SWIM SEASON! Swim season has caused a bit of panic in me the last couple of years, because two summers ago the pool we went to decided to turn itself into a mini-waterpark and make my life a living hell. So after dealing with that for a couple of years, we decided to fork out the extra dough this year to go to a private pool. Yes, these days, apparently, you have to pay EXTRA to go to a pool that is not a “waterpark”. The decision to join the new pool was pretty last-minute, and therefore I had also slacked off on getting the kids their new suits for the season. WHOOPS! Thankfully, my friends at Lands’ End came to my rescue and let me pick out these adorable ones above to review and they got them to me quickly so I’d have them for last Monday when we took the kids to…wait for the irony…a waterpark! But, this one is A REAL waterpark. With lots of giant slides, a lazy river, etc. Not a formerly peaceful public swimming pool masquerading as a waterpark. This one I will only go to WITH my husband because there’s no way I could have all three kids there by myself. Our new pool is perfectly sized so I can relax with Jonah in the baby area and still see Sophie and Joshua swimming in the big pool. WIN.
But I digress. These suits! They are awesome. We’ll start with Sophie’s. Because she’s a girl, and let’s face it, hers is the most important! For Soph I chose this “Cape May Cutie” tankini ruffled top and ruffled bottom.
Why did I choose this suit? Honestly, the product description on Lands’ End’s website says it perfectly, but I’ll break it down: adorable, age-appropriate, MODEST style, and a UPF of 50 to protect her skin underneath it. It dries quickly, is comfy, and moves well. She ran all over that park in it and went down the big slides with no modesty problems whatsoever. And it’s a-stinking-dorable!!
(Once again, because she’s a girl, I also bought Sophie yet another suit. This one, because I am in love with the bright pink & orange colors and functional style. It has all the great qualities of the Cape May Cutie suit as well.)
Now, onto Joshua’s suit! This one was a tough decision for me but I couldn’t be more thrilled with it!
Joshua’s suit is the Boys’ ShakeDry Stripe Stretch Half-Elastic Board Shorts. I chose this particular suit for three reasons: 1) Orange is Joshua’s favorite color and I knew he would think the pattern was super-cool (he loves them). 2) They are “Shake-Dry”, which means they are water-repellent and dry really fast. This is important for Joshua because if you didn’t notice, the child has zero fat on his body, and he gets cold at the pool. So when he’s ready to get out, I try to warm him up fast! 3) The fit – I was pretty sure from reading the description that he elastic-back waist & drawstring would work with Joshua’s skinny frame and that they would also be long enough, as he is fairly tall. I was right! I couldn’t love them more and neither could he. Plus, they also have the UPF 50 protection from the sun!
Now for Jonah-Jo’s suit. Had to get something to protect my baby! His skin is the most sensitive of all my kiddos, so I went with a Short Sleeve Colorblock Rash Guard shirt and Colorblock Pieced Trunks for him.
This suit is just perfect for Jonah. He had not yet decided to become “one” with the pool, so I like having him covered up top instead of trying to slather him with sunscreen all over his front (once an hour). Plus, it keeps him a little bit warmer when his nutso parents take him to the waterpark in 65-degree weather because Daddy took the day off work and DANGIT we were going!! Ahem. Both pieces stretch and move really well, which is great, because he decided on Monday that he’d rather run all over the waterpark than get in the freezing cold water (a good call, in my opinion. Although that meant I had to chase him).
We couldn’t be any more thrilled with our Lands’ End suits this year! (I love my SwimMates suit, too!) They really are the best, folks. Last year I had two for Sophie and she took swim lessons every. single. week. for a year and they held up beautifully. As a matter of fact, I just handed them both down to Emily’s niece for when she is older! Lands’ End for the win! You won’t find better swim suits for the whole family this year.
Thanks again, Lands’ End, for getting my kiddos ready for fun in the water this summer!
