The Public Pool.... on steroids!

We took the kids on an outing to the public pool, today. Our oldest son brought his lady and her lil guys, Keegan and Seth. Nine of us, altogether, went to the public pool.


When I was growing up and we went to the public pool, it cost $0.25 and the pool was at the only high school in town. There were two diving boards; a low dive and a high dive. It was very exciting when they put in the wading pool and a covered area to keep us out of the hot Arizona sun.

Today's pool has morphed into something straight out of a fantasy world.

We ventured out last Monday, Memorial Day, and were turned away before we got to the main entrance, because they had reached their maximum occupancy. We kept that in mind, today, and arrived 10 minutes before they opened the gates. There was still a line, but we managed to get into the place, this time.




Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center is our local "public pool" and is located in Chandler, Arizona. Chandler is awesome! We have six different public pools. Mesquite Groves is the newest. It boasts the following facility amenities: Competition/Lap Pool, Two 1-Meter Diving Boards, Two Water Slides, Lazy River, Water Vortex, Family Play Pool (with Zero-Depth Entry), Toddler Slides, 752-Gallon "Big Blue Bucket", Artificial Grass Areas, Shaded Areas, Pool Furniture, Family Dressing Room, Training Classroom. It's a Water Park, I'm tellin' ya!



Everyone was slathered in SPF 15 for babies and off we went! Keegan was the first in the pool. He was impressed with the water - cool and refreshing - but he wasn't sure about the beach entry that started off dry and gradually got deeper, the further he ventured into the pool. Segan and Ellie headed directly to the Lazy River - Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200. Ryan and Seth headed to the top of the slides scaring Katy and Tyler half to death. Seth is fresh out of Kindergarten and nobody was sure how he would do on the slides. He came out of the tube at the bottom like he'd been doing this all of his life! Amazing! After a couple of runs down the slides, Katy, Tyler and Ryan joined the rest of us on the Lazy River. Segan and Ellie were in the double tube and Keegan fell fast asleep in Ellie's arms for the better part of an hour. Tyler and Ryan made some great splashes jumping off of the diving boards while Garrett and I watched from across the pool.

All in all, I would say that fun was had by all. Seth was not happy about having to leave, but I reminded him that if he could tough out leaving today, we could go back again, next weekend. That seemed to do the trick. I'm sure both Keegan and Seth slept all the way home. I'm certain that Segan did!

Oh, and did I mention.... the cost for admission to this groovy place is just $0.50 for children up to 18 and $1.50 for 18 to 55. 55 and older get in for $0.75.