May 26 - Back to the Pool

Summer swim season has officially commenced and the first meet was this past weekend. I absolutely love everything about summer swim-the kids, the parents, the teamwork, the positive attitudes and how everyone cheers for each other (I even enjoy the early mornings and 6+ hours at the pool hehe). JD took Julia and Luke to the pool at 6am for warmups while I came around 8am with Jillian. Jillian is one of those kids who sleeps in during the week and is up super early on the weekends so I had no trouble getting her out the door on-time. Luke and Julia both swam the 100IM (events 2 and 3) so I knew we couldn't be late!

Luke

100IM: 4th place! All the 9-10 boys on our team were in this event and we have a stacked team. Three of the boys on the team are year round swimmers and one of them is a top 10 swimmer in the state. Luke held his own and did fantastic! I'm impressed he swam legally and placed 4th!! 

Medley Relay: Luke, Crichton, Kaleb and Adam (Luke plus the year round swimmers) were the U8 boys 'dream team' 2 years ago that broke a 16 year old team record and almost broke the league record at the championship meet. Now, as 10 year olds they are back together and swimming 50s. This was their first race together and once again-they were unstoppable! Luke swam the first leg (backstroke) and got them a big lead which everyone built on. They lapped the 2nd place team! Great job boys!

50 Back: 2nd place! Luke's best stroke is backstroke and he looked so smooth in the water!

50 Breast: 2nd place! Luke tied one of the year round swimmers! He has a great glide and looks very confident in the water. 

Free Relay: once again, the 'dream team' was back together and they lapped the competition!! 

Luke also qualified for the champ meet in all his individual events, great job Luke!!

Julia

100IM: 2nd place! Julia just started club again swimming 3 weeks ago and is still getting back in shape so she wasn't expecting much this meet. Surprisingly, she was tied with Reese (swims year round) at the last turn but Reese brought it home strong on the freestyle. Julia dropped over 9 secs from 2 years ago!

Medley Relay: Kennedy (does not swim club anymore), Reese (year old swimmer), Julia (part time swimmer) and Ana (new summer swimmer who rocked the practice meet) swam together for the first time in the medley relay and did fantastic! They easily won and all the girls looked strong in the water!

50 Back: 1st place! Julia shocked all of us going 33, dropping over 3 secs. Wowsa. She is a half a second off the USA "A" cut for this event. 

50 Fly: 1st place! And let me tell you everyone...Julia further shocked us (and herself) by going 31.47!! She dropped 3 secs in this as well! She is just a few tenths off the USA "A" cut for this event.

Free Relay: DQ'd due to a false start between legs 1 and 2. They would have won easily but it's a good lesson for the girls that transitions are important. 

Julia also qualified for the champ meet in all her individual events, great job Julia!

JD & Jillian

JD is an official again this year and he was the starter at the meet. Jillian was my little buddy and we hung out together the whole meet. She did pretty good and loved cheering on everyone. 

May 21 - Beautiful Mornings

Vitex blooming - beautiful!

This might shock you..but this post is not child themed (surprising, right)! I walk the dogs every morning for about an hour. I absolutely love these morning walks. There are few different routes that I take but I always see the same 5 neighbors who are out walking at the same time. There is something peaceful about being up early and watching the sunrise (I don't watch the sunrise every morning, but a lot of them). So for any of you thinking about starting a walking routine, I highly recommend an early morning walk! The flowers and sky look so beautiful in the early morning light as well. 

Happy Friday everyone!

I usually do a late walk with the dogs at night (after 9pm) but I happened to do an early one recently and caught a beautiful sunset

May 20 - Almost Summer

While this week has been non-stop rain storms (no flooding in our area of Houston, thank goodness), last weekend was beautiful weather. In fact, it was so beautiful we were able to go to opening day of the neighborhood pool! In true fashion, there were only 2 other families there (so few people ever go to the pool, even in the warmer summer months). The water was cold but Luke and Jillian jumped right in. We spent a couple hours there and Jillian is already getting more comfortable going under water and swimming. Love our little fishes!

Switching gears...before we headed to the pool I took the dogs on our morning walk. We usually start our walk around 6am but on Saturday I slept in for once and we were a few hours late. We were walking our normal route in the newer neighborhood behind us and I noticed..live farm animals. Then I saw a unicorn (an actual pony with a unicorn horn and crown of flowers) giving a small child a "unicorn ride." Turns out, someone was hosting a birthday party outside of their pool area. They had the most beautiful party set up I've ever seen. I covertly snapped a few pics and had a quick chat with the birthday girl's grandmother, to compliment her on the party set up. Very impressive! 

