Michigan - Fun times playing in water

The weather here in Michigan has been a little wild, but there's been some beautiful summer days. The kids love being in and playing in water, and their Michigan cousins were super happy to accommodate them! 

Our first stop is a neighbor's pool. The kids were so excited!

Ian was all set to jump right in. 

Ian - It's cold!

Alli was a little more controlled. 

"Swimming" from one end to the other. Ian really wants to learn to swim for real. 

Alli loves her cousin. 

Ian is always pretty bold when trying to learn to swim. He'll get choked up, and then get right back after it. I practiced a few techniques with him. Working on floating on his back. Aubrey reminded us about how when she was little, Aunt Theresa taught her how to do a "Monkey, Airplane, Soldier" when we were in Florida on Spring Break to get the proper movements correct. We worked on it a few times and then Ian was ready to jump off the deep end. 

In the end, I'd say he could jump in 8 out of 10 times and make it to the side without help. He's definitely getting better. We'll be trying to work on that a lot more this summer! Alli is learning, but still needs a little more practice. 

After heading to the store, Aubrey bought about 200 water balloons for a giant water balloon fight in the back yard. These are so much easier than before. Now you can fill 40 balloons in seconds, thanks to the Bunch-O-Balloons!  

The water balloon fight is ON! Girls versus Boys. Aubrey and Alli against Ian and Austin. 

The entire background was the arena. 

Lots of laughing and fun. I love how much their cousins make time for them. 

Look out Austin! Alli has got you in her sights!

Nailed him!

They had such a blast. 

Boom!

Since everyone was having so much fun, Aubrey drove back to the store and bought the kids a Slip-n-Slide too! Aubrey really is something. 

Donald heard about it and wanted to add his special touch to it. What's that hose coming out of the window from? 

Donald ran it to the shower and has warm water pumping through their Slip-n-Slide! 

And then has dish soap on the slide to make it extra slippery. 

How fun!

The big wind-up with her arms pulled back, ready to go fast.  

The approach!

And the slide. 

Ian's turn. 

Good one. 

More games with water balloons. 

Like balloon toss. 

And a water balloon fight too. 

A combined video of the fun they had in the pool, during the water balloon fight, and on the slip-n-slide. They had a bunch of fun in Michigan, playing with their cousins in water of all forms.