silly pictures and swim team

I walked into the family room one afternoon after I declared a "no screen" day and found this...

 my four oldest playing Little People together.

Andrew wasn't to happy about me catching him in the act, but he continued to play anyway.

I have no desire to embarrass him with this one, but I'm so grateful he is willing to be with his younger siblings.  I'm not sure he realizes the power he has over the mood in our house.  If the "ring leader" of the bunch is happy and positive...the rest will most likely follow suit.

Thank you Andrew for being so wonderful!

Took this picture without realizing it was self labeled.

Grady was kind of a sour loaf that evening.

Trips to Costco aren't always thrilling especially when your mom practically covers you in produce and bread.

 Was dreaming with Steve in a furniture store today.  Colby was mesmerized with this larger than life tv.  I'm not sure if we have a wall big enough to fit this monstrosity even if we could afford it.  Have to chuckle about the lion about eating Colby's head!

Swim team is half over for the summer with only three weeks left.  I can tell my kids have enjoyed and improved.  Colby, for the first time, swam a 25m without touching the wall or stopping.  I'm proud of this little fish.  I can't wait to see him improve more and more.

Andrew currently is one of the oldest and fastest swimmers in the morning swim group.  (I've tried to keep his head from swelling too much by reminding him that most of the boys better than him have moved onto the more competitive team.  I'm hoping to switch him over to that team this fall...it all depends if Andrew wants to run cross country or not.)  I think he enjoys being a "big fish" and swimming with his cousin Holly in what seems like their own private lane.  

I'm happy to see Andrew participating in his favorite sport and loving it so much.  

He is a pretty swimmer to watch.

Carter, like Colby, has grown leaps and bounds in his swimming this year.  As I watched him swim this week, I noticed his form and speed are much improved this year.  He is starting to love this sport almost as much as Andrew does.  I hope he continues to feel this way.  Carter's favorite stroke is the back stroke and he wouldn't let me take pictures of him unless he was swimming this stroke...little pill.

I'm still staying at the pool during the entirety of his practice for diabetic reasons.  Most days, even though we remove his insulin pump, he requires a small snack to cover all the sugar he is burning while he is swimming.  

I so wish I had the physical stamina to swim like my children and I wish I would have learned all these strokes when I was young.  One day (hopefully not too far in the future) I would love to take lessons and maybe be able to keep up with my youngest children in the pool.  

Swimming is such fabulous exercise.  Feeding a baby and walking to the fridge is about all the exercise I'm getting at the mooment.

Saylor is taking swim lessons concurrent with the boy's swim team practice.  For half of the time we are at the pool, she gets to be in the water.  I'm highly suspect about how much she is really learning, but at least she is busy, occupied, entertained, and getting exposure to the water.  She is a little ham in the water and sometimes like to test her teachers patience.  She is a little twerp sometimes...and I love her!