July 31 - Robotic Exoskeleton Study

Just over a week ago, Luke had the opportunity to participate in a research study at the University of Houston in the Electrical & Computer Engineering Lab. The phD candidate running the study was looking for kids ages 6-12 to help design and program a robotic exoskeleton. The robotics team at Westbrook (Luke's new building school) asked kids to participate and Luke jumped at the opportunity (okay, that's an exaggeration. I signed him up and told him he was doing it and he said "cool."). It turns out the woman running the study lives a mile away from us, small world! 

It was a pretty neat experience! We sent in measurements of Luke's head in advance and when we got there, it took about an hour to set everything up (skulll cap with electrodes and stuff on his legs). He then had to walk on a treadmill for 30min while a computer captured his brain function. Such a cool experience! As a "thank you" for participating in the experiment, Luke will be heading back to University of Houston in a few weeks and he will be able to order food via a robot that will then pick up and deliver the food to him. So fun!

The Study

Getting Ready

Walking away!

July 20 - Great Swim Season

Myah, Danielle, Reese, Julia

And that's a wrap on another great swim season! The championship meet was this past Sunday and it was a long day. JD and the big kids got to the pool at 6am and according to the timeline, the meet should have ended up 3pm...but didn't end until 6pm. It was the longest swim meet we've ever been to. Set up was inside so at least we weren't sweating bullets all day, although the pool area was INSANLEY hot. The meet was delayed at one point because one of the timers almost passed out. We are super proud of Julia and Luke!!

Luke: Luke dropped 4 seconds in his IM (incredible!!) and placed 12th. He did fly in the medley relay and they placed 5th! He was 11th in the 50 free, 14th in the 50 fly (another best time!!) and his free relay was 6th. He did AMAZING and scored points for the team in almost every event. We are so proud of him, go Luke!!

5 year award

Julia: Julia's team won the medley relay by over 10 secs and she split a 28 in the fly. She won the 50 free by over a body length and broke an Orca team record from 2006!! She was 4th in the 100 free, 2nd in the 50 fly (best time) and her team won the free relay by over 5 secs. Great meet all around!

Last night was the Orca team party. Jillian received her first ever trophy and Luke received his 5 year award. Luke and Julia also received medals for making championship cut times in every event. After awards and pizza, the kids swam for a  few hours. It was a great night!

First trophy!

 6 and under girls

11-12 boys

13-14 girls

MVP Winners

Team Record

Party Fun

July 8 - Happy Birthday America

We celebrated the 4th of July weekend in style! Julia got her ears pierced, Jillian and I went to our neighborhood 4th of July party (we swam for over 4 hours!), the girls painted Apollo's nails and the the girls and I went to see fireworks for the first time. We found an amazing location with a fabulous view and Jillian was adorable singing "Happy Birthday America." Great weekend!!

Ears Pierced!

4th of July Fun!