Hanging Out and Keeping Cool

We've been hanging out around here trying to stay cool for the past couple of weeks. Last weekend we were around the house except for getting Owen a much-needed haircut, and we bought Natalie a new bicycle - which Ike put together over the course of the weekend. While staying inside I did craft projects with Natalie and Owen and had them practice their cutting skills. On Sunday we went over to Karien & Kevin's house to grill out and cool off in the pool. It was a nice way to finish off the weekend, and after all the swimming, Natalie & Owen were exhausted. We all came home and napped, and Owen even slept through until Monday morning. On Monday, we took Owen to start soccer. He had a blast. It's indoor (thank goodness with the heat) and they did a lot of running and drills, and practiced dribbling, kicking, and shooting goals. We were really impressed with Owen's physical prowess with the drills. He was great at running and weaving around the cones, and the cone-jumping exercise. On Tuesday, Henry decided that crawling was much more efficient than dragging, and he started really moving. The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Natalie is doing great with her swimming at school. She's going under, blowing bubbles from her nose, and swimming across the pool to get toys. She's very excited about this. This past weekend we stayed around here again. Natalie was able to practice her big girl bike riding skills and Owen cruised around behind her on various vehicles - the little bike, his tricycle, and finally his car (which he cruised right off the road and into a rock). We also did some cooling off in the pirate pool - even Henry & I got in! Henry spent a lot of the weekend pulling up on everything, and now nothing is safe! He has figured out how to cruise and he's so excited that he can get in on what Natalie and Owen are doing. Yesterday we took Owen back to soccer, only to find it was cancelled this week. So I took him to the playground instead for some Mom playtime. I guess we'll start packing this weekend to get ready for our departure next week.