attempting the scary

This week I am going to take my 4-year old twins and my 15-month old to the pool to join a group of moms. I've been to this pool so I know the layout and I know how the kids handle it. K was comfortable swimming on her own while wearing a vest, J was clingy and had to grab onto an adult at all times, and then there's Little M who is just a happy go lucky toddler that I must hold onto the entire time. I figure I'll get J on my back and Little M on the front and just hope the God that K don't go too far away. Sounds good. All set. 

There is a matter of the potty break that is also scary when I have all three. But I think we'll stick to a strict schedule. Potty before going in, and potty an hour and a half later. 

I got it all planned out. It's do or die.

Tom Muehlenbeck Pool - Review

(Photo from planotx.org)

The entry fee for the Tom Muehlenbeck pool is $3 for ages 3-16 and $6 for 17 years old and up. It's a big facility that is appropriate for all ages. For the very little ones, there is a water play structure with a slides and spray. 

Right next to it is a circular area (see the picture above) with a fountain in the middle and spray waters surrounding it. The kids can walk in the circular area. The water between that and the fountain in the middle is 3.5 ft deep with a sitting area on either side. My adventurous 4-year old daughter would jump from the spray area into the water over and over (wearing a vest that is provided by the facility). My 15-month old enjoyed walking on the sitting area around the middle fountain. I just followed him around. Out of this circular area is the rest of the pool. The entire pool is 3.5 ft deep. There are steps that gradually go down into the pool. 

For the older kids (minimum of 48 inches tall) there are a couple of slides. The slides end on a landing pad and not into a pool. The lifeguards were strict about the height. My 6-year old is 48 inches tall with shoes, but of course he was barefoot when we were there and was refused entry to the slides. Bummer. 

Though I never made it to the indoor pool, my husband said there is also a small water structure for the little ones and a slide that drops into the 3.5 ft deep pool. There are tables and beach chairs but it's best to come early if you want a good spot. For a fee of $5 a cooler is allowed. 

Jack Carter Pool

(Photo from planotx.org)

This is only our second summer here and I am now only learning of the many pools Plano has to offer. If not for the wonderful mommy groups that I've joined, I wouldn't have known these pools exist.

For $3 each my twins and I enjoyed Jack Carter for a couple of hours. We were there from 10 - 12:30 on a weekday. We were the only few there at 10, but by 11:30 the place was filling up. By the time we left there were no more tables available. The tables were under a canopy and surrounds half of the pool. The playground is enclosed by a metal fence, which makes it great for families with little ones. It makes it possible for some mommies to enjoy conversation with others because you don't need to follow your little ones so closely. You would just want to keep an eye of where they are. But there were 2 lifeguards on duty when we were there.

The restroom facility was a short walk in the same area as the entrance. The restroom looked well kept.

Some kids had their own buckets, cups, little inflatable toys that others just pick up when left laying around. It's important to clearly label everything. If the kiddos have swim shoes, it's best to wear them here. My girls had blisters on their toes after an hour of playing.

There is a big pool beside the kid area, but as I mentioned, there is fence. Overall I loved this pool. I only had my 4-year old twins with me when we went but it is small enough that I want to take the whole family the next time (including my 6-year old and 15-month old sons, and of course hubby). We are mindful of where we take all the kids because the adults being outnumbered, but this is one place we can handle without stress.

I would say Jack Carter pool is appropriate for 0 to about 7 years old. And it is OK to bring strollers in for the little tiny ones.