Summer Fun!

It has been a fun summer for us, though it will be coming to an end soon with school starting in the middle of next week. The boys went to summer came for 5 weeks at the Embassy and had a blast. Each week was a new theme, and they would do crafts, activities, and swim every day. During part of the swim time each day, the boys had swimming lessons. They gained a lot of confidence in the water and improved so much! This is one of the first days of camp :).

One week the Marines did a boot camp theme. Both boys got certificates, for completing a week of brutal yelling and abuse by the Marines - ok not really.  Another big thing the boys did this summer was learn the Pledge of Allegiance. Living abroad the past 3 years and going to local schools, the boys mostly learn the culture of the country where we are living. They know the Jordanian National Anthem, can identify the Jordanian and American flag, and know who is the King and Queen of Jordan. We are working on getting American history instilled in them, and this summer was some good learning about America.

Caleb floating in the pool with his swim instructor, Ali. Ali is so patient with the children, and I think he taught about 95% of the kids at the Embassy how to swim!

In the beginning of summer, Caleb would put his head under water, and started swimming underwater when Nathan's parents came to visit in late June. By the end of summer, he was able to swim from one lane line to the next, and can tread in the water and take breaths before going back under.  We are so proud of the big improvements he made! I know I have videos of Benjamin swimming, but for some reason I can't find them. He is a little fish and loves to swim underwater, and is practicing big arms. Both boys like to dive to the bottom for rings, and they are having fun with their new skills. Thankfully, the pool will be open until the end of October, so there will be more pool time in our future.

Boys on the last day of summer camp. We are thankful for the camp, and for the caring counselors that made it a fun experience for everyone.

Earlier in the summer, we babysat our neighbors pets - 4 guinea pigs and a kitten, Cozmo. We ended the summer with 2 guinea pigs and a bigger kitten. Thankfully we found out after their return that the two guineas that died were really old, and they said they go through guineas often, which I guess made us feel a little better about them dying on our watch. Benjamin and Cozmo became good buddies over the couple months. Caleb and Cozmo, not so much! We could only bring Cozmo over in the evenings when we were home and on the weekends because we had to separate Cozmo, Twix, and the guineas. Cozmo was all kitten and everyone that comes with one. It was an interesting couple of months with all the animals!

The boys went to a couple birthday parties this summer too. This past weekend they had two parties. One for a neighbor, and it was a dance party put on a man that teaches hip hop at the school the little boy attends. It was cute to see the kids up and dancing. Benjamin wanted to dance, but was a little shy. Caleb sat in my lap most the time and had fun watching.

 Another day they went to their good friend Mary's beach themed pool party at the Embassy pool. All their friends were there and it was a lot of fun for the kids and adults to all get together to swim and hang out.

This summer, I started running again, after a many month break. Our mornings are very mild and the weather is just getting nicer each week. One weekend, I went out for a run a little later than usual and it was hot. Towards the end, I ran into a shepherd and his sheep, and took the opportunity to stop (rest) and take a picture. This is only a block from our house. Love these unique things about where we live!

Summer has been fun, and the boys (I think) are ready for school to start next Wednesday. For now, I leave you with this sweetness...