LAC "A" Finals Meet in Keller

This weekend we experienced our first "finals" meet. You swim prelims in the morning and if you are one of the top 8 finishers in your event then you come back in the evening for finals. Soren had races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. She made it to finals on Friday and gained one more TAGS time for the championship meet in July. We left the house at 5am on Friday, got home at 9pm. Left at 6am on Saturday, home at 3pm, left at 6am on Sunday, home at 3pm. We are pooped. Luckily the coach noticed the fatigue in all of the swimmers and let us have this morning off.

So that was pretty much my whole weekend. I did get to take advantage of the incredible trails that the city of Keller has provided and got some great runs in. I wonder if the people who live there know how lucky they are to have that!

summer stuff

It is going by waaay too fast! Reese keeps saying "I wish summer was already over" because all she can think about is kindergarten. We are into the crazy swim team schedule. Pete, Soren and I get up at 5 am; I get them fed and out the door by 5:30 and then either ride the trainer or get some work done. At 9am I wake Reese up (she will sleep until after 10!) and we go to the Y and swim. Soren stays in and works with Reese on her strokes while I get my swim workout done. Then we shower and go eat because by now it has been almost 6 hours since Soren has eaten breakfast and she has had 2:45 of swim team swimming and an hour of working with Reese. We come home and either have a friend over, go to the pool, or both. Cook dinner at 4 pm and head back for afternoon swim team at 4:45. Soren is swimming 4:15 everyday and we drive a total of 3 hours to make this happen. And yet we are having a blast somehow.

Soren has another big meet this weekend. She is really hoping to get another TAGS time for the big championship meet at Texas A&M at the end of July. She qualified at her last meet, but only in one event and you have to qualify for each event for the championships.

Reese is so big. She even talks big. We bought some kindergarten workbooks and she is loving doing her "studies". She and I go to the library during afternoon swim team and she will work for 1 1/2 hours straight on math, reading and problem solving. She is able to recognize many words now and can sound out simple words. We are working on telling time now.

So that is what we are up to these days. One big thing on our list that I think we will be able to do next week is Six Flags. Grandma Charlotte bought us season passes and we have not used them yet! We are also watching our sunflowers bloom and are nearly ready to harvest one of them. Some of them are over 8 feet tall. The blooms are as big as a basketball. It's pretty neat. We are all well, busy and happy. Cheers.

For your viewing pleasure...

Disney World 2009

Too many good pictures to choose from, so enjoy this slideshow of 900+ photos from a trip that will live in the hearts and memories of Soren, Wyatt and Ashton forever. Thank you Pops and Nana for giving them this once in a lifetime opportunity!

what a week

Monday: set up the water slide. had Reese, Parker, Avery, Alissa, and 6 neighbor kids in my yard ALL DAY! Those kids were swimming fools! Alissa was absolutely hilarious. She would climb up the slide and let herself fall over the side head first into the pool and get mad if I tried to stop her or help her up.

Tuesday: took Reese, Parker, Callie and Lyla to bouncin bonanza. We had to stay out of the sun for a day. Parker and Callie were fast friends, two peas in a pod.

Wednesday: planned a trip to the pool but it was very cloudy and cool so we enjoyed playing outside with all of the neighbors. Lyla loved being out with all of the big kids; she has no idea she is not 5 years old.

Thursday: Just Reese and Parker. We journeyed to the Y to play at their outdoor water park but the storms from Wednesday night had knocked out the electricity, so we came back and went to our pool. After some time there we came home, cooked lunch, and then went swimming at a neighbor's house.

Today: I am off for a girls' weekend to Galveston with Jodi and Mindy! Looking forward to lounging and eating all weekend.

Had a short email from Pops this morning; the Disney crew is at Universal Stud*os today and will head home tomorrow. I think they are pretty pooped. Apparently they have hit all of the attractions, staying out late to catch the fireworks and getting up early to be first in the parks. We sure miss Soren!

A sad loss:
I have taken pictures of all of these fun activities, but Wendesday my camera started acting up and now I cannot even get it to turn on. When I took the memory card out to upload the pictures the computer said that the card was empty. I have tried two other computers and they say the same. I guess this weeks' pictures are lost and Pete will have to buy me a new camera for father's day!

Officially Summer

We are there. Summer. Wow. Yea! I am so excited.

Soren's 4th grade awards ceremony was on Wednesday and she pretty much took the cake. She came home with a folder full of certificates and a neck full of medals. The lowest grade on her report card for the entire year was a 95 and that was in handwriting (her teacher will not give a grade higher than that) I guess you can't ask for much more as a parent. She had perfect citizenship and was once again chosen by her teachers as an outstanding student (they choose one girl and one boy from each class). She was called out by the PE teacher as well for her attitude and achievements (she was the top runner in the 4th grade, both by miles and speed).

Now she is off on a much deserved, well earned vacation. On Friday Pops and Nana took off with Soren, Wyatt and Ashton and headed east to Florida. They enjoyed a day on the beach and will start their Disney adventure Monday morning.

Meanwhile we have Parker while Mat and Kara enjoy a cruise; will enjoy some time with Avery and Alissa tomorrow; host Callie and Lyla Tuesday and Wednesday, and who knows what else. We started our time with Parker by taking a trip to the mall for some ice skating. Reese will skate all day if you let her; Parker enjoyed the playground more than the ice. Tomorrow we will probably break out the water slide! Good times. Yea for summer!

Up for a quick breath

A quick update on our ever-expanding-number-of-activities!

Last week little Alissa had surgery to have tubes put in her ears so I took Reese and Avery to see the talent show at Soren's school. It was pretty funny. We are so totally in Texas. Most kids chose to sing and they had such a strong accent that it made it difficult to understand the words. Soren and three of her friends did a magic show. Pretty cute.

After the show it was off to the pool. Alissa and Jodi were back from the surgery and joined us; Alissa is never happier than when she is in the water!



This was also Pete's birthday and somehow I do not have any pictures, but I have a story. Friday morning I got up just before 6 am to see Zach, Jodi and Alissa out (they were headed to the surgery) and Pete was not in bed. That is not so unusual, I knew he was probably just out running. When I went outside I noticed that there was a mini aid-station set up with water, food, gatorade, etc. That was a little strange. Then Pete comes running up the road. He was at 25 miles and reported that he had 9 more to go. What? Why are you running 34 miles? "Because it is my 34th birthday" he says and runs on down the road. Wow. He finished just after 7; it took him 4:44 (that is a pace of 8:20/mile). Came in, took a shower, and went to work. Yep, he had started running at 2:30 am! He is nuts. He makes me laugh.

This weekend was Soren's first long course meters meet (the lanes are 50 meters rather than 25 yards). She kicked butt! She has exploded this spring and had a fun meet, walking away with 6 1st place finishes out of 7 races. She also moved up to the next level and will swim "A" meets from now on. She achieved 3 "AA" times and 4 "A" times. WooHoo! Go Soren!

Up and coming:
This is the last week of school for Soren and then she is off to Disney Wor*d with Pops, Nana, Wyatt and Ashton for a fun filled 10 days. Reese and I will have Parker to play with while they are away as Kara and Mat get to escape on a cruise. In the mean time, I am in the thick of my Ironman Cozumel training. Having fun. Staying busy...