labor day weekend

Labor Day weekend came and went and it was relaxing and filled with nothing even close to resembling labor.

We headed up to Sacramento to spend the weekend with Chris' parents.  The kids were looking forward to spending time with them, swimming and riding their bikes.

After arriving in Sacramento we headed straight to the pool so the kids could show off their skills.  Landon seemed to be a bit over confident because as soon as we got to the pool he shouted, "Papa watch this!" and jumped straight into the deep end.  I had my back turned and was scouting out the perfect spot to put the armful of towels, camera and sunscreen that I was carrying when I heard Ashlyn screaming that Landon was drowning.  I turned around to see Landon desperately trying to tread water and dropped everything in my arms to jump in and save him.  This is not the first time that I have had to jump into a pool to save Landon but at least this time I had a bathing suit on and didn't have to jump in fully clothed. One of these days this kid is going to give me a heart attack.

After that drama we enjoyed some fun in the pool.


Ashlyn has become a strong swimmer and we even had a friendly little race...
This is the only kind of smile I could get out of him all weekend...I guess I should be thankful that at least his eyes are open.


Once the weather started to cool down we headed back outside so the kids could ride their bikes.


Landon finally figured out how to use the brakes on his bike.  This is a vast improvement from the way he used to stop...basically drag his shoes on the ground until he slowed down enough to leap off of his bike sending it crashing to the ground. Of course, this time he was wearing brand new school shoes and I threatened his life if he used them as brakes.  Believe it or not, that method of stopping was better than his previous method which involved crashing into our neighbor's car...twice.  I do love watching the kids grow and learn new skills.
 
Bike riding was short lived because Papa got out the kite that Landon got for his birthday and the kids were dying to get that kite in the air.  Papa gave it a shot but there just wasn't enough wind.

A little while later Ashlyn went out to the field by herself and wouldn't you know it...she got that kite up in the air.

In no time at all that kite was flying high above the field and with a little help from daddy it soared.

As the sun set that day I watched my kids laughing and spending time together and I was thankful.  Not because everything in life is perfect but because despite imperfection we can still have perfect moments.  Moments when we can thank God for life, for His grace, and for the blessing of family.  
Have a great week!