Our crazy summer

Summer is in full swing and already flying by.

The kids finished their first session of swim class last week.  By the end of it, Violet was perfectly fine with her lesson.  She just started her second session on Monday.  Jack is taking a break, because we couldn't find the right time slot for him, and it's more important to me now that Violet learn to swim.  Jack is already water safe.  His lessons are now more about technique refinement.  Violet, however, still needs to work on water safety and survival skills, although her teacher just told me that he thinks she will be able to move up to the next level after this session.  She's apparently a very quick learner!

Jack also just finished a week of water sports camp.  He really liked it.  He got to sail on a catamaran and on a regular sailboat (I'm sure Tom would know the exact model), paddleboard, and kayak.  He really liked the sailing in particular.  He wants to sign up for another week.

We actually have quite a busy summer planned.  In addition to the swim lessons and water sports camps, both kids are going to attend a vacation bible school in a few weeks.  These swim lessons are Violet's first foray into a structured, instructional setting, but it's only 40 minutes and I'm right there.  She is used to having me drop her off at a friend's house to babysit her while I volunteer at Jack's school for a few hours every other week, so at least that hopefully won't be an issue.  The VBS will be her first formal drop-off, large group experience.  It will be three hours long, and I won't be there.  She is finally old (and potty-trained) enough to be on her own in an instructional setting for a few hours. 

Jack actually has quite a few camps lined up.  I'm a little concerned with the precedent I am setting during this first official summer vacation.  But there are so many cool and fun things to do here, and he also is finally old enough to participate in a lot of them.  So this is what the rest of our summer looks like: Swim for Violet but nothing for Jack the next couple of weeks, and then VBS for both kids.  Then Jack is going to a week-long full-day surf and skateboard camp.  He has been desperate to learn how to surf, which I think is awesome.  After that, he will do another week-long Star Wars Lego camp, followed by a week of full-day math camp, followed by another week of water sports camp.  All this plus swim lessons when we can fit them in and I was also hoping to get him back into piano lessons for the summer.  I may have to rethink that one.

All these camps and lessons are getting expensive, but I just love how excited and interested Jack is in so many things.  It's hard to say no when he really wants to do something, especially because I feel that there is a ticking clock behind all this little boy enthusiasm.  I am dreading when adolescent ennui (among other things) sets in.

And lest I start looking forward to the start of school to help ease up our schedule, Jack has also informed me that he wants to start soccer in the fall.  So I will officially be a soccer mom soon.

What an awesome, crazy, blessed life we live.