Luke's All-American Pool Party

Luke wanted to host a patriotic-themed party for his 6th birthday.  This was entirely his idea, but the timing of his birthday could not be more perfect for scoring lots of great 4th of July decor. 

After much discussion around what the kids would actually "do" at an "American themed" party, we decided that it was in our best interest to entertain Luke's friends not at our home, but at the Country Club Pool.  We knew from the experience of Luke's 4th birthday, that this would make it fun for all of us (adults included).

I loved the Luke helped me shop for the decorations and played a part in the planning.  It turned out to be one of my favorite parties to shop and decorate for.  The colors were simple and looked great.

Traditional "American" food was served by the club (hamburgers, hot dogs, and grilled cheese), but we added in a few special red, white, and blue touches.

Luke really loved the cake that I made for Mia's Rainbow Party, so we created an All-American version of that cake for his party.

Luke invited quite a large group of kids from his class this year, as well as some of our favorite family friends.  I prepared him for what I thought was the inevitable issue of families taking summer vacations and kids not being in town for his mid-July party ... well, I was completely wrong!  Every person Luke invited came to his party this year, which made it even more special and fun!

The kids seemed to have a great time swimming and eating (although, most would have preferred to continue swimming and skip the eating all together.  Thankfully, the lifeguards have mandated breaks, so we timed the food and cake around the adult swim times).  Luke's guests took home American flag towels and packed bags of treats from the treat table.  Some of us stayed late into the afternoon and just enjoyed celebrating and swimming with Luke.

 Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate 6 with our boy.  He had a perfect day!

Another Little Fish!

Check out Mia's swimming skills!  She's really made a ton of progress  in terms of wanting to move around the pool, put her face in, and dive for toys.  The year-round swim lessons have definitely helped, but so have the frequent days at the pool that the kids' are putting in already this summer.

Back in the Pool

The kids took a break from swimming through last summer and fall.  Both kids swam almost daily last summer at the Country Club, and when fall came I wanted to see how Luke adjusted to his new full-day, 5 days a week Kindergarten schedule before I started adding afternoon activities.  Plus, I was anxious for Mia to turn 3 so that she could be in the water without a parent.  So, this month we went back to swimming lessons for the first time since last spring.

Luke is starting back at his previous level as a Sea Turtle, and Mia is at the first level without a parent, which is Guppy.

Cabo 2012: The Pool



We spent at least a portion of everyday enjoying the pool.  Some days, we spent the entire day enjoying the pool.  Many days the kids went from the big pool, to the kids splash area, to our private dipping pool, and then back again.  They both love the water, but Luke is a complete fish.  He was ready to go every. single. morning.  Thankfully, with 2 sets of grandparents (so blessed to have had them all with us again), there was never a lack of someone to take them to the pool (again, and again).  Here are some of our photos from our time at the pools over the course of the week.