Jellyfish and Mushrooms, Oh My!

Sounds like an exotic recipe for disaster, doesn't it? Don't worry, my culinary skills have never been something to brag about - and a jellyfish has certainly never been spoken as a menu item at the Mahoney house, it will all make sense in a moment.

Every evening for the past two hectic weeks we have been at the local pool for Elise's swim lessons - the Jellyfish class. Our little Jellyfish, who has always loved the water! It was wonderful most evenings(we'll skip writing about the two nights she was in a less-than-enthusiastic mood and didn't want to pay attention - would much rather have played the entire class going up and down the steps in the water) ahhh, the loveliness of a two-year old. There were about a dozen kids in the class, just the right amount for the 2 teenage lifeguards - Miss Katie and Mr. Pat, who were incredibly patient with their little charges. We would start each class with a revised version of Ring Around the Rosie...in which "splashes" replaced "ashes" and "we all fall down" became "we all put our ears in the water" and "we all go under"...etc. Cute. At the end of the 2 weeks, little missy was jumping off the edge of the pool and going ALL the way under, kicking, blowing bubbles and even taking 3 leaps off the diving board into the waiting arms of Miss Katie! I was amazed at how quickly she went from just wanting to hold on and bob in the water to wanting to do it "all by mineself". Here are some highlights - thank you Daddy for patiently taking pictures, even though you hate my plum flowered camera strap!



Blowing bubbles.



Singing ring-around-the rosie...



Check out those kicks baby!





Don't worry, these are quick dunks under!





See - there's a smile in there!





Singing the silly monkey song before leaping.









This face is so worth all the rushing home from the office, throwing together some semblance of a meal that we'll call dinner, flinging on bathing suits and sunscreen as we run around trying to find that other flip-flop that never stays with its partner....yes, I'm glad lessons are over for now, but looking back through these pictures makes me anticipate the NEXT round of them (NEXT year - thank you very much)!

Oh, and the Mushrooms you ask?? For reasons unbeknownst to my husband, who fights the war against weeds in our yard like they were some terrorist infiltrating the sacred land. He fertilizes, sprays, spreads some sort of somethin', somethin' on it every few months - and in-between he walks around with this big jug of weed poison hooked up to a plastic gun. And the yard looks great! I'm thankful he knows how to do it, because to me it's just a pain. I'm a flower girl - grass is just a backdrop and I don't care to know how it remains green and weed-free. Anyway, THIS popped up in the backyard last week - it was beautiful!



And then, a few days later, I had this grand idea to have some fun with these statues I found in the Target dollar bins:



Another line on the neighbors ever growing list of why the lady next door is completely crazy, I'm sure! It was HOT and there was only time for a few shots, so maybe they didn't even notice. haha

This quote was posted on a Photography website and it really struck me, so I'm sharing with you - enjoy your week!

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it."
- Author Unknown