documenting

Summer leisure - I took some time to browse through some old posts on this blog to see how I've documented things that have happened, places we have gone, food that we've eaten...

Facebook, and more recently for me, Instagram, has made it easier to share lots of photos and quick little blurbs instead of taking more time to write up a blog post. Now, I realize that one doesn't need to write lengthy posts, but that had been my style, and inclination, with more details being shared versus a short social media post.

So, with that, I'll post a few photos (not all taken by me) in order to document this summer.

themed centerpiece at a seafood place

 

fish tacos

campsite at San Clemente State Beach

stroll along the tracks

our trusty old tent 

walking back to camp after watching the sunset

after Father's Day dim sum

 

Bonny Doon Beach

looking north toward Davenport

at a multigenerational family meal in Union City

walking after dim sum - Seal Point, San Mateo

one of many cups of bubble tea

walking in Golden Gate Park

one of many delicious meals - Indian

visit with cousin's family

oxtail, collard greens, beans and rice

oyster po'boy and sweet potato fries

downhill mountain biking at Northstar

Mom walking up to the Ritz at Tahoe

Lassen Volcanic National Park

local brew

Crissy Field

Castroville produce

another local brew

another day in the water

Since the last post, I've brought A in the water again and she was fearless, jumping in just like "Alex ge ge" and going underwater before I helped float her up to take a breath. She is quite comfortable in the water, and is learning her limits, i.e. that she can't swim yet and needs to learn how to float, get her head up to breathe, and paddle to the edge... M and C are also working on this - we all had fun practicing and hanging out in the pool - ah, summer! 

photo by Susanna

This has brought back memories of Maggie and Alex at younger ages in the same pool and various vacations where we swam and went snorkeling. In 2001 Alex was not quite one, and our family vacation was to Puerto Vallarta. They had a great pool with a shallow area for babies and a deeper area to swim and practice snorkeling.

 

Swimming with my niece

Swimming with my young nieces and nephew (and my own children) is a favorite summer activity. Often it's not swimming, per se, more like teaching them to be comfortable in water and practicing movements that will lead to swimming. We start first by putting feet in the water, then kicking/splashing...

Next we stand in shallow water and move arms and legs back and forth or walk to become familiar with the resistance. After that, time to gently glide into, and back and forth in the water supported by my forearms.

With lots of talk and reassurance as they eventually become comfortable with the buoyancy and sensation of floating.

By the end of this afternoon's swim, my two year old niece let me flip and float her on her back a couple of times to look at birds and planes flying overhead, and put part of her face in the water to blow bubbles... Next step, submersion!