Championship Meet 2015

We had our last swim meet of the summer league season yesterday. Every child on the team received a team trophy and they also received their ribbons (for 4th through 16th place) and medals (for 1st to 3rd place) from the Championship meet. Once again, Natalie only received medals (2 1st places, 2 2nd places, and 1 3rd place medal--see specifics below). Of course she didn't want any pictures, so I had to take a picture of her trophy and medals by themselves.

She swam up to the Girls 13-14 group for her two second place relays, which meant that she swam 50 yards each for those instead of 25 yards. She got a third place in the Freestyle, missing second by half a second. She easily got first place in the Backstroke, and just touched out her friend Kylie (on another team) in the Butterfly ( by 0.18 sec). Because of that one third place finish, Natalie missed having the highest point total in the Girls 11-12 category by one point. Her friend Kylie got the highest point total with 57 points to Natalie's 56 points.

Natalie admitted to some back pain during the meet, but she still did very well. It's tough to remind her that she still swims well (compared to others), even if she is not swimming at her best. She was most disappointed, however, because she and her Summerfield teammates (girls age 11-12) failed to win the banner for their age group for the first time since she has been on the summer swim team. There were quite a few swimmers whose families left for vacation and didn't swim in this swim meet, so it was tough for every team.

Still, there were a lot of swimmers from the five teams in our division, and with so many swimmers, I was pretty happy that Eric even got any ribbons. He got an eighth place ribbon in Butterfly (out of 11 swimmers, with two of those getting disqualified), and a ninth place ribbon in Backstroke (out of 24 swimmers, with two of those getting disqualified). His relay teams got fourth place (Medley) and fifth place (Freestyle) out of five teams.

When Eric and Natalie were presented their awards at the Team Party after the meet, Coach mentioned that although Natalie was still injured, she stepped up to do the relays when she was asked to. He also mentioned that Eric always wanted to go early to practice so he could help set up the lane lines in the pool. I'm just glad that both of them seemed to enjoy themselves.

Last Friday, after the last swim practice, Natalie and Eric got one of the "Swimmers of the Week" award. At first the signs had not yet been brought back by the kids who won the awards from the week before, so I didn't get a picture of Eric then. Yesterday one of the signs were delivered, and so I got a picture of Eric. He had already taken a bath, so he wasn't wearing his swimsuit anymore. Of course, in the heat of summer, he is still wearing jeans, with flip-flops no less. The first time Eric and Natalie won the "Swimmers of the Week" award two years ago, Eric was much more excited about it. This time, he was more excited about the ice cream sandwich snack.

The rest of this post will be stats about each of Natalie's and Eric's events. Summer swim league was fun, but we are glad that it's over!

Natalie's events:

Event #7 Girls 13-14 200 yard Freestyle Relay--2nd place with a time of 2:04.39. Riley and Lindsey were the lone 13 and 14 year old girls (respectively) that attended the meet and would not have been able to swim in a relay had the coaches not moved up Natalie and Rylee. First place won with a time of 2:02.22. Meanwhile, the Girls 11-12 100 yard Freestyle Relay team came in last (5th) place without Natalie and Rylee. They changed the order that they swam from the heat sheet we had, so we're not sure how fast Natalie swam her 50 yards, but Patrick and I think it was about 30 seconds, which was her time when she last swam the 50 yard Freestyle at this very same pool in September of last year. Patrick and I are amazed at how fast she still is, even with an injured back.

Event #17 Girls 11-12 25 yard Freestyle--3rd place out of 27 with a time of 14.85. First place had a time of 14.24. Second place had a time of 14.34. Fourth place had a time of 14.98. It was a pretty tight race.

Event #29 Girls 11-12 25 yard Backstroke--1st place with a time of 16.26. Second place had a time of 17.42, so she won this one pretty easily.

Event #57 Girls 11-12 25 yard Butterfly--1st place with a time of 15.37. She just out-touched her friend Kylie, who had a time of 15.55. After they got out of the pool, they gave each other a hug, which was nice to see. When Natalie starts swimming with Northeast AAAA (instead of Northside AAAA who she has been swimming with for the past two years), she will get to swim with Kylie, so it's nice that she already has friends there.

Event #69 Girls 13-14 200 yard Medley Relay--2nd place with a time of 2:22.99. Natalie was originally going to swim the Freestyle leg, but she was not confident at all, and then one of the other girls hated the stroke she was first assigned to swim, so they ended up with a double switch, with Natalie swimming the 50 yard Butterfly. It was a good thing I asked Patrick to video the whole race, because otherwise we would have missed her swim, since we were not expecting the switch. Patrick was not happy with Natalie for swimming the 50 yard Butterfly, because of the repetitive movement that requires. He is constantly worried about her aggravating her back injury. Interestingly, Natalie and her teammate Riley are both injured and getting physical therapy at the same place. Riley tore her ACL during basketball this year and had to have surgery. If they had both been as healthy as last year, they might have won this relay, since first place won with a time of 2:20.83.

Eric's events:

Event #2 Boys 8 and under 100 yard Freestyle Relay--5th place with a time of 1:38.07. Eric swam the third leg (Joshua, Ryder, Eric, then Cameron).

Event #14 Boys 7-8 25 yard Freestyle--17th out of 27 with a time of 26.70.

Event #26 Boys 7-8 25 yard Backstroke--9th out of 24 (with 2 DQs) with a time of 29.28.

Event #54 Boys 7-8 25 yard Butterfly--8th out of 11 (with 2 DQs) with a time of 38.91. He wasn't able to swim Butterfly (or Breaststroke) legally before this year, so we are very proud of him.

Event #64 Boys 8 and under 100 yard Medley Relay--4th place with a time of 1:56.32. Eric swam the first (Backstroke) leg as he has been all season. Eli swam the Breaststroke, Cameron swam the Butterfly, and Joshua swam the Freestyle. Cameron is a great swimmer, and can swim both the Butterfly and Breaststroke at least 10 seconds faster than any of his other teammates.

Midweek Update

I was back to work today, but yesterday, I got to enjoy some time with the kids. Patrick took Alex to the Texas DPS (Department of Public Safety) office in the morning to get his Learner's Permit (finally!) while I took the other two to Natalie's Physical Therapy appointment. We met at North Star Mall for lunch in the Food Court, then Patrick and Alex went home while I shopped with the other two. Natalie always seems reluctant to go out. She would much rather be "lazy" and spend the day watching shows on her iPad mini. Her physical therapist had a talk with her about spending more time working on her core when she is walking and sitting around through the day. She strongly discouraged Natalie from "laying around" as she likes to do. This motivated Natalie somewhat to walk around the mall a bit. Of course that motivation cost me some money.

