Not Many Pictures from the Pool This Summer

I usually take a million pictures poolside every summer.

For some reason, I was in the pool more often but my camera was absent.

These are a few of my favorites. Moms love kisses from their boys.

Sometimes, when it's late afternoon or after dinner, we head to the pool for a quick swim. Sometimes, the kiddos just wear their underwear as they strip on the way to the water.

Evie learned to swim this year--and she's our most recent entry in family cannonball contests off the diving board. Pink goggles and brown limbs all curl together into a tight little ball before making an unimpressive but amazing splash. She's quite proud of it--"Micah taught me!"

It may seem strange in other parts of the country, but most AZ kids are proficient swimmers before they enter kindergarten. It might have something to do with being in the pool at least three times a day all summer long. Maybe.

I love having a pool in our backyard. I used to think it was quite an extravagance, since I grew up in southern Idaho where we didn't even have a community pool. If you ever fly over Phoenix, you'll see aqua kidney-shaped puddles in most yards, no matter the neighborhood. With temperatures this week headed over 110*, there really is nowhere else to be outside other than in the water. Unless it's a movie theatre.

Nathan and Ellie were a little timid around the water at first, but they acclimated almost as quickly as their little bodies bronzed up.

I wonder if they look really tan to all of the Idaho people now that they're home again.

Hyrum finally reached the height requirement for the diving board at the public pool. I call this photo, "Mom, are you sure you're watching??"

Evie also reached a milestone this summer--height requirement to go down the twisty water slide. She's such a scaredy cat, that I knew she'd back out at the top of the slide. Lucky for her, no one else was in line, so I walked her to the top of the slide, the lifeguard gave the signal, and I dropped her into the chute before she had even a second to reconsider. She kept looking up at me the whole way down, but she made it--without a single tear. Plus, she said it was "Fun." I think she meant it.

Ah, the joys of AZ summer. They are few, but at least there are a few.