Some water relief...

Wow! It has been a scorcher here lately (as I heard it has been on the East Coast in the states). We've been running 100+ for the past week or so and are spending as much time as possible indoors, with the exception of early morning and late evenings outdoors. We recently found some water venues to help us cool off a bit. We were pleasently surprised to find out that we have a neighborhood pool. We didn't know it existed because it is hidden away on the 6th floor of one of the buildings in our complex. (Prior to the knowing about it we had to walk about 20 minutes to the nearby park for a swim). Anyhow, we have been glad to know that there is a nearby pool so we can cool off. The only thing that can be tricky is to manage the timing of going swimming. The pool is only open from 2-4 in the afternoon and then again from 6-8 in the evening.

Well, today I told the kids that we would try to make it to the pool to cool off a bit. We were about to get ready to go swimming this afternoon when I heard thunder and saw rain. They were disappointed but I reassured that we would try to go in the evening. Living in China for 4 years I've learned to say, "Lord willing we'll go..." or "We'll try to do..." about the events that we'd like to participate in because we can't always predict how things may happen in the future. (I guess that is true about life in general but the future here can be much more unpredictable than I experienced in the states). Anyhow, we ate dinner, Chris changed the kids into their suits and they headed to buy their tickets and go to the pool. Then came the disappointment of the unpredictable. The man who works in the office that sells tickets was off to dinner. They said that he would be back later but since the swimming time is limited already Chris didn't think it was worth waiting for the man and then paying for a really short swim time. The kids were crushed. Miriam and Eliza were crying by the time that they came back up to our apartment. I wanted to do something but we don't have a yard yet alone a sprinkler or a baby pool to swim around in. BUT hey, we do have a teeny tiny infant pool that I put on our balcony to work as a substitute "water table" that I thought the kids might enjoy pouring water in and out of buckets or pushing a small boat in during the summer months. The girls were all for it.

I never thought you could swim UNDER water that was only 6 inches deep. I never knew you could do "Camden Balls" into 6 inches of water. ("Camden Ball" is what Eliza screams when she jumps into the pool & holds her legs in a tucked position-Camden is the name of Chris' home town- hee hee). I never would have thought that googles would be a necessity.

I love watching our kiddos play together. Always a riot!