On Becoming a Fish

Soooo..... much to catch up on!  But let's focus on Shannon first.

At the end of last summer, Shannon started swimming without her life jacket on.  Chris and I were always right next to her, and she could swim about 2 meters without help.

This summer our little lady has become quite the fish.  She's been swimming up a storm in the pool, and is flying through her levels in swimming lessons.  At the end of her lessons last week, that little monkey even went off the high dive!! (she's much braver than I!)



And that little part where she put her hands over her head?  I thought she was going to dive in, because that's what she does when she dives.  Of course she later told me that she was going to do a pencil jump.  Well naturally.....

But today, today was her crowning glory.  It was the club swimming championships, where all the kids at the Riding Club raced to claim the ultimate bragging rights.  Shannon was a bit timid, but she agreed to swim.

First up, the sculling relay.  Sculling is where you are on your back in the pool, and you only use your arms / hands to move you.  Shannon's done a bit of it in lessons, but not much.  She was a bit timid, but she did it.  The ENTIRE length of the pool! I told her that if she got tired she could hold onto the lane line, but that little stinker went the whole 25 meters without stopping, AND had a little smile on her face the whole time.

Then game the 25 meter Free.  Well Shannon can't really swim freestyle yet, so she decided to go with a half doggie paddle, half psuedo breast stroke.  The result?  Another full lap of the pool without stopping!!



Now she didn't break any records, but for a girl who's not even six she did pretty darn awes-tastic!!