Now that summer is really here, I am sure that we’ll be getting down to the local watering hole (pool) a lot more often.  And that means I will have to be on my A game when it comes to watching the kid in the pool.  I cant stress how important I think that is to know how to swim.  It’s one of those things that you just need to know how to do… because if you cant swim, it’s like not knowing how to breathe.

Mar is doing great at swimming…. holing her breath, going under water, paddling and kicking… but still sinking.  I’m hoping she’ll be closer to swimming on her own by the end of the summer (hey, it could happen).

Teach you kids to swim.

Just a Fun Photo

For the last week or so, the kids have been doing some really crazy stuff.  I don’t know what happened, but the kids don’t seem to be themselves lately.  Marley, who loves swimming and the pool, has decided to change her mind.  She has had swim lessons every day this week, and loved them.  Now, she throws a shit fit every time I try to get her into the pool.  Today, she was not going in, so I did what I thought was best… and tossed her in and vanished out of sight so she couldn’t see me (usually this makes her forget that I am there, and she goes back to having fun swimming).  Apparently, that was a bad idea because she went crazy… screaming, crying, yelling in some kind of demon voice from beyond.  All the moms at the pool just looked at me like, is that your kid? But some of them said, they would have done the same thing.   A few minutes later, one of the swim teachers came and told me Marley was not having it today, and then we went home.  No swimming tomorrow.  I guess it probably didn’t help that I was raining outside, and the pool is outdoors.  But all the other kids were enjoing it… I dont know whats going on with her.

Wyatt, on the other hand is great.  He’s now getting all over the place.  I was really looking forward to the time when you can just set them in the middle of the room and they don’t go anywhere… he skipped right past that.  He can army crawl (scoot and pull) all over the house.  But when it comes to getting on his knees and crawling… he just goes backwards.

Sleeping for these two is crazy at best.  The girl sleeps all night, but getting her to go down takes the better part of an hour.  Constantly getting up, demanding more books, and milk.  Sometimes, she sneaks into the room and just stands there next to the bed, like some crazed milk zombie.  And the boy goes nuts in his sleep.  We sit and watch him do circles around his crib on the video baby monitor.  This boy is the bottomless pit too,  he wants to be fed every three or four hours still (luckily he is boob fed, so I get to sleep… most of the time), and my wife is only getting about three to four hours of sleep a night… then gets up and goes to work.(Yikes)  Thanks Babe.

Last week, I got the bug to go out and be a kid again.  I thought… I need to get out there and do some active things.  All this hanging out with babies all day is starting to make me soft, I need to get active again.  So I did what any man would do… Looked for a DODGEBALL match to get in.  Well I found one in downtown Seattle at Cal Anderson Park.

Every Tuesday and Friday night at 9:00 at Cal Anderson Park, awaits an army of rubber ball wielding roughens of the likes you have never seen.  People of all types are there, ready to fight to the death… or at least until the ball crushes your face.  These kids are relentless.  This is not the dodgeball that I remember… this was nuts.  There were about fourty of fifty people all cramed onto one half of a tennis court, and about 20 balls flying at supersonic speeds.

I have to say, that I couldnt get the smile off my face the entire time (even after a ball hit it), and after one hour of play… I was done.  Super fun, and it made me feel like a kid again.   If you want some fun in your life, get out there and play.

Then Sunday I played in my first outdoor soccer match since 1997.  I play goalie so conditioning and stamina were not what I was really worried about.  It was the fact that I have about 40 pounds on my former self, and haven’t dove on the ground on purpose in a really long time.  I must say, that I still got it… a little slower, but I can still get in front of a ball when it counts.  The game ended 2-5.

Today I woke up feeling really, really old.  my entire body is bruised and beaten.  I could barely raise my head to get out of bed, and even my fingers hurt.  The strapping young man that used be at the peak of physical performance, has turned into a soft pile of mush.  The years have not been kind to my body, and its time get it back.

I am not the kid that I used to be… and it hurts.  Ouch

So… this was a good find.  I was told about this place over in Montlake (Seattle), by the Washington Park Arboretum that was just too good not to talk about right away…

Montlake Kiddie Corral

The Montlake Ale House is a pub where you can go and watch your favorite Word Cup match, have a pint of beer… and bring your kid!  This place looks great, and I was going to wait until I personally check it out to do this, but I didn’t want anyone to miss out.  I will do a better review after I check it out.

Montlake Ale House

2307 24th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112-2606
(206) 726-5968

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