Pool, glorious pool

Being the ridiculous cheapskate I am, it is my summer goal to maximize the value of our pool membership by going as much as we can. So far, so good -- the pool's been open almost 2 weeks and we've been there 6 of those days. Tuesday we went twice in one day.

When we went to the pool before, as "guests", we always met friends there for lunch and stayed for a couple hours. This was fun, yes, but kind of annoying. The pool doesn't even open until noon, which meant we would inevitably stay long past when we should to get a nap. Also, the water in the baby pool would have been freshly changed and thus very, very cold. I realize that complaining about the pool is pretty lame, almost like complaining about being at Disney World.

The nice thing about being members is that we can go whenever we want without coordinating with friends. We are a 5 minute drive away, so if only want to go for a few minutes it's no big hassle and we don't feel like we're being cheated. We still prefer to meet friends there whenever they can, though, and it's especially fun now because nearly everyone we hang out with is always there whether we've planned to meet or not.

At the suggestion of buddies, we've discovered the real beauty of the pool -- going at night. Once the babies get up from nap, I pile them in the car and we stay there -- this gets us there between 4:30 and 5:30 -- until we get too hungry to stay any longer, around 6:30 or 7. The baby pool is usually cozy warm from being boiled by the sun all day. The sun is not so hot and overbearing such that constant and vigilant application of sunscreen is not such a worry. When we come back to the house, not only do they scarf down their dinners (EVEN ISAAC), but they are completely exhausted and I can put them to bed at 8:30 or 9 instead of their usual and ridiculous night-owl time of 9:30 or 10. Now THAT is worth the price of admission.