Quality family time = lots of noise

The Parent Bloggers want to know:  What are your favorite family activities and how do you find the quality family time?

And if you don't have quality family time, how do you make up for it? What challenges do you face?

And those who answer those questions tonight, before midnight, are entered into a drawing for a Wii.  A Wii!!!!  Wii'd love to have a Wii here - it's not like my kids have any toys at all.  The GameCube is passe, and all the COOL games come in Wii, so, there you go.  Three others will win the Wii-boogie, a cool new game, and if we win it, well, there's always Santa to ask for a Wii, right?

This summer, just like every summer, we've been spending tons of family time together at the pool.  We are ALL about the pool.  A trip to the pool begins with the locating of the swim suits. Despite the fact that when they take them off, I rinse them and hang them all in the laundry room, on the same hangers in the same locations every stinkin' day, I have to endure six wailing voices - "Where's myyyyy suit?  I can't fiiiiiind my bathing suit!"  Battle number two is also known as Why do we have to wear sunblock?  We wage this battle every day, and I win, every day, and yet, hope springs eternal.

Grabbing towels, goggles, bottles of water, toy sailboats, float vests, and snacks, we trudge out to the van.  The million degree van.  The heat saps their energy and they whine and whine and whine.  It's HOT and she's sitting near me and I don't like him.  Yes, I know.  We drive the ten minutes to my father in law's house, and arrive just as the air conditioner kicks in.  All of the kids hop out and run to the back, leaving me to yell after them, "Hey!  Get back here and help with this stuff!"  Good times, indeed.  I pack it on my body and slug my way to the back, where everyone has recovered the energy they were lacking before and jumped pell mell into the pool.  This is where it gets REALLY fun. 

For, you see, I am an optimist.  I bring a book or magazine to the pool every day.  And every day, I read a sentence - "Mom!  Watch this!"  I look up and smile and applaud.  I look back down to my reading.  "NO, wait, that wasn't it!  Look at this instead!"  I mark my place with my finger, look up to see the same action, and smile again.  Lather rinse, repeat - all jumps off the diving board look the same.

The fighting - ye Gods, the fighting is what seals the deal.  I cringe to think what the neighbors must hear of us.  The little ones want to be left alone and to swim in the deep end simultaneously.  The big ones all want to lounge in the same float, with no other person in the pool.  "Get away from me, you freak!" echoes from the deep end.  "Stop bothering me!",  and bam!  She's been flipped out of the raft.  He recovers it and she goes after him, screaming like a banshee.  One of the little ones tries to swim without a life vest and goes under, and I jump up from the side and shove my way through, reaching for a flailing arm and dragging the sodden child up for air.

Yes, the pool is fun indeed. I must be crazy, as we've done this every single day since summer vacation began.

I can't wait to go again tomorrow.

This post is brought to you in conjunction with Parent Bloggers Network & EA’s Wii-Boogie, a family gaming experience. Shake it. Sing it. Create it.

Comments

[tracey]

Gluttons for punishment, we are...

[mcewen]

I won't be competing as it wouldn't be fair since we already have a Wii [lucky us]
But for family fun, pool time and swimming has to be the way to go.
Cheers

[Tiffany]

Family time for us usually involves softball/baseball. We all go to the practices, games and tournaments together. Sister cheers for brother and vice versa. It really is fun and we are planning a vacation to Fenway Park for next year. My husband and kids are HUGE Red Sox fans! We live in Texas, so this will be fun for us to visit someplace as far as Boston. We also like canoeing, and playing at the Little Missouri River. We are some serious river rats! The family that plays together stays together!

[Megan]

ROFL at this one.

You have described our summer vacation perfectly.....

:)

I keep all of our pool stuff (sunscreen, toys,etc) in the same bag by the door. That's my only eee-duh contribution.