Natalie got some clothing at Aeropostale and American Eagle, including some volleyball shorts that had a tag that read "#bestbootyever" shorts. They weren't as bad as they sound, in fact, they were longer than the pair of shorts Natalie was wearing at the time. Still, they were stretchy and hugged her curves and made Patrick and me a little afraid.

After Natalie got her shopping done, we had to let Eric get some shopping done too, so we stopped at the Lego Store. They both noticed a new item in the Lego Ninjago line called "Airjitsu", where you pull the tab and it sends the toy flying through the air, a themed variation to a type of toy that has been around for a while. Supposedly this toy was officially being released on July 1st, but they had just gotten them in. I looked on Amazon, and they were already selling for almost twice as much as the $9.99 list price, and Eric was having so much fun in the store with their sample, that I went ahead and got that for him. I also bought the two of them two small "Mixels" sets, so they both wanted to play with them right away when they got home. I love that those two are getting along so well this summer. Natalie has been especially sweet to her little brother.

We got Patrick a new smoker last week for Father's Day, and after a week of looking up recipes and waiting for it to stop raining (since the smoker is electric and outside), Patrick finally smoked some pork baby back ribs today. He got a late start, preparing the ribs starting at about 1pm, and getting them in the smoker by about 2pm. They weren't done until 8pm, but they were well worth the wait. Our friend Al came over because his wife and daughters were off on a beach trip. He welcomed the chance to be "experimented on", and he loved the result. Alex just came home with a couple of friends after spending the day at Fiesta Texas, and they are now enjoying the many leftovers.

Besides the above, Eric went to swim team practice tonight, while Natalie took the night off. She was still sore after Physical Therapy yesterday and going to swim practice last night, so she's taking it easy so she can swim at the Championship Meet this upcoming weekend. Another busy week, and it's only Wednesday!

Anniversary Staycation

June is usually a busy month for us, with the end of school and all the swim meets, so it's not easy for Patrick and I to get away. Starting last year, we decided to start "getting away" to the Riverwalk here in town for our anniversary. Often, on my days off, if it's nice weather, we will go to the Riverwalk to have lunch and to walk around. There's so much to see and do. We wanted an extended version of that. Last year, we happened to go on our little staycation on the day the hometown Spurs celebrated their fifth NBA Championship, so getting to our hotel was a journey that took two hours. Our trip took far less time this year.

On the downside, Anthony is not here this year. He is staying up in the Boston area for the summer, so he can hang out with his college friends and get a career-related job (which he may have finally secured--yay!). He stayed with his siblings last year, and his ability to drive them around enabled us to get away for a couple of days. This year, we only have Alex, who can't drive yet, so we didn't want to leave them alone longer than about a day. The other downside was that it's been raining here quite a bit this year, and thunderstorms were forecast for this trip.

Yesterday, we checked into our hotel and went to lunch at Boudro's. It wasn't too hot outside, so we sat outside next to the river. We enjoy looking out onto the river at the barges going by, and people-watching. It started raining, but the umbrella over our table did a great job keeping us dry...until the downpour started. Patrick took this picture just before we moved inside. The rain was fine when it was pouring straight down, but it started blowing side to side, and that was just not going to be pleasant. We were able to relax, comfortably seated (and dry), and watch the rain from inside the restaurant for the rest of the meal.

We're staying at the Grand Hyatt on the Riverwalk. We decided on this hotel because I wanted to eat at the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that is located in the lobby of the hotel. We ate there last when my friend Nam visited San Antonio last December, and I've wanted to go back since then. Patrick wanted to have steak, of course, and I was really thinking about those Seared Scallops I had last time. Yum! Besides the good food, we were very happy that we decided to stay at the Grand Hyatt. A couple of hours before our dinner reservation, the rain came down hard again. Our room is on the 21st floor, so we had an awesome city view, except that the heavy rain obscured that view. We were happy that all we had to do was walk downstairs to dinner, and then walk back upstairs to go to our room.

We did have some rain-free time to walk around, thank goodness. After lunch and then again after dinner, we walked around the Riverwalk. These last two photos are from our walk to the Tower of the Americas grounds. It's just nicer than walking around our neighborhood, even with the dark skies.

During our walk last night, the skies started getting darker and darker, and thankfully, we were only a short distance from our hotel. We just made it back under cover in time for the rain to come pouring down again.

Despite all the rain, we've enjoyed our little Anniversary Staycation. We'll definitely do this again. By the time this posts, we should be back home to our dear "little" ones.

Summerfield vs. Hunter's Creek 2015

Today is our last dual swim team meet of this summer, and it was an away meet vs. the Hunter's Creek neighborhood team. The morning started out rainy and cloudy. I didn't even risk bringing my big camera, because of the constant drizzling rain, so all of my pictures and videos were taken with my iPhone 6 plus camera. This first photo is the usual "Eric in his swim cap" photo. I cracked up when I saw this, because his cap is causing his eyebrows to tilt upwards on the sides. I fixed his cap right after I took this photo so it wouldn't be so tight in the front.

This is a picture of Eric very excited after his Freestyle Relay team won first place, pretty handily. This result is listed below with the other results. He and the other kids have really come a long way this summer. Eric is enjoying swim team more than I could have hoped at the start of the summer swim season.

Boys 8 and under 100m Freestyle Relay

--Luke, Eric, Joshua, and Cameron were on the same relay team, and they came in first place with a time of 1:48.19. The other Summerfield Boys 8 and under Freestyle Relay team was disqualified, probably because one of the boys left too early.

Boys 8 and under 25m Freestyle

--Eric came in fifth place (out of 13 boys) with a time of 30.03 sec.

Boys 8 and under 25m Backstroke

--Eric was in third place (out of 9 boys) with a time of 39.93 sec. Four of the boys were disqualified, probably because they turned over. Patrick was a stroke judge for this meet, and he had to give out quite a number of "DQ's". Eric's friend Cameron (who was also his classmate in school this past year) was disqualified, and Cameron is a very strong and fast swimmer.

Boys 8 and under 25m Breaststroke

--Eric came in third (out of 8 boys) with a time of 36.66 sec. He came in 0.03 seconds behind second place. Go, Eric! Four of the eight boys were disqualified. I'm so happy that not only is Eric legal in the Breaststroke, but he is getting better and better in all his strokes!

