It wasn’t too busy thankfully. It did get a little busier but nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be for a really nice holiday weekend.
First day at the pool 2023
Category Archives: Pool
Spring Break Day 2
Grannie surprised the kids with a longer golf cart drive…for Johnny Rockets for brunch — somewhere we ate on the cruise! They loved it! Grannie and I enjoyed adult shakes.
Then we walked around a little, Katie named two turtles in the bay, we got some souvenirs, and then went to another pool.
I had this exchange with the waitress:
Waitress: So that's a strawberry daiquiri.
Me: Margarita.
Waitress: Yes, daiquiri.
Me: Not daiquiri, margarita.
Waitress: Yes I know what you mean.
Aaaand it tasted like a daiquiri to me! (Not bad but…not a margarita!)
Back to the pool after dinner…
Unfortunately someone got a little too much sun…
Soooo happy to be able to wash my face tonight!
Spring Break Day 1
Welcome to creepy crawlies!
First practice session driving the golf cart! Grannie is brave!!!
Driving all of us to the pool!
My view today from the shade of a cabana at one of the “executive” pools.
Katie: I haven’t put sunscreen on in a long time. This feels weird to be doing it in March.
The kids immediately disappeared in the pool. Grannie was in the sun. The music was great. I read my Kindle and hit the adults-only hot tub — then ordered a frozen margarita!
Of course I was 100% in my element—so the kids didn’t want to stay too long. (I thought we’d be there all day like we are when we go to our pool…but we were only there like 1.5 hours!)
Fab Squad Retreat – Day 2
Today’s schedule was pretty open all day with a short training around lunch. So we started by taking lots of lifestyle photos of and with each other.
AND THEN OMG! I met Katie Enos and Summer Alvarez!! They are some of the top dogs in SeneGence and we got two hours of one-on-one training by them today! They are soooo super nice and down to earth!
Of course I think I look totally ridic in this pic but that’s because someone else took it—I would have done a closeup selfie!!
Katie’s Instagram & Summer’s Instagram
Then it was off to sit by the pool at the swim up bar.
I might have been a bad influence. (Or, really, they just wanted to taste it and didn’t have glasses!)
And then I just got toooo hot so had to go in the pool. With a margarita of course. But because it’s so extremely hot, the pool water isn’t really even refreshing. It’s definitely not cool. But it is better than the air so…
After dinner it was time for more lifestyle photos. I took a bunch but wasn’t feeling cute at all. (UGHHHHH. I’ve gained so much weight. I know no one there cares but the pics make me sick so A) I’m not posting them and B) it’s time to get back on Naturally Slim.) So this is my best photo—nothing different than I take at home:
But this is the kind of pics most were taking (I just felt super self-conscious so didn’t join in):
Starting book 30!
I think I need to come up with a new goal for #goodreadschallenge2022 (it was 12).
I started book #28 today at the pool.
I really enjoy this author—this is my fourth book of hers this summer.
Unfortunately, I am only on page 14 because I had fun chatting with a handful of friends. Oh, and I was working today, too.
Katie’s a Shark 2!
We thought she was a Turtle 2 for the last while… But turns out she was a Shark 1, so today she graduated to Shark 2! So now we have two Shark 2 swimmers!
2022 dual birthday pool party!
For as much as I take pictures of everything we do, I seemingly always let it slip on pool party day. At least I got one of both kids.
This one was from a friend.
And this was as we were packing up—Anna found a little grasshopper and put it on Katie.
The party was a big success again! All the kids love it! And it’s easy since we don’t have to clean the house.
Back at swim lessons!
Our two fishes are back to swim lessons at British Swim School! We are so happy we discovered BSS back in Virginia when they were just babes!
Enjoying a PERFECT pool day!
Great weather (after the horrible heat and humidity wave we had), a nice breeze, SEATS IN THE SHADE, friends (Anna and Kelly!), good music, peanut M&Ms, a cold beverage, and a library book!
And makeup that would stay on if I dared to go swimming — I did go in up to my neck as a starter!
This is karma for the empty park on opening day.
Just shoot me. I am in my own personal hell today. A full park. No seats anywhere—let alone in the shade. So I’m stuck in a tiny sliver of shade on a steep hill so that I’m constantly sliding down. And there are ants.
Perfect opening day at the pool!
