The very best part of our summer (thus far... as it has only been 2 weeks since school got out) is swimming lessons. My children are fish. Seriously. I look behind their ears on a regular basis to see if they have gills. They love the water sooooooooo much it's crazy. Swimming lessons were cancelled this morning because of a thunderstorm and all three kids sunk into the depths of despair. It actually ruined their whole day.

We've done lessons in the past--the 2x a week for a month variety. It has given Carver and Lily the basics. But right now we are in lessons that meet every morning Monday through Friday. I have them signed up for the entire summer and we are thrilled. Zinabu loves the water so much he is always under water and missing the instructions his teacher is giving him. We're working on reminding him he is there to learn and not to goof off. But he's so darn cute it's hard not to laugh at him.

Another bonus? It wears them out. Each morning we're up, fed, dressed, and out the door right away. The rest of the day is playgrounds, library, trampoline, and making the house incredibly messy. They're positively crashing at night.

And the ticket system is going well. It's been an interesting study, actually. My kids have watched almost NO television. They have asked for computer time and are eager for their 30 minute slot. But it just showed David and I that the TV was being used when they were bored. Before, if they ran out of things to do they would request a video or watch PBS. Now they are not so eager to part with their precious tickets. I'll keep you posted on our progress.