Swimming in Beaverton

Grandma Asay, Little Megan, Elaina, Ethan, and Aurora drove up to see us and experience swimming in a real municipal pool (sorry, Salem: it's one of your few flaws) on one of the hottest days this summer. We took them to the Connestoga pool (part of the THPRD hegemony,and one of the few things I happily pay my taxes to), which was built recently and has a great family-oriented play area. When the boys get older, I think we will enjoy our neighborhood pool more, with all of its crazy-high (10-meters) diving boards and platforms to lauch from.

Proudest Moment
Aaron is so comfortable in the water now. He went down the water slide all by himself each time (with Michael or Meg to catch him at the end, of course), and he no longer minds his head getting dunked.

Although this happened at a different pool two days later, Aaron moved even further along by jumping off the diving board into nine feet of water--all on his own whim. Meg didn't even get there in time to catch him, but fortunately he popped right back up without a problem. He also understands the concept of staying afloat and how to move in the water.

Biggest Change
The first time I took Ethan down the water slide, he got upset because his head went under the water, and he didn't want to ride again. The next time I saw him, I told him I would take him down the slide again and promised his head wouldn't go under the water. He reluctantly agreed, so we tried again. After landing in the pool this second time, he shouted out, "I want to do that again, and I don't want to stop until we have to go home!"

Strangest Moment
On our last trip down the slide, Aurora refused to go down with me. So I took Ethan down, and expected Aurora to follow thereafter. But she refused to come down. So I climbed up the ladder again, only to have her grip the metal bars, scream at the top of her lungs, and refuse to go down the slide or the ladder. I eventually had to yank her loose and jettison down the slide before she knew what was happening.

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