Swimming in the pool until the end of an era

Our vacation in Gran Canaria is meant to read books next to the pool.  We don't intend to visit or so, but just chill. And mostly the boys enjoy the pool. 
I only go in to cool off now and then.  I must be honest: this vacation was cooler than we are used to in similar periods a few years ago. We had some days with wind and clouds and then I didn't always need extra to stay cool.  

We came to this hotel first time in 2017 with a baby and a toddler and were attracted for its shallow splash and kids pool.  It has a big bubble that gets blown up each day and I wondered beforehand if they'd still love it.  

Kabouter went to measure himself next to the sign within the first hour we arrived to check if he was still allowed to jump on the bubble.  Strictly not, he's about 2cm too big. But they never noticed and he was never taken off by the pool guards.  Clearly they still had a lot of fun on the bubble, but not all the time. And clearly they shared the pool with a lot of small children and you could see that especially Kabouter starts to outgrow them.  

We predicted we came back to Gran Canaria for the last time in a habit of 8 years and that as of next year we'd be in a new phase with new habits.  Once on site, we didn't feel as certain anymore to say goodbye to our beloved holiday spot and Jan and Kabouter were already were searching for other  more teenage proof activities to do instead. Because one thing is certain: both our boys will not allowed in the kid's pool anymore if we ever come back.

So ...seriously, that last afternoon when I took this pictures of them on the bubble , I realised on their behalf they were making their last jumps on the bubble. It was the end of an era and it made me quite emotional.  From filling little cups of water at the edge of the pool in their swimming diapers to outgrowing the jumping bubble.   Where did time go?