4th of July

After a fun day of swimming and grilling with Tom's family we went to fireworks at the Plainwell airport. Believe it or not all my pictures of the girls swimmimg also had Tom in them so...of course they aren't being posted. So here are some from our pre-firework fun. My parents came with us to enjoy in the fun.

Jessie started with catching lightening bugs first. She's trying for that black dot to the right of her hand.


Then some posing time with Mema. That's my mom behind her.

Some more posing...she was really in a picture mood that night...

...Kat not so much. I tried to get her to smile and this is what I got....

...but give her some sparklers and look at that face!!

Jessie loved doing sparklers too.

End of softball season, the finished fence around the pool, and other June pictures

Here are some June pictures to kinda keep me up to date on posting.


Jessie helping Kat put a puzzle together. If you look closely you can see Jessie was styling Kat's hair before they started the puzzle.



Ready to run home.

This was actually from May. It's Kat during her end of year program for preschool. This is really the most she participated. She was so shy on stage she mostly just sat in her chair or stood next to it when they were standing. No singing at all. Maybe next year.

Here she is in her other participating moment "waving" her ribbon for the rainbow.

This is how we tend to catch the girls watching tv together. That position doesn't look comfortable to me, but they like it.

One of the hotter softball games. Sleeves rolled up and blowing bubbles.

Kat playing with her friends while Jessie plays her game.

Jessie at her bridging ceremony to become a brownie.

Yet another hot game. Shorts instead of pants here. I also believe she's blowing a bubble here as she swings. Early multi-tasking.

And Kat playing with her friends again. Those 3 loved playing together. Hopefully all the big sisters are on the same team again next year so they get to play at the games again.

Jessie giving Kat a piggy back ride. That cube is long gone now. Kat is swimming in the deep end and jumping off the diving board without it. In a matter of about a weeks time.

Here's a view of the pool looking toward our side street with the fence up. The gate wasn't up yet on the far right, but it is now. We are nice and secure now (private too).

Looking towards the other end of the yard. There will be grass at the far end and a shed too. We're waiting on the shed to be delivered then Tom and his dad will put it up. Then by this fall we should have some nice grass growing.

If you can't see it in her eyes, this kid LOVES swimming!

Pool Project, start to almost finish

Here's a BUNCH of pictures from start to almost finish of getting our pool. Tom and my dad still need to get the fence put up and then we still have to get a shed for storage too. We've been enjoying swimming in it for the last week now and I can see where we will be for a lot of the summer months :)

The backyard after the lilac bush and 1 cedar were taken down.


View from the other side.

The big line of cedars that had to come down. Kat is standing between the cedars and the bush to the left. The bush is gone now too:)

After the neighbor's fence line had been cleared a bit.

Other side when cedars are still up.

Kat is "swimming" in the pool. They had marked the yard with flags for where the pool would be and the girls kept swimming through it. Her cheeks are even all puffed out cause she is holding her breath.

Cedars down. Tom and some friends did this while I was out getting a massage :)

Cedars and large tree in background of previous picture all cleared out. The pool walls are stacked on the patio slab.

Looking out toward the street.

Excavating starts.

The basic shape of the pool. Ready for the walls.

View from the back.

Me standing in the shallow end.

Getting the walls going.

Kat loved to watch them work from the window.

Walls up with stairs in.

Then we got some snow. It melted by afternoon. What else can you expect in April for Michigan weather.

Spreading the vermiculite floor.

Almost done with the floor.

Putting in the liner.

Liner all in place, now just need to add water.

Mostly filled with water. If you enlarge the picture you will see a little clearer the ducks swimming in the shallow end. They have been some new visitors this year. They started out at the neighbor's pool that hasn't been opened for many years. Once we got our pool filled in they started visiting us too.

The retaining wall in the process of being put in. Tom and my dad did a great job putting this in.

The duck hanging out again.

Ground all level around the pool. Getting ready for concrete.

View of the retaining wall from the neighbor's yard. The far right end wasn't finished yet here.

Shallow end view.

Ducks again. We keep shooing them away and they keep coming back.

Kat watching the concrete truck right outside the window.

Concrete freshly done.

The girls handprints.

Just waiting for the fence to be put up and then some landscaping. Nice clear water now though, and very fun to swim in.

View towards street.

The girls in the pool for the first swim. This was Memorial Day before the concrete was put in.