First Swim of the Season

We took our first swim of the season today! Yay! Pools have been open and warm weather has been around for a while, but we haven't ventured out. Today was also my first time to take both kids to the pool ALL BY MYSELF! I was so proud of myself for attempting it (and way happy that it worked out and we had such a good time). Both kids are at least somewhat comfortable in the water and familiar with floaties and flotation devices (plus I think I told them that we ALL stay together like a million times). It was nice to be able to take them to the pool without having to enlist help. They are really growing up.
Dallin loves the water and immediately began splashing and "swimming" about with his floaties and such. In the picture above, he kept dunking his head and kind of swimming along before he would come up sputtering (this water was only a foot and a half deep) He actually got pretty good at flipping onto his back and swimming along with just his floaties on. I can tell he has lost a little bit of his finesse since last season, but it is nothing a little practice and some lessons won't take care of. Kate probably had the most dramatic improvement since last year. She literally went from being very afraid of swimming and not able to be left alone AT ALL (for her safety and because she was scared) to actually kicking her little legs and paddling herself around the pool with her ring. She could flat make time across the pool Yes, she wears a lifevest, floaties, and a ring, but then she can have a little bit of independence without she or I having a heart attack. She is not quite ready to go underwater or venture out of the comfort zone of wearing so much safety equipment it would be impossible to sink. The kids were absolutely exhausted and fell asleep on the way home. We had been out for 2 hours. Dallin ended up with only a little sunburn on his cheeks and nose area. I actually applied sun lotion twice while we were there, but the second time I used a different lotion and as soon as the kids hit the water it ran into their eyes. There was a lot of hysterical crying and eye rubbing. Dallin's eyes were soooo red and sore looking. Poor little Mr., so I flushed them out with the water we brought to drink. This helped, but I also think it washed the lotion off of his face...hence the burn. Definitely buying one of those sticks for the face in the future, Fortunately, his arms and everything else were fine (Yay for our SPF 50 swim shirt!!) Kate has no burns (she has a fortunate skin tone) All in all it was a big success! Can't wait to go out and swim again! Love my kiddos. :)