Boys 8 and under 100m Medley Relay

--Eric again swam the first leg, which is the Backstroke. His team (Eric, Eli, Cameron, and Joshua) came in first place with a time of 2:13.37. The other Summerfield team was disqualified in this event also, as did the other Hunter's Creek team.

This is just a picture of Eric before his individual Boys 7-8 Freestyle race. He is always ready for with a smile when I pull out the camera. Notice the white Adirondack chairs in the background. That's where the swimmers lined up waiting for their turn to race. I didn't dare take any pictures of Natalie before her races. She already started the morning grouchy, but of course she warmed up when she got to the meet because she saw some friends from school that were swimming for the other team.

When we first arrived at the pool where this meet was held, both head coaches (who are twins, by the way), immediately told Natalie that they needed her to swim in the Girls 13-14 200 yard Freestyle and Medley Relays next week at the Championship Meet (the pool for that meet is 25 yards and not meters, a standard short course pool). She's a little afraid because she will have to swim 50 yards instead of 25, and she hasn't been to a lot of practices to get that conditioning, and she hasn't been swimming that distance in any meet since last year (except for one race a week ago), but she will be up for that challenge next weekend.

Then, after each of Natalie's races, one of the coaches would tell her what her time was for the race, and she would make a frown. Patrick and I were just happy that she was swimming again and that she didn't hurt after this meet. She still has high standards for herself, and in a sense, that is good. I just wish she would cut herself a little slack for now, while she is still recovering from her injury.

This is the only type of picture I dared take of Natalie who is on the far right)--pictures from the back. This is just a group of girls she was hanging out with at the side of the pool. She enjoys socializing at the meets.

Natalie's results from this meet are as follows (for my record):

Girls 11-12 100m Freestyle Relay

--Natalie and her teammates (swimming in the following order: Rylee, Brianna, Anna, and Natalie) have been swimming together in this race for a few years now, and they easily won this race by about five seconds with a time of 1:09.25. Their plan had been to break one minute at the Championship Meet, but now that Natalie will be swimming "up" to the Girls 13-14 group, she won't be on their team.

Girls 11-12 25m Freestyle

--Natalie actually said she was disappointed that her teammate Rylee was not swimming in this event at this meet. Ryle was the one who beat her last week. Even though Natalie's time was about the same this week(16.31 seconds instead of last week's 16.25), she wants to be faster. Again, she needs to cut herself a little slack with only her second meet since October. She made it to two almost full AAAA swim club practices this week, so hopefully she is on her way to full recovery. Her coaches and our good friend Al commented on how fast she kicks during her Freestyle, so fast that the water looks like a "rooster plume" behind her.

Girls 11-12 25m Backstroke

--Natalie won with a time of 18.25, a little slower than her time last week of 17.97, but a win is still a win.

Girls 11-12 25m Butterfly

--This has long been a favorite event for Natalie, and she won handily with a time of 17.43. The second place swimmer from our team was over one and a half seconds behind her.

Girls 11-12 100m Medley Relay

--Relays are always exciting races, because the whole team can win or lose on one person's performance. Everyone on Natalie's team performed well. Brianna swam the Backstroke, Anna swam the breaststroke, Natalie swam the Butterfly, and Rylee swam the Freestyle. They were almost even for the first leg. Anna gained a little ground. Natalie noticeably increased their lead, and then Rylee increased their lead even more for a time of 1:21.72, four seconds faster than the second place team.

This is probably my favorite photo from the meet. Natalie met up with Eric after his Breaststroke race. She must have been watching Eric's race while standing near the coaches who were timing each child's race, because she rushed up to Eric and me after the race and said that he had shaved seven seconds off his previous Breaststroke time. The coaches were really working on Breaststroke and Butterfly during Eric's practice this week, and it seemed like their hard work paid off. Natalie deserves some of the credit with her tips for Eric. Eric listens to his siblings a lot more than to Patrick and me sometimes.

That's it for this week's meet. Patrick and I are celebrating 23 years of marriage today, and of course we're spending it at a swim meet. We went out to his favorite restaurant, El Mirasol tonight to celebrate Father's Day a day early, because we are doing a one day staycation for our anniversary tomorrow. We're not bringing the kids for that one. :)

Happy 16th, Alex!

Today is my dear son Alex's 16th birthday. He took this picture of us in back in February with my phone camera, because I begged him for a picture and I had just helped him get some items from Godiva for his girlfriend. He seems to prefer taking slanted photos because he thinks they look more interesting. I was SO happy he not only gave me a picture but that both of us are in the picture.

Sixteen years ago today, I gave birth to this 8 pound 11 ounce baby boy without the benefit of ANY pain medication--no IV drugs and no epidural, because the anesthesiologist got busy. I had been dilating slowly for about a month already, and I was 5 cm dilated at the doctor's office that morning. By the time I got a room in Labor and Delivery, I was 6 cm, but luckily, I wasn't feeling any contractions yet. Once they started the Pitocin, however, it was only two hours before Alex decided to make his entrance. I was shocked at how big he was, and I partly attributed that to my newfound love of Sonic shakes during this pregnancy. Maybe that's why Alex loves Sonic shakes? :)

I already posted this photo on my blog a few days ago, but I still love it SO much. Natalie looks so happy and Alex looks good in his new shorter haircut.

Patrick and I can truly say that Alex has provided us with more challenges than any of his other siblings, but he has come such a long way, since even a year ago. Not only is he considerate to his siblings (like when he went to the swim meet just because Natalie asked him to), but he is considerate to Patrick and me. For example, when I buy him clothes or anything, he thanks me and really shows his appreciation.

He isn't always considerate, of course. After all, he is still a teenager who thinks the world revolves around him. A couple of weeks ago, he was insisting that I schedule his hair cut at a time that was not convenient for me to take him. I was tired of telling him "no" repeatedly. When he saw how upset I was, he apologized without any prompting from anyone else. Last year he would have just let it be and not said anything, and maybe still insist that I schedule that appointment when I had to do something else.

These are two of his presents. No, he doesn't intend on wearing two watches at the same time. I asked him to do that so I could get both watches in the same photo. The one on the left is from his Aunt Cynthia and her family. The one on the right is from our family. He has temporarily stopped seeking so many shoes and started asking for watches, apparently. He also received a book and a check from Grandma and Grandpa. He actually said he was going to read the book, and he doesn't read a lot of books nowadays, so that is saying something.

