Taking One For the (Swim) Team

For the first time in the three years that we've lived here, we've shunned the monstrosity that has become the YMCA swimming pool and joined a swim club right around the corner from our house.  I'm not sure what we were thinking all those other summers.  The Summer Break Swim Club is da bomb.  For one, we can ride our bikes there versus packing the car up and driving to the Y.  I can take both kids there by myself and not panic about losing Elena in a crowd of swimmers.  Also, they sell push pops.  You'd think that would be more than enough reasons to sing the praises of the pool, but there's more. 

They have an actual swim team.  Of course we signed Elena up.  We have a couple of meets under our belt now, and we still get the biggest kick out of watching Elena swim.

The first rule of order is writing stuff in sharpie all over your body.  Of course there's the important stuff, like your name, your events, and what lane you're in.  No meet would be complete without using scare tactics on your opponent, hence the phrase "Eat My Bubbles" on Elena's back.  War paint is optional.  Doesn't she looked focused?  Two minutes later she was in line at the snack shack, trying to score a ring pop before the big race.  We'll have to work on that focus thing.

Also, she might want to work on her form.  Pretty sure I didn't see this move last summer at Beijing.

Then again, none of the swimmers in Beijing needed assistants to get them from one end of the pool to the other.  Maybe we have some time before we need to worry about those nit-picky details.

I think she came in 3rd or 4th here.  The team we were competing against had some hardcore 6-year-olds.  They can have their first place ribbons, though.  My girl got a ring pop.