Last Swim Class for the Semester

Today was the last class for the kids' swimming lessons for the semester.  They are taking lessons at Aqua Kids and they absolutely love it.  The teachers are really great and my kids have always learned quickly here.  They follow a set curriculum so there is consistency with what is taught between the instructors and between different class levels.  The classes are only 30 minutes per week but I'm always amazed at how much my kids pick up in that short class time.  Parents get to watch through giant glass windows.  The kids learn techniques and practice swimming for about 20 minutes then they get to go down the water slides twice.  Then the parents are invited out by the pool for "parent show off" where they watch their child do what they learned in class that day.  

For the last day of class, they usually do a few more fun things.  Today they played around with balancing on a big floating board.

Nicholas swims about 15-20 laps per class and his instructor is working on refining his technique for the different strokes.  Here is a video of him swimming freestyle and back stroke.  Sorry I didn't zoom in as he swam farther away.  I was too busy watching him to pay attention to what I was doing with the camera :)

Rachel has made amazing progress in just these last few months.  She started in Preschool 1 and had not been in a pool without her floaties on.  Most kids stay in the same class all semester but she had to be moved to a Preschool 2 class mid-semester because she just takes to swimming like a little fish.  She will be in Preschool 3 for her next class.

Sorry I only caught the end of Rachel's swimming in this video below:

I hope to sign them both up for the next level of classes next semester.  But if not, we may sit out a semester and just take a 2 week camp there during the summer.

Lots of Bows

To keep Rachel's hair out of her face, I usually pull it back with a barrette that has a cute bow on it or a headband.  Rachel is totally girly and she loves all of her hair accessories.  Today she decided that if one hair accessory was nice then FIVE must be FABULOUS!

Icemagedon Lingers On

Yes, everything is still iced over around here!  It's been like this for days now!  I had to get out to go to a doctor's appointment in Plano and it was a little scary at times, especially when the thick layer of ice on my van's roof decided to suddenly slide forward and cover my windshield while I was driving.  But the sun should be out today and by tomorrow we should stay above freezing for a while.  Yay!

While I was out and about I ventured to a grocery store.  We had stocked up well before the ice storm but we were out of milk and a few other things.  It was weird seeing the shelves so bare.  Delivery trucks had not been able to make it in to deliver food to the stores.  I gathered a few things and headed home to find this snow diva all dressed and ready to go play in the ice.

We headed to a neighborhood playground to help shake the cabin fever for a little while.  Stuart pulled off the last of the chunk of ice on the van's roof.  Look how thick it is!

Rachel's favorite thing to do at a playground is to swing.  She certainly knows how to pump her feet to make herself swing higher but she still prefers to have someone pushing her.

Even Daddy and Nicholas caught a little air time on the swings!

I was a little worried that climbing would be slippery but it really wasn't.  Most of the playground equipment was dry and easy to climb on.

....or spin on as you'll see in this video below:

When we got back home, the kids were still playing with ice.  Nicholas discovered that the big sheet of ice on top of Stuart's truck was starting to slide off the back of it.  He just had to climb up in the bed and play with that.  You've got to check out our crazy child in this video clip below:

Ice = Hot Chocolate

So what do you do when your whole town is iced in for days?  

Drink lots of hot chocolate, of course!

And you must get EVERY. LAST. DROP.

Mmmmm, chocolate!

Stay warm!

Icepocalypse 2013

We woke this morning to find that we are in the midst of the Icepocalypse of 2013!

It has been sleeting since last night.  It was weird hearing the little taps on the window all night.  We tried to tell the kids it wasn't like snow and not something to really play in.  But next thing you know, they were all geared up and ready to go!

The raingutter next to our front door has a leak in it so water dripped out of it all night making for some really cool icicles on the plant below.

Ice in the yard?  Must. Eat. It.

The bushes are all weighted down and drooping from the weight of the ice.

Everything glistens in the light.  It is magical to see!

Drips of water froze solid during the night.

Rachel found a giant icicle!

The bushes look pretty in their blanket of ice but it was weird to feel the leave crunch when we touched them.

Little icicles can be found everywhere!

Here's a video of Rachel hopping on the ice in our front yard. It was really neat because when you first step on it, it just feels hard then instead of sinking into it like you would with snow, the ice just kind of breaks and you fall through to the grass below.


They soon discovered that there was some water running along the edges of the street into the big drain.  That had to be investigated!

This ice was smooth on the top but melted and slushy underneath = wet feet and hands!

Here's a video of the two of them bouncing on the slushy ice trying to break it.

We ventured to the back yard and found a lot more icicles!

I love the beautiful fall colored leaves with the branches enveloped in ice!  So pretty!

Nicholas chipped away at a layer of ice on their sandbox. Wow that is thick!

More shimmering beauty...

Rachel and I studied some oak leaves.  They had a thin layer of ice on them.

We were able to peel away the leaf and had a perfect ice leaf complete with veins and all!

Beautiful iced Holly berries.  What a perfect contrast to the white all around.

I still can't get over how every single branch and leaf has a layer of ice on it.

It's just breathtaking!

Nicholas found the icicle of all icicles.  He of course called it his Icicle Sword.  What a boy!

It is still sleeting at times.  We've had lots of coffee and hot chocolate today.

After a brief break inside to warm up, Stuart bundled up the kids again and took them for a walk down to the playground and wooded area to check out some more wintery scenes.

What a beautiful day it has been.  The temperatures are supposed to drop into the teens tonight so this stuff isn't going anywhere anytime soon.  Stay warm and safe.