaPa's have a spare organ in their shed, right?

Maddie gets to "ride" the lawn mower.

On Sunday we attended church and a potluck lunch afterwards. All four kids have been in the nursery since they were a month old. The church nursery volunteer staff increased to accommodate our increasing family. While Jesse and I frequently disagree over church, I take great comfort and confidence in knowing that my children will be held, read to, and loved by so many members of our congregation.

After lunch we drove just over an hour to my brother's house for a birthday party. It was apparently a swim party, though I didn't get the memo. Thankfully, my sister brought a spare suit and towel for Jack. The kids wore themselves out in the pool before pigging out on hamburgers and hotdogs.

Hesitant to go swimming??

James is ready to dive in.

Jack spent most of his pool time in his Uncle John's arms.

Michael and James

Sisters holding sisters

❤

This blanket comes in so handy! It's big, but still not big enough for all the cousins.

Bubble fun

Ethan and Amelia

My two favorite 5th graders (for a few more days, at least)

Between friends, family, and church family, we are very blessed to have a large village to help raise our kids.

Beach: Day 3

We wanted to make the most of our morning since it was the last of our weekend getaway.  The plan was to walk on the beach briefly, then go to the pool at 8 a.m.  Apparently the pool didn't open 'til 9, so our brief walk turned into an hour long saga.  The goal was to make it to this pier (which we did). 

Ordinarily, walking along the ocean where the tide comes in is my favorite thing to do at the beach.  I just roll up my pants and let the cool waves crash against my bare feet.  I didn't have the same joy this year.  Let me just tell you what a pain in the ass it is to maneuver a stroller along the sand, especially in the gullies.  The only alternative would have been for Jesse and I to each carry two children.  Jesse kept getting the stroller stuck but I quickly learned the best approach was to turn the stroller around and pull rather than push the wheels further into the sand.  The trick was to go as fast as possible in the gullies so the wheels didn't have time to sink into the sand.

 

 Maddie and Amelia kept each other warm and ended up falling asleep in one another's arms.  LOVE!

Jesse and I literally raced back to the hotel to take family pictures before my brother and sister left.  Here are the cousins (minus two who didn't get to go this year).

After saying "goodbyes" to some of my siblings and their kids, our family headed back to the pool.  James was much more interested in sleeping,

but the girls and I were perfectly content floating around.

Of course, Jesse loved on the babies and Jack, too.

After showers, changing, and packing, it was time for us to say our own farewells. Jackson was so cute.  He kept waving at the workers who were mowing the lawn, then saying, "Bye beach".

We stopped halfway at a McDonald's.  We didn't need to eat; it was just an easy way for Jackson to get some of his energy out and let the babies stretch a bit while we fed and changed them.



We had to go by Jesse's school to pick up his car, then rush home to unpack and cook dinner for company that was coming over that night.  Taking three infants and a toddler to the beach was fun but challenging.  I'm so thankful we had Veteran's Day to recover!