Lots of happenings going on over here. I was waiting for it to settle down and I feel like the opposite happened. Taking a minute to try to update a little.
Rewind: Here are the boys on their first day of swim lessons.
Mason, Mr. Matt, and Hagen (In this picture, they haven't realized I ventured off course and is no longer behind them... opps, bad Momma, should have let them know...)
Look closely, yep - that is Mason *scream crying* and looking for me :-(
You can't see Hagen, but he is doing it, too.
The first day, Ms. Rachel helped them alot, she held them constantly and talked to them. (I didn't get any more pictures of the first day.) It was quite embarrassing and hard to watch. Hagen and Mason were the ONLY ones crying and carrying on. After class, both instructors assured me that in every class they have kids that do that. Each day will get better ~ and it did :-)
The second day was better - I told them repeatedly where I was going to be (on a bench on the other side of the pool - they can see me the whole time).
Mr. Matt did great at calming them down pretty quickly.
They worked on the same things each day for two weeks. Blowing bubbles, kicking their feet, floating, going under water, getting into and out of the pool safely.
I was able to get some pictures with my zoom lens.
Diving was going on across the way in the deep end... I have to admit the diving was neat to watch... ha ha ha. (One day, they were watching so much the instructors put a screen up to block them from watching!)
They had one safety day when they watched a video and then did some safety exercises in life jackets. (Hagen in the blue, with the hat on and Mason in the green).
This was cute, they had them huddle up - I heard Ms. Rachel say - 'This is a huddle.' :-)
They had them get down on the ground and pull their legs up to their chests.
They swam around for awhile in their life jackets and jumped off the side.
After that first day, the boys always knew where I was and would wave at me periodically. Here is Mason catching sight of me and waving :-)
One day, they had all the kids use their floats and made a train. It was so cute! The instructors took them all over the pool. Of course, that was the day I forgot my camera and wished I even had my video camera. But they did it another day as well. On this day, they only kept them in their little small part of the pool. It was still cute to watch!
Mason and Hagen are the last two you see (Mason last, Hagen second to last)
On the last day, we are allowed to get closer, take pictures, and see what they have been doing.
Here are the boys in Daddy's work truck waiting for swim lessons to begin.
Here is Mason showing us how he learned to get in the pool. They teach them how to get in and keep holding on to the side. They also taught them how to walk along the edge (still holding onto the side) until they get to the steps.
Blowing bubbles.
They would put a ring or pool toy under the water and the boys had to reach down getting it - here is Hagen with his mouth and nose under water getting the ring.
This is cute, they have them make a 'looking glass' out of their hands and they look down in the water to see what they can find. They make up stuff they see. I heard Mr. Matt say, 'I see an octopus.' It reminds me of when the boys look in our ears or mouth and tell us what they see.
Hard to see, but Mason was looking at us through his "looking glass" :-) Such a character!
Mason swimming on the floaties.
Blowing bubbles while swimming on the floaties.
Hagen's turn.
Hagen blowing bubbles while swimming on the floaties.
Mr. Matt came down the slide with the boys.
They were both scared to go up, but had lots of fun coming down.
Then they were allowed to go play in the kiddie area of the pool. Mason had tons of fun!
Hagen - not so much.
Mr. independent (Mason)
Hagen - not so much.
I did catch this one picture of him having a good time, and of course my camera would not be centered on him.
Mason had a blast. We had to get him out of the pool when it was time to go. G-E-T him out of the pool *not just tell him, 'Hey, it's time to go'* Little stinker!
Hagen getting his certificate. (Mason still GETting out of the pool).
(Their instructor, Ms. Rachel, wasn't there the last day.)
Here they are with Mr. Matt after they got their certificates.
Mason, Mr. Matt, and Hagen
The boys had a great time and did fabulous! I signed them up for one more session. It is the last session of the season. Hopefully the first few days won't be such a huge transition for them even though they will have different instructors.