His plans for today were simple. He wanted to go to Grimaldi's Pizza for lunch. He planned on getting up late, so we weren't sure when we would get to eat lunch, but he got up by around 10:30am or so, showered, and played on the PS4, and we went to lunch a little after noon. He also requested Sausage-Stuffed Jalapeños for dinner. I found it interesting that the other kids always ask to go out somewhere for their birthday dinners, but Alex wanted me to make something. He says that is his favorite food out of the things I make. He also asked me to make Banana Pudding. I haven't made that before, but we both tasted it already and it's going to be really good. For those that don't know, Alex LOVES bananas. He eats at least a couple a day, if he can. I love that he wanted me to make him something.

After lunch, we were already at the mall, so he said he wanted to "check out" some things at H&M, which was next door. They were having a sale, so he couldn't resist. For $140, he got a blazer, a button-down shirt, a T-shirt, and two pairs of pants. That's pretty good for men's clothes. He gave me a thank you hug after we finished checking out. What a sweet boy! Happy Birthday, Alex!

You Have An Umbrella

Eric can be a little stinker some times. So, every day from Monday through Friday, he has neighborhood swim team practice from 5:45-6:30pm. He likes to go early because he likes to help the coach get out the lane lines to get the pool ready for practice. Today, the sky was very dark and gray when we left some time after 5pm to get to swim practice early. I told him that maybe we shouldn't go to swim practice because it might rain. He said, "You have an umbrella. Why don't you bring it?"

There were quite a few people at the pool already. Some were there early for swim practice. Others were there for swim lessons or enjoying the pool with their families. Like on other days, Eric helped drag the lane lines across the pool. He spent quite a bit of time trying to attach one of them, because it wasn't quite taut enough and he had a hard time hooking it onto the other end.

As this was going on, the sky got even darker and the wind picked up. The temperature started dropping so much so that it actually seemed almost pleasant, at least for those of us watching, since we were dry and not wet. Even when we heard thunder, the coach did not call off practice. I always thought at the first sign of thunder OR lightning, everyone was supposed to get out of the pool, but the coach said to look out for lightning and then he would make everyone get out of the pool. I was a little nervous about that, so I asked Eric, "Why don't you get out of the water, because it's about to rain hard." He replied, "No. You can use your umbrella." I was a bit tickled by his insistence that he remain in the pool, but when we saw lightning, I was adamant and he eventually got out of the pool. Eric was the last one out of the pool. It had already started to rain and the rain was getting harder. Needless to say, practice was cancelled. I was glad I brought my umbrella.

Summerfield vs. Regency 2015

Another swim meet post means another photo of Eric in his swim cap. He was almost finished with his Ring Pop and I told him that his lips were blue. I just can't get over who squished his face gets when he wears that cap, and how different he looks with blue "hair"! Since I spent the last post talking all about Natalie, this post will be all about Eric.

Last week, Eric didn't ask for the iPad at all. He had a new book that he was reading instead. This week, he asked for the iPad right after his freestyle races. I didn't mind because yesterday he was more social, interacting with his teammates, who all wanted a turn on the iPad. Eric was the one who decided whose turn it was. :) I also found it interesting that they didn't just play shooting games or arcade-type games. I saw them playing a couple of games where they had to think a little.

In the last couple of swim meets, I was all worried about Eric not getting disqualified on the Butterfly. Last week he was not disqualified and I rejoiced. This week, he was put in the Breaststroke, and I was worried all over again. Before the race, I told Natalie that maybe she should give Eric a few tips about how to swim Breaststroke. Eric heard me and replied, "I know how to swim Breaststroke." Patrick laughed and said, "Ok, I guess he knows how to swim Breaststoke." In other words, Mama--leave him alone! I shouldn't have worried. Coach said he was the only kid that was swimming Breaststroke legally in his heat. Yay, Eric!

The following are the results from yesterday's meet:

Event 2--Boys 8 and under 100m Freestyle Relay--3rd place with a time of 2:17.15

--Eric swam the second leg. The other Summerfield relay team was disqualified, so at least we got some points from Eric's team.

Event 14--Boys 7-8 25m Freestyle--8th place with a time of 29.72

--Eric finished at about the same time as his seed time of 29.75, so he is getting more consistent.

Event 26--Boys 7-8 25m Backstroke--5th place with a time of 36.47

--No goggle mishaps this week, and he seemed to be breathing the whole time as opposed to when Natalie was practicing with him and she told him that he didn't have to hold his breath during the Backstroke.

Event 44--Boys 7-8 25m Breaststroke--5th place with a time of 45.38

--Three of the eight boys that swam in this event were disqualified. Eric wasn't one of them! He even improved on his (non-legal) time he swam during the time trials to find out how fast the kids were. That time was 1:01.81. Eric is just getting better and better!

Event 64--Boys 8 and under Medley Relay--Disqualified

--I wasn't there for this one, again because I had to leave after Natalie swam her Butterfly. It was already after noon, and I just couldn't take any more advantage of my colleague who was staying extra for me. Eric was switched at the last minute to a different team and his coach gave him a choice--to swim Butterfly or to swim Breaststroke. Eric chose Breaststroke. In the past two meets, he has done the Backstroke in the Medley Relay. The team that he was originally supposed to be on was the only team out of three that was not disqualified. Patrick doesn't know why Eric's team was disqualified, because he was really only watching Eric, and he said Eric was legal. That's all that matters--and that Eric had fun.

As for Natalie's performance during the Girls 11-12 100m Medley Relay yesterday (that I missed), Patrick said she did a fantastic job. Natalie says no pain today. Yay!

That's all for the swim meet this weekend. Next week is another away meet.

First Swim Meet Since October

Natalie swam today, in her first swim meet since October. It's been a long road with many ups and downs. Today went well in that she wasn't hurting before or after her races. We'll see how she feels tomorrow and beyond.

This is just a photo of what her friend Anna wrote on her back. They write silly things on their backs for swim meets, and it was nice to see Natalie smiling and laughing and enjoying herself.

This is the usual picture that I get when I try to get a picture of her. She either turns her head, holds something in front of her face so I only get a picture of the item and not her face, or she looks indignant that I dare to take a photo of her. At least this is a good photo of her pretty teeth after her braces were removed! :)

Soon after we got to the neighborhood pool, we found out that one of the older girls was sick and couldn't come to the meet. One of the coaches asked Natalie to swim the 50m Freestyle in the Girls 15-18 200m Freestyle Relay in that girl's place, so we wouldn't have to forfeit the points our team gets from relays. Natalie was more than willing, although a little afraid since she hasn't done a 50m Freestyle in a race since September. Patrick is usually the most cautious, wanting only to protect Natalie from doing too much too soon. Natalie swam in that race, and she did great. That set the tone for the rest of the meet.

