SUMMER BLOG CHALLENGE

MONDAY - POOL SIDE

Conowingo @ Lighthouse Pool Managment Inc.

Kicking off the summer right, we decided to spend the first official day of summer vacation at the pool. We lathered up and enjoyed dipping into some refreshing chemically treated water. I even got to read a little while laying out. My nieces are 9 and 10 and can swim proficiently, especially since their mother and grandfather were both lifeguards. The 'deep end' isn't really that deep at the pool we go to. It's perfect for them to go and jump in (no diving). They brought some cool sinking balls that they could swim after and go underwater to retrieve (we just had to watch out for other kids picking them up).

We got a little late start (I usually like to be at a pool closer to opening time) so, we weren't able to snag any chairs or tables. It worked out though, we laid our blankets out on the grass and used our bangs and things to hold them down (so the wind didn't carry them away). Some tricks I've learned over the years, pool side (an you probably already know them): Take at least one extra towel, I like to put a towel over my bag to shield it from direct sunlight. Otherwise the suntan lotion and other things inside will get dangerously hot. Something I am going to start doing also is to pack a visor, because of the sun reflecting off of the water (even though we lathered up with sunscreen twice) our cheeks burned. Another tip I've learned is when taking off your shoes (we usually wear flip flops) turn them over. This way the sun isn't baking them and you won't burn the bottom of your feet when you try to put them on again.

"The Girls" having a blast at the pool

Overall it was a great day. Because we set-up camp in the grass we had a picnic styled lunch. We had packed lunch before we left the house. After our time at the pool had come to an end and it was time to go, we managed to rally enough energy to stop by a local spot for some ice cream before I dropped them off home. My youngest niece and I got small dipped cones while my eldest niece got a milkshake. Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the end of the day.

TUESDAY - TRIP TO THE LIBRARY

Harford County Public Library

Make sure to verify the Library branch times of operation before you go. We didn't have to wait as long as some other people did, we only waited ten minutes, but still that can seem like an eternity to a child. Anyway, once we were in the girls had fun looking for books. I snagged some grade level book recommendations to help guide them for their summer reading. While we were there we also signed up for their summer reading program. There are great incentives too! Each of them received a little bag with information inside. They received a sheet of coupons and vouchers. One of the coupons was for a free personal pan of pizza, so we stopped and picked up their lunch on the way home. They also informed us that if they read ten books by the deadline then they will receive a free ticket to an Iron birds game. This really excited the girls and they both picked out two books each. When we got home, after lunch and some down-time, I instructed them to read for about thirty minutes. They began to read outside, but since it's a hot-one today, they didn't last too long out and came in to cool down. They loved going to the library and we decided to make it a weekly trip.