Swimming and Crashing

The boys started two weeks of swimming lessons in the last week of July. At first the idea of dragging three kids to the swimming pool every day for two weeks straight seemed daunting, and there were days we were late, but it was a nice break from the day and it gave the kids a chance to be outside. Best of all, Aubrey got over her fear of water and tried many times to join the boys in the pool. However, she developed a fear of lifeguards after one burly guy helped me retrieve her when she went in too deep for me to reach. After that, anyone with a red shirt with a white cross was avoided.

Roman was in a preschool-age class, and his teacher was awesome. Roman can be really shy, especially when he is not with Hayden, and his teacher allowed Hayden to come into the pool and play games with Roman's class for the first five minutes of every class. Hayden was great at getting Roman in the water and leaving him when the teacher told him to. Roman learned water safety, floating, kicking, and the front stroke.

Here's Roman learning to "dive"...aka bellyflop to his teacher. Hayden is next to him.

Roman's class was first, followed by Hayden's class. So while waiting for Hayden, Roman usually found a sunny spot to hang out and dry off.

Hayden is in a level 2 class, meaning his classes are a lot more teaching and not so much games. He was bummed at first because he wanted to play games like Roman's class did, but he also loved that he got to go in the deep end and swim around. He got a lot of one on one attention because he was only one of two kids in the class. He still does a bit of a doggy paddle but he is getting more confident in the water.

Aubrey always found a way to entertain herself, whether it was playing with the other little kids on the grass or wading in the zero-entry pool (as long as no lifeguards were around). She's not very modest, though. Doesn't matter, I usually stripped her down to her diaper because she would get her clothes soaked in the pool. The boys made sure to get her nice and wet. Nice, eh?

Aubrey loves "wa-ee" or water. Even in church she yells for "mo' wa-ee" when the deacons bring around the sacrament, demanding they give her more water.

Nana Lynda, Nana Lafranca, and Jeremiah came to watch the swim lessons, too. The boys loved showing off for them. On the last day of swim lessons, the Scera pool was open for all participants and their families until noon. Jeremiah and I switched off between watching Aubrey and watching the boys. Jeremiah loved throwing the boys in the water, and Aubrey loved jumping to us from the wall. It was her first time in a swimming pool (sad, huh) and she had a blast.

As many of you know, I got into a car accident with our Corolla on July 31. I had just dropped my mom off at the airport and was headed to meet Jeremiah and the kids in Lehi. Steve and Melanie were going to watch the kids while Jeremiah and I went on our first post-bar date. Dinner and Salt Lake Real game. I was so excited...until I totalled our car. Traffic stopped suddenly, and although I wasn't tailing the car in front of me (I swear I wasn't!), I took my eyes off the road for a second and when I looked back, it was too late to stop. The car in front of me was trailing a big metal pole, which pretty much stabbed my car through the grill and into the engine. I called Jeremiah, who was only a minute or so behind me, and he dropped the kids off before picking me back up. The cops were amazing, as was the guy whose car I hit. They were very concerned for me because I was so shook up and crying. I barely damaged the guys car, the pole went through his license plate and probably bent his bumper a little. We didn't make it to dinner that night, but we made it to the game. We got the news a few days later that the car was totalled. The alternator, radiator, and air conditioner were gone, and we were pretty sure the engine was, too. We are learning to deal with one car.

So you can see where the pole went into the grill by the light. The squarish part on the frame underneath is where my car hit his hitch. And to think we just filled up the tank earlier that day and just put $100 in repairs to it two weeks ago! Although I wasn't really attached to my car, it was a great car for the past 12 years. We never had any issues with it, except for the color. In fact, I had just told my mom earlier that day how reliable the car was. Think I jinxed myself? :)