Happy Labor Day Weekend
The talk is summer is winding down - perhaps it is in the northern states, but here in San Antonio the general consensus is we will have another three months of summer before the cool down occurs - which is mostly true.
Unfortunately our neighborhood pool closes this weekend. It seems such a shame because the weather will be fine and hot for at least the foreseeable future. But our lifeguards have to get back to College, and school. One graduated College and now has to get a 'real' job, so there are no people to man the pool.
We plan on spending this afternoon and as much time tomorrow at the pool getting in the last official swim of the season!
Labels: College, fall, lifeguards, official, pool, Summer
Of watermelons and Fireworks
I love holidays!! I love knowing that my family can spend the day together and we get to do something fun, even if it is low-key. This year we decided to spend the afternoon at
Northern Hills Pool. Our kids were/are on their swim team, and we spend most days there. And seeing this has been a hot and dry summer we have been there almost every day!
This July 4th the pool had fun, games, a silent auction and a raffle. This was our first year participating and we had a blast! The kids took part in an egg toss, and then Teagan and I swam in a watermelon relay. Watermelons were greased up and you had to swim and push them from one side of the pool to the other. We came in third, but had fun doing it! By far the best contest was the watermelon eating one. Warrick took part in it, and won! Here he is enjoying a watermelon slice. All the contestants had to eat it with their hands behind their backs. Carson participated as well, but didn't win. He was a little bummed until he realised he was allowed to finish off his large watermelon slice.
Warrick and Carson - Carson is on the right hand side:
The finale for us was meeting up with some friends and then driving up to a little town in the Hill Country called
Kerrville to watch their fireworks. Our friends, Chris and Autumn have been making the drive for about four years and extolled the virtues of this particular fireworks display. Kerrville isn't a large town (it does have a good tourist trade), but their fireworks truly were magnificent. And the drive there was gorgeous too - they don't call this area of Texas Hill Country for nothing! The limestone hills are beautiful and in many cases the road is cut right into the hills.
Labels: Carson, fireworks, hill country, July 4th, Kerrville, Northern Hills, pool, swimming, Teagan, Warrick, watermelon
Spring Happenings and more
Flowers are planted, the air is balmy, and all around me is the evidence of spring. Of course here in San Antonio it has been that way since February! But a month ago I planted flowers all around the front of my porch. It makes the front of the house appear so bright and cheery. I chose a lot of red to 'pop' the white facade of the house.
In other news:
I have not broadcast to too many people that I am pregnant yet again. Again, not my baby, but a baby for a deserving couple. Let me hasten to add, this is NOT my baby. I am not getting pregnant and then giving my baby away. The genes/DNA of this baby belong completely to the couple I am carrying for. I am currently 22 weeks pregnant and today we had all the important ultrasound to reveal the gender of the baby. It is a boy. This is now the 6th boy I am carrying! I have had 3 girls and 5 boys, I thought I was about due for a girl, but nature decided otherwise! The parents are over the moon, in fact the father couldn't even talk for a few minutes, he was completely stunned.
Countdown to the end of the school year begins, the pool opens in less than a month, and already it is hot enough to swim. We took advantage of an open house at a local gym, and used their wonderful outdoor pools with water slides to cool down this weekend.
Gosh, I LOVE San Antonio!
Labels: boy, pool, pregnancy, spring, Surrogate, Waterfalls
Summer comes to an end
I love the halycon days of summer: the long evenings, the kids playing outside, the endless afternoons spent at the pool, the sound of the trampoline being bounced on, the sheer number of snacks the kids eat on any given day, the bugs, the grass that needs to be mowed every other day..but I digress. However, all good things, as a wise man once said, come to an end, and so tomorrow I have to set my alarm clock and chivvy kids off to school. Teagan is nervous because tomorrow is her first day at middle school, the other kids though are just excited. They have been ready for about two weeks now to return.
It has been a good summer, with many an afternoon spent at the
Northern Hills pool where the kids made new friends, and played with old ones too. Their dark tans are in direct proportion to how blond they became this summer - Hayley wins that contest hands down - the girl would be right at home on a Southern Californian beach.
Summer marks my birthday, as well as Hayley's; and this year she chose to have her party at the pool (last year she opted for the ice rink). As you can see by the photo, the girl is in her natural surroundings.
We also got to celebrate an important event in Warrick's life. He walked the stage as a high chool graduate. Walking the stage was not that big a deal for him now, but we told him that one day he would look back and probably regret not walking it. He complied and even though he said it was no big deal, we made it a big deal! And I do think he will look back one day and be happy that he made the decision to put on the cap and gown.
So now we have one high school graduate, one daughter in middle and three left in elementary - where did the time go??
Labels: Hayley, pool, Summer
Swimming Year Round
This summer ALL the kids learnt how to swim - a huge weight off my shoulders as I could relax a little more down at the pool. My biggest concern was that between seasons the little ones would forget everything!
Hayley tried out for the School District team - and boy, are the coaches rigourous! To get on the team is very hard, and then the requirements once they get on the team are tough. However, in reading the literature for this particular district I was interested to learn the teams have produced 12 Olympians - whether in diving, swimming or water polo.
Hayley made the team which is great for her, but what is even better for us is that as her immediate family we have FREE access to the Olympic size pool whenever there is advertised "Family Time". At the moment that is limited to 8 hours every weekend, but that is better than nothing, and on those cold winter weekends will be the perfect outlet for the kids and will still maintain their skills.
We LOVE our school district!
Labels: Hayley, pool
Smelker Labour Day
Well, I called Warrick the "phantom child" and I was not far wrong! I had to go back almost 11 months in iPhoto to find this shot of him.
We had a quiet, relaxing day here. Terry, the master chef of pancakes brought out the griddle this morning and created a masterpiece that the kids soon devoured. Apart from that, the day was fairly uneventful. I am still not allowed to do much more than walk from room to room, which any other day is not too bad, but today was the last day of the sub-division pool being open. The committee had organised for a raffle and a large BBQ, and I was looking forward to going, but the doctor put the kibosh on it. Terry took the kids for a couple of hours, spurred on by the fact that one of Garrick's little friends called the house looking for him.
However, on Friday, as mentioned before, all restrictions placed on me will be lifted and I can start moving around freely again. These last few days are harder than the beginning. It's like when I used to run cross-country at school, the hardest part was seeing the finish line in front of you and wondering how long it will take to get there! I can almost taste the freedom! But I have to say I am really grateful that I am not stuck in a hospital bed, forced to lie there 24 hours a day.
I have had friends who have either been confined to their homes, stuck on the couch for several weeks, or in the case of one woman, in the hospital for 16 weeks! I did joke with my one friend Kim who basically suffered labour pains for 6 long weeks that she has a great comeback when her son wants to learn how to drive. Saying, "I was in labour with you for 6 weeks and you want to get into a car and probably kill yourself," sounds a lot more effective than, "I was in labour with you for 45 minutes..." Lacks impact!
I am just thankful that on this Labour Day I did not labour!
Labels: pool, Surrogate, Terry, twins, Warrick
Our Little Mermaids
Our sub-division has a lovely pool (diving board and all) and during the summer months, our sub competes with 4 or 5 surrounding communities. This year Teagan and Hayley competed for the first time. We discovered that Hayley is REALLY good at swimming (and diving). In fact, she is so good I am signing her up for the School District team.
June and July were busy months for the girls as they had practice every morning, and then competed several times during those months - and at the end of it all, the team had photos taken. Here they are! Teagan has the slightly darker hair.
Labels: Hayley, pool