Basically an empty park (there might be 30 guests here and that’s being generous—I’ve counted who I can see and it’s less than 30), perfect weather for me not going in the pool (it’s a measly 70°!), good music, a new book, and kids leaving me alone… I just wish they served margaritas!
Great Wolf Lodge Surprises
Did you know that all Great Wolf Lodge waterparks are not the same?! I didn’t until this week.
Anna got a steal of a deal on a weekday suite so we took the kids for an overnight surprise before school starts again.
As broken-bodied adults, we were excited about the hot tub (and, to a lesser extent, the lazy river).
Until.
We learned that this particular GWL does not have a hot tub!! WHAAAAAT?! I know, right? Fail. Big BIG fail. Ughhhh.
And then we learned that the lazy river (among other things) wasn’t open because they were short-staffed.
GAHHHHHHHH!!!!! 0 for 2 does not make for a happy mom.
But the kids didn’t care. And they ended up opening the lazy river later in the day so Anna and I got to be floating blobs for two hours.
But the water wasn’t warm enough for me and the air temp felt too cold, too. I think maybe I’m too old for this.
After checkout, Anna and I managed to find a somewhat secluded couch to relax while the kids are back in the waterpark. We can actually stay until close (!) but I’m thinking we’ll just stay until lunch!
Happy 9th and 12-1/2th birthdays!
The show must go on! We had paid for the double birthday party and the weather was gorgeous and we were not cancelling—even though lots of people told me they wouldn’t have been surprised. Really, though, most everything was taken care of by the staff—we basically just had to haul in the drinks and snacks and then had the pizza delivered. I pretty much stayed on the picnic table the whole time.
A great time was had by all!
Look at me looking all normal!
Today was the kids’ dual birthday pool party and I was happy that I felt good enough to put on a face! (Don’t worry, I didn’t over-exert myself—I literally sat at a picnic table the whole time…but more about the party on the next post!)
- CCTM Light Medium and Light Powder
- Champagne Shimmer and Pink Ruby Shimmer ShadowSense on eyes
- Pink Ruby Shimmer as blush
- Clove ShadowSense as contour
- UnderSense Primer and regular black Mascara
- Glow Gloss
Who brings a wet towel to a pool?
At one of my happy places with the kids—the community pool—so my daily annoyance level stays low.
But y’all. One of my kids BROUGHT A WET TOWEL. Like seriously. But I’m a good mom and draped it over a deck chair so it will hopefully dry.
(I’m also getting in a little bit of work so I can feel like I accomplished something today!! I love not sitting in an office to work!)
SHOW OF HANDS: Whose kids would also bring a wet towel to the pool?!
This is what mom balls looks like.
I brought Owen to the pool and not Katie because she was a complete shit earlier and she needs to learn that bad behavior is not rewarded. #momballs as Anna says.
Also? Anytime my preteen wants to jump in a selfie with me I’m taking it.
It’s a little chilly at the pool today.
First day at the pool 2021
We got here at 4:30 and it’s still crazy busy and not many seats left in the shade. There’s not much social distancing going on except the people seated in the grass.
But sitting in the shade with the breeze blowing and knowing the kids are having fun and listening to happiness all around me makes my heart happy that we are actually able to be here.
The kids are swimming again!
The kids were super excited to get back to the pool! They haven’t been in lessons in over a year, but they both got right back into it like pros.
Pool time with new friends!
One of the new mom friends I have has a pool and invited our small group over for a play date! I was sitting in the water for most of the time (it was HOT) so I only got one pic to show Tom (who opted to stay at home and work on the garage).
The kids had a blast on the diving board and the slide. We had fun watching them of course. The parents basically stayed in the shallow end and visited.
Invitation to the pool!
The kids got invited to a friend’s pool (technically the neighbor’s parent’s pool) so they had a grand time while we were unpacking the house and all that fun stuff.
I might have gotten a little bit emotional because the same neighbors who invited the kids over today (so we could work on the house in peace) were the same neighbors who took the kids the first day we moved in three years so (so we could unpack in peace). Kind of bookending our time at that house. (In fact I’m even getting choked up a bit writing it now.)
Look who’s in the pool brochure?
I don’t know how they ever noticed themselves but they are there!
Last day at the pool!
Since it was a nice day, Tom even came to the pool for the last day.
Today is one of the last days at the pool.
