SUMMER, but wait, there's more!

Summer continues in Seattle with stunning sunny days and ne'er a cloud in sight. Our days have been revolving around Frost's swimming lessons and Wren's new schedule which is classed as "napping under duress" or not at all. The upside is that he is sleeping in till 6.15am on days he does not nap (7.45 - 6.15am is fabulous).

Frost received his report card from the past two weeks of daily swim lessons. Apparently he has passed the Beginner 1 level and can start Beginner 2 next week. I have promised him a few days off swimming to have more unencumbered days but since swimming is at 9.30am-10.15am and is with his friend Alex it is not really a great burden. I have stayed to watch him swim on some days while other times Wren and I spend the half hour of the lesson in the playground. Wren loves to swing high and to climb the big-boy slide and shoot down "like a rocket".

Frost tells me that he passed the swim test for public pool (in his lesson). This means he can swim across the width of the pool and back in crawl stroke without drowning or putting his feet down.

I think he can do it but he swims in a super slow motion - semi submerged - kind of like a sleeper log which barely breaks the surface. From this low-slung position it is hard for him to get his mouth out of the water for side-breathing. Backstroke (which he does!) introduces particular problems with his sinking posture. To look behind with his legs sunk he has to reach his head very far back in a way that looks most uncomfortable. He strains like your cat might if you made her swim. Still, I am impressed at the distances he covers in his slow-motion crawl and hope that we can work on increasing his... buoyancy? Kick? Pull? I don't know what is wrong but I hope that practice will give him insight to be more floaty.

He IS very confident in doggie paddle and can cover great depths and distances, jump from the diving board, dive into 12 ft of water and retrieve dive toys so his water safety is much better this year.

Tonight, Frost is thrilled to have a sleepover at one of his best friend's houses. Isaac has been away visiting family and has now returned! Frost really missed him.

Wren and I had a lovely morning playing nursery rhymes on the iPod dock in his room. We danced and played instruments and he was very silly and giggled. I think we should get an iPod shuffle and another dock so the music of the family can be in more locations easily.

Right now, thoughts are going out to a family from our Heart Support Group whose child is in surgery. I hope that everything goes well for Mirabel.

I licked it

I go out to move the car and find Frost on the sidewalk spitting dramatically. I ask what is wrong.

Frost tells me "I thought I had trodden on a needle but I looked at my foot and it was bird poop."
"So why are you spitting?" I ask.
"I touched it with my finger!"
"So, wash your hands."
"Well, I also licked my finger. Just a bit, like this."
"NO!" I shriek as he begins to show me by doing it again. "Wash your hands and then spit out some water."

Why? I have to wonder.

We had a fabulous time at Wild Waves. Fabulous.

Vashon Lavender Tour and Wild Waves

We have an exciting few days ahead. I woke to the wonderful sound of RAIN this morning. I know everyone outside the area has an awfully prejudicial view of Seattle as cloaked in mists and being some form of temperate rainforest. Not true. We have had a spring dry spell leading into our usual dry season. According to Cliff Mass's Seattle Weather Blog it has been the driest May 20-30 June in the 116 years on record. We have had 0.18 inches in that period. The tomatoes are loving it and we have been playing outside a lot more like mid-summer.

Anyway, I love the rain. Unfortunately, the snails do too. The damp is not turning us off our plan to visit Vashon Island today and see some farms on the Lavender Festival. We are also going to an open house for the kind of place we may think of buying. I stress "kind of" despite my husband's great enthusiasm to buy something right now and just figure out how to work it all out. I remain in the Discussion and Implications status of the project and am tentatively moving to the feasibility and waking up in the night worrying stage.

Tomorrow, we are going to Wild Waves - a local water park. Wren will be with Heather while Frost and I are going off alone to the land of waterslides and pools and splashing. Wish me luck and let us know if you want to join us.