As we started wrapping up the school year life became insanely busy. That is the same time when the summer season for the high school basketball season I coach kicks in to high gear. So, before things got too insane we started spending every afternoon after school at the pool. We belong to a country club every summer basically for pool access. Aside from just being a lot of fun, swimming has had huge benefits for our 6 year old son who has struggled for the past 4 years with serious asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Last summer when he started swimming we were able to take him off 8 medications that he had been using daily for years. He has consistently remained on 1-3 meds since and so far that continues to hold true this summer as well. We actually pay less in country club fees than we did in medical copays for his medicines.
This handsome boy graduated pre-school this past May. He will begin Kindergarten in August. This was on the day of his graduation ceremony. He has come such a long way and we are all so incredibly proud of him and all the hard work he did this year.
Our almost 8 year old daughter wrapped up 2nd grade this year with one of the lead roles in her class play. She did an amazing job and it is hard for me to believe that she is going to start 3rd grade.
I was able to volunteer for her field day the last month of school which was a lot of fun.
We tend to shut down the pool. It's great being so close to our house. We head over in the afternoon and generally stay until dinner time as the sun is going down. Through May it was pretty vacant, but now with the summer in full swing the pool has become party central.
Sometimes I look at these three and can't believe how fast time has flown. I'd love to just stop the clock and keep them at this age. Well, maybe not by youngest....she's a bit of a holy terror at the moment.
This stud turned 6 a few weeks ago. This is his typical "smile" for photos.
He went to two basketball camps this summer and did an awesome job. The first camp was actually held by our inner-district rival high school. It was great though and I am so glad he went.
In addition to a birthday party with their friends we always take our kids out for a family birthday meal to a place that they choose. Our son LOVES sushi, so we hit a local sushi spot and loaded up. He was in hog heaven.
Just love and adore these three!!!
Another weekend spent at the pool. Are you starting to notice a theme? Basketball, pool, basketball, pool.
I was hired as the Varsity basketball coach at the school I am currently at last summer. Two of the big projects I wanted to get off the ground was an alumni game and a kids' camp. We were able to put the alumni game together and held it mid-season during Christmas break this past December. We had an awesome turnout, raised a lot of money, and just had a great time with players from the school's past.
The summer camp for kids was many months in the making and A LOT of work! There were times when I just didn't think it was going to happen. But it was a huge success and so much fun and our Varsity players who served as coaches for the camp did an unbelievable job. We were expecting about 20 kids, but 53 showed up the day of the camp. It was awesome!!!
Some more fun at the pool. There is the "upper pool" which has a bar, a wait staff and is a bit more hoity toity. Then there is the "lower pool" which is more of an "anything goes" pool. Can you guess which one the kids love the best?
The older brother of two girls who play basketball for me was in a horrific car crash in which he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was not expected to survive, let alone ever wake up. However, almost a month after the accident, he is awake and making small gains each and every day and everyone is hopeful he can return to the life he and his new wife were about to start (she is newly pregnant with their first child). The shirts my kids are wearing are in support of Dallin and his wife Amy.
My high school basketball team played in a tournament at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego last week. I took the kiddos with (which was stressful) and visited the Whaley House (related to my husband).
We also spent an evening on Mission Beach and Belmont Park.
We, of course, spent some time at Seaport Village. One of my favorite spots!!
This is me and the kids at PLNU on the last day of the tournament.
This is the view from the gym (yep, the ocean in the background). Must be rough to go to school here.
My youngest having a blast on the court during a pre-game shoot-around.
My older two thought it was so awesome to be able to shoot on a real college floor (not that it is any different from our high school floor, but cool nonetheless).
Me and my two dare devils on Coronado Island....my favorite place on earth.
Our summer dies down a bit in July, thankfully. We scale back our summer workouts to only 2 days a week and we don't participate in any tournaments during the month of July. Next week we are embarking on a staycation for my daughter's 8th birthday so it will be nice to just relax around the resort. We may try to squeeze in one quick vacation before school starts, but honestly I just don't know if we will have the time.
It's hard to believe the summer is half over. Depressing actually. I love having the kids home and the freedom to randomly choose to do something one day. I don't miss the structure of the school year.
How is summer going for all of you?
