We’re having a huge heat wave here – over 100 with a heat index of 110. Yesterday afternoon the girls called the weather and the report was 108 degrees. It didn’t feel that bad outside in the shade, but I think it’s because the humidity wasn’t so bad. Today the humidity is much higher and it’s really not very comfortable inside.

Fortunately, we bought a pool and put it up just in time! Two years ago a family member gave us a baby gift of $100 to use for the family. When I asked the kids what they wanted, they said a pool. Because we didn’t have a place to put it or a private yard, I couldn’t get one right away. But last summer we put in the brick patio, so we have a firm base to place the pool on. And thanks to the new fence, we have privacy and don’t have to worry about the security issues involved with an unattended pool in an open yard that neighboring children might get into.

I grew up with a pool in the backyard as something only the very well-off had. To me it’s incredible that we can enjoy the luxury of our own pool to relax in! Thanks to relatively new ways of engineering above ground pools, you can buy a pool at a relatively inexpensive price that can be assembled at the beginning of the season and then stored away after the season is over.

I bought a 16′ pool that had been used for one season for $50, but it didn’t have a working motor so the motor was an additional cost. (The retail price for the pool with the motor is $400-500.) Dh did the research on it and ordered the pump; it was about $200 with the filters. After it arrived ds saw it and within five minutes of getting online found the exact same thing for about $50! You can tell my kids have been trained by me. 😆 Then the two of them figured out the cost of the water to fill it – $63. So for a one time purchase price of $250 (which could have been significantly less if we’d known about the less expensive source for the pump), and a seasonal cost of $63, we can enjoy swimming daily in the convenience of our own yard.

I included a picture so you can see how large it is – in this picture are dd9, dd13, and ds17. (The girls are wearing modest bathing suits that I made.) You can see there’s plenty of room for all the kids! It’s only 4 feet deep, but that’s deep enough for them to swim and have a lot of fun. The littles can swim with someone older if someone older is willing (you can see a little in his high SPF wetsuit on the ladder getting ready to come in), but the ladder goes in the pool when it’s not in use so that the littles can’t get in when they’re alone.

The first day the pool was up was Sunday, so we celebrated ds17’s birthday with an almost 7 pound cheesecake (his favorite dessert), followed by a swim and a bbq. The kids had an amazing time but the floors inside got so wet with everyone running in and out! So I made a new policy: after you get out of the pool, you can’t come in until you swing for two minutes on the swingset. That helps them dry off enough so that they aren’t dripping – it’s been very helpful. 🙂

Here’s a picture of the playset, for the person who requested to see it. 🙂

Here are our ducklings taking a swim yesterday for the first time. (Soon after these pictures were taken, four of them were sold, so we have just four ducklings now.) We wanted them to stay cool, too!

The three older ducks get to swim in the kiddie pool- someone forgot to put the lid on so the ducks hopped in! (That will obviously be emptied and thoroughly cleaned out before the littles use it again – but right now they’re enamored with the big pool.) No pics of them, but they’re pretty happy out there in the 105 degree weather right now.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the summer and staying cool!

Avivah