Fun and Awards

We attended the end of year banquet for the kids' swim team, last night. It was a lot of fun and the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We had a small box of awards to unpack when we got home, and Rick decided it was a picture worthy moment. :)

Austin brought home a t-shirt for 20 time drops (improvements on his personal bests throughout the year) and a team stocking cap for 25 time drops. He got an IM pin, which he likes a lot, as well as 5 ribbons and 3 medals from Summer Championships (see last post). He earned something for all but one race, and was pretty happy.

Hannah brought home a case of mints for 10 time drops and a notepad for 15 time drops. She also got an IM pin, as well as 2 ribbons and 4 medals from Summer Championships. She earned something in each race and was thrilled.
As if those awards weren't enough, our family was given the lovely award in the center of the picture. It's a team cap attached to a plaque and 'sharkteeth'. Apparently the recipient is chosen based on their volunteer service, but I'm thinking that thing could SCARE OFF our volunteers! hahaha. My whole family got a kick out of it, probably because it is so...ummm... unique.

If you're in the area, come check out the team! It's a lot of fun!!

Summer Championships

The kids joined a competitive swim team last fall. They have really enjoyed it, and have improved more than I imagined possible, over the past 11 months. Last weekend was their LSC's Summer Championships, which was their first meet that had qualifying standards. It was pretty exciting for them, as they both qualified to swim.

Austin competed in all 4 50 meter events, as well as the 100 Free and Back, and the 200 Free. He earned 3 medals and 3 ribbons!!! He improved on ALL of his personal bests, which most were set just three week prior. He actually improved his 200 Freestyle by 14 seconds, just from 3 weeks ago! He also got his first time standard for the next level of his swim team, so he was really happy. He needs three to move up, and he can hardly wait for his next chance to try!

Hannah also competed in all 4 50 meter events, as well as the 100 Free and 100 Back. She was in a slightly different situation, as 8 year old only have 1 qualifying standard (the 100 Free) and to swim any other 100 meter event or longer, she had to qualify with the 9-10 year old standards. So that's just what she did with the 100 backstroke. A few weeks ago, she did a timed trial at a meet, so she could qualify to swim the 100 backstroke with the "big girls". She earned 4 medals and 2 ribbons, and swam 5 personal best times.

All in all, the kids impressed me all weekend. They had great attitudes, set goals for themselves and met most of them, and came away from their first Summer Championships feeling like winners. Their grandpa and grandma even came and sat through most of it, cheering for them and following whereever the kids led... the kids sure do enjoy having a little fan base.

I've observed something lately about my kids: they really don't believe there are limits on their potential. They keep working hard at their goals, and keep reaching them. When something has been difficult or frustrating for them, they just asked for more time in the pool to master their obstacle. I hope they always have that type of attitude. Obviously, as their mom, I want to see them be successful in their ventures, and enjoy the journey.

I love the idea of scrapbooks, but have never really taken the time to create them. I find that as I snap pictures, they end up on my computer and sit there... Every now and then, when I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, I click through them, recalling the memories they represent. I don't know that I'll ever get better about creating scrapbooks or photo albums, but I thought this would be a good start for 'organizing' those memories, to look back on in a few years, and to share with family who isn't near enough to be part of our everyday lives.

I hope you enjoy your peek into our family - we'll share our homeschooling experiences, swim meets, gymnastics, and pieces of our faith. I might take some time getting started, but there's always so much to do Around Bown Town!