what we've been up to this summer

Julianna swimming butterfly.

Drew in lane 3 swimming the first leg of his 50 freestyle.

Drew preparing to dive.

Drew using his sister's legs for backstroke (but not really using them).

Julianna showing us her dive. I just love watching kids dive. Why does it make me laugh so?


Julianna is not going to let a little cold rainy weather get the best of her!

Look at those muscles! Yes, we do feed him!!

This summer we decided to let (make) the kids join swim team. Since we don't have a team for our neighborhood we joined a nearby team. We are the Dearbought Devil Rays!!

I am proud to say that this has ended up being one of the best parenting decisions we have ever made. Our oldest 3 have been going to swim practice daily since the beginning of June. Even back in mid June with just a week or 2 of lessons under their belts the improvement was incredible. The week before the first meet the coach spent some one-on-one time with Drew and Kyle teaching them how to float on their backs and swim back stroke. Drew did so well with picking this up that she had him swim it in the meet on Saturday. I was so proud to see him make it the whole way across the pool without stopping.

It hasn't stopped there. Julianna has picked up all 4 strokes and can now swim them in the meets. I was finally able to watch her swim butterfly today for the first time and was just amazed. She did so well for her first time!

Drew has gotten good enough to swim freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke in the meets. Today he swam the 8 and under 50 meter freestyle event as well as the 25 meter. He was so cute! He got them mixed up so when he swam the 25 meter event he touched the wall and pushed off again to swim one more length of the pool and the timers had to stop him. He got a little embarrassed because he was the only one who made that mistake. I was so nervous for him when he went to swim the 50. I thought for sure he would get too tired halfway through and need to stop and hang on to the lane rope or something like that. Nope! Not my Drew. He did just fine and came in 4th in his heat.

Kyle is doing really well for his big 5 year old self. He is swimming freestyle and backstroke and is almost able to add breaststroke to his repertoire. As a matter of fact the coach came to me the other day and told me how amazed she was at how well all three kids picked up swimming breaststroke. I think my head swelled a little because that was always MY stroke when I swam. I told her that they had it in their blood. And in my head I thought, "And their Daddy is freakishly good at all things athletic!"

All this swim practice makes our days a little hectic. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I get Julianna to practice by 8am and go home for a little while where the boys and I eat breakfast and I shower and get ready for the day. Then we hop back in the car to get the boys there for their practice time at 10am. Julianna and Jake go and play at the nearby playground while I watch Drew and Kyle practice then we all head home around 10:45ish. On Tuesdays and Thursdays their practice is in the evenings. We eat dinner around 5ish and get the boys to practice at 6:30. Julianna's practice is from 7 to 8pm. Usually Todd plays with the boys in the pool while she practices. These evenings I usually get some much needed "me" time. I usually stay home and chill or go shopping or whatever I want. The point is that for two glorious evenings I am "off duty"!! Thanks hon!!!

Today was our first experience taking the kids to a meet in a downpour. Unfortunately Kyle woke up sick this morning (fever and cough) and wasn't going to be able to participate in the meet. Being the self sacrificing partner that I am I told Todd that I would be happy to take one for the team and stay back with the sickie and Jake. Todd got Julianna and Drew to the pool for check-in and warmups and I came later with the extra dry towels and snacks and drinks. We took turns cheering on the swimmers and sitting in the van with Jake and Kyle till the rain stopped then we all came into the pool together to watch the end of the meet.