Fathers and Daughters and Boys...Oh My!

Thursdays at Day Camp are very pool-intensive, weather permitting.  Thursday morning the kids get the Fairview Pool Water Slides to themselves.  Shorter lines, more sliding!  In the afternoon it's the usual swimming at the pool.  Yesterday Sierra passed the swim test that allows her to go off the diving board at Fairview.  This, from a girl who said she wasn't going off a diving board EVER just 5 short weeks ago.

In the evening she had her last swimming lesson while Jeremiah had a baseball game.  Thus, I was the only one in the family to witness her first attempted dive off the diving board.  All I can say is "wow" and "ouch!"  Those belly flops off the board hurt like the dickens.

Later in class they got to dive off the platforms, which was pretty cool and she had better luck with those. 

Jeremiah's team won their game.  After the game, Coach Brad had a pool party for the boys and cookout for the families at his house.  They have a pretty good-sized above ground pool, just right for about 15 kids to rough-house a bit and make a lot of noise.  Sierra joined the fun, along with Coach's daughter about the same age, and a lot of 9 and 10 year old boys. 

The dad of one of the boys was chatting with us about his nervousness about his daughter starting high school this fall.  He was worried about his 14 year daughter around those "17 year old boys."  Hmm, I thought, as Sierra whapped a cute boy with a purple pool noodle.  The dad is a big imposing looking guy.  I suggested he be sure to drop her off the first day and let any 17 year old wanna-be-trouble-makers get a good look at him.

The dad said he could do even better.  He had told us before that he works "taking care of [name left out in case of future anonymity needs] Cemetery."  Now, I hadn't really thought what "taking care of a cemetery" means.  But last night he said, And I Quote:

My daughter knows to tell any boys that bother her that
1.  My dad likes to hunt.
2.  My dad is a gravedigger.
3.  My dad has about 1000 acres of woods at his disposal.
4.  My dad knows how to operate a backhoe...

Well, that ought to shrivel any young man's...ardor...

He was, of course, joking.  He's a really nice guy.  Then I turned about and saw a different cute boy head into the tree house in the yard with Sierra. 

Sierra, repeat after me:

My dad knows how to use a machete...