It's pool time!

For us Arizonans it is officially summer. School is out, it's at least a 100 degrees everyday, and the pool water is warm enough to enjoy.

I got Caralie a pool noodle at Wal-mart last week:



Here she is in her Sports Illustrated pose:



Today she started swimming lessons. I fixed her hair fancy to match her bathing suit:



And here she is at the junior high pool:



Her class is large this time around so she has two teachers. The first two days they are focusing on basics and then will divide the class in two by skill. Here they are doing "motorboats" with "popsicle stick" legs:



Here's a video of the kids pretending to be elephants in the water. Caralie went crazy:




Next up was making a "starfish." First they practiced holding their arms and legs out straight and making big tummies:



Then they made a starfish in the water. Caralie was one of the best starfish:


While she had fun in the pool I got to stand around for 30 minutes in the 100+ degree heat. At least they had some shade by the vending machines. Having nothing else to do for the half hour I spent my time analyzing the class. There are always the same kids:

• The Banshee screams and cries the entire time.

• The Rebel refuses to do anything the teacher tries to make him/her do.

• The ADD Kid can't stop splashing.

• The Wanderer does his/her own thing completely oblivious to the presence of others. Often has a glazed look.
  

• The Follower does whatever his/her new best friend does. Not great when the new best friend is the Banshee.

• The Teacher's Pet does everything right and points out when the other kids are doing something wrong (this would be Caralie).

• The OCD Face Wiper cannot handle a single drop of water to be on his/her face at any time.

The parents aren't much better:

• The Smotherer is in the pool with her child to make sure they don't drown.

• The Screamer sits as far away from the pool as possible and then proceeds to yell directions and/or threats to her child.

• The Armchair Father is only here because his wife made him and he'll be darned if he is going to lift one finger to instruct his child to follow directions. Where's the vending machine?

• The Social Butterfly spends the entire 30 minutes talking to the Screamer and is the last one to pick up her child when class is over.

• The Martyr is the mother of the Banshee. Can be identified by the harassed look and bald spots from pulling her hair out.

• The Jersey Housewife has her cell phone surgically attached to her ear and spends the half hour loudly telling her buddy on the phone all about her recent bout with toenail fungus and her sister's good-for-nothing boyfriend.
  

• The Observer is lucky to have a kid that can follow directions so she can spend her time judging analyzing everyone else. (That would be me.)

I should just take a book.