SUMMER

We are now 2 weeks into summer vacation and I have been having a blast hanging out with Phoebe and Maggie. They started playground camp this week at the elementary school they attend. Maggie was SUPER nervous the first day. The day before she whined endlessly about how she didn’t want to go to camp. Phoebe has been going for years but this is Maggie’s first year. She will eneter Kindergarten at this school in the fall so I thought it would be a good experience to get to know the school ahead of time. Plus, ALL of her friends are there, too. It’s kind of the “in” place to be around here. Their dad dropped them off the first day and texted me that Maggie was having a really hard time, sucking her thumb, hiding her head, not speaking. He felt awful because he had to leave for work. Well, I picked them up 3 hours later and Maggie would not stop talking about it. She was sooo excited because her counselor’s name is “Maggie.” She chattered away so excited. I am glad I went with my instinct and signed her up! She has happily gone every day since. Phoebe, of course, loves it too because all of her friends from school are there. Next week they will both attend a week of cheerleading camp. Again, Phoebe is a veteran but it will be Maggie’s first time. I expect she will be just as shy the first day and then love it just as much by the end!
Because of the heat wave, our pool has been getting a ton of use. I am so proud of how well the girls have been swimming. I stopped their swim lessons at the Y for the summer because I figured they would get a ton of practice in their backyard and that is just how it has been going. Just last week, Maggie would not enter the deep end without a life jacket on. Now, she jumps off the diving board doing tricks and then swims to the shallow end. She also goes down the big slide without hesitation. Phoebe has started doing her own tricks off the diving board…cartwheels and spinning jumps. She also basically taught herself how to dive after watching a friend. She even runs up, bounces and dives right in…no belly flopping!
Phoebe has really gotten into reading this summer. One day we just relaxed on the swing outisde and read our books while lying next to each other. Maggie was inside watching Grease. This, by the way, has become their new obsession (after, of course, the first time when I suggested watching it and they insisted it was a terrible movie and they wanted nothing to do with it). I have now seen Grease so many times I could recite the whole movie! Fortunately, it is due back at the library Monday. This weekend they are with their dad camping in Hammondsport. I am so fortunate that he is such a good father and that they love to be with him. It makes it a little easier when it is their time with him…knowing they are enjoying themselves and in a loving, caring environment. I am looking forward to Sunday night when they are back home with me, though!!