Swimming, Gymnastics, Sage's B-day, and Fatherhood.

It's officially the summer! School is out. Both kids did great in school this last year. Sage's teacher loved her enthusiasm for everything, and Ashton's teacher said he has to be the most photogenic child there ever was. Curtis and I are proud of both of our children!

Now that school is over we turn out attention toward the summer. June has been very busy and its not even quite over yet. During the first two weeks of June both Sage and Ashton took swimming lessons. Ashton, being afraid of water, was enrolled in Stage 1. Here he practiced just being comfortable in the water, and below water. Ashton now can dunk his head,jump in the water, and float on his back. He can also dive down for things in shallow water. He still however has to work on his two body length glides both on his front and back before he can advance to level 2. Sage was enrolled in level 3 and did very well passing the class. She however still needs to work on endurance before we are comfortable with putting her in level 4. So that is what we will do while swimming this summer.

Both Curtis and i have also decided to enroll our little girl into Gymnastics to help spend some of that energy she has. She is loving it and has a lot of power in her legs and no fear of anything. It should be fun to see how far she goes.

Another major event this June has been Sage's Birthday. We threw a party for her and she invited a bunch of her best girlfriends. I created a big one hour treasure hunt that had them searching in bushes, goat pens, hay, and many other locations. By the end of the hunt all 10 guests were exhausted. So we fed them ice cream and cupcakes and then let them whack at a pinyata in the shade of a tree. Everyone had a blast! In another two weeks Sage will be getting baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We are so excited for her and this decision that she has made.

Yesterday was Fathers Day. The kids made Curtis cards and expressed their love and appreciation for him. I know that its hard to be a parent. Fatherhood can be very challenging and stressful. You have to not only take care of yourself but your wife and children. You have to be there for them in good and bad times. You have to be consistently responsible, strong, selfless, and supportive. Curtis is always telling me how he wished he could be a better Dad. But the thing he does not realize is that he has given our family more than he gives himself credit for. He has given the kids stability, love, and a father that can always be depended on. Both the kids and I are eternally grateful for that.