Our summer groove

Now that we're into our summer groove at home, it's time for an update.

On Monday Kaj started his latest session of swimming lessons, which he loves. Yesterday he reported that his favorite part of class was jumping in from the edge without any help and going all the way under the water. Fully submerging without protest is pretty new for him, so this was very exciting to hear!

Our library hosts a summer reading program and has put together a comprehensive task list of activities kids can choose to complete with their families. Once they have finished fifteen items, they can return their forms to the children's desk for a "reward." Yesterday the boys exchanged their checklists for books of their choice and a colorful bag full of pencils, stickers, and - the biggest hit of them all - temporary tattoos. Kaj chose an adaptation of Stone Soup set in China, and Leif chose Chrysanthemum. After all the excitement of the library, we walked down the ped mall in the rain to meet Aunt Annie and Grandma and Grandpa Larsen at a new Italian restaurant in town, Basta.

The boys love spending time with their cousins.

We broke in our patio fire pit the other night with a round of S'mores.

Tom and the boys spent the night (yes, the whole night, to my amazement) in our tent in the backyard. Perhaps this is a sign that it's time to buy a family-size tent!