Through the Lens Thursday - end of summer back to school

Yep, summer is officially over around here.

We spent the last Saturday afternoon at the local pool.

Elli has really come to love swimming this summer.

At the beginning of the summer she liked the baby pool better

and she would jump in to me but only if I was already holding on to her hands.

By the end of the summer, I had to really watch her because she'd jump in whether I was ready to catch her or not. She just flung herself in the pool! She loves to lay on her back with me supporting her and she loves to swim with her arms and legs. She will even put her face in sometimes, as long as it is her idea. ;-)

We haven't been able to give Zack any formal swimming lessons yet but he's a little fish too. By the end of the summer, he was proud of how far he'd come doggy paddling across the pool and going down the slide with very little "catching" at the bottom.

Cole and Luke have spent considerably more time at the pool this year than the rest of us since they were able to walk down there in the afternoons and spend several hours enjoying the cool water with each other and sometimes with friends.
They were really proud of how they perfected their diving skills this year.

BACK TO SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!

already? Zack is in first grade!

Cole is in 7th grade and Luke is in his last year of elementary in 5th grade.

A bittersweet day to drop him off at the middle school.

One of his classmates was killed in a car accident the night before.He is a pillar of God's strength, even though he has known her for 8 years.

I prayed that he would be of comfort to his fellow classmates who are having a harder time with it.

Zack said "what will I do next year when Luke goes to middle school? Who will walk me to school?" I smiled at him and told him he would be on his own and old enough to walk himself to school by then. I told him when Cole was in 2nd grade, he was responsible for walking Luke to kindergarten and when Elli started going in a few years, that he would be walking her there! My baby boy is growing up!!!!

Elli and I were off to bake our traditional back to school first day cookies. :)

Through the Lens Thursday

is sponsored by Janet at Frugal and Focused.