Thursday, April 24, 2014

Thankful Thursday: Toddy & ISR

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I’m thankful for a wonderful husband. I know I’m not the only wife that thinks they have the best husband in the whole world, but I think I have the best husband in the world! I am so blessed to have a man by my side that is twice the spouse I will ever be.

I’m thankful for a little swimmer. Mckenna started ISR swim lessons on Monday, and is a super star! She is shockingly good at it…her instructor is even a bit shocked. She is on day 4 of lessons, but is doing skills that most kids are doing twice as far (if not farther) into lessons. And I’m not thankful for a swimmer because I’m hoping she goes to the Olympics...I’m just thankful for a swimmer because I want her to be ok if she ever falls into a body of water!

I’m thankful for Toddy. We have been making cold brew coffee for iced coffee…and MMM MMM MMM!! I could drink it all day long. If you’ve never tried it, you can get a Toddy maker for $30, and it’s worth every penny.


Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for the Toddy coffee maker. I noticed that Mandi was drinking more iced coffee lately, but she was brewing hot coffee first and letting it cool before making her drink. I got our slow brew Toddy coffee maker down from the cupboard and told her to give it a try instead. It was a hit!! She loved it. So I guess I'm thankful for the smile it put on my wife's face more than anything.

I'm thankful for ISR lessons. Mckenna just started "survival" lessons this week, and it's so cool to see how quickly she's progressing. She was floating on her back by the second day and remains incredibly calm during the process. I'm excited to see where she is and what she can do in a few weeks!!

I'm thankful for time with Mandi. We've recently started having a nice young woman come over and hang out with Mckenna for a few hours on Thursday to let Mandi and I have some time to work together. It's amazing how little we're able to work together even though we both work out of the same house! It really helps us focus on a few action items and knock them out.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Fun with Classes and Lessons

We have recently started introducing Mckenna to different sports/activities through classes and lessons. It has been so fun to watch her learn new skills, try new things, and feel accomplished through her learning and growth.

Our local rec center has a lot of great classes for reasonable prices. Each class usually lasts 4-5 weeks, and is 1 time a week for 45 minutes. So she's getting to learn/try something, without us committing her (and ourselves) to a long time. We had her in a tumbling class, a dance class, and a 'sports' class (where each week they play 1-2 new sports). Her dance and tumbling classes ended, so we started another dance class (which was her favorite), and her sports class still has a few sessions left. She loves these classes! And we love seeing her with all her little peers, playing. We also just started her in an art and science class, where they learn different things through art. We had her first class last week, and she LOVES it. Right now she has 3 different classes a week, and can't get enough. Every day she wakes up she eagerly asked if she has a class that day, and is so excited on class day.

We also just started her in ISR swim lessons (today was her first day). Mckenna is fearless and loves water. She is really good at jumping in and "swimming" short distances. But would be totally screwed if she fell into a pool, lacking the ability to actually swim to the surface and get to a place to get out. So we decided now was a good time to get her some survival swim lessons, since we live someone with pools all over. ISR swim lessons are 10 minutes a day for 4-6 weeks. She did insanely well today, and we are excited to see her progress. I have heard that can be a little "scary" for kids, and some kids cry, but Mckenna wasn't phased, loved every second, and can't wait to go back!

Ronnie and I love our classes at the gym. We think classes are a great way to get exercise, learn new sports/skills, make friends, and have fun all at the same time. We are excited that Mckenna is now at an age where she can enjoy classes/lessons of her own. It is such a blessing to watch her learn new things and excel at things!