Swim Lessons

The girls spent 4 weeks of July in 2 consecutive sessions of swim lessons. At the end of each session they celebrate by letting each class jump off the diving board. As a point of reference, last year they were all very hesitant to jump off, even wearing life-vests, jumping right to their teachers and floatie-noodles. There were definitely tears shed. Well, this year Lissy amazed us by jumping right off the diving board, with very little hesitation and no flotation devices. She then proceeded to swim to the side of the pool. We were blown away! She has come such a long way this year, but still needs to master her side-breathing to move up. Jo on the other hand, wearing a life-jacket, stepped to the edge of the diving board and proceeded to cry until a teacher picked her up and gently dropped her in. Oh well. Her water skills did improve greatly during that first session though and she was able to graduate to the next level (into Lissy’s class). Evie also got to the edge and hesitated until a teacher gently helped her into the water. They all did such a great job in the second session that, by the end, Lissy and Evie both graduated to the next levels. After a little pep-talk from Mom and Dad, Jo walked right to the edge of the diving board, jumped off and swam to the side without a tear! They all love the water and have enjoyed the lessons this summer.

To celebrate the end of swim lessons we spent the next Saturday at a Ross Park Aquatic Center in Pocatello. Lissy and Jo had a pass to go down the water slide as many times as they wanted. The first time up, Jo turned around and came back down, but we quickly convinced her to give it at least one try and she was hooked. We all enjoyed the lazy river and the inner tubes that were provided. Evie spent quite a bit of time playing in the “zero-depth” play area and Jo had some fun in there as well. We were able to take in a cooler with a picnic, so we stayed for quite awhile – 5 hours, which is quite a bit. We’re not used to being out in the sun that long and I don’t know that I’ve ever been in a swimsuit that long. We all had a great time though.