Only One Way Down

Today my MIL and I took my kids and cousins Carter and Lily to the Aberdeen Aquatic Center.

The boys had been talking about the high dive and we happened to walk up just as the boys were taking their first jumps.  Carter and Nathan jumped off without a care.
Then Landen climbed to the top--a little more timid.  A lot more like his mama.  He stood looking over the edge for a few minutes and then started to come backward to descend the ladder, ready to accept defeat.

The young man life guarding close by told him that once you go up, you have to jump off.
There was only one way down.
So, Landen cautiously and reluctantly turned back to the plank.

His grandma and I started cheering him on.  Carter and Nathan started cheering.  The long line behind him, filled with swimmers of all ages, started cheering him on, too.

He still just wasn't sure.

Then the lifeguard did an awesome thing.  He climbed up the ladder and talked to Landen about it.  He gave him some pointers on how to make it a bit less scary.
Landen still wasn't quite so sure.  After several minutes, he negotiated a "sit and scoot" method.  The lifeguard agreed to one time of that, but if he didn't go soon, he was going to push him off no matter what.

Landen scooted off, but no matter how he did it--he was victorious!  We all clapped and cheered.

The high dive was CONQUERED.

The lifeguard returned to his post and Landen returned to the line, ready to jump off confidently several more times without a care in the world for the rest of the afternoon.

We talked about it on the way home and Landen was thankful to the lifeguard as well.  I said it was so nice of him to be encouraging.  Landen said with a chuckle, "Well, he said he was going to push me off."

Encouragement is encouragement.

This is us.

My sister was so kind to take some family photos of us a couple Sundays ago.  I thought if we took a bunch, we might get a good one.  Between squinty eyes, silly faces, pouty faces, and downturned faces, we didn't get what I thought was the ideal Christmas card shot, but we did get THIS one!

It's probably the best representation of our family, so here you go!

Friends, Saints, and Wonders of the World

Friday took David and me to Sioux Falls--He to a benefit golf tournament and me catching up with my college friend Michelle.  

We hadn't seen each other in over 10 years, I believe.  We reconnected awhile ago through Facebook and my blog, but there is still no substitute for a real live conversation. We have much in common, both being NSU alumni, former teachers and now moms of four.  How could an afternoon be anything but great with fun--uninterrupted--conversation, a delicious lunch at Bracco's, shopping, and dessert at Oh, My Cupcakes!   

David still had several holes of golf to complete when our afternoon reunion was over, so I did a little shopping on my own.  I stopped at Barnes & Noble, not really looking for anything in particular but longing to be in presence of thousands of books.  I found the Treasury of Saints and 100 Great Wonders of the World in the bargain books, and also decided on a guide to Rome.  I guess my inner, future world traveler is coming out in me.  I have plans to travel to Rome in 20 years or so, and I figured it's good to be prepared.  :)

Lemon Angel Food Bars

Time for a super easy 2--that's right--2 ingredient recipe.

Lemon Angel Food Bars

I have Pinterest to thank for this recipe, but there are many variations posted on the site.  

This is the one I use--

1 22.5 oz. (larger size) can lemon pie filling

1 angel food cake mix

Mix together and spread into a lightly greased/sprayed 9x13 pan.  

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes until it looks like this:

Remove from the oven and cool. After it cools a bit, I take a spatula and lightly pat it down.  

These can be dusted with powdered sugar, or my personal favorite, covered in cream cheese frosting!  I've also added a little lemon zest to the top of the frosting to make them pretty.  The result is a light and airy lemon bar.  Delicious!

I have made these a few times and just realized this last time that the can of lemon pie filling I was using was larger than the size in the original recipe, which was 15 oz.  One of my local stores carries the larger size, while the other carries the smaller.  I had both sizes in my pantry, but decided to stay with the larger size.  

One variation I found on Pinterest actually called for 2 15 oz. cans of pie filling and one cake mix.  I might have to try that next time!

All of the variations are proof of one thing--these might turn out a little differently depending on what you use, but these bars cannot be messed up!

Baseball Concludes

Tonight were our last baseball games of the summer!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous--the kind of night MADE for baseball!!

Nathan hit a double in Jr. Pee Wee and Landen caught a fly ball in left field. in the Pee Wee game  They even made a play with Nathan at third and Landen catching in the Jr. Pee Wee game.

Until next year, we will miss the crack of the bat, the baseballs and leather gloves, and the walking tacos, too!