Erin joins swim team

Erin joined swim team at our pool. Erin's never been a real risk taker in the pool, and up until recently didn't
want to put her face in the water. Swim team started almost 3 weeks ago. They meet for 1/2 hour Monday through Thursday. One of her friends quit in tears after the first day. Erin was doing well and jumping in the water, but wasn't always putting her face in the water for freestyle and backstroke was nonexistent. Tuesday night was time trials night, which is really a practice swim meet. (They're a lot of fun. You eat a lot and cheer a lot.) That day she said she didn't
want to to the race, and I said, this isn't a race, it's just practice. Then her friend Sam said she wasn't going to swim and Erin
said she wasn't either. Finally somehow they got swept up in the crowd.

Erin's first race was freestyle. It was just Erin and Sam in their "heat", which was great. (We're learning all the swim meet
terminology and routines. Like I have to write Erin's name on her back with a Sharpie pen and the codes for her events on her arm).

Erin did great! Face in the water, big arms! She might have grabbed the rope here or there but for the most part she did great! Then later was her backstroke event. A boy who raced in the heat just before Erin got stuck trying to swim but went nowhere. He was flailing about, so one of the coaches jumped in and flipped him around and had him swim freestyle. Rene and I looked at each other and we guessed that Erin might suffer a similar fate. But when the race came, Erin backstroked fine, head up, big arms, going straight, and didn'tgrab on to the rope once! We were shocked and amazed!

Erin had a great time, so I guess we're continuing to do swim team! It runs through the month of June.

Next week, in the mornings we start our one week of Barbie Ballet Camp. Both Erin and Lauren are going, in different classes. Lauren has wanted to do ballet since she was one, and insisted on wearing a ballet outfit to sit in the waiting room while Erin took ballet. (And continued to do that through this year, too.) So finally Lauren gets to take ballet. Erin is going to take some morning art classes later in June sponsored by the local art museum.

Summer is here.