Hello, Summer....

And just like that, it is summer. After an exceptionally long and cool winter (which, by the way, was heaven), there was about a week of Spring and then....POW! Hello, heat and humidity. And although I am a native South Floridian, I am not a big fan of our summers. It is the kind of heat that suffocates, while keeping your mucous membranes moist. Mornings are welcomed by condensation slicked windows. Days are spent doing anything that involves water, because it is just too hot to do anything else. And because we spend most of our days water-logged, it is imperative that my little fishies can swim. It is our personal family belief that all children should learn how to SWIM...not just survive. With hundreds of miles of waterways, beaches, canals and pools right in our backyard, it's a no brainer. As my father has said on numerous occasions, "Teaching your child to swim, is the BEST insurance you can ever buy..". And we couldn't agree more. I want our children to LOVE the water. To enjoy it and make it part of their childhood, as much as it was ours. I learned to swim at 18 months. Yes, swim. And not with water wings or floaties, because in our minds that gives a child false security in the water. Because I always knew how to swim, I never feared the water. I swam on a swim team at a very early age, 5 or 6. I became a certified diver at 14. I spent my high school years boating, diving, waterskiing, hydrosliding, skurfing (or attempting to), fishing....anything that involved water. In college, at the demands of the Navy and the insistance of my then boyfriend, now husband, I learned how to sail (or at least understand the theory...not so good at the actual act). Yes, life is better when spent in, on, or around the water. So to get my little fish in top swimming condition, it is swim school time. And we are so blessed have an amazing swim school close by. We started Emily there 3 years ago, and in one week she was swimming. Yes, coming off the side of the pool (alone) dropping into the water, turning around and reaching up with both hands to hold on to the side of the pool. We always schedule private lessons for 5 days to give them the attention that they need to start the swimming season off right. They make swimming fun (our ultimate goal) but also educational. And in under 3 summers, my little mermaid is swimming all over the pool. She dives down and picks objects off the bottom, does flips underwater and swims strokes....freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. I am amazed and thrilled! This year is my little man's first attempt at swimming. And although he is often stubborn and hard-headed, he took to the water like a little fish. He wasn't so sure at first.... but within three short days, he was unstoppable... Just like his sister, he is sliding off the side of the pool (alone) slipping into the water, turning around and reaching up with both hands to hold on to the side of the pool. He is also very proud of his kicking...ask him, and he'll show you (even on dry land) how he "kicks". His love affair with the water has begun...and it makes my heart sing. And what would summer be, without late evening walks on the beach and melting ice cream treats?

Ahh, yes. I am looking forward to a break in the chaos. Mornings that can begin slowly, with jammied babies playing late into the morning and breakfasts that aren't constantly puntuated with my mantra, "Please, eat. We have to go...!". Days that can begin lazily instead of hurried and frenzied. Summer, you may make me hot, sticky and sometimes irritable but, how I look forward to your slower pace and lazy days. See, there is always a silver lining if you look hard enough. Bring on the heat! ***********************************************************************************

Last weekend, my tiny dancer had her end of the year ballet recital. And she was the loveliest Lady Bug ballerina I have ever seen. Check out my little ballerina here. And the little wave halfway through the performance? Yeah, that's because she saw her family. (smile, sigh...)

Every ballerina deserves to be showered with roses after a performance, and this year it was Stephen who delivered them to his sister. He was so proud as he marched across the studio, roses in hand, dragging them across the floor, and ever determined to find his sister. He presented them, as only a brother could do, with a whack in the face with the flowers and a, "Here ya-ya...". Yep, that's my boy!

Emily's cousin, Ainsley, also made her ballerina debut as a beautiful Princess. Unfortunately, the girls weren't able to see each other's performance, but they loved comparing costumes and flowers. Oh yes, it has started already. ************************************************************************************

We live in the BEST neighborhood in all of S. Florida. Hands down. When we discovered this place, completely by accident, we fell in love with it...IMMEDIATELY. It is an amazing mix of young and mature, new and old. There are no gates, no psycho homeowners' association who tell us what color roof we can have or where we can park our boat, large lots, big old trees, and a public golf course that allows us to walk on it after hours with our kids and dogs. Neighbors know one another and look after each other. It is like a midwest neighborhood that has been transplanted smack in the middle of Yankee S. Florida. And now we have Wednesdays on the 4th (tee). A place where kids run free, parents sip adult beverages, music is heard in the background of lively conversation and drowned out by the occasional squeal of delight by a little one. All are welcome: young, mature, old friends, new friends, littles ones, and furry friends. I can't think of a better way to celebrate "hump" day, can you? Yes. It's gonna be a GREAT summer....