Look at this beautiful cake!

May 19 - Lashes

"Mom, what are you doing?" - Luke

"Stand still, I'm trying to get a picture of your eyes." - me

"Why are you so weird and creepy?" - Luke

"Because you have the most beautiful lashes in the family, I can't help myself." - creepy Mom 

Love Luke's lashes!! 

May 17 - The Pat Down

BC ("Before Covid") Jillian had show and tell every Friday. She loved bringing in small toys to show her friends. AC ("after covid") the kids are not allowed to bring in anything. Jillian, being Jillian, decided she wants to bring in toys anyway. She started to sneak in toys in her pockets. Once we caught on to this, JD and I were sure to check her pockets before school. Unfortunately, this didn't stop. She was still sneaking toys in. How was she doing it? Hiding them..in her underwear. Once we discovered this....she moved on...hiding them in her socks. And then...hiding them tucked into her leggings. She is so sneaky! We literally have to pat her down like a little thief every morning before she leaves the house! 

Last weekend Jillian sashayed into the bathroom clearly holding something behind her back.

"What do you have in your hands?" - me

"Nothing." - Jillian

"What are you doing in the bathroom?" - me, as she is going in there & shutting the door

"I just need to pee Mommy!" - Jillian

5 seconds later..

"Pssssssssss" - Jillian, making a pee sound with her mouth (JD and I look at each other and whisper, Is she fake peeing?")

15 seconds later..

The toilet flushes.

10 seconds later...

The sink water starts running. 

I tiptoe over and open the door-the sink is still running and Jillian is sitting on toilet (lid closed, sitting as if on a seat), applying lipstick she took from my room!

I was annoyed at her deception yet also frankly impressed that at age 4 she thought of fake peeing (complete with fake flushing and fake washing her hands). She's only FOUR you guys! Clearly, this one is going to be trouble as she gets older. We've got our hands full!

May 13 - Braces!

Luke lost his last baby tooth several months ago and all his adult teeth have grown in (with the exception of one back molar). He has a pronounced snaggle tooth and significant overbite, so the orthodontist decided he was good to start braces. So...$4k +later....he has new blue braces!! He had a little pain the first evening and morning but no other complaints so far. Being Luke, he has memorized the "How to Take Care of Braces" guide and likes to tell us the 'rules' about how to take care of his teeth. Welcome to the braces club Luke!! 

Julia should be getting hers later this summer. She has a complicated mouth situation so the orthodontist is currently finalizing the plan with the oral surgeon before she can start. Yes..two kids in braces at the same time. Thank goodness for the sibling discount-it's minimal but better than nothing! 

May 10 - Mommy & Me Tea

Jillian's preschool hosted an outdoor 'Mommy and Me Tea' on Friday. Jillian was so excited the night before that she tried to pack up our (breakable) tea set from Uncle Chris to bring to school. She was so confused when I explained that was our set and it needed to stay home, they would have cups and plates for us there. Little cutie! They served peach sweet tea (Jillian LOVED it) and small cookies. It was adorable! And for those of you waiting to hear about the Orcas, she did not make it. That's okay, she is in good spirits and happy to play on the playground with the other little kids. She'll try again next year!

Love this girl!

Oh, her name on Friday was "Pink Tiara" 

May 5 - My Name is Sweetie

It's the most wonderful time of the year...summer swim! This is the first week of practice and Jillian has her swim test on Friday. She has to swim 1 lap unassisted to make the team. By the end of last summer, she could swim half a lap by herself. I had high hopes for her but I should have take her to the pool to practice before this week because it's clear she's forgotten pretty much everything. 

First practice: Jumped in (water is cold); decided she needed to go to the bathroom; said she was done with practice; then told me she is not a quitter and went back and did 1 lap with the coach. 

Second practice: Jumped in (water is still cold); decided she needed to go to the bathroom; went back to the pool and did 2 laps with the coach. So progress!

One thing that is clear-that girl is brimming with confidence! She is positive she will make the team and can't wait to be an Orca. I don't think it will happen this year but love her positivity! 

Another funny tidbit-after practice the kids usually play on the playground. Yesterday, Jillian told everyone (completely serious) that her name is "Sweetie." 

Ready for day 1

Practice time!

After practice we headed home to get Luke and she insisted on changing...

Yes, into a fancy Christmas dress (for the playground)

Luke was energized and ready for practice too! 

Julia, Reese & Kennedy - together again