Diving Day #4

Day #4 of diving class. The girls learned what is called "The Approach".  Which I mistakenly called "The Parade" because it looked somewhat catwalk-y. Now the girls think their mother is absolutely daft.

Diving Day #3

The girls learned to stand on one leg today. And then launch. It took a while learning to balance on a bouncy board, but they had a lot of fun. 

Diving Day #2

Launching off the board today. Kate and Jenna are in different swimsuits, thankfully, so I (and their instructors, and everyone else, really) can tell them apart).

Diving Day #1

The girls started an intro course on springboard diving on Monday. 

On this first day, they both turned up in matching swimsuits. Not because they like dressing alike (they actually don't like to do this) but because their other suits were in the wash. The diving instructors, upon seeing them, exclaimed, "Twins! Oh, this will be hard."

To which Jenna and Kate replied in unison, "We're not twins. We're 17 months apart."

Probably didn't help their case, I don't think!

Funky introduction aside, they are enjoying diving. Jumping off the blocks during swim training has certainly helped them be unafraid of entering the water head-first, and the ease with which they perform this pool-side entry belies the months of bellyflopping during swim training in the past when they were first learning this. 

Still, launching vertically off a springboard is very different from leaping for distance off a starting block, so they've had to unlearn and relearn some techniques. 

We are all excited to see how they progress through the next two weeks!

Incidentally, if you're having as much trouble as I am telling the girls apart in their identical swimsuits, look for a brown wristband on Jenna's left wrist.

Blueberry Picking

We picked blueberries last weekend! 

We love picking fruit - we've picked strawberries and raspberries in the past, as well as apples and citrus fruit, but this was our first time at a blueberry farm.

The cousins came, too.

Also grandma Karen

and Grandpa Arne.

I hadn't seen a blueberry plant in person till that morning. 

The berries were exquisite. So flavorful.

After, we stopped at our regular strawberry farm to buy some ready-picked strawberries. We were sad to have missed the strawberry U-pick season but glad there were still farm berries to take home and turn into jam!

Swim Meet 2

A fortnight ago, the girls swam in another swim meet. All did well - they were put in mostly longer-distance events than the previous meet, and everyone swam the maximum number of events (four) allowed. I volunteered for a job on deck, so when I had some down time, I got to take some close-up shots and videotape some of the races. 

Here is Emily winning her 100 yd backstroke heat.

And here is Emily again, winning her 100 yd freestyle heat.

These Little Piggies

These little piggies

Were once just like peas;

Oh, to always hold precious

The days such as these.