Extended Summer

The trio would normally be back in school by now, but our district extended the next two summers to accommodate construction projects across the county. Currently, we are enjoying having all of our favorite summer activities to ourselves.

Who's up for a quiet day at the pool?

Pool Days 2019

These guys are the best. We like to wake up; pack a pool bag; pack a lunch, thermos and snack; and go to the pool. I remember pool days with my brothers, and every year I tell the trio that I will love remembering our pool days for as long as I live. These are the best days of my life, for sure.  

Back at the Y

We took a couple of weeks to rest from travel, but now we are settling into our summer routine. The Y is one of our favorite summer hang outs. 

Labor Day Weekend Update

Pixie during after school pick up

Obviously, friends, I am hopelessly behind. We had such a busy and fun summer that any thought of blogging went completely by the wayside. For our own memory preservation, I am going to take a very non-journalistic approach (can we stipulate that this personal blog should most definitely not be held to journalistic standards) and backdate various updates just so I have some record (and memory) of summer of 2018.  Bear with me on that.

The trio lobbied for a doughnut run Saturday morning

Any rate... after three very busy weeks of school, we were ready for a three day weekend. We needed to sleep in, rest and have some fun. Unfortunately, weekend homework is a new reality so we invested some time Friday evening in tackling some work. We had an important errand to run Saturday. Grace changed her schedule and added concert band so we had to go purchase her instrument - a clarinet!

But first, we needed to lunch, and this was no ordinary lunch, friends. A couple of weeks ago, our little city became the newest home of SHAKE SHACK. Yes, that's right: SHAKE SHACK. We fell in love with Shake Shack when we visited DC. We have been waiting and waiting for Shake Shack to open, and we knew we wouldn't want to battle the crowds on our first day. Although we do happen to know the sweet couple who had the privilege of being first in line on opening day, and I cannot even ask them how long they had to stand there. We knew that type of crowd scene was not for us. However, Skip mentioned that the Shack has an app, and that we could get the order to go.

Friends, that is why I married him. He is a genius.

The trio were unanimously on board. "SHAKE SHACK!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!" I downloaded the app, ordered, drove to the Shack and had their delicious burgers in hand within 30 minutes. They were sooooo good! My DC memories weren't fatigue influenced; it's really that good!

So after the Shack, we went to the music store to shop clarinets. It's been many years since I have been in a music store so it was definitely interesting, and our purchase was more band-centric. After much, much discussion and perusing, she/we finally made a choice, and she is thrilled.  Having a flutist and clarinetist has thrilled me more than I expected. I mean, we knew we would love anything they chose to do, but we LOVE seeing them with their instruments.

Lauren had picked up her instrument the week before at school during instrument purchase day, and she has been proudly playing it since then.

Saturday night marked the return of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and we were ready to watch. George and Grace were especially "game day ready".

On Sunday we, and Grammie, joined Skip's parents for some deliciously grilled burgers and hot dogs.  Again, some truly scrumptious burgers.  We had a good time visiting and catching up.

Gracie came up with an excellent idea for Monday... another last "hoorah" at the pool. So we packed some lunches and towels and had one last day at the pool. Although the pool will remain open for another week or two, we likely won't be back.

Monday night brought us back to reality, and the trio got ready for another busy week of school.

Last Days of Summer

We are in full protest mode.

We have registered for school, proven our residence and purchased school supplies. However, we are not ready to surrender our summer schedule. We have a routine of sleeping in, packing bags and lunches, swimming, and then having a nice evening. 

They are going to have to pry summer out of our wet, wrinkled hands. 

Swimmers

Although the camps are winding down, these swimmers are not finished at the pool. We cannot believe school starts soon, and they cannot imagine a day that involves dry clothing.

Apple Camp

This week Grace and Lauren are attending Apple Camp for robotics and coding. George decided to sit this one out, and if I am being completely honest, the girls have some reservations. They are doing it, and they are interested in coding. However, we haven't been bitten by the robotics bug. 

