kids growing gills

I grew up with a big in-ground pool in my back yard.

Summer is not summer with out a place to soak your head.

We have managed to have some kind of pool in our yard every summer that we have had a yard.

that's Noah at about 2 1/2 yrs old and my Dad on a visit after Hannah was born

Last summer we invested in a slightly larger pool. Between our porch and fence is 15 feet. We got a 14 foot round pool, 40 inches deep. GREAT BIG POOL, itty bitty little yard.




By last summer:
Noah gained confidence swimming under water



Hannah liked being in the pool - as long as she was wearing a life jacket and was close to the edge or holding a floatie



Zak wanted to be with the other kids, so he would wear the life jacket and cling to the edge or stairs, making it difficult for anyone else to get in or out of the pool.



Maggy hated life jackets, was not fond of being in the water and insisted on clinging to whatever crazy fool would put her in the pool with them. She really preferred the kiddie pool.



The first few weeks of July in Oregon were seasonable - mid 70s, maybe peeking into the 80s, one or two days in the 90s, but quickly returning to "normal temperatures". This made the pool temperature generally less than 70. I could not convince my children of this, but 70 degrees is COLD!

The last two weeks though, we have had quite the hot streak. Breaking records for having over 8 consecutive days over 90. We are very grateful for the pool (and air conditioning) during times like this. As you might assume, the pool temp went up and the amount of time in the water was greatly increased. Just as quickly as the temperatures rose, the kids confidence expanded and...

.... they have grown gills!