A perfect summer day

I wish I had pictures of today to share with you. But I was a little too busy enjoying myself to snap any.

Today was a perfect summer day for us. We got up, ate breakfast, and got our morning chores done. All four of us were together this morning, which is fairly unusual lately (unfortunately!).

Then, the HVAC guys came over to replace our furnace, so the boys and I took off for a Starbuck's stop and the library. Of course, not before Jack got to watch our HVAC guy work a little bit. There were way too many tools and cool equipment to just walk out the door.

It was a little touch and go at the library. There may or may not have been some Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino spilled on the floor while Reid screamed his little head off. It's amazing what a wipe can clean up. We got both boys signed up for the Passport to Reading summer reading program though. The Lego Millenium Falcon and an overnight pack definitely incentivized my 5-year-old. And after some trains and reading, we were ready to head back home for the next part of our day. And we left with several really good books to read at home.

It finally felt like summer at 84 degrees, so as we headed off to swim lessons, I also packed up a lunch so we could go to the other pool right after. Swim lessons were a hit for both boys today. Reid blew bubbles, sang songs, jumped off the side with some help, and even put his whole face in by himself. Jack practiced the back stroke, dove for rings, and basically dove off the side (instead of jumping). The hardest part here was getting them into the car to go to a different pool.

So we made it to Dolphin's Cove and met our friend Ethan and his mom Erin. Jack and Ethan had a blast swimming around the pool and playing in the sand area. Reid loved the little dolphin slide and the sand as well. And when Reid finally started to show signs of extreme exhaustion two hours later, we left for home. Reid fell asleep in the car, and for the first time ever, I was able to transfer him to his bed without waking him up. And he continued to sleep for 2 1/2 hours.

While Reid slept, Jack and I read books. For the summer reading program, he needs to read 50 minutes a week. We read for 30 minutes this afternoon, then another 10 at dinner and another 10 at bedtime. So he's set for this week in one day. Reid got 20 minutes in today. It was fantastic.

Finally, we played around the house a bit and then I made dinner. For the first time ever, Jack asked to read a book at dinner. So I ate my pork chop and cauliflower quickly and got to reading some Mercer Mayer bedtime stories. It definitely made dinner go smoothly. I should have known this was a good idea. My friend Abby wrote about how she reads to her kids at meals on her blog Picture Book House a while ago. Sometimes you just have to learn by experience.

And now both boys are asleep. It's still almost 80 degrees outside, but our A/C is working again. And I had a few minutes to write.

I wonder what tomorrow will have in store for us!