Chores Done...Swimming FUN

Yesterday no one was getting much done and the house looked like a kid-tornado hit it! I had to keep reminding the kids to stop playing with the animals (which is nice they want to play & give them love) and get their ONE chore done for the day. Nathaniel was trying to be clever with his chore. He finally got his done and let me know right away. I had to line up all the kids and ask them if they knew what they were supposed to be doing rather than me always telling them. Well, there seemed to be a bit of confusion. Nathaniel & Felicia said they had the same chore. Turns out, Nathaniel tried to TRADE his chore with Felicia - which I'm not allowing this summer because I have a rotation set up for them. Tricky tricky guy! He got his (meaning Felicia's) chore done so fast that she would HAVE to do the trade. LOL :)

Anyway, I told Nathaniel I was disappointed - which nearly brought him to tears. He doesn't want to disappoint me (I am the same way with my parents). But he knew what he did wasn't the right thing when they knew they weren't allowed to trade.

Since he already did hers (which is washing the table after lunch), I told him that he still needed to do his chore (sweeping). Felicia could wash the table after dinner. Then I gave Felicia something else to give her something to do in the meantime.

Ashley had already emptied the dishwasher earlier, so she was done. Anson didn't want to dust. But once he got the duster out, he was having fun as usual. He even came to dust my computer and told me I had to turn it off so he could dust. haha I said it could be ON while he dusted. While he dusted he told me he wasn't mad at me for leaving the computer on. Silly guy!!

When he was done, he said "OK, Mom...what's my next job?!" He was in the helping mood. So, I asked him to please help pick up some toys. He did great! Finally all the kids worked together to get stuff picked up. YAY!!! So, the house didn't look too bad when Ben got home.

For their reward...we all went swimming last night after dinner! It was FUN!!! {My first time swimming this summer} We had to remind the kids to be a little quieter because it was 8-9pm that we were swimming and some people go to bed at that time.

Felicia was doing front flips off the diving board.

Nathaniel was jumping off the diving board.

Ashley was bouncing around the shallow end & swimming underwater everywhere.

Anson finally put his Diego swim shorts on (he keeps coming in the pool area fully clothed). He has been a little nervous about swimming, so usually he just puts his feet in & splashes. I told him I would help him.

I held onto him and he was having fun (while practically choking me)! haha

His swim vest is all stretched out and doesn't attach to his new shorts, so he doesn't want to wear it. However, that means he can't swim on his own yet. He rode on Ben's back a little while last night. He suddenly decided he was cold & tired, so he got out. He just watched while he was wrapped up in a towel. A few minutes later, he asked to come back in. So, I held onto him a little longer. Then, I put him on the steps and he started to bounce around. He can reach the 3rd step and not be underwater. He was bouncing a lot & having fun! FINALLY!!! YAY!!

That is the same thing Ashley used to do (2 years ago). She only used her swim vest for a couple weeks. Then she bounced on the steps (w/o the vest). She would also "swim" on the 3rd step because it's longer. It gave her the courage to finally venture out across the shallow end.

I'm hoping Anson will do the same thing. Maybe he will get a little courage to swim off the steps a little without help. He has the right idea kicking and using his arms properly. I just hope he can do it for real soon.

Any tips?

Gotta go get ready for Summer Movie Fun!!! And tonight is Bunko!!! It's going to be a GREAT day!!!