The pool!- Henry.

The real highlight of being in Indiana was the pool in the Tallers' neighborhood. Mama and Junie got down there every time they could.



It took me a while to get back up to the comfort level I had last summer, but I did have a good time swimming. I liked jumping in on the condition that mama caught me before my head went under water. But if it did go under, I didn't mind it so much. (Don't be alarmed by the big brown sea monster- that's just mama in a bathing suit.)

I wore the swim vest most of the time and really liked floating on my back. The real surprise was that June turned out to be a total water bug. She loved being at the pool. and when she jumped in, she wanted to go under water. She already knows that special way to hold your breath so no water gets up your nose when you jump in. (Mama has never mastered that.) Every time she went under, she came up smiling.

The big news of the weekend was June's fearlessness. After seeing Evie jump off the diving board in the deep end of the pool, June insisted on getting to the edge. She climbed up and walked over the the board. Mama stopped her long enough to get a swim vest on her. She climbed the diving board and jumped right in the pool. (Don't worry, Aunt Jenni was there to catch her.) Count this as reason number 100 we aren't getting a pool. We'd never be able to keep June out.
Say, who's that other lady in the pool? That's mama's friend, Miss Elizabeth, who drove down from Chicago for the weekend to become the chief object of affection for 4 kids.


Not only was it great to see her, it was a break for all of our parents. No one wanted their mom or dad to do anything. They wanted Miss Elizabeth. and that included everything from sitting beside her at meals, to reading books, to wiping bottoms. All of which, Miss Elizabeth willingly performed. We think she had fun, but went back to Chicago thankful she doesn't have kids.

Every night, we'd have to pull June out because her lips were blue and her teeth were chattering.
But she just kept trying to get back in.

All four kids played amazingly well together. When we weren't out having fun, mama and Aunt Jenni threw us in the basement with all the toys. And we stayed down there for hours, having fun with only minor skirmishes.
Aunt Jenni lives in the perfect neighborhood for riding bikes. We got to ride on the sidewalk two houses either way. I commandeered the red tricycle and we never left the house without me riding it. I wish we had some sidewalks in our neighborhood (and a surface flat enough to ride a bike without losing control).

Occasionally, June would try to get away and I'd have to go get her.
Before we left, we tried to get a shot of all four kids. Fingers out, June!
Kiss your cousin!

Make a silly face!
Roar like a dinosaur!

Finally, we got a good one.


Mama and Miss Elizabeth only needed one try for their picture. Thanks for coming to visit us, Miss Elizabeth. And thanks Aunt Jenni and Uncle Jim for putting up with us for 5 days. We hope everyone caught up on sleep after we left.