Beating the winter blues with swimming!

Our morning started very chilly this morning! Not the single temps outside, but the cool temps inside! I checked the thermostat first thing. Turns out the heater stopped working overnight. Brr! Jackson had the toughest time getting ready for school this morning. He couldn't stop shivering to eat or get dressed. Fortunately, I found a company who came over first thing and they had it fixed by 10:00am. The whole situation was certainly not as bad as it could have been.

In the mean time, we hung out in our coats by the fireplace. :)

By lunchtime, the temps were back to normal and by dinner we were in our swimsuits headed to the community center! Having a winter pass to the gym is the best thing ever. Derek and I use it to work out, but we love it mostly because there are so many kid programs that are great ways for the kids to burn energy while it's so stinking cold. Plus, the kids absolutely love the pool.

We've gone several times over the past couple of months and I snapped a few pics today. Some are blurry, but they

Isabelle is a "frog" every time we go to pool. She normally hops around finding flies for me to eat and then making sure I take a nap. It happens about a dozen times each visit. 

Jackson has been working on holding his breath underwater. He's not even holding his nose! 

Jackson's favorite thing is the slide. The last time we were at the pool, he went down the slide 12 times and we were there less than an hour.

 Isabelle really wanted to go down too. Can you see how tiny my little babies look up there?!?

I walked her up to the top because I was more anxious about her going up than going down! I then nervously left her at the top while she waited for her turn so I could be down at the bottom. Fortunately, the lifeguard was so sweet, got her situated, and sent her down!

Belle immediately climbed out and marched back to the stairs! I walked her to the top so she could do it one more time. If you notice grey hair next time you see me-- this is why! This girl isn't afraid of anything.

To avoid having a heart attack, I convinced the kids to come back to the pool and they could do some jumping. I wish these pics were better, but it'll have to wait until I have another adult with me! Jackson is a confident jumper these days after being very timid about it until just recently. When he is the 3 feet, he can jump in and push himself off the floor to come back to the top. He loves it!

Belle doesn't have a timid bone in her body and she loves to jump too! She barely even notices if she goes underwater. 

Her swimsuit is a clear indication that she's really been growing. Her birthday is next week (!!!!) and she just can't fit into 2T anymore. I haven't been swimsuit shopping yet, but I'll need to get to it pretty soon! 

These winter days seem to be just one big blur, but having a community center to escape to is super nice! Thanks for spoiling us, Great Grandpa! :)