Sum-Sum-Summertime!

Is there anything that screams "summer! summer! summer!" more clearly than pool-time and popsicles? Now, I'll put this out there for the whole world to know about me: public pools just are not my thing. In fact, my children have never been to a public pool. I know, I know - some of you are rolling your eyes (uncle zach, i'm talking to you!) but I just don't feel at peace in a sea of other people. Regardless, we've been fortunate enough to have super generous friends share their pool with us and, between afternoons in their backyard and private swimming lessons this past week, my poor, deprived darlings have been able to swim! Elise was asking just this morning: "When do I get to go to swimming lessons? I want to do that again!".

We had a great day yesterday - first swimming lessons and then a pool/lunch date with Sydney and Madilynn. Let me take a minute to rant and rave about their swimming lessons... we signed them up with a woman who teaches lessons in her backyard (obviously a bonus for pool-phobes like myself). She was fantastic! Her entire focus is water-safety: teaching the girls how to flip to their backs and free their faces for a breath and working with them on putting their hands up while underwater to find and grab the edge of the pool. Abby took to lessons instantly and the smile that you can see on her face in the pictures never went away! Elise's cautious-side kicked in and, while she has been the fish all summer, she had some reservations about lessons. By the end of the week, her comfort level returned and, as I mentioned previously, she's eagerly awaiting her next session. Thank you, Ms Claudine! Our first swimming-lesson experience was nothing but great and I am so proud of Abby and Elise!

For their birthday, the girls received a Zoku Popsicle Maker from their Great Grandma. This is not a paid promotion by any means, but it is AWESOME! I've been working extra hard hard to reduce/eliminate our use of sugar. In my defense, we are healthy eaters. But I do love to bake. I'm trying to expand my use of natural sugar-substitutes and our first popsicles were a perfect, sugar-free and refreshing summer snack.

Cherry Yogurt Popsicles

• 1/2 C organic plain yogurt
• 1/2 C organic whole milk
• 2 T local honey
• Fresh organic pitted cherries (not sure how many... maybe 1 1/2 C after removing pits)
• Put all in blender
• Follow Zoku popsicle maker instructions