The Sweet Smell of Chlorine

After spending ALL day yesterday at various car dealerships finding JP a new car to go with his new 60-mile round-trip commute (the Jetta TDI is the winner with 42 mpg highway and leg room sufficient for his 6'3" long legged body), we decided today should be a day of family fun.

JP had a swim lesson at 10 a.m., so we skipped church and communed at our community pool. It was Claire's first trip to the pool since she was a tiny infant who slept in her car seat while I read books on my kindle... ah my summer of maternity leave, those were some good times.

Claire was decidedly unimpressed with the chilly water ("chilly" being a relative term; it's been over 100 the past two days, but the kid pool hadn't quite hit bathtub temps yet) and stared at the fountains with deep suspicion.

She was a big fan of snack time though. It's only appropriate to refuel with some puffs after working hard staring at your big brother as he gleefully splashes in the uncomfortably cool water.

Landon tried to entice the Biscuit, but she remained happy to cuddle with me on the lounge chair, wrapped in a towel to protect us against the cool spray from the fountains and the wind. Claire's been so busy lately with all the walking and crawling and illicit stair climbing to be snuggly with me, so I soaked up my 30 minutes of cuddles while keeping my eyes trained on her big brother bouncing around in the kiddie pool.

Well, keeping one eye on him and another eye on all the other moms and their swim suits. I'm trying to decide if I can wear a bikini again or if I should just let it go. I've never felt that great in them, but there's this feeling that if I don't do it now, I'm missing my chance and I'll look back at age 50 and realize I looked pretty good at 28 and I should have gone for it, even if I was a 28-year-old with a squishy two kid tummy.

After a little time spent shamelessly evaluating my various suit options as modeled by other moms, I got to experience the joys of a squirmy baby in a dirty swim diaper, so Claire did a deck change into a terry cloth dress. It's good to have at least 3 ensembles for the whole 60 minutes you spend at the pool.

Post-change, Claire became fascinated by the big pool, but luckily daddy finished up coaching his lesson so we could go home and take a nap. Well, Claire took a nap (Landon too, swimming wore him out). I cleaned the kitchen and decided on a menu for the week while JP mowed the lawn. After that we did family pictures at the mall, made my aunt's famous chicken enchiladas, and watched Wedding Crashers on TV. I can't find that movie on cable and not finish watching it, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are such a great comedy couple.

As I sit here, going through pictures and not doing work or folding laundry or anything else I usually do on Sunday night, I'm thinking 3-day weekends are a pretty wonderful thing.