Well the girls did not "progress" in their swimming lessons to the next level at the end of the two weeks. They learned a lot but were just not comfortable with their faces in the water. So, to keep the momentum rolling we enrolled them in another two weeks of level 1 (this is their 3rd time). Today was the last day and they PASSED!! They are officially on to level 2. This does not mean that they can swim yet, so we will keep going with this. What it does mean is that they can enter and exit the water safely by themselves, bob 5 times to chin level, and MOVE for five yards! YEAH! They even get a Red Cross level 1 card for that!
Lets see, other than swim lessons some of the highlights of the past couple weeks were that on July 19th we had the Duluth Air Show of which Dusty Johnson Contracting and Design was a major sponsor. We got VIP seating in the "chalet" where we got to rub elbows with the pilots, enjoy free food and drinks and a front row seat of all the action. It was a really great show until the highly anticipated Blue Angels had completed their first few passes and the sky opened up into a monsoon. It was then that our VIP status officially meant nothing. Well, maybe something, they were kind enough to give us two plastic table cloths that we fashioned into ponchos for our 1 mile hike back to our car. Of course there are four of us and our plan was to tuck the girls under our ponchos which would have never worked. Fortunately there was an armed forces recruiting booth on the way out that had bags large enough to stuff the girls into poking holes out for their heads and arms. I then made rain caps out of four more bags and we were off like a little family of ducks.
We made it home in relative dryness and good humor, got changed and decided to go to a movie. I am not kidding this was record time we were in and out of our house in 5 minutes flat when we told them we were going to see WAL-E. That NEVER happens. Unfortunately, it was sold out. We went to Coldstone for dinner instead.
The next week the girls did get to go see the American Girl movie with our friend Kathy, picked 8 1/2 lbs of Raspberries, field trip to a sawmill, continued swimming lessons, girls group, a trip out to Solon Springs, WI to see our friend Meg who is moving to Germany, and then on Friday, horse lessons. I wish I would have had my camera with because Naomi came with this time. We didn't intend for her to be involved, but you know how it goes. She was just coming to watch and by the end she was walking Banjo (Freja' pony) and looking soooo comfortable that the ranch owner Wendy went and got a waiver and brought it to me. She said she looks so at ease with Banjo, and him with her "You know some people can communicate with horses." It really did look like that was what was happening so how can you tell a horse whisperer that she can't come back!
Friday night was a big event. Freja was in a fashion show. Our friend Crystal Pelkey has been doing puff paint art for years, even in the face of some scoffers yours truly included. God bless her, she has persevered and really turned her strange craft into a beautiful form of textile art. So, when she asked if Freja could be one of her models for a charity fashion show I had to say yes. It was really funny though when the girls were trying to figure out exactly what Freja would be doing. Naomi said "It's good that Crystal picked Freja because she is a really good waddler!" Yes, she is. She did a really good job working the cat walk in front of a full house.
This week was all about the beach (after swim lessons of course) we went down to the sandy beach of Park Point on Monday and had a great time although it was a tad chilly. It was actually windy enough that the girls were "catching waves" on their little raft and surfing in.
Tuesday the girls went to Space Chimps with Kathy while I was at a church meeting. When I came back they were down on her beach looking for agates and sea glass. I walked down their to join them and then we ended up calling Dusty to come on down and join us all for pizza dinner. It was a beautiful evening and such a treat to be down there.
Wednesday the girls and I went back down to Park Point. It was much warmer and we just hung out all day. Today after the girls graduated from their swimming class on UMD campus we went to the Tweed Museum of Art to look around, then Freja wanted to see the library so we walked over there. We were killing time until we were to head down to the beach to see the "tall ships" from Boston come into port. When we tried to get down there the traffic was so bad we decided to go to Dennis and Kathy's and see if it would be OK if we watched it from there. Well, we didn't so much as ask as invade but they graciously let us in. It was cool to see the ships sailing around but we were too far to see the actual cannon firing so after waiting a couple of hours it was pretty anti-climactic.
Which brings us to right now. I am going to bed because in the morning we will be furiously packing for our camping trip and then scooting off to a party at the horse ranch before we go. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!
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