Natalie had asked Alex to come to her meet since he was at home and it was a home meet. He really made her day when he showed up and watched three of Natalie's races and three of Eric's races. He told me he would not have minded staying longer, but he had a friend who spent the night and who was with him, and he didn't want to burden his friend with having to stay for this very long meet.

Natalie for once, agreed to get her picture taken and just look at that beautiful smile! Alex only consented to being photographed if he didn't have to look at the camera. I'm not sure if he was trying to look cool or what. I still LOVE this photo!

It was good to see Natalie's pre-race routine again, with the stretches and pops and all. I took mostly video of all of their races. I had to leave before they both swam in the Medley races, because I had asked a friend to extend her Friday overnight call to cover me this morning, and I didn't want to abuse her favor any more than I had to.

Two of the other swim parents, who have always been so complementary of Natalie's swimming, came up to me today saying that they were excited that Natalie was swimming today. They both said they missed seeing her swim because she is so "beautiful" when she swims, and that they were looking forward to seeing her swim today. My heart was just bursting with joy at how kind they were!

The rest of this post is just statistics for me to remember, so feel free to skip it.

Event 9--Girls 15-18 200m Freestyle Relay--2nd place with a time of 2:35.44

--Natalie swam the anchor leg on our "B" team, meaning that it was the slower team. One of her teammates, who is 15, doesn't even dive off the blocks. It's great that she still swims on the team, because she has gotten slightly better over time, but she is not fast. Natalie said she felt a little hesitant to dive off the blocks herself, because she hasn't done it since October, but she looked good, and she had a decent time. She also made up a little ground on the other teams during her leg.

Event 17--Girls 11-12 25m Freestyle--2nd place with a time of 16.25

--Natalie was beaten by her frequent relay teammate Rylee. Rylee has always been fast at Freestyle, but she also started swimming year round this past year when Natalie has not been swimming. Natalie looked noticeably disappointed. Of course, Patrick and I were trying to reassure her as we always do, that she just started swimming again and she should expect an upward curve, but not right away. She had planned to not take a breath for the whole 25m, but she said she ended up taking a breath and she felt like that slowed her down. Rylee finished with a time of 15.44 sec.

Event 29--Girls 11-12 25m Backstroke--1st place with a time of 17.97

--Natalie won by a couple of body lengths. The girl who got second place had a time of 20.06 sec. Before the race, Natalie said she felt unsure of her stroke count to get to the wall (since in backstroke, you can't see the wall), so she had to look a couple of times before she finished. She did such a great job, and this is when I took that photo of her with Alex above.

Event 57--Girls 11-12 25m Butterfly--1st place with a time of 17.00

--The parents I mentioned above (and some others) always tell me how beautiful Natalie looks especially when she swims butterfly. Her teammate Rylee got second place with a time of 17.72 sec. Everyone else was two seconds behind them. Natalie's times are about the same as last year, so I feel confident that if she stays healthy, she start dropping time again.

Event 67--Girls 11-12 100m Medley Relay--1st place with a time of 1:23.60

--I had to leave after Natalie's Butterfly race, because I had to go to work, so I didn't see this one. Based on the results sheet, they won by 7 seconds, and Natalie swam the Freestyle (fourth) leg. Patrick said he took video of the race, so I'm looking forward to watching it when I get home tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'll give Eric his own blog post. We have so many things to be proud of him for, and I want to give him his own space.

First Boomerang

Alex and Eric have been talking about riding on a rollercoaster together this summer. I had the day off yesterday, so after Patrick and I got back from exercising at the gym, we went to Fiesta Texas. Our main intent was to get our season pass cards. I already bought the season passes a couple or so months ago, so we had the vouchers already.

They made a nice change this year by allowing you to get your season pass cards right when you first come in through the gate. We scanned the vouchers then they gave us cards without having to go to the season pass center that was formerly deep within the park. Unfortunately, I messed up when I held out Eric's voucher, and we still had to go to the season pass center, but at least that was now located a short distance from the entrance. There was no line, so it took less than a minute then we were good to go.

The Boomerang rollercoaster was located another short distance from there. Alex told Eric to go up to the marker to see if he was tall enough to ride. He was! As you can see from the photo, Eric's head falls within the "Yes!" area. This picture shows part of the ride. There are two of those vertical loops plus a "corkscrew" and you go frontwards AND backwards through them!

Meanwhile, Natalie got a little less crabby when Patrick bought her a strawberry frozen lemonade while we were waiting for Alex and Eric. When we met Alex and Eric at the ride exit, Alex said that Eric didn't like the ride and said it was "scary". He speculated that was because the shoulder harness didn't come down very far on Eric, since he was just above the lower end of what the ride allows. Eric seemed okay though, and gave his father a high five for finishing the ride. He seemed up for another rollercoaster, just maybe not the Boomerang.

We left the park right after that. The kids weren't feeling up to staying and it was noon and we were all hungry. Alex wants to eventually ride the "Batman" rollercoaster which just opened a couple of weeks ago, but the line for that one would be really long today, and the rest of us didn't want to wait for him. He would have more fun waiting in line with his friends anyway.

I can't resist taking "from behind" photos. I love these kids and I love spending time with them!

Tigersharks Pool Party

Our neighborhood swim team had their pool party and team picture yesterday, June 10th. We got there promptly at 5pm, when we were told we were supposed to be there. A lot of the smaller kids were already there swimming in the pool, so they assistant coaches got them out of the water so they could line them up by age and sex. They went up to the 11-12 group, then the rest of the older kids got in one photo. There aren't that many older kids anyway.

Natalie immediately refused to get in line, as did most of the older kids. I felt sorry for some of the small kids that had to be in those lines, some in the sun, for a good half hour to hour waiting. Some of the more sun-sensitive kids should have worn their shirts because they were already red when they got in line. At least Eric seemed to enjoy himself because he got to talk to his friends who were sitting near him. Natalie chatted with her friends in the shade a distance away.

As per the tradition started last year by the current swim team parent representative, they took photos of smaller groups of kids as well as the big group photo of everyone. I didn't feel the need to take my own photos, but I had to take this one, because it is more of a closeup of Eric with a couple of his teammate friends.

Natalie was crabby anyway, but she complained after the Girls 11-12 group photo that she didn't like the photographer because she was telling Natalie and the other girls where to stand and that they should get their hair out of their face. I told her that I totally empathized with the photographer because it's hard to get big group photos. You have to space everyone out to get a good photo, and trying to get them to all look in one spot is a challenge. Natalie was probably upset with her because she didn't want Natalie to wear her shorts. Natalie gets a bit self-conscious about her eczema on the back of her legs, which isn't that bad right now. The photographer just wanted a uniform look, which does make for a better photo.

