Summer Fun!

What in the world would we do without WATER in Arizona??? I'll tell you, we'd all DIE of heat stroke, that's what we would do. Thank heavens there are plenty of water hot spots in the valley! For most of the summer my kids have been spending their afternoons at the YMCA pool but a few weeks ago we gave the new Aqua Center in Chandler a try and WE LOVED IT! Anissa and I took the kids and the only thing I kept asking myself was "why haven't we been here sooner?" It only cost my family $3.00 to get in and we had so much fun.

I was a little apprehensive about Cole being a newbie swimmer and all but he did great - really great actually. He was quite brave too. By the end of our day, he had mustered up enough courage to try everything the place had to offer. He went down both water slides, rode the tubes in the lazy river and jumped off the diving board a number of times. That was a funny experience by the way. The water is of course 12' deep and a little scary for someone his size. He took one look and started to panic. I explained to him that he had to be able to jump off the board and swim to the side all by himself...with NO help. He's been swimming really great so I knew he could do it. I just needed him to figure that out too. I took him over to the swimming lanes (6'-6" deep) and had him jump in a few times and swim to the edge. So when he felt ready we went back to the diving boards. When it was his turn he walked hesitantly to the edge of the board and stood there. Myself and about 3 other moms started cheering him on. He asked me if I would jump in to get him. At first I told him "No! Sink or swim baby!" I'm so mean, I know. I couldn't help myself! How many times in your life do you get to say that and mean it quite literally? Don't worry, I assured him if he couldn't make it, I'd jump in to help him and with that he hurled himself into the water...and landed about 2' from the edge! Scared the crap out of me! I didn't think he could jump that far! All the moms let out a little breath and then clapped for him. It was quite the BIG moment. I knew he could do it!

Oh and in case you're wondering...I tried everything myself too! I felt like a total kid and for once in my life, I didn't care about what I looked like in my swimsuit or about my flabby legs. I just had fun with my kids and love it! We'll definitely be going again soon!