Eli & Cole - two boys, one big adventure: Super fun weekend

Another super fun weekend around here. Grandma C came to visit and allowed Tim & I to have some fun and she also helped out with the boys.

Saturday morning (really early!) Tim & I headed to a Stand-Up Paddleboarding lesson. I have been wanting to try it for a long time and when a Living Social Deal came up in June, I snagged two lessons so we could try it together. It was a 2 hour lesson and we finally made the time to go. When the lesson started, we sat on the boards and paddled out a bit to deeper water. We had a life jacket on and a paddle in our hands. Going from sitting to standing was a little tricky but not so bad once the instructor gave us tips on how to do it. I can only give my account but I was a little wobbly when I got up. I didn't want to be the first of our group to fall in the water! Once we got up, it was time to do a little paddling. Not too bad....as long as I was a "rock" and didn't move much on the board. Then it was time to learn to move a little on the board. Oh my. Not as easy as just standing still! I slowly shifted my feet around and tried to work my way to the back of the board to pop the nose of the board up. Apparently that makes turns quicker and tighter. Well, all it did was help me fall off!! Once I fell off, it was no big deal to fall off again. It was difficult to get back on the board the first time but trust me when I tell you, I pushed my limits enough to fall off plenty of times and I mastered getting back on the board!! We paddled around and just worked on skills. Near the end of class, we got everyone together (2 instructors and 10 students) and formed a line by overlapping our boards. We were like one big caterpillar - forming over an 11' paddleboard. Cool, we all got together. THEN it was time for everyone to stand up! We all did it and paddled around like that. It was very neat. Now the only way to break the line was to do above mentioned pop wheelie of the board. And yep, you guessed it, I fell off again!! Tim didn't fall off nearly as many times as I did but I told him it was because he wasn't pushing himself. My motto was that if you didn't fall off, you weren't trying hard enough! We had such a great time and I was very sore Sunday. My legs haven't had that type of workout probably ever. Imagine balancing on a wobbly board for two hours. Great quad and core workout!!

Before our lesson

After our paddleboarding lesson - so much fun!!

As soon as we got home from paddleboarding, Grandma & I headed out with the boys to Cole's buddy Jack's birthday party. It was a pool party and both Eli & Cole were ready to go play. The pool was really nice and had a toddler area with a shallow pool and water features. The big pool had a big slide and diving board. Eli went down the slide a lot of times. I stayed somewhat near the bottom so he could swim to me and then swim to the side of the pool. He did pretty good but definitely needed me there. I caught him in line for the diving board once and it about gave me a heart attack. Still some work to do before he can dive and swim to the side by himself. Soon though, very soon!

Loves the pool

Nice club - toddler area here, see the big slide in the background

little water boy

This was a fun water spray feature

Not a big fan of birthday party hats

Birthday Boy Jack!

Cole threw water on Grandma C and I LOVE his face in this picture.

He wasn't very happy when she poured water on him though.

Love Grandma!

Hitching a ride

I was surprised that Eli kept going under this but he loved it.

Cole giving it a try.

Do I have a future swimmer on my hands?

Great shot with Grandma

F-U-N!!

Cole and Jack

Cute 3 year olds!

When we got home, there was a birthday package awaiting Cole. He was excited to open his new hockey set from our friends in Vermont. The boys had a blast playing with it on the back porch.

Let's go play hockey!

Supervising Daddy

while he pressure washed the concrete.

Sunday morning, we all went to church and the boys crammed in more fun play time with Grandma before she headed home. Then, while Cole napped, Eli went to his friend Gray's birthday party at Pump It Up. Summer is party season for us!! So much fun!