Princess Laundry Head II

Tim and I got a good chuckle over our vacation in Sarasota when Laura emerged looking like this:


It brought back to mind this phase of Clare's, which lasted for nearly a year:


I still say they're pretty different, though.

Anatomy of a Summer Swim Meet

Last night was Clare's first meet of the neighborhood swim team season. It felt good to be veterans this time around, as opposed to the shell-shocked rookies of last year. I packed a picnic, secured a sitter for Danny and Laura, and left looking forward to the evening. (It helped that I was riding with Crystal - who was a rookie this time - so it was already a built-in social occasion.)

Despite being absolutely exhausted from a sleepover and four trips to the pool in a 24-hour period, Clare was pumped. She was also happy to play mentor to Kylie, whose nervousness at the unknown brought back to mind Clare's first time around. What a difference a year (not to mention nine months of indoor swim team) makes. Because Clare absolutely loves these meets, I thought it would be fun to document the experience for posterity.

The day begins with swim practice in the morning, as usual (Clare is wearing the white swim cap):


After a relatively low-key day, we left in the later afternoon for the away meet and, after fighting for a parking spot, went in and began to get settled. It's always chaotic trying to determine a good spot for our chairs, but eventually we chose one and the girls went off to get marked up (to the non-initiated, this is when they write their events/heats/lanes on their arms so that they know where to be and when; they also write their names on the backs of their shoulders so parents and coaches can easily identify them). This tends to linger for a few days:


Then they wait around until it's the team's turn to warm up:


After warm-ups, the team meets for a quick pep talk and cheer:


Ready for the races to begin!


Swim meets are the epitome of hurry up and wait. With 90-100 events, 5 of which Clare swam, there is a lot of waiting around. Clare did get to swim her first event, the 50 freestyle, very early on in the meet. Here she is, poised to go:


She looked good and strong, and lightning years beyond what she looked like last year.

Meanwhile, here is Tim, fulfilling our familial obligation to volunteer by acting as a first-half timer:


Clare's next event was the butterfly leg in the 200 medley relay - for the 11-12 year-old girls! Two laps of butterfly is brutal, but she definitely gave it her all. After that she had two easier events, the 25 breaststroke and 25 backstroke, pictured here:


We've enjoyed cooler-than-average weather, which has been marvelous but did make for a chillier evening once the sun went down. Clare bundled up in some towels as she watched the races pretty intently. She brought her iPod, and playing cards, and never even thought about using either. I think part of that is she was just tired, but partially it's her love of the entire atmosphere that keeps her focused.


Her last event was the 200 freestyle relay, again swimming with 11-12 year-old girls - and she swam the anchor. She looked awesome. By then it was dark and it's hard to get decent swimming pictures anyway, so you'll have to take my word for it.

The mornings following swim meets, the coaches host "Fun Fridays," wherein the swimmers get to swim for fun, eat donuts, and go down the water slide. They also receive their ribbons, of which Clare earned: first place in the 25 back; first place in the 25 breast; 2nd place for the 50 free and the 200 free relay; and 3rd place for the IM relay. Not too shabby!



We're excited to see what next week brings!

Sleeveless

Laura has found an interesting way to comfort herself during sleeveless weather.


Maybe I'm not the only one who will spend the summer longing for fall...
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Various Vacation Vignettes

Quick as a wink, we're already on our way home again. It was such a treat to spend a week together, just the five of us. Here's a round-up of the fun we had beyond the zoo and Jungle Gardens.

Our M.O. upon arrival is for Tim to take the big kids to the pool while Laura and I get groceries. I saw this while I was checking out, and knew it would be a big hit. Orca wars, scored jumping onto its back, and relaxed rides were well worth the $11.99, even if we did have to leave it behind (you're welcome, Donna and Larry):

While aforementioned outings were big hits, the highlight for Clare and Danny may have been their trip with Tim to Adventure Island, the water park in Tampa that we all love. In their absence, Laura and I spent a relaxed day doing some shopping and then found a fun playground close to the condo:

Clare and I escaped for a big girls-only lunch at Turtles, where we sat outside and watched the rain while we sipped mango margaritas:



Despite a gloomy forecast, we didn't get any rain until our last day. Not long after Laura and I returned from our morning run it began, and it was fairly relentless, keeping us somewhat captive in the condo. We decided to try for a more stimulating dinner and chose a hibachi steakhouse. The kids really enjoyed watching the chef, who was very amusing, and really loved taking a turn themselves:






Laura was fairly mesmerized, too (in between walking around like a restless menace - we were fortunate that it was a quiet night in the restaurant).

