“C” is for Celebrating ....

It seems like a long time since the days when Ashlynn couldn’t swim or ride a bike, and we had to walk 25 minutes to the pool for her lessons in the shallow pool. It’s been very exciting to watch her progress in a fairly short time from only being able to dog paddle to being able to complete her “C”diploma which included 4 laps dressed in trousers, long-sleeved top and windbreaker, diving, a 27-foot underwater swim through a hoop plus 10+ laps of mixed strokes along with an occasional somersault or obstacle, as shown above. She’s now in the highest group at swimming lessons during PE at school and is the first in her class to earn all of the beginner diplomas. Next up, she’ll join Veronica’s snorkel classes--yeah, they’ll finally have lessons at the same time!

“B” is for Breaststroke...

After all that swimming this summer at my dad’s house, Ashlynn quickly progressed through her next set of swim lessons to earn her “B” diploma. This exam included swimming several laps of breaststroke wearing long pants and a long-sleeve shirt and the above 18-foot underwater swim as well as a variety of other strokes and skills. I had to laugh when I saw the mascot for the pool. He clearly wasn’t a real hippo since he didn’t try to drown any of the children.

Our Little Fish…

After all of Veronica’s hard work to get through the three beginner swimming diplomas, she figured it was time for some fun so she signed up to take snorkeling. She’s really enjoyed the crazy mix of drills they do including retrieving items from the bottom of the pool, tying knots along the bottom, clearing her snorkel, and removing /replacing her gear in the water. Not only will all of this will come in mighty helpful when she takes scuba lessons, but she’s having a blast. While Ashlynn was earning her “A” in one part of the pool, Veronica finished her Snorkel-1 Diploma in another.

“A” is for Ashlynn

We knew it would take a lot of persistence, determination and skill for Ashlynn to progress from not knowing how to swim to being able to pass her “A” swimming diploma in just 15 months. However, we didn’t expect it would also take a lot of bravery, but it did after Ashlynn had the misfortune of getting her foot stuck in Jimmy’s spokes while riding side saddle on the back of his bike. While I was afraid I’d toss my cookies when I rode up and found my sweet daughter’s foot trapped in a bike tire and thought for sure her ankle was broken, she didn’t even cry. Once Jimmy got her foot unstuck and was confident that nothing was broken despite the instant bruising, we asked her if she wanted to go home or to the pool to get her “A”. You can see by these photos which she chose. Not only is she a good swimmer, but she’s one brave little girl.

Look At Me, I Got My “C”...

Last weekend, Veronica completed her final diploma test within the beginner's series of swim lessons. Just 12 kids had progressed to this 3rd test, but there was still a large crowd there rooting them on. As before, the exam stressed survival skills. It started with her dressed in long pants, long-sleeved shirt and a windbreaker. While dressed, she swam for 4 laps with a short underwater swim below a pad and a climb over a pad as shown here. The remaining 10 laps were in just a swimsuit with a variety of skill stops (treading, floating, somersaulting, diving and a 9-meter underwater swim through a hoop). She's come a long way and is looking forward to swimming in the river this spring and in Grandma & Grandpa's pool this summer.

Yippee! Veronica Got Her "B"...

After just a few more lessons, Veronica got to take her test for her 2nd swimming diploma as part of a large group in mid-January. It was fun seeing what a big deal these tests are. She was thrilled that there was another big girl there; the other 34 kids were mostly 6- and 7-year-olds. As you can see, this exam started with her dressed in long pants and long-sleeved shirt. The test is basically an extended version of the last one, again stressing survival skills. There were scuba divers in the water taking photos of the 6-meter underwater swim through a hoop, but they missed getting one of her. Ashlynn continues to make progress, but it'll be awhile before she'll be ready for her first diploma test.

Yeah! Veronica Got Her "A"

Veronica missed the official test for her first swimming diploma when we were in Spain (sorry, still waiting for those photos from the lab), but the instructor was nice enough to give her a private test. The exam starts with her dressed in shorts and tests for a variety of survival skills (treading water, floating and underwater swimming) as well as stroke skills (breaststroke, inverted breaststroke, crawl and backstroke--her strongest stroke). This photo shows her after diving in and swimming underwater for 3 meters. She was quite excited when she was presented with a diploma and a stuffed hippo (must be some warped Dutch humor that an animal known for killing swimmers is chosen as a mascot for a pool, but at least he's cute).