Swim Lessons 2011: The Good, The Really Bad and The Ugly.

It is a very wise decision to sign your children up for second session swim lessons. No rain, no chilly June mornings... it is warm and the water is inviting. The only catch? If the 2 weeks worth of temperatures average about 102 degrees, nearly every single day, the mommies get a lil short tempered.
Sure... there were some cute moments:





It is always sweet to solidify the sweet cousin relationship between my girls and the Mrs. girls. Though, Coco may prefer just a little more space. Her new Stand-in-Mommy (Shortcake) likes to keep a close eye on her baby. I think Shortcake may become one of those mother's with furry back-pack leashes.





Per usual, The Kid has proven to be a fish. He loves to swim and especially show off on the high-dive.



Guess who else lobes the diving board?? Coco jumped twice! She was rewarded with a private date night with her parents and a Wal-mart trip for a Dora mermaid. (Yes, I reward big for swimming accomplishments.)



(Coco proudly clinging to the wall and reviewing her 'Big Jump' after 'Kistal catched me!'.)

(Her big brother pulled her safely from the water to congratulate her second jump. Look very closely at the picture... you'll see in the background... Coco's new mommy had to secretly jump in the deep end, just in case she needed to save her.)

The Kid continued to impress during the second week. Diving to the bottom for bricks and perfecting his strokes. He's so handsome, with his tan.





And now... The Bad.
You may have noticed, Tink did not make an appearance in the diving board segment. Poor girl, had a pretty rough ride during lessons. Tink likes the water, she likes a good doggie paddle, she enjoys a nice tea party in the baby pool. But she DOES NOT like to go under water. Not even a lil bit.
On Day One, her instructor tried for a "Let's Dunk you real quick to show you water doesn't hurt" approach... and it did not go over well. Tink immediately sprang from the pool and ran to me, pointing and repeatedly declaring "My teachfer just tried to drowned me!! She is rweally trying to drowned me and kill me!"
And once you have crossed Tink... it's over.
Every day after that, was a struggle.



As mentioned, the extreme heat, made the mommies a little grumpy. At least twice, I packed the whining kids up early and yanked Tink out of her lesson. And poor Punkin? She spent a little time in the corner...



Tink had a mini-victory, for nearly 10 minutes, she swam across the deep end, in a life jacket. I cheered like she had crossed the English Channel.
In all, her grade sheet read: Out of a possible 32 passing points, Tink achieved only 4 of her Skills:


1. Can exit safely using ladder or side.
2. Knows how to use a life jacket.
3. Can move in the water, while wearing a life jacket.
4. Knows how to get help.

In conclusion, Tink only learned how to get the bleep away from her instructor and run to her mother.

The most ugly part of swim lessons? Trying to obtain JUST ONE cute photo of all three children. Out of a minimum 17 pics taken, this was sadly the best.



Oh, swim lessons... you really were not fun.
Can't wait till next year.
You will recognize Tink, for sure, she'll be the practically grown child (in calender years, not size) which will continually return to Level Two.