Lo and behold, as we finished dinner the clouds parted and it was a gorgeous evening. So we headed to Siesta Beach. Tim and Clare had spent a nice afternoon there earlier in the week (Danny declined to join them), but for the rest of us it was our first visit. Spectacular conditions, and an ideal end to a great trip.









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Best Zoo Trip Yet

Based on a recommendation and our desire to keep trying new sites, we headed to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. We're still at the point where there aren't too many attractions that really work for the five of us, but a zoo fits the bill. And this one was fantabulous!

After a beautiful drive over the Sunshine Skyway, an engineering marvel that spans a huge chunk of Tampa Bay, we arrived on a day that proved to be blessedly overcast for much of it, and rather deserted in terms of crowds. Which means we had prime views of all animals, including this Clouded Leopard:



And this very large Burmese Python which Danny would go on to insist, all day long, really wasn't that long:



The zoo had a terrific layout, enabling us to wander from one cool exhibit to another, including an underwater manatee and turtle viewing area and this stingray petting pool (she loved it and would have dove right in):



Thanks to the lack of crowds, we walked right in to a sit-down restaurant for lunch, where our table was in front of a window offering prime views of giraffes, zebras and elephants. After refueling, Clare and Danny took a camel ride, during which I am told they pretended to be in Arabia:



We saw a lot of animals, and I will not bore you with photos of all of them. We also enjoyed easy access to rides, which were pleasantly included as part of admission to the zoo. In addition to a flume ride, kiddie coaster, and airplane-like ride, we hit the carousel, for what I believe was Laura's first time:



(She is riding a manatee after getting bumped off the cougar for Danny, who was intent on riding a predator.)

Clare and Danny were definitely in the zoo zone, enjoying every single experience, including brushing goats:



Everyone walked away with a different favorite animal - alligators, rhinos, spoonbill stork (?) - but we all agreed it was awesome!

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Sarasota Jungle Gardens

We're trying to branch out on this summer's visit to Sarasota, particularly since we were fortunate enough to be here a few weeks ago for spring break. And so we present today's excursion to The Sarasota Jungle Gardens.

When we first mentioned this plan, Danny was less than enthused. I imagine he pictured actual gardens, rather than the true attraction: reptiles and birds. As he is currently fascinated with wildlife, most notably snakes, he quickly changed his tune.

We spent the first hour exploring the gardens, viewing macaws, birds of prey, turtles, and even lemurs. Eventually we found our way to the flamingos, which you are welcome to feed. At first, Clare and Danny were a bit startled by the flamingos' familiarity:



Soon, though, they both warmed up to the friendly birds:






Meanwhile, Laura enjoyed walking around as though she owned the place:



From here it was time for the reptile show. Danny was thrilled that it featured a Burmese python (aptly named Lucky), which have become somewhat notorious in Florida and about which he has seen and learned a lot on Nat Geo Wild. He and Clare were able to pet both Lucky and a baby alligator named Tinkerbelle:





Later, both kids got to hold Oliver, a bird whose type I do not recall:







All in all, it was a terrific outing full of hands-on fun. So much that it resulted in this:



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Paging Mr. Banks

Yesterday, the first day of summer vacation, Danny solemnly informed Tim of "the summer rules" regarding electronics: computers, iPads, etc. would be available only during Laura's nap. Tim laughed and told Danny, "Mommy likes her rules, Dan." And it's true. I really, really do.

I like structure, and routine makes my heart soar. Which is probably the biggest reason I dread summer so much, aside from the heat. I find myself nodding in agreement with Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins, singing "The Life I Lead":

A British bank is run with precision
The British home requires nothing less
Tradition, discipline and rules must be the tools
With out them disorder, catastrophe, anarchy
In short you have a ghastly mess

I realize that's a bit histrionic, but I can't help what pops into my head. If only babies respected rules and structure. For the third day in a row, Laura was awake before 5:30 a.m. Which means she's currently taking a morning nap, despite being of the age where she really should have outgrown it (the photo above was taken at the trail yesterday, where she fell asleep at 7:15 a.m. due to her early awakening). Which also means the TV is on. So...let's go fly a kite?

Ah, summer.