The camp is open to kids, ages 8-10, and I offered to "overestimate" George's age, if he were interested. He declined, and that worked out well because the class age skewed more toward twelve. 

Overall, the girls admit that they had a good time, and they are glad they went.

July 4th

When July 4th falls on a Wednesday, you make the most of it with a day at the pool.   

Swim Camp, Week Two

So, funny story... for the past four years, the girls and then, later, George have gone to swim camp at the Y. Camps were never at capacity, and one could literally register by Wednesday to be enrolled in any camp for the following week. The whole process was easy peasy.

Imagine my surprise when I went to register them for their usual two weeks of camp and realized that the number of camps had been slashed considerably. All of "our" regular counselors were gone. The deadline (uh... deadline???) was back at the beginning of March (3 months ago). Perhaps I should have known about this rather abrupt change but obviously did not.  

So I called the troops in for a family meeting. I had good news and bad news. The good news is that we would have swim camp; the bad news is that it would be cobbled together by yours truly and would consist of swim lessons and some long days at the pool. 

Cheers erupted!

It was the best plan ever!

They would much rather go to camp with me!

You better believe I am filing this memory away for future years when they do not want to be seen with me in public. As mentioned, George would work on building strength and nailing the swim test. Grace and Lauren would work on perfecting different styles of swimming, e.g., the breast stroke, the back stroke, butterfly. They also wanted to work on making "the turn" in competitive swimming.  

George's two week class was first, and he crushed it. The girls' class was a couple of weeks later. They worked with a swim coach to improve the different styles and work on breathing. And they both were able to complete the turn. Like with George's class, we hit the indoor pool for their class, and then we spent the afternoon at the outdoor pool. 

This schedule was a huge win for the trio, and we had so much fun. Procrastination has never been more refreshing. 

Swim Camp, Week One

Swimming is always a big goal for us each summer. Grace and Lauren are both strong swimmers, and for the past two summers, George has been swimming on his own by the end of each summer, after having had swimming lessons. While Grace has long arms and legs, Lauren and George are built similarly and have had to work harder at swimming.  

Accordingly, we signed George up for some classes, and he nailed it. By the second day of classes, he swam the length of the pool, treaded for 30 seconds and passed the Y's stringent swim test.  He continued with classes for two weeks to become stronger.  

He has been working for three years to get the green band. Such a happy day for him!

Lauren and Grace, your alone time in the deep end is OVER.  

Our routine for swim camp was simple. We would sleep in, throw on swimsuits, pack a lunch and our bag, swim indoors during George's lesson, and then head to the outdoor pool. We love this summer routine and are going to be really bummed when it comes to an end.  

While George had his class, the girls came up with a lap swim schedule. The first day they swam 46 laps (1+ mile), but after that initial burst of activity, they held it to a more manageable mile.  

Summer is just the best, and these are our favorite athletes.  

Swim Camp, Redux

At the end of June the trio suited up again for their second and final week of swim camp. 

William George continued to do very well, often swimming independently. Grace and Lauren continued to work on the backstroke and the butterfly. They also worked on diving off the blocks.  

Luckily for the trio, this particular week was "pirate week". They had pirate names, treasure hunts and eyepatches, naturally.  

They made new friends, and they especially love the swim team coach, Mr. John Ryan, whom they all affectionally call "Mr.JohnRyan" as if that is his full name.  

On the final day, there were some big storms in the area, and George still gets nervous about bad weather. While I have an adorable photo of them heading off to camp in their rain gear, George is visibly upset so we will not post. Just picture three little ducks waddling off in the rain.  

The good news is that the rain cleared quickly, and they had a field trip (skating). They returned for lunch and an afternoon swim where they, coincidentally, got to play with some friends who were there visiting the Y.  

In lieu of the "last day" pics, George and Grace needed new goggles that week, and both had to demo them at home.  

