Splash into Summer

 If you look at me or my children and think to yourself boy they are tan well this would be why...

 

 

we spent a lot of our summer

 

here!!!

 

I have spent almost 100 hours treading water at the end of the diving pool

 

watching my children jump and dive

 

 

into the pool!

 

All of the younger kids took private swimming lessons this year and can I tell you for all the classes we have taken before they have grown leaps and bounds by far more this year than any other year and I directly give credit to the fact they had a wonderful teacher SARAH and they were taught one on one.  I want to talk about each one a bit.

 

David he could float on his back and do the freestyle a bit but that was about it.  He was very comfortable with the water.  After this summer of classes he is a pro at the freestyle, back stroke, elementary backstroke, and the breast stroke.  He also does the sitting dive, kneeling dive and standing dive and can dive down and touch the bottom of the pool with his hand and  he also can kind of do the butterfly.  He actually loves it so much he has asked to take more classes during the winter months.

 

Julianna  could doggie paddle.  She would stay close to the edge most of the time and when she would venture too far away she would get a little panicky.  Now she is swimming all over.  She can do the backstroke and freestyle and do all the dives David can do.  She likes swimming but soccer is true to her heart and so in the fall soccer will be her activity!

 

Jensen as some might know Jensen's body was about 75% covered with eczema for the first year of his life and was controlled mostly by medication but also no full bathes.  When he was 18 months old this was his first real exposure to being immersed in water and I will tell you he screamed for the first year he hated the water.  It then toned down to crying and then he was fine but in pools he would hold onto me for dear life.  It is at this stage that one day he was going from the dock to the boat and at that moment a wave pulled the boat away from the dock and he fell in and was swept under the dock and his fear of water increased.  Getting in his face was a no no he would fall into a puddle crying if water got into his face.  The last couple of years he has gotten better with the water but still putting his face in to swim absolutely not.  I could get him to jump off the side to me but to just jump off the side and go under absolutely not.  We had a huge break through with him at the very beginning of the summer after 3 hours of trying to get him to jump off the diving board he did it with a life jacket on.  After one class with our gem Sarah he jumped off without it on.  He has no problem putting his face in the water now or having water on his face and he actually braved going down the slide{with a little help from dad}.  He can do the freestyle now but often reverts back to the doggie  paddle.  Huge huge milestones with him!!!

 

I also was able to get all of my children to jump off the boat and the back of the jet ski this summer which I have been trying to do for 3 years.  Even on one boat ride Jensen asked if he could jump off the boat and swim to shore..AMAZING is all I can say absolutely amazing!!!