Wow- the month of May has flown by and we’re already into Week 4, the final week, of our Mark Warner Active Family Challenge.
We’ve cycled, flown a kite and played family games.
This weeks challenge is:
Enjoy a splash about -active family in the water (swimming, water sports etc.)
I have always wanted to be the type of family that go swimming together religiously every weekend, however between other activities planned, birthday parties and the ratio of children you can bring swimming at once, we end up going as a family a lot more sporadically than that.
We live by the coast and Dave is a Marine Technician so keeping active in the water is a part of our everyday family life.
Rebecca and Caitlyn attend weekly group swimming lessons at our local leisure centre. Danny couldn’t cope with group lessons, due to his heart condition and learning difficulties, so he is on the waiting list for individual lessons.
Danny often goes canoeing or rafting with school and cubs and loves Water Sports. We live a few yards from the Yacht Club who organise many different activities for families. We love their Annual Regatta when we get to try every water sport for free.
Pembrokeshire is also famous for it’s surfing and coasteering, so I have lots of ways to keep the kids busy during the holidays.
As well as our monthly family visits to the leisure centre pool, we love to visit our local Water Park, Blue Lagoon. There is something there for all the family. Our favourite family attractions there are the wave machine and lazy river. Danny and I love the slides. As it is undercover, it is an all weather, all year round attraction. There is an outdoor area-we loved swimming in the warm water as cold snow fell last year- what an experience!
Last year we had a heat wave in May and looking back at our photos we seemed to spend every day cooling off in our paddling pool. I was most disappointed this year that we were nearing the end of May and still hadn’t had the hot weather for the pool.
That was until this weekend. It was dry. It was warm. So we went for it while we could!
This was baby Izzy in the pool last year.
A year later, she’s my big toddler girl in the pool.
She still loves splashing in the pool.
We play games with our beach ball, sing sea songs, dive and fetch, swim through hoops and float on our noodles. The girls pretend to be riding on a seahorse as they gallop around the pool on their noodles. Danny brings his body board in to use as big float.
We always put waterproof sun tan lotion on before we go outside to the pool as you catch the sun so easily when playing in water. Danny wears a WarmBelly Wetsuit, provided by Heartline. This enables him to keep warm in the water for as long as his sisters can.
Caitlyn wears his hand me down wetsuits as she idolises her big brother!
Just as this little sister looks up to her big sister and copies her mannerisms.
After a few games, while we sing songs and sip drinks, it feels so relaxing to be in the rippling water.
On very hot days we cool down by having water fights, which start off with spray bottles and mini water guns and always escalate into super soakers, buckets of water and then the hose. Danny and Dave get very competitive!
I love playing in the pool with the kids as Dave lights the barbecue and cooks us tea. This is a perfect Summers Day!
I’m so glad we made the most of the pool on Saturday and Sunday, as come Bank Holiday Monday- it was POURING with rain again. We got soaked on a day out in Tenby. The only water play that we did was splashing in the big puddles!
Then today it was lovely and sunny again and the kids paddled in a stream in the woods, which will be in our Country Kids post this week.
How are you keeping active in the water this week?
Well done on completing the Mark Warner Active Family Challenge!
