Slide Masters

Aside from pretty much the entire frigidly cold and rainy month of July, we have spent a fair amount of time checking out the local pools this summer. It's been so much fun, and I really wish summer would last just a bit longer so we could continue to take advantage of the pools.

We have a favorite pool that is a zero depth walk-in pool, and goes no deeper than 4 feet. This is especially nice because it keeps the big kids away. (No offense big kids, you guys are just a bit more, umm, splashy than our kids care for.) The pool also has 3 slides. 2 of them are big plumes for the adventurous folk and the other is a multi-kid, very wide, very slow moving short slide that is perfect for the adventurous mini folk.


Sydney took a huge liking to the yellow (mini) slide. So much in fact that she declared her independence and went up by herself.


She even stopped along the way to have a conversation with the pool manager (very one-sided -- the manager had no idea what "ah gah sahhhh" means. Seriously? How can you not know what that means?)
We stood at the top, although it was pretty much for moral support. Sydney showed us she needed no help. You can see it in her face, too. She kept this little mouth pucker for most of her rides down the slide.


I promise she was having a good time. She just soaks it in and lets out this little closed-mouth smile/pucker a lot.

Here we go...here's a little smile.

Sydney saw me while I was taking this next picture, so she quickly yelled "eeeeeeeee!" (cheeeeese) That cracks me up. We have a nephew that used to do that too. He'd see the camera and would instantly stop what he was doing and pucker up.

Aaaand, MASTERED.

So after Sydney got bored with the yellow slide she decided it was time to move onto bigger and better things. And because she doesn't feel the least bit like a mini-folk, she decided to go for the big folk adventures.


She barely blinked. The lifeguard told me (yeah, I went down too once or twice) that even though her expression was, well, expressionless, the excitement in her eyes was priceless.

She got out of the inner-tube and said: "MAH?" (more!) And so she went more, until she was blue in the lips.

Elisabeth loves herself some yellow slide too, but she much prefers the big girl stuff. Up until recently, she had worn a life jacket (required) and went down with one of us. But this year she asked if she could go by herself. She is exactly of minimum height required. She really wanted to go by herself, even though it requires you not wear a life jacket, and she is still only learning how to swim.

I will admit, I was a bit nervous for our emotional child. But was she? NOPE. Cool as a cucumber.


Ladies and gentlemen, all slides have been mastered!