Beating the Heat

Now that I’m pretty much caught up on our spring adventures, I have to get back in the habit of just talking about daily life! So, here’s to shifting gears!

It’s definitely been a nice few weeks of being mostly just home. Celebrating Olivia, and then heading into June. We’ve gotten back to school full force, which has been a pretty good thing for us considering the nasty heat we’ve had lately. Believe it or not, our need for rain is getting pretty desperate – an odd thought considering that many of our rivers are still above flood stage from our spring deluge! So, we’re doing a lot of staying indoors out of the heat while praying for rain.
So, how are we beating the heat? Well, school keeps us busy. We’ve adjusted our schedule a little bit for the summer, but I definitely don’t hear many complaints about boredom. Fortunately, I don’t really hear complaints about doing school either. That’s a blessing! I know Steven definitely does better when we’re having school. He appreciates play time much more!

We’re also enjoying the pool almost daily. Sometimes we adjust our schedule so we can go with friends in the mornings, but typically we go in the afternoon after school and nap. The temps have been so warm – and stayed so warm at night – that the pool water has already turned lukewarm! But, even so it’s a nice relief to be in the water.

I have been soooooo proud of my kids this summer! Except for the one summer the year before last when we got to spend as much time as possible in a church member’s pool, they haven’t had much exposure to swimming. And, they’ve all been scared of the water. Well, this summer the girls have just taken off! They both have already learned how to swim, and can even jump off the diving board without floaties and get to the side of the pool themselves (with one of us right there, of course). They are practicing their endurance, and both of them are doing flips and jumps and all sorts of things. All of that in less than two weeks! Pretty awesome considering Angela wouldn’t let her head go under water until late last week, and both girls were still pretty timid about jumping off the diving board with floats on. 

Meanwhile, Steven was still petrified of the water when we went for the first time Sunday before last. But, by the second trip later in the week, he informed me that he was getting in the water all by himself (as opposed to clinging to Mommy for dear life!). And, he did!

Then he discovered his feet would touch the bottom in the shallow end, so between that and the arm/chest float he wears, he started getting pretty confident in the shallow end. As long as his face and head didn’t get wet, he was good.

Then he decided that he wanted to go to the deep end like the girls. But, he couldn’t touch. So, he had to work past that fear.

Which leads to today…Mary Ann took this video of Doug and Steven in the deep end this afternoon – Steven was just going to town!


Oh, and before we left the pool today, he had decided to start jumping off the steps into the shallow end (with his floats on) in such a way as to allow his face to get wet!

Definitely serious progress! I can’t wait to see what these water babies are doing by the end of the summer. I can say this – I definitely enjoy the pool more knowing that the kids are much more competent in the water.

Comments

Choate Family said…
Sounds like you guys are about ready for a trip to the Solomons Islands to swim in the Pacific Ocean :-)
I think we might be getting close! :-)
Hurray for friends who share their water :D

I grew up on a lake and my parents always had an "open door" (open beach?) to all our friends. It was GREAT.

Glad that someone is sharing their blessing with you :D

Julie

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