Our summer so far...

Isn't summer supposed to be a time to slow down a little and relax? We're still busy around here although, admittedly, we are doing fun activities like swimming, camp, play dates, etc. Since school is out now, the kids' swim practice has moved to mornings. That gives Benjamin lots of time to play on the playground, dig in the rocks and play with his little friends (there are 2 other little boys that are almost exactly his age). Swim meets have been every Saturday since mid May, so we've had busy Saturdays. Sean and Benjamin have made it out to watch Alex and Emma swim several times this season. Grandma Mindy loves to come to the meets, too and sits through them even when they don't get done until 2:30 (that about did me in considering we got there at 6:30 a.m.). Here are a few pics (yeah, I finally got a couple good ones of Alex doing the fly!) from swimming as well as a video of Alex swimming the freestyle. Emma took the video at the last meet. At the very beginning, you can't see Alex until he dives in. She doesn't show him on the starting block. We'll have to see if we can get another video this weekend.
I was looking over the calendar this week and started counting up all the different doctors our family is visiting in the next month. Guess what I came up with? 7! Can you believe it? That doesn't even include Benjamin's urologist, nephrologist or his therapists. Yes, we've seen or will see the pediatrician, allergist, orthodontist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, ophthalmologist, and the dentist. Our family seems to be a prime example of the phrase, "It takes a village..."

What else...Emma went to Girl Scout day camp last week and loved it. They took a field trip midweek and learned about water systems, dams, etc as the camp theme was water. During the field trip, a news reporter filmed a long segment using quotes from several of the girls. In fact, Emma has now been on the TV news 3 times this spring doing various activities with Girl Scouts: women in engineering at UT, packing Girl Scout cookies for soldiers, and her field trip. Alex is getting a little put out at all the air time, although he was on the cookie segment as well. It seems that Emma is using her 15 minutes of fame early in life.

Alex is doing great at his guitar lessons. He learned Ode to Joy after his first lesson and had it memorized in about 2 days. He is taking to it easily which is fun to see and hear. I'm sure all of his piano/music theory background helps although one mom mentioned to me that a guitar player who can actually read music is a rarity. Many of them must play by ear. It's all new to me.

Benjamin has been at therapy camp this week. He goes from 9 to noon each day with 3 other kids who are working on feeding issues. They have made food, played in food and eaten food. He is having a good time. When we told him he was going to camp, he insisted that he needed to have a s'more and a campfire. I'm not sure he's gotten those things, but he has played on the scooter board, gone skiing in grits/mashed potatoes, and played in mud (chocolate pudding).