Patrick couldn't resist capturing a photo of some of the parents that had to take their own photo besides the designated photographer (the one in the middle in the dress). The official photo isn't up on the website yet, so I wasn't able to download it so I could post it here. I really empathized with the photographer here, having been in her place many times. It's so hard to get everyone to look at you, especially when the people in the photo have so many cameras to look at.

I had actually walked up to the pool while Patrick took the kids in the van. I needed some exercise and walking was a nice way to get it. So, when Natalie said she wanted to go home after the group photo, I told her she could walk back with me. She hesitated, but she did walk back home with me. Patrick and Eric stayed to eat the pizza, that finally arrived at 6:30pm. Natalie and I had left the pool around 6pm. Pictures took a whole hour.

Even though she was crabby all day, Natalie did get a little less crabby when we were walking together, she was even a little pleasant. I do miss chatting with her on the way to club swim practice. She had originally said she was going to club practice tonight (Thursday), so hopefully she'll feel up to it.

Braces Off!

Natalie got her braces off this past Tuesday (June 9th). She was originally going to get them off on Monday the 8th, but Patrick was driving back to town after spending the weekend in Dallas, so he postponed it for Tuesday. It was a longer appointment because they had to make a mold for her retainer, and then Patrick took all of them to lunch at Panera Bread.

Natalie did not want me to take any pictures at all, so I had to settle for this one that I got off of Photo Stream. She seems to smile the biggest for selfies. One of these days she will have a steadier hand and not have so many blurry photos, but I love that she included her brother in this one. The item at the bottom looks like the handle of his lightsaber. He loves his sister but still wants to be a Jedi.

We bought her some snacks on Sunday that she can eat now that her braces are off, including gummy treats and popcorn. Dove milk chocolates were also on sale at Target, and those are her favorite, so I also bought some of those. I don't think she has been overindulging, however, because she seems to feel the pressure that all /preteen/teenage girls do nowadays to watch what they eat.

She didn't want any "before" photos, so of course she didn't want any "after" photos. She sent this one to me via Snapchat today. She's been a bit crabby lately, always due to that time of the month, but I had to smile when I saw this photo. I haven't seen her smile that big in...well, I haven't ever seen her with a smile that big!

Good Big Sister

This is a blurry picture of Natalie while we were at Willie's Icehouse on Saturday. It's blurry because I was trying to get a quick photo before Natalie started hiding her face, which she does every time she thinks I'm about to take a picture. Eric had his end of school year piano recital, and he chose to go to Willie's for dinner afterwards.

In the car on the way to the restaurant, I heard Eric squeal from the back seat. Natalie started laughing and said, "I was just affectionately rubbing Eric's arm....pit." In other words, she was tickling him. He didn't seem to mind being tickled, and they were having fun together.

Patrick went to a convention in Dallas this weekend, so he was not there to give Eric some tips during the swim meet, and to talk about Eric's butterfly and other strokes. I talked to Natalie about maybe taking Eric to the pool and giving him some "tips". She remarked that she saw Eric swimming the butterfly and that "he looked like he was about to die". She meant that he was expending way more energy than he needed to, because he was not swimming the butterfly correctly. She agreed to teach him.

We went to the pool on Sunday, and she spent a good half hour or so getting him to swim each stroke so she could tell him what he was doing wrong. She also told him what he was doing right. She spent much of the time on butterfly, but she told him something about each of his strokes. What was amazing to me was that Eric rarely pays much attention to what Patrick tells him about swimming, but with Natalie he was very attentive, even asking questions, making corrections, and showing her how he was swimming with the corrections--"Like this, Natalie?" She was also very patient with him.

They even played a game with water guns. They were each trying to shoot each other in the head, and if they succeeded, they could name the stroke that the other one had to swim. I took this photo when Eric was swimming the backstroke after Natalie shot him in the head. Without lan guides, Eric started swimming in a circle while doing backstroke. Natalie also got to swim some backstroke and breaststroke during their game.

For a few weeks now, Natalie has been reading to Eric every night before bed from Rick Riordan's book "Percy Jackson's Greek Gods". Even when Natalie wasn't feeling well, she still made time to read to him. They finished that book and now she is reading "The Lightning Thief" to him. I heard them in Eric's room so I walked in and immediately snapped this picture, catching Natalie before she could hide. She can be so sweet to Eric.

Patrick didn't get back until about lunchtime today. I was at work and the kids were all home this morning. Natalie walked with Eric to the playground so they could play on the swings. She had talked to me about it last night, but I was still a little surprised that they did that. They both got up early and got back before Alex woke up around 9am.

On Friday, Natalie and I were shopping at La Cantera Mall, when she told me that she didn't want to be a mother, and that she didn't think she would make a good mother. She then said that one of her friends said that she was a good big sister, because she made Eric something in class (they did some crafty things in her classes during the last week of school). I told her that being a good big sister was almost the same thing as being a good mother, except of course that being a mother was more work. She said, "Maybe I'll be a good mother then." She's a bit young for me to think about her being a mother, but Natalie is most definitely a good big sister, and that's good enough for now.

Summerfield vs. Inwood Hollow 2015

Yesterday was our second summer swim meet this year, and it was an away meet. This pool was tiny compared to our neighborhood pool, with only four lanes for racing. We were anticipating a long meet because of that, but it actually went until about 12:30, which is typical.

Natalie went to two swim practices this week, and she says she is still feeling "good", so we signed her up for next weekend's meet. Patrick went out of town, so she went with me to this one to support her team and so she could help me with Eric.

I didn't take very many photos at this meet, just a few of Eric plus videos of the five races he swam in so Patrick can feel like he was there. I love taking pictures of Eric with his swim cap on. It really changes what he looks like!

There was no rain this week, unlike last week, but the sun also didn't beat down like last weekend either--it was partly cloudy. We were able to get a shady spot under a permanent structure they had at that pool, so that was even better. Eric was busy reading his new book "Dinosaurology", so he didn't ask for the iPad at all.

Eric had asked for that book a month or two ago saying, "If I'm good, can I get Dinosaurology?" Really, he's usually "good", so that meant I was going to be getting it for him. He is the only child who, on a weekend morning after having breakfast, will say, "I might as well go ahead and put away the clean dishes" from the dishwasher. We have to ask the other two repeatedly, and then Natalie will say, "I thought I washed the dishes" when she hasn't. I told him "if he was good" then I would give the book to him on the last day of school. Well, that was on Thursday, so he got the book on Thursday.

