grommet guards: scout

i'm 2 months behind on this blog, but i am determined to get come
back and document some summer highlights. i just come across this a few
days ago when c shared photos and videos he had of the boys on his phone.

i found this one of scout doing some drills with his fellow guards.
here's one of the video clips c got.  scout looks so into it!
{he's in red lifeguard shorts, no hat}

~ i must mention scout was very disappointed with the grommet guards
workouts. he wanted them to be more difficult than they were.  after his big
brother showed him what his group {9-12 yr olds} were doing, he had been
practicing push-ups, planks, swimming laps in our pool and running more.

c encouraged his desire and would have the boys run the loop around our very hilly
neighborhood every morning in preparation.  he was ready to be pushed.  he would
come home every evening and over dinner tell us the jr. grom program was just too
'babyish' for him. c and i reminded him it was probably challenging for many or most
of the other 7 and 8 year olds and that next year, he will get to be with the big kids and
do all those things that finn did {including the pier jump}.

junior guard: finn oliver

finn completed his first year of junior guards last week
and it ended better than anyone of us had imagined.
after 4 weeks of swimming, surfing, kayaking and running,
it was time for graduation ceremonies.

c was in san francisco on business, so i worked from home to make
it easier to shuttle the kids to and from camps and so that i could
attend finn's junior guards graduation ceremony. 

i gathered at the lifeguard headquarters in mission bay with dozens of
other parents to learn about what our kids had been up to the last several weeks,
and to watch some kids receive a 'special achievement' award. I should note kids
are divided into three groups, 9-12, 13-15 and 16-17 year olds.

i was only half listening as they went through several group of kids, but when finn's instructor,
mr. gaudet, came to the microphone, i perked up. his first award went to a young girl who
was terrified of the ocean but overcame it.  after she walked off stage, mr. gaudet continued
with "this young man...{that got my attention because it eliminated half the kids in his group
because they were girls}.

scout and i, who were sitting under a palm tree pretty far away, made our way closer to the
stage so we could see and hear better.  mr. guadet went on to say that the young man showed up
and worked hard every day and was determined to improve.  he always asked questions -
very specific ones, about how to do something and after he would do it,
he'd come back out of the water and want a thorough critique". 

mothers know their children well....that's our job...and this description sounded exactly my son.
i said to scout "i think he's talking about finn" and he shrugged his shoulders unsure but watched
more intently.

sure enough. he called finn gerber up on stage.  i watched a huge grin form across his
little face and he was easy to follow as he was wearing his huge JG issued straw hat.
{kids get a choice of a trucker hat or a large brimmed straw hat}. he was presented a medal
for 'Most Improved Junior Guard' in his group.  scout and i cheered for him...
extra loud since dad  wasn't there to join in.

for finn to get this award is a HUGE deal, not because his dream is to be a lifeguard,
but because the odds were against him.  he is small for his age and he isn't a natural athlete.
he'd much rather use his brain over his brawn any day, so pushing his body every day to this
level of workouts was intense for him.  he came home every night sore for 4 weeks, but excited
that he could do a few more push-ups than he had a week earlier. he pushed himself hard and it
was wonderful to see him recognized for it.  i have a feeling he will never forget this day.  



























~ as we were walking to the car after the ceremony,
finn announced he was going to do jr. guards every summer until he turns 16.
he said "as much as i like it, it's not my passion and i don't want to be an intern
with the san diego lifeguards". {it's a paid position}. he told us he's going to work at
the science museum and help with the kids' camps. i smiled and told him that sounds
like the perfect job for him as a teen.

it's summertime

summertime is in full swing which means our cars are full of sand,
bottles of sunscreen are strewn everywhere, and cherries fill our fridge.
it's pretty typical and now that finn and scout are too old for a summer sitter,
the boys have been spending their days reading, with friends or at camps.

finn started jr. lifeguards last week!  he spent 4 hours at the beach or bay
every day learning about water safety, exercising {think bootcamp for kids},
and doing lots of water sports: swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding
and surfing. the most anticipated event is the jump off the pier! he's very excited
about this.  

he comes home almost daily with sore abs, arms and legs.
he even has some friends from school in his group, well some friends who are 'girls',
but god forbid they be called 'girlfriends'. *wink*

he's having a blast, learning a lot, and being active so his dad and i are happy.
so happy, we've decided jr. guards is something we plan on having the boys do
every summer until they are 16 and ready for their first job. since it's 6 weeks long
for older kids, it keeps them busy for half of their summer.

here are two photos c took with his phone last week.
the group photo shows finn with all the kids. they all come together on the grass every
morning for their daily workout, then they split off with their instructors for the rest of
the day's activities.  finn surfed a few afternoons and c snapped this as he was coming in to shore.

because scout is a jr. grommet, his camp is just 2 weeks long. at age 9, he goes for 6 weeks.
we signed him up for a later camp which will be in august, so he has been staying busy
with play dates and soccer practices, and he has a soccer camp lined up in 2 weeks.
if he had his way, he'd be in a soccer camp every day all day.
{it's his true passion...this and reading}

in the meantime, c 's been setting up play dates left and right, hosting kids at the house and
dropping scout off at friends' homes.  he's got the phone numbers to every parent of
every friend the boys play with in his cell, and doesn't hesitate to call them. he doesn't expect
me to d all the scheduling, he does it right along side...more so actually since he works it all
around this work and meetings schedule. he's a total renaissance dad and for this we all grateful.

this week, our little gerber is spending full days in balboa park attending Extreme Forts
camp organized though campfire san diego. he spends his days building cool forts, hiking,
swinging from ropes, doing archery and on his last day, he will roast marshmallows. 
he comes home filthy every afternoon, but happy as a lark and ready for bed by 8:00pm.

so that's what's our gerblets have been up to. i remind them that they are pretty lucky to live
in san diego where the weather is near perfect and they get to be jr. lifeguard. it's pretty cool.

here's to a wonderful summer!

~ scout came home from camp thrilled that he knew his camp counselor, aka as twig. 
apparently, all the counselors get to make up a nature name for themselves.  *love this*
 'twig' is the big brother of one of his buddies. he is a high tech high student
and would walk his little brother to class every day which is how scout met him. 
scout was pretty pleased he was remembered by this big kid. oh it's such a small world it is,
and yes, a beautiful one too.