Fun in the water

Well it is it a bitter sweet day today. Swim is officially done for the year for us. I am happy and sad, it is alot of fun, but very time consuming. JT is the only one of my kids who wanted to swim Regionals over the weekend. He did great personally, in 2 of the 3 events setting new personal best times, but not good enough to make it to state. We are very proud of him! The other 2 were just plain tired of swim team ( as they still want to swim every day in our pool) and didn't want to swim Regionals, which is fine, as they are ready for soccer to start which does tomorrow. No rest for the weary.

Thursday night we had our end of swim team party at our practice pool. It was a fun time, with food, music, swimming, friends and awards. This is the 8 and under boys (Dylan 2nd from left) getting their trophies:

The 8 and under boys getting medals for those who had at least one top ten time for our whole league:

The 9-10 boys (JT in front with white and green shorts on):

The 8 and under girls:

Emily with her medal for placing in the top 10 for our league in both her events for the season:

The coaches also gave out some fun awards and Emily won one of them for "Ms. Sunshine" always coming to practice with a smile:

The kids had fun jumping off the diving boards:

and hanging out with their friends:

JT flipping off:

Dylan:

and Dylan flipping:

What a great night to end a great season!!!

On Tuesday Todd was off so we went to Galveston and went to Schlitterbahn. As we were going in we ran into some of the boys friends.

Dylan and a friend going down the rapids:

After swimming for awhile the kids got hungry, Dylan wanted this big turkey leg, it's almost as big as he is:

The boys had fun on the boogie bahn:

While floating the lazy river we got a family picture, my lens wasn't clean from all the water splashes so you can't see Emily very good:

JT relaxing down the rapids:

Emily and Dylan headed down the rapids:

Todd and JT:

The kids waiting to go up:

The kids swimming:

Time for Dippin Dots:

It was a fun day and a little more crowded than I expected for a Tuesday. After we had enough we went to our favorite Mexican Food Restaurant on the Island:

Now we are down to the last 4 weeks of summer. I have taken care of all 3 kids school supplies and clothes shopping so they are ready to go. Swim is over soccer is starting and we still have a few things to do before the summer ends. The kids are very excited about going to Grape Wolf Lodge next month and I am ready for the get away too!

Champs swim meet

Saturday was the kids last regular season swim meet. It was the big swim meet of the season called Champs, it is where all 10 teams from our league compete. The kids did great, every one of them set a new fastest personal time. We are very proud of how well they did. At this meet you get medals for 1st-3rd and ribbons for finishing 4th-8th. Of the 9 events the 3 of them competed in they came home with 2 bronze medals, and 4 ribbons.

Here is JT swimming the 100 IM, were he has to swim one length of the pool in all 4 strokes. Here is some of his butterfly:

Then his backstroke:

Did not get a good clear picture of his breaststroke and didn't post any of the free. He took 5 seconds off his previous fastest time.

Here JT is in his 25 free. He hadn't swam this but one time during the regular season, but swam it at champs and did great taking off 1 1/2 seconds from the first time he did it:

JT also did the 25 breaststroke and set a new fastest time for that.

Emily did her 2 usual events of 25 back:

taking off 2 seconds from her previous time, it was a very sad day for her though as the DQ her even though she finished 2nd because they said she hit the wall at a 45 degree angle and not straight on.

But she went on to compete in her 25 free and did great:

Dylan had a long day as he had 4 events to compete in. We have been working hard with him on his dive ins as you should go in the water with your feet together, but he always has one foot bent. Well as you can see he kept the bent foot at the meet. This is him on this dive in for the 50 free:

Him returning from the wall back to other wall in his 50 free:

His 25 free (with bent leg again):

and swimming one of the 2 relays he was on:

Overall it was a good day, just very HOT!! Now the question is, do we swim regionals to try to qualify for State, or do we call it quits and just relax the last 5 weeks of summer? That will be a decision the kids will have to make for themselves.

After the meet we were all hungry so we went with Julie and Mike and their kids to Cafe Adobe for lunch.

I think the sun had gotten to JT as he was goofy:

Megan, Emily, Nicole, JT, Ryan and Dylan :

Behind the restaurant was a little pond with ducks and turtles, the kids had fun chasing the ducks:

One last shot of the kids out front:

Thanks for going to lunch with us!

It won't be long and school will be starting. It's time to start back to school shopping, but we do have a few more little things planned to do with the kids like Galveston Schlitterbahn hopefully one day this week if the rain holds off and then the kids start soccer camp the end of July, and then mid August we are taking them to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, they can't wait. Hope everyone else has an exciting and blessed rest of the summer, school will start before we know it!

Summer fun and Hank's birthday

Summer is here and it is heating up outside. It is hard to believe we are half way through already, it has gone by fast, but I guess with swim team taking up 6 days of our week it will go by fast. The rain has finally slowed down, but the heat and mosquitoes are in full force. The kids played outside on the slip n slide the other day to try to cool off:

Tuesday I let the kids take a day off of swim and we went to an indoor activity. I took them to the Children's Museum. My friend Julie and her 3 kids came along. The kids had a good time:

They had tables out in the hall to make different things, we stopped and made the Chinese yo-yo's:

The 6 of them worked together to build this arch:

The 3 girls:

My boys with Julie's youngest daughter:

They couldn't wait to get in the power tower:

Then off to the jump rope game:

Light dodge ball:

and the rock wall:

Then off to the lego area where you build a car and then test it out on the test ramp:

But one of JT's favorites is the paper airplane/rockets you build and then test fly:

Then Julie's son and Dylan went into the news room and did a news report at the anchor table on the soccer game:

At the ATM the kids could take out or put in fake money/checks:

It was nice to have a day to just hang out with Julie and the kids and be somewhere indoors. Thanks for going with us!

Tuesday night my nephew Hank turned 17, some of the family met for dinner at Chili's.

Emily:

My sister and brother in law:

mom and dad:

JT:

Justin:

Tori and Allie:

The birthday boy and his girlfriend:

Todd and I:Dylan (trying to hide from pictures):

Singing "Happy Birthday":

It was nice to have dinner with the family, hard to believe Hank is 17, where has the time gone?