Hitting the water...

While we were in Hawaii, I found these rash guards for the boys.
Not only are they super cute
but they're great because they have a 50+ UV protectant shield
built right into the material of the shirt.
With all the time we're spending outside in the water,
I wouldn't want my boys getting burned by the heat of the sun.
It's been HOT here lately;
in fact I heard the other night on the news that we're experiencing a heat wave.
Thank goodness for swimming lessons and Seven Peaks passes
that keep us BUSY as a family and COOLED OFF at the same time.

The two older boys, NOAH & IAN, are still taking private swim lessons at the Scera Pool.
They started lessons the first week in June and after many days of instruction, they're both really starting to show some major signs of being able to swim on their own!

IAN can scale along the side of the pool, even in the deep end without any help at all, and he can also pull himself out of the pool in the deep end with out the help of a ladder or assistance from another person. He also likes to jump into the water; he gives you fair warning though before he's about to jump- he'll always count out SUPER LOUD, 1.2.3... and then jump, propelling himself down to the floor of the pool. He knows how to hold his breath under water and blow air bubbles out under water. He can even float a little on his belly and his back in the water with out any assistance.

NOAH is REALLY doing well with swimming lessons. He LOVES the water, always has. He can scale along the side of the pool like Ian, but he's not quite strong enough to pull himself out of the water like Ian does. He can however, get out of the water with a little nudge or the use of a ladder. He LOVES to go under the water and hold his breath, and he can float on both his tummy and his back for a good solid 30-40 seconds with out moving a muscle (It's sort of nerve wracking though to see him floating on his belly, face in the water... Spencer and I find ourselves counting the seconds he's face down in the water before he surfaces for air, praying to God he doesn't stay under too long. We like to encourage him to float more on his back and less on his belly.).

He has also just started over the last couple of days, to swim on his own a couple of feet- both above water, freestyle motion, and under water. Swimming has been a really good source of exercise for Noah, as it is most kids with physical disabilities or impairments. It's been a great aid in improving his coordination, his muscle tone and strength that's slightly impaired due his hypotonia.

Swimming lessons have kept us busy- Noah has classes 3 times a week @ 11:30 a.m. and Ian's classes are every day, Monday-Friday @ noon. Ian's classes will end in another week- at which point we probably won't start them again until a week or two after the new baby is born in August. Noah's classes will carry on till the end of this month, at which time, the last week in July until the second week in August, he will also begin another swim class additionally in the mornings to be in a group setting with other kids his own age. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be totally swimming 100% on his own by the end of summer.

Did I fail to mention, Noah's also going to be taking soccer lessons again for two weeks with his cousin Daniel, the last week in July and first week in August!!!

Yes, we're keeping BUSY before the new arrival of baby #4.

When we're not poolside at the Scera pool in Orem for swim lessons, you can find us often times
at the Seven Peaks Water Park down in Provo.

I caved this year and bought passes there two weeks ago for myself and Spencer- the 3 boys are still free. Spring hung around here for so long, I nearly feared summer would never show up, but what would you know, it's made it's debut and it's been HOT here lately! We can't sit inside the house with the AC on all day, and there's no way I'm going to visit the zoo in a hundred degree heat- Thanksgiving Point can only provide so much fun for the kids before it's gets to be a drag, but no one seems to complain when we're in water! (except Cohen. He didn't really like the water at first, but after an hour hanging onto me like a baby orangutan he warmed up to it and started to have some fun in the waves at the wave pool. It's funny, cuz he actually even YELLS at the waves as each set of new waves rolls in past his feet; he gets hysteric, in a manner you'd think he was trying to calm the waves, like how Moses calmed and parted the red sea. It's too funny.)

This is our 5Th year having season passes at the park. One of these days, I'll have to post pictures we've taken there each year; the pictures document our summers as a growing family; each year, we've added a new addition to the fam. My sister Tricia and her family also have passes to the water park, so we've met up with them there a couple of times. I have to admire Trish cause she brings all 8 of her kids to the water park completely on her own and manages to keep her eye on ALL of them! Noah LOVES playing with his cousins and I LOVE the extra help I get from my older nieces who help me watch the boys.

When I go by myself, I only take the two older boys; I'd be totally outnumbered if I were to always take Cohen along...if I were to take all three on my own I'd probably end up inducing my own labor. The boys LOVE the wave pool and the miniature slides intended for kids. When Spencer comes along, Noah gets to ride on the BIG slides with him.

Somehow Ian managed to make what was a fast slide for every other child, a SLOW ride for him.
It took him probably 3 or 4 minutes to slither his way down this particular slide.
His cousin Torrey couldn't believe how LONG she had to stand at the bottom of the slide and wait for him!

This isn't the best picture... but it will have to do.
I tried getting a shot of Noah jumping over the waves in the wave pool, and I got some really great pictures,
but... after I uploaded all them to my computer and realized every one of them had more than one bystander looking absolutely ridiculous either behind him or to the side of him.
I think these adults would probably be embarrassed if they had seen the pictures.
In a lot of the pictures all you could see surrounding Noah were BUTTS (that's with TWO T's), jiggles, wedgies and all; I guess that's what happens when the kid is only 37 inches tall and doesn't quite reach the waist of the average adult or teenager.
I had to do some major cropping of this photo to make it descent!

Torrey & Ian @ Seven Peaks...
Ian probably made Torrey catch him jumping into the pool at least 50 or 60 times
this particular afternoon while we were at the park.