The Payoff

You have heard about the demands of swim team all summer. This past weekend was the YMCA State Championship meet; it was what the kids have worked so hard for, and their hard work paid off! Soren competed in 10 events and two relays over the 3 day meet. It was a finals meet, so prelims were in the morning with finals (if you qualified) in the evening. She qualified for finals in all 10 of her events. Her results:

50 yard backstroke: :39.05 prelim - 4th place
:37.21 finals - 3rd place

50 yard butterfly: :35.10 prelim - 2nd place
:34.42 finals - 2nd place

50 yard breaststroke: :41.45 prelim - 2nd place
:40.62 finals - 2nd place

50 yard freestyle: :32.40 prelim - 3rd place
:32.10 finals - 6th place

100 yard backstroke: 1:18.86 prelim - 2nd place
1:19.65 finals - 2nd place

100 yard butterfly: 1:16.90 this was a finals only race - 1st place!

100 yard freestyle: 1:07.9 prelim - 2nd place
1:08.21 finals - 2nd place

100 yard IM: 1:16.6 prelim - 2nd place
1:18.34 finals - 2nd place

200 yard IM: 2:27.93 this was a finals only race - 2nd place

For each race that you make finals you get points based on what place you earn. 20 points for 1st, 17 for 2nd and so on. Because Soren finaled in all 10 events and also placed high in the finals, she earned the most points of all girls aged 9-10 at the meet and won 1st place overall! Amazing! I know in one race there were 88 girls, but I am not sure if that is the total number of girls her age at the meet. It was really exciting to see her do so well after working so hard all summer.

As for our team, they did amazing as well. We took home a lot of hardware! Our boys 15-21 freestyle relay set a new state record and we placed 3rd overall team for high points, which is an accomplishment because we have half the number of swimmers as many of the teams there so we have less opportunity to earn points. The kids did so well and their attitudes were so positive. They never stopped cheering for each other over the entire 3 day event. They were so exhausted that they did not even want to play games when we went to celebrate at Dave and Busters after the meet. We are blessed to be on a team with awesome kids and parents who encourage and uplift each other.

Deep breath. Now. We have fun swim practice for 3 days, one race at the Texas Age Group Swimmers championships in College Station on Thursday (we are skipping her 2nd race on Saturday) and heading to Florida with Nana and the cousins for a few days to take a well deserved break.

Soren, I am so proud of you for working so hard, learning to sacrifice and prioritize, and most of all for your attitude and great sportsmanship that you showed toward the other swimmers at the meet. I love you! Congratulations!

Thank you to Granny and Granddad for coming up to watch Soren on Saturday; it meant so much to her. And to Pops and Nana who sacrificed their entire weekend to support Soren and her team. As usual, these awesome pictures are complements of Pops. Enjoy.

this is a video of Soren's 100 IM

Soren's butt as she flip turns at the wall...hee hee! nice picture, pops!

accepting her plaque for 1st overall female aged 9-10



before finals on Sunday night there was a parade of athletes. Each team chose a theme. We were the Ducati racers because our coach races Ducati motorcycles.

On a totally unrelated note, here is a video of Soren's sunflowers that she planted at spring break.

Life in the fast lane

Still blowing and going around here. Things have settled down a bit as swim team draws to a close for the summer. Soren has only had morning practices last week and this, so that has freed up a lot of time. We have some fun stuff planned for our last month of freedom; just two more meets and we are officially on vacation for a while!

I ventured out and raced for the first time this season. I posted my race report on my training blog http://www.imcozumel.blogspot.com/ . Mom raced also and her report is on the Parker blog http://www.theparkersblog.blogspot.com/

REESE FUNNY:
Yesterday we were in the car and Reese says "mom, what is divorce?" I gave a very brief explanation and in response she asks "is peanut butter and honey good for you?" One track mind...or not.

What's Up?!

Yes, we are still here. Having the busiest summer I can ever remember. Trying to enjoy it while at the same time keeping up with all of the "to dos"

One exciting adventure is one we are taking with a group from Soren's swim team. We have formed a non-profit organization and are raising money to build an aquatics training facility in Aledo. It is an enormous undertaking that is proving to demand a lot of time and effort. We are about 6 weeks into the project and are moving along wonderfully. Check it out, and notice the benefits that come with donating :)

http://www.sigmaswimming.org/


July 4th

To celebrate the 4th our street had a swim, bounce, slide, cookout, shoot fireworks, all day party. It was so much fun. We have grown to quite a large group, so to accommodate our numbers (as well as our slide and bounce castle) we simply took down a fence to combine two back yards. Genius. We are so blessed to have an entire street of friends that we enjoy!

Soren's big 'ole feet. That is what makes her such a great swimmer!

The kids use the water fall as a diving board. Notice even Brin the dog enjoyed the party

Let's see. What else.

Pete and Reese are down in New Braunfels playing at the water park. Just a daddy/daughter get away. Soren and I finally got to use our Six Flags passes today. I don't know if it was the heat (106!) but there were NO LINES! We were only there for 5 hours and were able to ride all of the rides we wanted. Had to come home at a respectable time because 5am hurts when you stay up too late.

3 more meets in the next 3 weeks and then Soren gets a nice 3 week break from swim team until school starts. I finally signed up for a race, too. I will do the olympic distance at the Disco Tri on the 17th. I have never done this distance and am very unsure of how to pace it. It is too long to sprint and too short to really pace. I guess I will figure it out when I get out there!

So that's that.