"Mom, I need swimming lessons!"

Jude has been telling me this since about January. Every time we pass a pool or the gym, he'll remind me. For the life of me I couldn't get him to understand why we couldn't do swim lessons right then, that we had to schedule the lessons and go at certain times, and our conversation always ended with him being disappointed.

I finally did scheduled him for swim lessons and for the middle two weeks in July we got to swim at Mint Springs Lake every morning, Monday through Thursday, while Jude got his swim lessons.

Charlottesville is amazing. Where else could you sign up for swim lessons and get to take them at a beautiful lake surrounded by trees and hills? Can you even imagine a prettier place?

It was the perfect way to get out of the house and entertain the kids for a couple hours each morning. 

Cole thought it was great and spent most of his time just walking in chest-deep water looking for fish and trying to keep up with Lance.

Lance is a fish and spent his time swimming to the dock and back, doing dives, and trying to help Jude during the lessons.

Lance comes to this lake often with his dad and Abbey but this was my first time. 

Learning to jump off the dock:

Jude was pretty nervous about this part.

Lance, not so much.

Jude preferred jumping with a float.

Lily was intrigued by the sand and spent a good amount of time digging and throwing it around.

She also thought it was food.

I've always found it funny that babies will put sand in their mouth, realize it's gross and then do it again. Like maybe the second time it would magically turn into something delicious.

George even got to come a few times! He swam out to the dock with Lance and jumped with him for a while and spent most of the time in the water with the kids. I love it when he gets to be with us during the day.

Jude is such a flirt and had these lifeguards laughing at his antics. He even invited them over to play Skylanders. I wish I had half of his self-assurance.

I don't think Jude was the only one sad when his two weeks of lessons was over. I'm seriously considering signing him up again just so we can have a reason to get out of the house and do something fun.