the Pool

The house we were at was right next door to the pool. It was wonderful to be so close and we went each day (usually after dinner) and sometimes we went twice. It was a smaller pool, ranging from 3 ft to 5 ft and the water was similar to a warm bath - for our family, it was perfect!

I didn't grow up swimming. My mother is terrified of the water. I don't think we really had the opportunity to go to a pool a lot when we were young. I think we (meaning my siblings) were all self-taught, which means we probably don't have the best technique, but we can survive.

Last summer I took the kids to swim lessons. Mollee was in level 3, Tavis and Daegan in level 2 and Capps in level 1. If nothing else, it helped them learn some technique and, basically, not be afraid of the water. Mollee does fairly well. She does well to get where she wants usually going under water.

Somehow, I don't have any pictures of Tavis at the pool. He is really too cool to wear swimmies, but was fine to hang out where he could reach. If he wanted to go deeper he would put on a life vest. Daegan was unashamed! He wore this vest and goggles everywhere - beach and pool. The first few times Capps hung out at the steps. Then when we finally convinced him that his swimmies would hold him up, he was going everywhere. He didn't even mind that his 'muscles' were pink.

Mac was fearless, not that this surprised us! Once he figured out how to keep his face out of the water while floating, he was a maniac. He would jump in, go to the steps and climb out and jump again. If Jason or I tried to catch him or be too close to where he was jumping he would tell us to move. He wasn't perfect so we had to be right there to help if he got sideways or inhaled too much water, but he did pretty awesome by himself.Needless to say, by the time we left the pool each evening, Jason and I were exhausted. An hour or two of hearing, "catch me" or "watch this" or "swim with me" was tiring, but great fun!