Eric swam in the same five races he swam in last week, but this time, there were no disqualifications--more on that below.

Event #2 (Boys 8 and under 100m Freestyle Relay)
--Eric swam the last leg and his team came in 3rd place overall (out of four teams) with a time of 2:40.85. His team was made up of different boys than last week with a much slower time.

Event #14 (Boys 8 and under 25m Freestyle)
--Eric got fifth place overall (out of 13) with a time of 29.75, which was about the same as last week (when he got a time of 29.50).

Event #26 (Boys 8 and under 25m Backstroke)
--Eric was 9th overall (out of 13 boys that swam) with a time of 43.13, which was much slower than he swam last week when he had a time of 31.59. He was probably distracted, because he lost his goggles almost immediately after the start of the race, and he looked like he was about to cry as he swam his race. Natalie saw his face too, and rushed to the finish so she could comfort him as soon as he got out of the pool. What an awesome big sister! Anna R., one of Natalie's good friends, dove into the pool after the race to retrieve Eric's goggles from the bottom of the pool. Thanks, Anna!

Event #54 (Boys 8 and under 25m Butterfly)
--Eric was not disqualified this week! Before the race, I reminded him to move his arms together and his feet together, and he did it! Coach Cindy, who used to coach the neighborhood swim team and who Natalie credits with teaching her how to swim breaststroke, told me as she watched the race, that Eric was the only one in the pool at the time who was swimming legally. When he touched the end of the pool with one hand and I saw the stroke judge's hand go up, I thought for sure that he had been disqualified, but that must have been one of other boys. Eric placed third overall with a time of 52.19. I didn't care what his time was. I just wanted him to not be disqualified! Five of the eight boys who swam were disqualified.

Event #64 (Boys 8 and under 100m Medley Relay)

--Eric again swam the first leg, which was backstroke. He was much faster this time, with his goggles firmly in place. Neither Summerfield team was disqualified this time, and Eric's team got first place (out of three teams) with a time of 2:13.94.

Despite Eric's successful meet (as far as I'm concerned), our team lost the meet. That's okay, because all I care about are my kids anyway. Eric had fun, and Natalie had fun, even though she didn't swim. In fact, Natalie didn't even wear a swimsuit, and she made comments about how someone would have to loan her one if they wanted her to swim. She also made comments that she would look funny if she was loaned a "guy's swimsuit", so it would have to be a girls' swimsuit. What a goof. I'll be able to report on Natalie's races next weekend--crossing my fingers and saying some prayers!

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school. Yay! I am post-call, so I'm sleep-deprived, but it was worth it to be able to be here when the kids got home. This is a picture of Eric carrying his now huge backpack home from the bus. He brought home all of his workbooks and school supplies left from this year. He made some comment about his back "breaking" from the weight of his backpack, but when I offered to carry his backpack for him, he didn't want me to take it. I guess he just wanted to complain...or show that he could carry it himself.

When I showed him this picture, he told me, "You can probably send that to Anthony." I usually like to keep Anthony informed about what his younger siblings are up to. Anthony texted back, "What a goof :)".

For the record, Eric wasn't actually walking bent forward like that. He just did it so he could show how big his backpack was. It was so full that he didn't have room for his pencil case, which he carried instead.

Eric showed me this sheet of paper that they filled out in school. On the collar, it says "summer", which he says is his favorite season. On one sleeve it says "non-fiction and fiction", which are his favorite types of books. I think those two cover pretty much all books. :) On the other sleeve, he drew grapes and a blueberry, which are his favorite fruits. On the bottom, he wrote "jumping, swimming, and running", which are his favorite activities. I'm glad he didn't write "playing on the iPad", but that may be because he figured he isn't "active" when he plays on the iPad. The big number "6" is his favorite number. I had him write the other items around the shirt, like his name and "June 2015". He also put "favorite stuff" on there without my prompting him, but it makes the rest of the shirt more self-explanatory. As he was describing his "favorite stuff", he also explained that he colored the shirt in with two of his favorite colors. At the bottom right, he wrote "1. gold 2. orange 3.blue" for his favorite colors. I love that this piece of paper sums up what he is all about at this time.

He also brought his report card home. His grades were all 95-97, with all "E's" for "excellent". Interestingly, there were two other letters on his report card that stood for two standard messages. One was "A" for "Achievement is Outstanding". The other one was "X" for "Controlling Talking" which Natalie said she also got when she was his age. He also said that he was at a level "R" for reading, which is a fourth grade level. He's a smart kid like his siblings.

Natalie didn't say too much about her day. They made ice cream today, but she said it was a little salty because they must have gotten some of the salt they used to make the ice cream in the final product. She was apparently back to her old self this morning. Since last weekend she has complained of a headache and feeling dizzy. She even missed school on Tuesday because of it. We're not sure what is up with that, but today she must have been completely better, because she was talkative and silly this morning. Patrick texted me this morning saying that she told him, "Shooting somebody with a banana is totally legit!" Yes, that is what life can be like at our house. She even went to the neighborhood swim practice tonight, for the first time in a month. Her back was doing okay this week, but the headache thing kept her from swimming.

Eric wanted to wait to go out for ice cream until Natalie got home, so when she got home, we went to Brindles Awesome Ice Creams. Natalie told me that she wouldn't have come with us if we were going to Baskin-Robbins. Am I raising ice cream snobs, or what? We took a brief trip to Half-Price Books after ice cream. I had promised Eric that I would get the "Dinosaurology" book for him when school ended "if he was good", so I gave him that today, after buying it on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. I felt like I should also get Natalie a book too, and she picked one out after being in the store for a few seconds. She also got two monkey toys that I will have to describe in a different post.

Alex had early dismissal days yesterday and today. He only had one final exam this week, so he has been bored at school. He hung out with friends after school today. Patrick took him to Thin Air, a local trampoline park. Alex got a ride home and got home at about 7:30pm. He'll have some friends (we don't yet know how many) over tonight.

Also, Mindfest was earlier this week. Patrick and I volunteer for that every year, and it was originally started by the GT (Gifted and Talented) teacher that used to be at the kids' elementary school until she retired last year. The kids are broken down into small groups of 3-5, and they rotate through different stations where they get to do logic puzzles, brainstorming, and other activities designed to make them use their brain. This is a picture of Eric doing the tangram puzzles that I had at my station.

