The hap-happiest season of all

I take back what I said at Christmas.

This is the most wonderful time of the year.

This is the time when I can spend all morning at the big pool with four kids. Because three-fourths of my kids are confident swimmers, and a fourth is perfectly happy to kick and splash and follow us around in his little flotation device.

This is the time when my kids will spend almost an hour taking turns on the diving board. Because they are the crazy kind of fearless that makes me happy for my life guard training in a previous life.

This is the time when Jacob forgets he's only two, and does whatever it takes to keep up with his 4 and 5 year old siblings, including, but not limited to, jumps off a diving board that that is too high for him to climb onto by himself. Big sister is always more than willing to give him a boost. (Coincedentally, there are no pictures of this activity. I prefer to be in a ready-to-dive-in position on the side of the pool when this kind of shenanigans is going on.)

This is the time when Levi is exactly the right height to use his pool float as a walker in the kiddie pool. Any taller, and he'd tip over. Any shorter, and his feet wouldn't touch the bottom. But at his current height, he can motor all over the place with his little baby feet propelling him under the fountain and back and forth to retrieve toys that others have left behind. And he loves every minute of it.

And this is the time when we wrap up our morning with a poolside picnic before jumping in one last time and then heading home, where all my little fish fall asleep almost before their heads hit the pillow.

Any morning that ends with 100% naptime participation is a good morning, indeed. I pretty much love summer.