May and June 2018 Bring Summer Weather and Swimming!

May and June brought warmer (but not too warm) days and the excitement of beach trips and the start to pool season. We have certainly received a huge return on investment related to our Homeowner's Association (HOA) dues. Our dues are among the lowest in the area, and while we don't have a fancy pool with a splash pad, slide, or kiddie pool, we do have a swim team, long pool season, snack bar, wifi, pavilion, ping pong table, and super nice lifeguards. We've been regulars at the pool since moving in June 2011, and this summer was no exception. If I had to guess at the frequency of our pool days, we've probably averaged 3-4 times per week for the entire May-September pool season per year. 

This year we were super excited that Rose would have a chance to join the swim team - the Swampfoxxes! Swimmers have to be 4 years old by the start of summer to join. They had three weeks of daily (M-F) practice starting May 14 until an event called time trials. For the 6 and under age group, swimmers had to be able to swim 15 yards on their own at time trials to join the swim team. If they couldn't, they'd go on the practice squad, the Swamp Pups. 

First ever swim practice

I worried about the daily practices that were required to be on the swim team and thought we might want Rose to be on the Pups. But, sure enough, Rose was the standout 4-year-old who made it the 15 yards on her own on June 5! Watching was among the most stressful 51 seconds of my parenting life. Within a week, she had shaved 10 seconds off her time, and she reached a personal best of 24 seconds at the end of the season. 

First Swim Meet - a 41 second finish

Our small, but mighty swimmer

I was so glad she made the team. The daily practice really did drastically improve her abilities. In addition to becoming a faster freestyle swimmer, she also managed to compete in the backstroke and breaststroke by the final meet in mid July. Her accolades will be saved for the next post!

First backstroke event

Unfortunately, Zoe couldn't be on the team, but she enjoyed doing the warmups before practices and meets. We are disappointed she has a September birthday. It means she won't get to swim next year yet either. This year she was still okay hanging out in the shallow end with her floaties (or eating) while her sister practiced. But, meets were a little more challenging for her.

Rose and Zoe doing swim team warm-ups

The only other downside to so much pool time was that it seemed to wreck havoc on Rose's skin. We went through a rough patch for about a month where she seemed to get prickly heat rashes and bug bites all over her back, legs, and even her head. We made several visits to the doctor, which ruled out the more serious possibilities like shingles. Some visits the new rashes or bites looked like poison ivy and other times we thought they might be spider or other insect bites. Rose's scratching was so bad, it became infected and we had to give her the first course of antibiotics this year. The medicine helped clear up the rashes and bites, and we managed to prevent a relapse with a trip to New York (and no pool time for two weeks). I was so worried about the bites and rash I brought in a bed bug exterminator to be sure we didn't have bed bugs. Thankfully, we didn't. But, we never figured out the source of the problem. Poor Rose has been left with some scars this summer, but I'm glad the symptoms resolved.

Finishing a great soccer season

We had a nice transition to swim team from soccer this spring. Rose had her last soccer game on May 12 and started swim team on May 14. It really was good timing. We want to be very careful not to over-schedule the girls. They already go to school full time and have pretty exhausting days of playing and learning. Soccer was on Saturday mornings and the nice thing about swim team was that all the meets and practices were weekdays. It was somewhat stressful to get them to practice every day, but we had the option of a 4:45 or a 5:45p practice, so that was more manageable. It was nice having completely free weekends to do whatever we wanted.

This year was also the World Cup. While we didn't get the result we wanted for any of our teams, we had fun cheering on our favorites - Portugal and Brazil. The girls loved getting to wear their Portugal gear to school when the team was playing. Their teachers, all Latinas and mostly from South or Central America, also were in the spirit wearing their team colors.

Go Portugal!!

One of the events I look forward to in the spring is going on the annual Piedmont Farm Tour. Carolina Farm Stewardship Association puts together the event in partnership with many farmers in the region. There is a minimal cost to visit the farms, and many offer self-guided or guided tours. At one of the farms, we were able to pet baby goats and baby chicks. At another farm, we harvested our own eggs from the mobiles. I want the girls to know where their food comes from. While they don't quite fully understand it yet, each of these visits provides us with some teachable moments.

Playing on the tractor at the farm

What girls doesn't wear a princess dress to a farm

 Collecting eggs on the farm

Rose is much less into her princess and fairy dresses these days, but sometimes she wants to do what Zoe does, and Zoe is in the prime of her princess dress days!

Our princess at the playground

The girls have been really into doing puzzles since late spring. Rose, in her typical smarty-pants fashion mastered puzzles I bought her within a day or two and moved on to more complex puzzles quickly. Zoe, at only 2 and half, has done really well putting them together. She usually gets the puzzle 50-70% finished and then Rose likes to jump in and help complete them. We've noticed them working together as a team much more lately. I hope that pattern continues.

Showing off our "ram sam sam" skills at the beach house Memorial Day weekend

A non-princess dress day still requires a dress.
Surprisingly she also managed to let someone put her hair up!

One of the many trips to the pool for swim practice.
Here, with a tiara made at school

With our event-free weekends, we alternated between trips to the pool and trips to the beach. We started the month with a trip to the beach in Wilmington. It was May 4th and the girls had no problem playing in the shallow pools of water. It was still too cold for me!

Fort Fisher, NC May 4, 2018

Our Memorial Day weekend trip to Myrtle Beach was a little more my style. Nice, beachfront hotel with pools, and ocean temperatures that were quite nice. We had a beautiful weekend with warm days and comfortable nights. It was nice spending time with the Clemente family.

Nice beachfront hotel Memorial Day weekend in Myrtle Beach

Zoe is a good beach napper (and eater!)

Colin's newest toy - the mighty max can carry up to 450 lbs
Guess how many times I've heard that?!!