Grandkids in the pool

Jason and family were here last weekend, here are some pictures of what we did most of Saturday.

Tossing Claire

 and John

  Claire again

 and Jake

 John again.

Jake swimming

video of Jake swimming and Jake and John being launched by Jeremy. 

 Claire and Jake

 Claire and Taylor.

 Claire and Taylor on the seaplane float.

 Claire

 John on the seaplane

 Jake on the seaplane, you can only guess at how much he loved it!

 Eating watermelon

 and Ashley's birthday cake.

 More tossing, or rather launching of Claire

 Jake is launched.

 Movie and quiet time.

New Floor and Water Damage

I finally decided on what kind of new floor I wanted - vinyl plank! Looks like wood and I had it installed everywhere downstairs except for my bedroom, which has fairly new carpet.

 

 OK, it isn't real wood, but it is installed without that hollow scratchy sound of a laminate, and it can be wet or even steam mopped!  Good thing, because the day after it was installed I had a cracked supply line on the upstairs bathroom toilet that poured out water all over the floor upstairs, ran down through the ceiling and wall and deposited about 3 inches of water all over my NEW floor. I was at work, but fortunately my cleaning lady was there and she turned off the water at the toilet and called me.  I rushed home, turned off the water to the house and we spent the next 3 hours mopping and drying the floor. Although the baseboards, sheetrock, back door, and more were ruined, the vinyl planks were still in great shape, with only a few planks that took the most water popping up.  But that was because the glue loosened, and they can be glued back down!  WOW! If only the water leak had happened the day BEFORE the new floor was installed, I could have had insurance cover the cost of the new floor along with the water damage repairs.  Oh well, such is life.  I spent several years mulling over my new floor, saving money for it, then decided to do it, and the very next day had the water leak!

Here is the breakfast room down to the studs.

New sheetrock on wall and ceiling.

Fresh paint and new back door (with no raccoon access!).

Also new baseboards throughout the house where the water was. Only thing left is for the floor crew to replace all the 1/4 round everywhere the baseboards were removed. 

 Plus glue down a few of the vinyl planks.

While the contractor was here, I had the stair bannisters sanded and painted/stained. I also have new carpet that will go on the stairs when the floor crew is here next week.

New paint job on the stairs really updates the look. And there is no more yellow wood left anywhere in the house!  The only thing to update now is the kitchen countertops, but that will be a bit down the road.

Checking out a Big Airplane

The twins came for a swim, Mimi joined us. They are taking swimming lessons at a location near their home. Here are Jake and Claire on the pool shelf waiting for their turn with the instructor.

 At my house, Claire wanted me to take her picture inside, then she struck a pose and held it while I fiddled with the camera and got the shot.

 JanMa believes in learning practical skills.  Here Claire shows the results of applying her own sunblock.

 And Jake is learning how to open his own yogurt tubes.  First he tried the pliers, then switched to some scissors.

 Then Mimi joined us in the pool for a Saturday morning of fun.

 I had to do a quick job of covering up the old kitty door in the back door.  After the water leak, the flap in the door would no longer latch.  Even though I had put my raccoon prevention device back on, the little rascals had still found their way in. So I used the only power saw I have, a jigsaw, and cut a small section of some scrap plywood I had. 

 Then I just nailed it to the door to cover the kitty door.  The door will be replaced when the water damage repair is done, so there will be a new door with NO kitty door.

 Also, my sago palm is blooming.

 The next day it rained, but fortunately Bill had a plan B, go see the Gulfstream IV that he used to fly.  It was landing at Hooks airport and he wanted to go see Jack, his old pilot partner.  I thought it would be a great distraction for the kids, especially Jake who loves airplanes.

Jake and Claire both knew exactly what to do when they were seated on the plane. Seatbelts ON!

 Here is Jack and the twins. Jake explained to all of us that Jack was a REAL pilot.

 Bill, who must just be a pretend pilot, poses with the twins.

 Afterwards, we stopped for ice cream.  Bill and I added cobbler to ours. Claire tried it and said she would get cobbler next time too.

 

Bill and I also visited with his brother Pete, in town for a granddaughter's graduation. We make a stop to see William, who quickly took to Pete, and even was calling him Uncle Pete.

 On the other hand, William is still not sure about me, nor does he have any interest in saying JanMa.

 Bill and Pete watch William draw at his work  table.

Swimming with Jake and Claire

For Memorial Day we grilled steaks and had beans, potatoes, cake and ice cream and adult beverages. Mimi, Bill and I were joined by Blaine and Erin, and Laura and Michael (cousin) and their 2 kids. Some of us went swimming, some of us just relaxed around the pool. I stuck a candle in the cake and we sang Happy Birthday to Erin.

 One afternoon when I picked up the twins we cracked a coconut I had bought. Claire and Jake had been listening to someone read them a story about monkeys and coconuts on palm trees. I saw fresh coconuts at HEB, and watched a few YouTube videos on cracking a coconut.

 We were successful and we all had a taste of fresh coconut.  Claire liked it, Jake not so much.

 I had bought some floaties for the kids for my pool.  We are now able to go swimming after I pick them up from pre-school. With just me to watch them, I felt more comfortable with them having something that would hold them up and they couldn't let go of, like the noodles. Claire took right to the floaties, paddling all over the pool.  Jake was not so comfortable, still wanting to be held or be on a raft float or holding on to the side. BUT last Saturday the twins came with parents, and look what Jake started doing!  Jumping into the pool, paddling all over the pool, and even floating face down while kicking his feet.  In just the span of 30 minutes he went from being hesitant to being a real participant in water play.

Here is a short video clip of the kids swimming with their floaties.  Later in the afternoon, the adults were sitting under the umbrella and the kids finished up their snacks. They both went back to the pool and started playing a "jump in the water together" game, laughing and having a great time. Next week they start 5 days of personal swim instruction, and I hope they both have more confidence in the water.

Claire did give me a little scare last week.  I had both kids out of the pool, out of swimsuits and dried off.  I went back into the pool to spread my solar heating rings around the water.  Claire came into the pool on the steps, and without her floaties on jumped into the water.  I was about 6 feet away with a solar ring between us, and she was paddling like a champ with her nose barely above the surface of the water.  It took me about 5 seconds to get to her, but it seemed like forever.  I pulled her up and we both decided she would not jump into the pool at JanMa's house without floaties until she passed her swimming lessons!