Summer Afternoon, Summer Afternoon...

Saturday was THE perfect summer afternoon.
Hertsje worked on her "flips" with only minimal help from her daddy.

Broeder took swimming lessons this summer, so all the grand children know the basics of staying afloat.

There was even time for relaxing "girl talk" between Famke and Hertsje.

These two have always gotten along "swimmingly".

Age doesn't seem to play as much of a role in the pool as it sometimes does on dry land. Although these girls have a lot of common interests.

Feintsje likes to add style to his jumps.

On Thursday the kids pulled the mini trampoline up to the pool, got a good running start and jumped right in over the side!  I did not get in pictures of that, but there is still time.

One more week of summer vacation!

Then, Jonge will be a sixth grader, and in MIDDLE SCHOOL!
Famke will be in fifth grade
Kado in third.
Feintsje goes off to first grade.
Hertsje begins full-time kindergarten.
And Broeder goes to pre-school!

Last Week at My House

Summer Afternoon in the Backyard

This was Monday.

It was perfect.

Look!  
All six grand kids in the same picture!

Twice!

By the looks of it, everyone had a great time together, from the youngest...

 to the oldest...

 and everyone in between.

Hertsje is doing better after the removal of her tonsils.

Pake sends rain on the just and the unjust.  And again, everyone in between.
 

He ain't heavy, he's his cousin!

They do grow up.
It happens even when you ARE looking.

Learning New Things

Kado learned a new trick on Wednesday.  By the end of the afternoon, my sister's grandson could do it too.  And by the next day Feintsje made it to the top.  I have his video on a camera card that is now broken.  Maybe he'll climb it again for me tomorrow.  These are FUN times.  I need to buy the BIG box of bandaides next time I'm out.

This particular goose egg happened before we even ventured out of doors.

Monday Funday

Hmm.  We did not make things on this Monday, unless one counts the block towers.  Much time was spent on those.

Then these two decided that the best means of communication between the two of them would be the block telephone.

They talked about things I have never heard them talk about before.  Like feelings, and who is mean to them, and deep things like that.

 Then Broeder woke up and off we went into the backyard for running, racing, bubble blowing, and jumping on the little trampoline.  Why is Broeder crying, you may wonder?  He is angry at me because I would not let him play in the muddy disgusting rain water that accumulated in the turned over swimming pool.  Poor boy.  He seems to think that my life consists of one giant attempt to thwart his fun.  Which, I might add, if you understood his idea of fun, it sort of is.

And now for bonus points - which way is the dog facing?  It's MY dog, and yet it took me a few seconds to figure out which end was which.

Thursday in the Backyard

Thursday was an absolutely perfect day for spending in the backyard!

Hertsje likes to twirl, spin, and fall into the pool.

My sister came with her grandson.

He likes to take a running jump into the pool doing cannon balls.

Hertsje and Broeder love the big splash it makes when he does this.

All while Hertsje is still twirling...

 and spinning....

and falling into the pool.

Such fun!

See what I mean?

 Broeder really likes to spit into the pool.  No one else was thrilled about that.  He is seriously thinking whether or not he will heed the call to STOP SPITTING.  He is, after all, a thoughtful boy.

In the Summer Time

These guys wanted to paint peg people at the table in the backyard.

This is how I left them.

Famke and I went inside to rubber stamp some cards at the dining room table.

It was not long before a tiger appeared before us.

And next, a pig.

A pig with attitude!

Then another tiger, who stole away my rubber stamping partner.

She is one of those animals with a purple nose and whiskers.

You know.

I didn't, but she sure is good at it!

Now if you are thinking, as was I, that this is a fun summer idea what with the pool out in the backyard for easy clean-up, think again!

I found an abundance of wadded up colorful wet paper towels scattered all around the kitchen sink (they each were several different animals).

I asked what seemed to me to be a reasonable question, "Why didn't you wash off in the pool?"

Oh, these little sweethearts.

Their response?  "Because we didn't want to get the pool water all dirty."

Of course not.

Milk and Cookies

One of my favorite things about summer is having snacks at the picnic table in the backyard.

And one of our favorite snacks to have out there is milk and cookies.

I have five old milk bottles, but if you cannot find old ones, Michael's just had new ones on sale for a dollar.

Then buy any kind of cookie with a hole in the center.  These are red velvet.

Put two cookies on top of your milk bottle and add a straw!

And enjoy!

Thursday Afternoon in the Backyard

 I don't know if you know this about me, but I have TWO pools and a trampoline in my backyard!

And bubbles even!

These two.

I LOVE the sweet relationship they have with each other.