swim team and library wednesdays

Anyone else hooked on Descendants? My children are and it’s all they want to watch. I’ve never actually watched, but I’ve heard it over and over in the car. Annabelle has now focused her attention on the book: 

Annabelle was invited to join the Junior Swim Team at school. She will be learning proper strokes and…well, I don’t exactly know because I don’t know much at all about swimming. She loves to be in the water, so this is a dream come true for her.

Gwyneth and I spent Annabelle’s swim lesson at the library. She’s not really much a reader, but has been asking to go more often so who am I to say no? I love going to the library so I’m always happy to take her, especially if it finally gets her excited about reading. (I didn’t enjoy reading until college so she won’t get pressure from me)

I enjoy the one on one time with my girls. It doesn’t happen often, but its very special when it does. They are different without their sibling there to antagonize them. I hear more about their day, more about their friends, what’s bugging them, what they are excited about, what they want, what they need. They talk, talk, talk. When it’s just the two of us, they talk and talk without any prompting and I mostly just get to listen to what’s new with them. And there is no bickering and that is happiness. 

Gwyneth has swim lessons during her PE class on Wednesday and this picture shows the havoc it causes on her braids. That is some wild and wacky hair and I love it.

We arrived at Annabelle’s swim lesson to find her….well, we found her legs!

This girl is just happy. She is working on mastering the breast stroke (and her handstands). She’s strong and excited to learn.

Annabelle swims for two hours on Wednesdays. She has swimming during P.E. class and again after school. I thought it would be too much. I thought she would be worn out and wouldn’t be focused on homework. She is determined to prove me wrong. Homework is intense at their new school. Each night we spend several hours on math, reading, spelling, and usually a special project. They are learning Spanish AND Mandarin. They are working to become better readers and writers and they are doing it in three different languages!

Add dance and Girl Scouts and I don’t know how they do it. They are full of energy. I worry about over-scheduling them, but they are always asking me to sign up for more, more, more. Gwyneth wants to take art classes, Annabelle wants to swim MORE and add an extra day of lessons. More playdates, more fun, more classes. I don’t know where they find this energy, but I am in awe of them. (I have put my foot down to the third day of swim lessons each week – mostly because I just can’t handle any more. I’m sure Annabelle would have no problem at all. )

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