We have FISH!

Well...not REAL fish, thank goodness.  (Been there, done that...with a fish that lived on...and on....and on....in spite of our neglect.)

We have little people fish.
The kind that want to go the Y every.single.day. to swim.

I registered my discontent with the Y pool rules earlier this summer, but I have to admit, my kids have learned to swim.

And now...well...it's not so horrible to go to the pool.
I no longer have 6 little munchkins that need to stay within arms length of me.
I no longer have 5 who are wearing life saving devices that claim NOT to be actual life saving devices.

Drum roll.....we now have 4 kiddos who have passed the swim test!
Chloe passed the test about two weeks ago.
Jordan was the first brave one to lead the charge among the little kids.  He passed with flying colors!
A few days later, Zoey decided to give it a whirl.  She also passed, while we all watched and cheered.
That same day--an hour or so later--Kate decided to take the plunge.  And she passed!

I will say that Zoey was the only one who did it with a smile on her face the ENTIRE time.

Woohoo...we are all allowed in the deep end by ourselves!

SaraGrace has been too fearful to take the test--although we are pretty sure she could do it.  She is full of self-doubt so we need to get her over that hurdle but she did conquer her fear of jumping in.

Jake was also quite fearful of jumping in--but has now mastered it--and the two of them are cannonball maniacs.  Don't get near them unless you want a faceful of water.
{Is faceful a word?  Oh well...it's my blog, I can make up words if I want to.}

Monday, the 6 youngest kids were standing on the edge of the pool jumping into the water.
You know....kind of like those synchronized divers at the Olympics.  Of course, there is no diving allowed at the Y pool, so they had to satisfied with jumping.  Two other random children joined in the fun and they all had a blast.  There weren't many people swimming that day so the lifeguards allowed them to do it.

"I'm gonna jump!"

Doing his impersonation of Peter walking on the water...

Or is it his impersonation of the Chinese women divers making no splash?

My sweet Chloe

Jordan has completely taken to swimming and loves it.  Zoey's smile never leaves her face--which causes her to swallow copious amounts of water.

Modeling the latest in swimming fashion and goggle-wear

"OK, everyone.  On the count of three....JUMP!"

Synchronization FAIL.

Let's try this again, shall we?

Not bad!  I'd give it a 5.5

Thank you, Jillian for taking these pictures with my phone!

Speaking of Jillian, she is off to a youth retreat this week.  We will miss her but know she will have a great time with friends, doing community service projects, growing deeper in her faith, and attending an outdoor Christian concert.