Back on my birthday, my mom and dad gave the boys this inflatable pirate ship. Since then, it's been in our basement, mostly because I keep forgetting to blow it up. Well, today, I solved that problem. Though Jeremy *THOUGHT* he could blow this colossus up on his own, he finally took my suggestion that, maybe, his dad's air pump was a faster solution - and one less likely to cause Jeremy's death, so Jeremy drove it over to the Pressleys'. The pump didn't work after all, but the solution Jeremy and his dad came up with was to use the leaf blower to fill it up.
Voila.
Not long after that, here comes Mr. Pressley's truck carrying some pretty precious cargo up Haywood Drive. Like so ...
The boys had a ball playing in it. I imagine it'll be the hit of the Back to School Bash they're planning for some of their Canton pals on Friday!
I hope that this is how they remember Summertime - lazy days punctuated by hours passed sliding in to the so-called "big, giant bucket." Moving water from that bucket into a smaller one, pretending to feed make-believe cows from the turquoise-colored planters that held big, green ferns before the boys' black-thumbed Mama killed them. Spraying water from the hosepipe to re-enact scenes they've seen so many times on "Fireman Sam."
One of the funniest things that happened was this: Jones was sitting on his bottom, facing forward, about to ride down the slide. Freddie was on-deck, already in his position for a backwards slide as soon as Jones was done. As luck would have it, I was taking a Burst photo (which I LOVE for active activities) of the whole thing, because when I went through the Burst, I was able to see Jones sneak his hand behind his back and affix it to Freddie's swim shirt in an effort to pull Freddie into the water with Jones.
Hashtag Really Rotten.
Hashtag Hilarious.
Hashtag Brothers Gonna Brother.
Knowing that these sorts of days will soon be fewer and farther between, I feel like Kindergarten is some kind of a thief. It's sneaking in to steal my sunshine. I know they have to go. I know they've got things to learn and growing to do, but still, when they think back on Summer, I hope they remember these days as fondly as I will.
This has been a long time coming. Freddie's been in official lessons, since this Spring, but his swimming REALLY picked up as we spent so much time in the water at the lake this Summer.
Though he was absolutely TERRIFIED, Mrs. Robin decided today was the day to push her little birdie out of the nest, and HE FLEW! Well, he swam, as you can see.
What you can't hear, though, is his WAILING as he did it. He was absolutely scared to death - you can't hear his cries of horror over my own cries of jubilation. As soon as I fished him out of the water, he said something along the lines of, "I am never coming back here again."
Oh, but you are, Little Buddy.
It was such a great occasion that his daddy left the office for a few minutes to meet us for a celebratory cone of Freddie's favorite "green ice cream" (Mint Chocolate Chip).
It'll be a few weeks of his gaining confidence before I let him swim in the pool without his jacket - and years before I won't require one in the lake - but still, there is GREAT peace of mind from knowing that BOTH of my boys are finally - FINALLY! - official swimmers. Woohoo!
And yes, I DID say BOTH of my boys are swimming now. The reason there wasn't a post like the when Jones finally took off is because his was a relatively slow roll. He was doing great - swimming on his own earlier this Spring.
Then, somehow, he got terrified of the water. It was the strangest thing. He'd go to his lessons and pitch a fit out of the fear, even though he'd been flat out swimming for MONTHS. Mrs. Robin said it was probably best not to keep up with lessons - that we may scare him out of the water altogether - so I took her advice and just kept taking Freddie.
Then, when pool season started at my parents' house, Jones was swimming, pretty as you please. He's only gotten stronger with all of the time we spent at the lake this Summer, so we can officially cross "learn to swim" off of this Summer's Bucket List (which, lest you think I'm a Pinterest mom, we totally don't even have).
Jones and Freddie continued learning the ropes at Clyde First Baptist by attending VBS at the church this week. The theme was Lifeway's "Galactic Starveyors," and after the first nite, Jones was already referring to it as "Space School." And so it shall henceforth be known ...
Anyway, I anticipated they'd be taking an offering at VBS. I intentionally didn't send the boys with any money on Monday nite, because I wanted to see how they'd respond to being asked for it. Jones, like he did in Children's Church at our Lake Church, said, "No. I'm not giving MY money."
Freddie, however, said he wanted to give HIS to Jesus. When I asked where he could get some money, he said, "From my bank." That's "from his Disney bank." I was so proud that he wanted to give, and sure enough, the next nite - and several nites after, until the final nite when he dumped out his bank and gave it ALL to the offering - he gave his quarters to Jesus.
I told Jones I wasn't going to make him give. I sang him the verse song we know to "God loves a cheerful giver," and I reminded him that "it's more blessed to give than to receive." I left it at saying I'd be praying that God would change his heart about giving. But I didn't feel like it'd do any good to force him to give. As I said, "God loves a CHEERFUL giver." Maybe Scrooge Mc-Son-of-Mine will be ready to part with the dollars (that I've put in his bank) by next Summer.
The second nite of VBS, when I went to pick the boys up, the director asked me if Freddie was mine. I said, "Yes" and immediately followed it with "What'd he do?" Instead, she pulled out her phone and showed me a video of Freddie dancing his fool head off. It was PRECIOUS and hilarious and evidence that they were having a BALL at Space School.
On Friday nite, the boys had their Space School graduation. Mom and Daddy made the drive up for the big event - and the hot dog dinner before hand. The boys were thrilled to have them there. They did so well during their program. As soon as he took his place on the stage, Freddie waved at me and said - for the whole crowd to hear - "Hey, Mama!" One day, I'll talk to him about poise and not breaking the fourth wall when he's in a show. Until then, I'll treasure the memory of that super sweet voice and that super sweet little wave.
Here's an Instastory detailing the whole evening.
Oh, and they MADE those t-shirts they're wearing. I think they're the most spectacularly awesome things I've ever seen.
Next up: Maker Fun Factory at Canton First Baptist. Being old enough for VBS is AWESOME.
Hashtag Really Rotten.
This has been a long time coming. Freddie's been in official lessons, since this Spring, but his swimming REALLY picked up as we spent so much time in the water at the lake this Summer.
Oh, but you are, Little Buddy.
Freddie was skittish when I first left him on Monday. By the time we picked him up later, he was already asking to come back the next nite. Jones, on the other hand, did GREAT. I mean, like, SURPRISINGLY well. He wanted me to wait with him while they all lined up along the brick wall in the church hallway, and he wanted me to process in with them, but once I did that, he took his seat just as pretty as you please, and I walked away to meet Jeremy in the corridor. When I got there, I was crying. I didn't even know why. Probably a mixture of relief (yes! He didn't pitch a fit!) and sadness (he doesn't need me anymore?) that Jones was so blessedly blasé about my leaving.
I told Jones I wasn't going to make him give. I sang him the verse song we know to "God loves a cheerful giver," and I reminded him that "it's more blessed to give than to receive." I left it at saying I'd be praying that God would change his heart about giving. But I didn't feel like it'd do any good to force him to give. As I said, "God loves a CHEERFUL giver." Maybe Scrooge Mc-Son-of-Mine will be ready to part with the dollars (that I've put in his bank) by next Summer.
On Friday nite, the boys had their Space School graduation. Mom and Daddy made the drive up for the big event - and the hot dog dinner before hand. The boys were thrilled to have them there. They did so well during their program. As soon as he took his place on the stage, Freddie waved at me and said - for the whole crowd to hear - "Hey, Mama!" One day, I'll talk to him about poise and not breaking the fourth wall when he's in a show. Until then, I'll treasure the memory of that super sweet voice and that super sweet little wave.