It really wasn’t even that warm but it was warm enough that the kids would go in the pool so off we went. I actually had to move into the sun because sitting in the shade was too chilly for me even wearing a light sweater.
Dual pool birthday party…go!!
Katie’s birthday is obviously today and Owen’s was back in February, but both kids love a pool party so we decided to celebrate both birthdays together! (Owen also begged for another pool party!) So we had a 7th birthday and 10.5 birthday!!
The party officially started at 3:30 but we got to the park when it opened at noon so the kids could get in as much playing as possible (and to stake out the best shade seats, as is my usual). I didn’t take many pics because, well, I rarely take pics at the pool… And once people started arriving and the party started it was crazy busy—we had 15 adults and 27 kids!!!
But first, lunch. Of course the kids hadn’t eaten lunch before we left, so they were hungry pretty much as soon as we got there. We asked if we could have some of our party food early and that wasn’t a problem, so the kids had hot dogs and popcorn! (Our party package came with 20 cafe meals but we were bringing in pizza so technically didn’t need all the meals, so we snagged them for lunch! Brilliant!)
The arrival of the pizza!
Once we got it set up it was like a feeding frenzy. You’d think these kids hadn’t eaten in days. For a moment I wasn’t sure we’d bought enough pizza as the boxes were emptying at an alarming rate, but in the end it was perfect and we ended up with about 1.5 pizzas to take home.
Cupcake time came shortly after…
Of course we had way too many. I figured with 42 total guests, 60 would be just right because some kids would have two. But apparently most adults don’t eat cupcakes… So we literally had an entire tray left! I walked around handing out cupcakes to random people then took the rest to the manager’s office (they were happy to get them)!
We left just a little bit of garbage…
Sooo happy to see these guys together again!!
Tom and I went back to the water to cool off (it was still like 85°) and relax and two of our friends snapped pics of us. 😄
Katie was actually done before Owen so she went home with Daddy a little early.
All in all a great day… The weather was hot (I think it got to 94°) but it was perfect around the pool. Everyone had a great time. No one got hurt. Well, I take that back…Tom tweaked his back a bit but he powered through. And I lost my sunglasses on the waterslide—I had them tucked in my suit but they still came out…but they totally disappeared. They weren’t in the pool with me and we couldn’t see them in the pool anywhere. It’s a mystery.
This is Fun Mom™ after three trips down the waterslide.
So Fun Mom™ made an appearance today at the water park: I went down the water slides with both my kids and got totally dunked each time! They thought it was the best thing ever—the whole way down on the double tube with Owen he was giggling like crazy, and upon retelling the story to Tom that night you could see him reliving the moments with a huge smile on his face.
And you know what? I had fun, too. I mean, who doesn’t want to feel like a kid again as your tube races down the slide (much faster than you remember as a child!) and you careen around the corners (OMG we’re coming way closer to the edge than I remember!) and and not one single thought of work or adulthood or chores enter your mind for those 17 seconds it takes to reach the bottom.
It’s amazing what can happen when you stop caring about what you look like or what the water will do to your hair or how you don’t want to get wet…and just think about making memories with your kids.
And here’s proof!! A friend caught us getting out of the pool!!
Someone can ride the drop slide now!
So proud of this girl!! I don’t even want to go down that slide!
If you had asked me this morning, I’d say I was a damn fun person.
I love laughing and having fun and doing crazy things (have you ever flown across the country to meet a bunch of internet strangers?). Right?!
And then I started reading this book: HAVE MORE FUN
It’s like I was meant to read this book. 😂
And now I know things need to change. If my life ended tomorrow would I regret the 300 unread emails? The clothes still in the dryer? The boxes still packed from our last move? Hell no. I’d regret not playing in the rain with my kids, not taking that cruise with the family, and not spending as much time with friends as we can before we move again.
Don’t get me wrong, the kids are still going to have to do their reading and workbook pages, but I’m going to make a concerted effort for us all to have more fun.
I love the pool but this is my idea of hell.
I love the pool but this is my idea of hell because I might be able to grab one of the very last seats in the shade. If I’m lucky. But on the positive side, I’ll have the alone time I need because the kids will be off playing.
It’s honestly normally not this bad mid-week but since this summer has been cold and rainy thus far, everyone is crazy to get out of the house! So I think every day that’s nice is going to be like this for awhile. Today’s crowds were like holiday weekends!!