Summer ends, school begins

These pictures were taken on the first day of school. Nathan was not too keen on going back after the freedom of summer, but when I picked him up at the end of the day, he said, "Mom, I was wrong! School is fun!" He has told me about math games and fun activities with the coach in gym class. He earns champ change in his classroom for doing good work and exhibiting the school values. His teacher, Mrs. McSweeney, is fabulous. She told me a story about Nathan at the orientation. She asked all the students what they liked about school at the end of the first week. She said many of them commented about notebooks or things in the classroom, but Nathan pointed at her and said, "You!" That's my boy!




We spent many days at the pool this summer. What else is there to do with the temperature hitting triple digits? I wanted the kids to start learning to swim, so they had lessons from the lifeguard at the pool. Nathan got really good at diving for the teacher's fishes, and he learned diving techniques, and the most exciting thing is he learned to swim freestyle the entire length of the pool! That's enough to get him on swim team, which he may do in the spring. Sophia learned to put her face in the water and blow bubbles, to float on her back without tensing up (she had a lot of fear of falling under), to swim with the Elmo kick board to the deep end, and to jump into the water and swim out with a couple of strokes.

It was great to see their progress. Nathan mainly used his arms to swim down the pool, and he stopped a couple of times before reaching the other side. He told me he had to "take a break and then continue the journey." Nathan's swim teacher told me she had never had a student who stopped partway through and still swam the rest of the way. This kid is determined! He may not have had all the technique down, but he still pushed himself to meet his goal. There is still a lot for them to learn, but they have come a long way from using their floaties. Nathan wrote in his writing journal at school about swimming the length of the pool as one of his favorite summer events. He also wrote about getting the video game Magika, which he has played ever since Dan got it a month ago.



Now that Nathan is eight years old, he's an official Cub Scout. The wolf pack has lots of enthusiasm. He has some great leaders who have helped him make a drum, a belt, and s'mores, and he's only just begun. I can see some real growth in him already, and I'm glad this program is around for boys to learn skills and how to serve. I like the motto, Do Your Best, because I want Nathan to know that is how to approach every new challenge.



The kids had fun going for a horse ride at our stake Pioneer Day activity on July 23. They got a hay ride and played horseshoes and pretended to milk a cow and won tickets they redeemed for snow cones and popcorn. And their Mommy lassoed a steer, which is much easier when it's not real. We had a lot of fun times this summer, but I also look forward to the fall. I like the excitement of a new school year and the changing seasons -- or at least hopefully some relief from this drought and heat.