I had the first graders at one point, and they were supposed to name things that came in "pairs". Most of the answers involved body parts, like "eyes" and "ears". Occasionally, a kid would think of something more out of the box, like "nunchucks". One kid exclaimed, "Buy One Get One Free!" I'm still chuckling over that answer.

Summerfield vs. Canyon Springs 2015

Our first neighborhood swim team meet was this past Saturday morning. Natalie has not been swimming still, so she did not compete at the meet. Her back is feeling a bit better this week, but now she has been sick (headache, low grade fever, etc.). It's ironic that a few months ago, Eric said he didn't want to join the neighborhood swim team because he didn't like going to the meets. We told him that he would have to go to the meets anyway because we would be there with Natalie, and on Saturday, he was the one competing at the meet. Luckily, he has not complained about swim team or swim meets since swim team practices started on May 4th.

Eric is still a willing photography subject. I always have to take a picture of him in his swim cap because I think it's hilarious how the swim cap contorts his face by pushing down on his forehead. I adjusted it a little so that at least he could open his eyes more easily. :)

Eric swam in five events. This is a picture of his arm after I marked it with all of his events (E), the heats that he would be in (H), and what lane (L). I added another column for what position he would swim for the two relays. For the record, I wrote down his events on the heat sheet, so I would be able to keep track of when he needed to be at the starting block, but the arm writing is so that if any adult in charge wondered where he should be, all they had to do was look at his arm. The following stats are the results, with comments:

Event #2 (Boys 8 and under 100m Freestyle Relay)
--Eric swam the third leg and his team came in 2nd place overall (out of five teams) with a time of 1:45.97.

Event #14 (Boys 8 and under 25m Freestyle)
--Eric got second in his heat, and 11th overall (out of 24) with a time of 29.50.

Event #26 (Boys 8 and under 25m Backstroke)
--Eric got second in his heat, and 5th overall (out of 21 including four boys that were DQ'd) with a time of 31.59.

Event #54 (Boys 8 and under 25m Butterfly)
--Eric was disqualified. We expected that, but the coach wanted him to swim it anyway. Patrick tries to give him tips, but Eric doesn't really listen. Five of the eight boys that swam this race were disqualified, so he is in good company.

Event #64 (Boys 8 and under 100m Medley Relay)

--Eric swam the first leg, which was the backstroke. The boy who swam the second leg was supposed to swim breaststroke, but he was not even waiting at the end when Eric finished his leg. He was running from somewhere else, and then when he dove in, he started doing the freestyle instead. Needless to say, their team was disqualified. Eric was already out of the pool by the time that boy got in, and he knew that their team had been disqualified by the time I got to him to tell him what a good job he did.

We're not supposed to sit in the pool area, because space is limited there, and they wanted to limit the area to swimmers, volunteers, and spectators watching the particular race going on. In the past, we still sat in the pool area so we could direct Eric to wherever he needed to go. This time we put our chairs outside like we were supposed to. I still spent most of the time near Eric to make sure he got to where he needed, so maybe next time I'll go ahead and bring a chair.

Patrick said that I am more scarred than Eric from the time two years ago when he missed his race and got very upset. I doubt he even remembers that now. Eric came out to sit with us for the short break between his fourth and fifth races, to play on the iPad. I didn't want to leave the iPad with him because chances are that he would leave the iPad on his towel that was on the ground, and some kid would carelessly trample on it.

The morning started out cloudy and rainy. Luckily, the thunderstorms didn't come, and the rain stopped, but it did get a little hot when the sun came out. Still, it wasn't as hot as it has been in the past, so that was a good thing. Natalie came to watch most of the meet and also to chat with her friends. This is, of course, the only photo that I could get of her--hiding her face as usual. Hopefully she will start feeling better and be able to swim in some of the future meets. This Saturday will be the next meet. Wish us luck!

My Day with Eric

After I volunteered at Field Day, I checked Eric out of school and took him with me to North Star Mall. I had ordered a Star Wars Rebels swimsuit for him, a size 7/8, that was way too big, so we went to the Disney Store to exchange it for a smaller size. The size 7/8 went down to his ankles and wouldn't even stay up. The size 5/6 were at least somewhere below his knees and stayed up, but even then, I still had to take it in around the waist. Eric is just a little guy, that's all.

While I was making the exchange, he found a book about Marvel Superheroes, and started to read it. I let him do that for a bit even after I was done exchanging the swimsuit, then I tore him away so we could have lunch. His choice was Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets (10) and a small vanilla Frosty, of course. I got a large Great Wraps Mango Berry smoothie for us to share also plus a gyro for me. He was so full that he could barely have any of the smoothie. So much for sharing.

This trip was all about Eric, so I let him stay at the Lego store for quite a while. I tore him away a couple of times so I could get a little exercise. I didn't get to go to the gym since I had volunteered at the Field Day. He gave me a hard time, saying that he didn't want to walk anywhere. Still, when I did convince him to take a little walk with me, he was almost running away from me, so I tried to keep up and so I got at least a little active exercise.

There was almost no one at the Lego Store, quite different from when we were there last on Memorial Day weekend. I took that opportunity to get this photo of him staring at one of the Lego sets. He loves pretty much any type of Lego set. His favorites are currently Star Wars (and Star Wars Rebels, Ninjago, and the new Jurassic World sets.

I love how Eric really looks like he is studying the pictures on the box. Unfortunately for me, there are no seats at the Lego Store, so I got a bit tired of standing there. I wanted to give him plenty of time, but I wanted to walk around. I must have been tired from the morning activities and what exercise I got at the mall. When I finally tore him away from the Lego Store and the Disney Store, we went home and I took a two hour nap. Eric got some iPad time then.

In the late afternoon/early evening, I took him to the neighborhood swim practice, then I let him play with his friends for a while. Every Friday, a parent volunteer brings snacks for all the kids. Today's snacks were huge Klondike bars. One of the other parents talked about how parents like these raise the bar on the snacks. One of my friends took a photo of her daughter with ice cream all over her face. I thought that for sure, Eric would have the same ice cream face.

When I found Eric, he only had a little ice cream and a tiny bit of chocolate on his face, and there was only a tiny bit of chocolate in the wrapper. I suspect that he licked that wrapper clean, because there was no way on a hot day that the ice cream did not melt even a little.

After that big snack, we went home and gave him a bath, then he ate some Easy Mac. He didn't have much time after that before he had to go to bed promptly at 8pm. He was a little upset about not being able to stay up on a weekend night, but he had a swim meet the next morning.

Eric and I had such a full day, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I will miss this little guy when he grows up and doesn't want to spend the day with his Mama anymore.