Closing Out the Season

As of last evening, I think we can say we're officially finished with swim season.

We won our final home meet! Now the focus is on City Meet, but given our kids' times, I highly doubt they'll qualify. And, this is totally fine by me because they would need to be at the pool on Saturday at the crack of dawn. This tired mama wants no part of that.

But our kids made great progress this summer,

learning so much from our tremendous coaches...

...who truly care for our kiddos and how well they do. Thanks guys and gals! Good luck during your fall semester!

At the end of the very long day, we celebrated with an after-party. A DJ played some tunes and the kids danced like crazy, while the parents could finally jump in the water after staring at it longingly throughout the hazy, hot day.

Oh, yeah, our son had to get stitches above his eye because he hit the pool rail under water. Luckily, there were three doctors right there to exam him, including a plastic surgeon. Thank you, Dr. Sean, for taking care of us last night. What a way to end the season!

Friends, stay tuned in the coming days - I'll be hosting a giveaway! More news later.

My Future Business

Sounds like a plan. Who's in with me? 

Image from someecards.com

Reality Check

Gwyneth Paltrow has launched a line of T-shirts and jeans on her website, Goop. Her white T-shirt, which she deems as the "perfect T-shirt," sells for $90. 

The perfect white T-shirt, according to Gwyneth Paltrow

How out of touch are you, Ms. Paltrow??

Image from Goop

Keep Calm and Dive In

 

Today's high will be 104 degrees, 105 tomorrow. The AC is in overdrive. The pool is welcome relief, although on days like this, it's like sitting in bath water. I'm thankful, though, that I do have AC and access to a pool. Many do not and are miserable. What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? How are you beating the heat?

Speaking of the pool, Miss E. went off the diving board for the first time yesterday! It's amazing to see the progress our kids have made in such a short time. At the beginning of summer, both barely wanted to go under water. Now, they're swimming this way and that, doing cannonballs and going off the diving board.

After several rounds off the lower board, E. built up the courage to jump off the high dive. On her first attempt, she turned around and walked back down the steps. But then some girls in the pool starting cheering her on and yelling "You can do it!" So, she got back up there and jumped! She did it one more time, but it resulted in a belly flop. She got out, clutching her tummy and said, "I'm never doing that again." So, back to the lower dive she went. The kids kept bugging me to go off the board as well. Given that there weren't many people at the pool, I acquiesed and jumped in. Certainly a great way to cool off.

Happy weekend, friends. Stay cool!

Image from Keep Calm Studios; second photo property of JMW A Place to Dwell blog



Summer Camp

Town & Country’s June cover story focused on summer camps and their enduring popularity. In fact, according to the article, summer sleep-away camps have seen a rise in enrollment as parents seek ways to “unplug” their kids from the world and immerse them in the great outdoors, athletics and arts and crafts, with not a TV or iPhone in sight.

I never attended sleep-away camp, only day camps. My husband did, albeit a week-long camp not far outside of Louisville. The camps featured in T&C host kids for weeks at a time, and often campers travel several hundred miles to attend these storied institutions, many based in North Carolina, New Hampshire and Maine. One anecdote even told of the very wealthy flying their children in private jets to and from camp. Well, this is Town & Country after all. The campers can’t just arrive in a minivan for God’s sake!

Many of the camps featured in the article focus on general outdoor activities, as well as the building of leadership skills and friendships. So often these days, kids go away to camps that have a very specific focus, such as tennis and lacrosse, or engineering or the arts - which is not a bad thing, especially if your child really enjoys it. But, the article focuses on the benefits of a typical summer camp where kids can be kids, and experience the rite of passage that is sleep-away camp. Of course, I should note that the "typical" summer camp that T&C discusses doesn't come with a typical price tag. Again, that wouldn't be very T&C, would it?

Did you go to summer camp? What did you like/dislike about it? Will your own kids go to summer camp?

Image from Town & Country Magazine

Happy 4th!

Bring on the fireworks! Hope you have a wonderful Independence Day. Across our great nation, there will be plenty of barbecues, parades, lounging by the pool and enjoying the day off as we celebrate the birth of our nation.

Hang that flag high, friends!

Images from paperfashion.net, underspanishmoss.com, eighteen25.blogspot.com, occasionallycrafty.blogspot.com, pinstarts.info, atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com 

Go, Dara, Go!

Dara Torres, you are the woman. You are one victory away from your 6th Olympics. That's right, 6th. And, you are a fabulous 45-year old mom. (How I would kill for your abs of steel, girlfriend!)

I'll be cheering you on to victory tonight. Good luck!

Everyone staying cool in this God-awful heat? In Louisville, temps hit 105 degrees on Friday, 102 on Saturday. We spent the weekend just sitting in the pool.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Images from Zimbio and FB