Summer Swimming!

I can hardly wait for the heat of the summer.  I absolutely love the sunshine.  It brightens my mood and makes me feel so happy!  My kids love playing in the backyard, running through the sprinklers, and playing in the mini pool.  We have a plethora of popsicles on hand and try and have as many picnic lunches in the backyard as possible.  To me, summer = no structure.  I absolutely thrive in this environment and my kids enjoy just going with the flow and not having to adhere to a schedule. 

Because we still own our old townhouse- we have access to the pool there.  Our town home is a short three minutes from the house we live in now which makes the short trip more than worth it!  So far this summer, we have been here a handful of times.  We have come here with extended family, the kids have brought their friends, and we have just come over as a family for a quick dip.  No one is ever at the pool but us and it is nice to just let the kids go as they please and have a blast!

This the first year where we have some freedom at the pool.  Now that Emily is bigger and more independent- she wears a life jacket.  I let her swim around the pool with her siblings while always keeping an eye (or two) on her.  She is as happy as a clam.  She has figured out how to move pretty well through the water and really never chokes on the water.  She keeps her mouth closed while kicking as fast as she can and it is so funny to watch! 

Matthew is wearing a life jacket, too and he is really safe and comfortable in the water.  He loves to jump in and fool around with his older siblings.  I love that kid!  We have a bunch of goggles but he prefers to wear the scuba mask.  It really adds to the 'cool effect'. 

Michael and Claire are fishies.  They obviously do not wear a life jacket in the pool.  They love to have contests (i.e. holding breath, race to swim the length of the pool) and laugh all the time.  My sweet kids.  There is a hot tub at the pool and there always comes a point where the kids have to go in.  I can't blame them.  I loved hot tubs as a kid.  I especially love when my two year old looks at me and says, "I go hot tub?"  How teenager-ish of her.

While Damien and I are a bit more free this summer to not have to be in the pool the whole time, we still have to be careful and keep a close eye on all of them.  We were filming Matthew on the edge of the pool, right before he was going to jump in.  Suddenly- in the background, you see a flash of pink as my dare devil daughter Emily comes running in a full sprint and jumps in the pool.  Thank God for life jackets. 

I can't wait for more of these fun days where we lounge at the pool.  Watching my kids sing show tunes from Annie with their friends as they choreograph a swim/jump routines is awesome and incredibly funny!  Here is to summer and all the splashing and swimming we can squeeze in!