They had a fantastic second week and were sad to say goodbye to their counselors for the summer.  

Swim Camp 2017

Day 1

Last week the trio returned to swim camp at a local YMCA. This marks the girls' fourth year to attend camp and George's second. The camp is physically demanding... the campers usually run a couple of laps in the morning, do some planks and other exercises, and then swim for a couple of hours (including swim lessons). They take a lunch break, learn some things and then return to the pool for a couple of hours for free swim.

George is pretty muscular (i.e., a little dense), and swimming has not come naturally for him as a result. He has had to work harder to be able to stay on top of the water, much like Lauren had to do. (Both George and Lauren are all muscle.) Gracie has a slightly more natural ability to float, and that - coupled with her long arms and legs - has given her a little bit of an advantage.  Grace and Lauren are both very strong swimmers, but they spent this week working on the backstroke and diving.

Day 2

George is doing well, too... just working on his strength and stamina. A group environment with peers is motivational for him, and he is really doing better. Like Lauren when she was learning, he is determined to nail it, and they will have another camp session next week to continue the work. Beyond that we may coordinate some ongoing sessions for George since he is so, sooo close.  

Day 3

The campers also get to take a field trip, and last week's trip was to Golden Flake. The trio wore hair nets, toured the plant and got a few samples. They loved it!

Speaking of food, they have been ravenous each evening from all of that swimming.

Day 5

George did so well Friday that his counselor set a note home stating:

George had an amazing swim lesson today! He wanted to do everything by himself. He went under water, jumped in and even swam to the flags by himself. Major improvement!

These swimmers had a fantastic week.  

July 4th + Weekend Update

How was your long weekend?

Skip worked a full day Friday (versus making the weekend a four-day break), but the trio and I got their new backyard pool out, inflated it, filled it with water and had an impromptu pool party. Our sweet neighbor even stopped by for a swim.  

Also, George announced all day on July 1st that it is now his "birthday month," and that we all have to do what he wants. How July differs from the other eleven months is a mystery, but the edict has been handed down.  

Birthday Month from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

A couple of notes about this clip... 1) he was bashful about documenting his birthday month rule and 2) if you think that "yes, momma" gets him out of a lot of trouble, you would be correct.

Saturday morning, we went to Skip's parents home to visit with them and Skip's sister (+ her family) who were visiting. The trio had a fantastic time with their cousins, and George and Riley celebrated early birthdays.  We had a wonderful visit, ate way too much, and enjoyed catching up. 

After that, we had planned a little staycation get-away to a local golf resort so we packed up an overnight bag, checked in, and made our way to the pool. We swam all afternoon, grabbed a casual dinner and then made our way to one of the balconies to watch their fireworks show, which was impressive. 

William George was a little bitter about the outdoor pool situation because he was deemed not tall enough to go down the water slide. Although he quickly scampered up the steps with his sisters, a member of the pool deck staff escorted him back down and had him stand next to the you-must-be-this-tall-to-ride-the-slide sign, a humiliating development since it confirmed that he was not yet tall enough. Our assurances that he would be fine on the slide were not enough to override the character's height requirement. After that, George wanted no part of the outdoor pool. Although Monday was a repeat of Sunday in terms of how we spent our time, George opted to utilize the indoor pool after lunch. It was a moral victory, and he was rewarded by finding a crew of older boys with whom he could play. He mastered the art of pushing his friends into the pool and even learned to accept being pushed in when it was time for retaliation.  

After a second full day of swimming, the trio came home, showered and crashed. They were sound asleep before 8:00pm. Our neighbors shot some fireworks in the cul-de-sac, and we did not even have the heart to wake the trio to see it. They never heard a sound.

The weekend in photos:

Lego building

  

PS: William George was a little nervous about the fireworks initially so we videoed portions of the show for him to watch later.

 Fireworks 2016 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.