Fourth of July & Swim Lessons

To kick off the holiday weekend, we went to Fort Washington on Friday, July 3 (originally, we wanted to go on the 4th, but we weren't sure the weather was going to cooperate). We took a picnic and a frisbee and played on the enormous parade grounds for a while. Unfortunately, the grass was a little long and our kids are whiners, so we didn't get to run around as much as we hoped.  But, it was still fun.  After lunch, we parked in the lower lot by the small lighthouse and explored the lower part of the fort, something we hadn't done before.  I am amazed at the ingenuity and skill of the early settlers.  I really just can't imagine how they built such perfect walls without the tools we have available today.  Of course, the same could be said of medieval castles and pyramids and a host of other wonders.  I would love to go back in time and see the process.

The view looking up

Kara wanted her picture taken in front of the small lighthouse. 

On the Fourth of July, we went to the Sotterly Farmer's Market and bought some vegetables and meat, including corn, steak, and ground beef that we hoped to use in our barbecue.  They were offering free wagon rides around the property, which we took full advantage of.  Thomas had just finished reading a book about the history of the plantation, so he was particularly interested in seeing it through his new, knowledgeable eyes.  The wagon ride took about 20 minutes and we really enjoyed it.  

For dinner, we went to Sonic and then on a drive.  We drove through one of the neighborhoods we had considered buying a home in--thank goodness we didn't!  We were getting close to home when a serious downpour began.  Fortunately, it was gone in time for us to go see the fireworks.  Last year we discovered a spot close to our house that offers a good view and easy in/out access. Unfortunately, the fireworks didn't start until 9:45, which felt pretty late for the kids.  Luke stayed awake the whole time and seemed to enjoy the display.  

The kids have been wanting to eat these light-up lollypops for a while.  They were pretty fun (unfortunately, the flash washes out the light up part).

Sunday was a quiet day.  We finally had our barbecue and enjoyed the fresh food from the farmer's market.  It was a good weekend.

On Monday, the kids began their swimming lessons.  I signed Kara up for level 1, Anna for level 2, and Jack for level 3. Jack's lessons went well. He greatly improved his freestyle. Unfortunately, he has trouble floating on his back, which made the backstroke very difficult. The funniest thing was watching him try to dive. He has a mental block and steps off with his feet every time. He sets himself up, hands together, facing the water, with his head all tucked and ready and then he does an awkward little step with his feet. I wish I had taken a video. Poor kid tried so hard, but just never got it.  But, as I said, he greatly improved his freestyle and swims much better and faster now than he did when he first started.

The girls also showed a lot of improvement, on the first day they moved Kara (and several other kids) up to level 2, which I wasn't thrilled with--I feel like she and Anna do better when they aren't together.  Also, she was kind of scared of any pool containing water over her head.  But, she did great.  During the first week, the instructor had to pull her kickboard along, she was so slow compared to the other kids. By the last days, she was fighting for the lead. Both she and Anna have gained a lot of confidence.  On the first day, Anna needed to the instructor to catch her when she jumped off the diving board (and Kara refused to even jump off the side of the 12 foot pool).  Now, Anna does it repeatedly on her own, complete with a good freestyle to the ladder, and Kara is promising that today (the last day) she is going to jump off unassisted--she did it with her coach catching her yesterday.  In fact, they have gained a bit too much confidence for my liking.  It is getting hard to keep an eye on 3 kids, all of whom think they swim a bit better than they really do, particularly when I am toting poor Luke, who has his own ideas about where he wants to go, along. 

Speaking of Luke, we had a terrifying moment at the pool on Tuesday.  I was watching Luke and another little girl, while her mom watched my other 3 and 2 of hers jump off the diving board. Luke was walking around in ankle deep water when the little girl wandered out of the pool (she wanted to go to a different area).  Instead of taking Luke with me (which is what any reasonably intelligent person would know to do), I reasoned he would be okay for the time it took me to retrieve her, after all, there were plenty of people around.  I kept on eye on him while I walked over to get her, but then he walked out of my line of sight.  I am not sure how long it took me to get her, maybe 20 more seconds, but when I ran back to Luke, he was floating on his stomach, kicking his little feet in obvious distress.

Ugh, it makes me sick just thinking about it.  I pulled him out and he immediately started crying and clinging to me.  There was a woman not 4 feet from him and a lifeguard supposedly supervising the pool.  Again, I know this is my fault, I am not blaming them, just pointing out that you absolutely can't rely on other people.  In fact, the week before I walked by a little girl who was going under the water in the manner you see on all those "what drowning really looks like" videos on Facebook.  Her mother was not even 2 feet from her, but had her back to her.  There was a lifeguard, but the little girl was facing away.  They were in a shallow part of the pool (3 feet), but it was over the girls head.  I alerted the mom, who immediately grabbed her and all was well.  My point is that that water is scary, you can't rely on lifeguards and I will be so relieved when Luke learns to swim!  After Luke's incident, I was terrified of delayed drowning and wouldn't let the poor kid take a nap.  Thankfully, he is fine, but it was utterly awful! 

Tomorrow will be another King's Dominion day.  The kids want to go to the waterpark, which I am nervous about.  I think everyone will be wearing a lifejacket (which they hate and will protest).  I think the worrying is what I dislike most about being a parent.  Those panicky moments when all is not well--like Jack wandering off at Kings Dominion and Luke in the water. Sometimes I think I should be more of a helicopter parent, but it's just not my nature (yes, I know the pool was just bad parenting, period).  I hope I am not doing my kids a disservice. Frankly, it's like the parents who leave kids in hot cars. People judge and say it could never be them. And, it never is them. Until the one day it is. I hate knowing that everything can change in an instant.

Hmm, this blog is taking a dark turn.  So, I will end with a cute picture of my healthy, happy Luke.