McDuff Medley: 2008

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Learning to Swim

In late July Abigail and Matthew took swimming lessons at the Y. It was 30 minutes a day Monday through Thursday for 2 weeks. We also shared the pool with a water aerobics class. If you click on the photo you can see all of the older women. I think there might be one man. Ha Ha.

One of the moms and I were joking and commenting that this will be us years down the road.

Now getting to the part you are interested in.

The kids are hanging out with their instructor. On Abigail's back you can see the floats they use in teaching them. As they progress layers of the foam are taken off until it is just them and the water.

They both took to the water wonderfully. Most of their comfort came from swimming in a friends pool a couple of times during the summer.

At one time he instructed each of them to jump off the side of the pool. It did take a few seconds to gain the nerve but as you can see they did it.

The swimmers would practice swimming using a flotation device that resembled a dumbbell with foam on each end. They would hold it with one hand and stroke with the other and then alternate. At the end of this lesson both Matthew and Abigail wanted to dive to the bottom and get a stick.

The instructor is helping Matthew get to the bottom...

And now back up again.

He did it!!!!!

Now it's Abigail's turn...

She did it!!!

One of the lessons was on how to fall out of a boat in a life jacket. This, for the kids, was the high light of the lessons. They loved it.

Matthew getting help with the life jacket.

Matthew and his partner in the boat.

Here.....We......GO!!!!

Now it is time for Abigail and her partner!!!

They can now safely fall out of a boat!!!! Ha!Ha!

They really did enjoy the lessons and learned A LOT. Abigail can now swim without a float and Matthew is almost there. They can also dive to the bottom of the shallow end without assistance. Swim on!!!

Fun at the YMCA

The YMCA in our area just added a new play area for the kids. It is HUGE!! The kids love climbing, sliding and exploring.

They all had fun sliding down the "water" slide.

They also have a play area to the side for smaller children. Gabbie had fun in this area but she really wanted to be with Abigail and Matthew. There were too many older kids to let her have big girl fun. Oh well, she will be over there soon enough.

Gabbie aka Live Baby Doll

Gabbie loves her sister and brother and she wants to be just like them. So, when she sees them dressing up, she has to dress up also. They decided to put Matthew's Buzz Lightyear dress up on her. She looks so cute and funny. I'm sure you can see how it swallows her.

She looks like a penguin. How can you not laugh.

Next they decided to dress her in an outfit my aunt gave them. We have been waiting for her to grow big enough to wear it. This is a poodle costume.

See her little tail!!

If you look closely you can see the little black eyes and nose of the dog on top of her head.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Petting zoo and Emergency Vehicles

We attended the grand opening of Ooltewah United Methodist's playground earlier this summer. The kids were able to explore some amazing emergency vehicles. As soon as the arrived I heard a helocopter in the sky. I had no idea it was going to land in the parking lot. How amazing it was to see it land and feel the air spinning around.