Days of Summer - Day 7

The best part of summer, is spending lots of time outdoors. I've become more of a homebody in my old age, so a backyard kiddie pool is right up my ally. Coop spent hours in it over the course of two days, soaking up the sun and splashing in the water. I spent hours watching him, and getting drenched in the process. What better way to cool off on a HOT summer day!

Submitting these photos to Simplicity's Photo Challenge: Summer

 

And I couldn't leave out our new friends, now could I?

 

What's your favorite thing to do in the summer?

Three Days Off, Swimming Pools, and Chocolate Cake

I took last Friday off, and I spent the last three days hanging out with my son.

After a trip to the grocery store and Target (for new swim goggles!) we went to Grandma's house on Friday to make good use of her community pool, practicing swimming, jumping and diving. No back floats. Didn't force the issue, since I was pretty sure the neighbors would be calling the police thinking someone was being tortured thanks to all of the high pitched shrieks when we did try. Had dinner with Gram at a new Teppenyaki place where they throw scrambled eggs in your mouth. Mmmm.

Saturday morning, we headed out to the movies to see Toy Story 3.

Ohmygosh, I can't not tell you how much I loved this movie! Well, the first hour at least. Cuz that's how long we lasted. Hey, he did better than I thought he would, and for a first-time movie goer, I don't think he did too bad. Afterwards, we headed back to Target, since in the midst of this heat wave, we needed something to cool us off. A new blow-up pool was just the ticket!

We spent a couple of hours in the backyard playing in the water then headed in for a much needed nap.

Sunday, funday, cleaning day! Ok, so those words don't all go together that well, but I did get a lot of cleaning done, put some carnitas in the crockpot (that were, by the way, oh. so. yummy.) The recipe is similar to my previous post, but in my opinion, BETTER, cuz I made a few changes, omitting the water and oranges, and opting for 3/4 cup orange juice, and a 1/2 cup of chicken broth instead! AND since the day was about 15 degrees cooler than the previous week's near 100 degree temps, I even baked a chocolate cake! I found the recipe here, thanks to Sarah at Sugar Bananas. How's that for tempting?

It was amazingly rich and moist and mocha-y. Could be the full cup of coffee in the recipe, but I can't be sure...btw, I used decaf. Can't have a two year old hyped up on Starbucks now can we?

Whew! What a full weekend!! I must say, I loved spending that time with that boy, even if he decided to use the backyard as his bathroom (I'll spare you the details on that one). TTFN!

Days of Summer - Day 5

Summertime is swim lesson time! Coop loves swimming and is becoming quite the fish. I never wanted him to have to wear floaties or a vest in the pool, rather to learn early on so he could take care of himself in the water. The lessons are definitely paying off!

Here's a few shots I took at his swim lessons the other day.

Kick, kick, kick!

Swimming to the step on his own.

Arms up for a dive.

And down we go!

I can't tell you how much I love this shot!!!