Summer Sports

(courtesy of Holly)

Ok, it's hot. Like hot, hot starting about the second half of May. There's no mystery why our "summer sports" mainly involve water. :) I'd guess that AZ must produce some of the most competent swimmers from anywhere. Lots and lots of swimming:)
Swim and dive team are almost done already so I wanted to share the kids' accomplishments this year.

Sadie
She started the season fearless and seemingly unaffected by the fact that she had moved up to the 7-8 group, was half the size of some of the kids, and was still grabbing the lanes lines for every lap. I felt so grateful for her positive attitude.
 
She has a good friend just a few months younger, who is still in the 5-6 group (that I could carpool with), so I asked the coaches if she could swim with the 5-6 year olds- a much better fit for her. At first they said no, but then I think a little common sense kicked in as they watched her, and a few days later came to me and said she could. Yay!
Height-wise she definitely fit a lot better:)
 
And there's nothing like having a buddy to make the activity that much better! (And let's not forget that carpool!:)
 
Yesterday she told me she didn't grab the lane lines at all! I made sure I went today to watch her and see and sure enough- she didn't! She said "It's easy!" I think it had just become a habit and when she realized she didn't need to, she was surprised that she could get across without too much extra work. I'm so proud of her! My plan is to have her do one more year with the 7-8 group and then let her choose dive if she wants. (She sees Holly doing dive and thinks it looks pretty fun:)

The 5-6 years olds today sing-shouting the "If you hesitate you're gator bait!" chant.
 

She's also going strong in gymnastics. Holly recently moved up a level which meant different days, so I had to move Sadie out of the class she was in or I would have been driving to gymnastics 4 days a week, and  both ways to Sadie's class! So I moved her to level 2, one day per week instead of "Sparklers" twice a week. She was kinda sad at first first but has adjusted to her new class and is proving to be a pretty adaptable little girl.
 

Holly
Holly has loved doing dive again this year.
 

I have to admit, I like watching her dive.
 
She's not the best on the team but she tries hard. I think all these little divers are so brave. It's scary to try new dives!
Her first couple meets she got 8th place which pretty much just seems you're like middle of the pack.
 
Then at the last meet she got 6th and had to do an inward (stand backward, jump back and dive toward the board) to get it. She was pretty excited!!
 
Earlier that day she'd also been awarded "Diver of the Week"
 


She's also loving gym. She can almost do her back-handspring by herself now. She was SO excited when she found out she got to move up to "Pre-Team".
 

Eli
Eli's the only one not in a water sport. He has about a month left of karate and just earned his tan belt which moves him up to the "advanced belts" rank. This meant the belt test was longer and much more arduous.
 




At one point I guess they were testing him at black belt level when they shouldn't have been, and he got teary. It was kind of heartbreaking to watch. It made me think about how prone to tears I was as a kid. It's embarrassing and gives you unwelcome attention. But he persevered and made it through. They were proud of him for not giving up
.
Mr. Josh is a nice guy:)
 
And finally (after about 3+ hrs!) he got his tan belt.
 
Once school starts, he's going to start Cross Country and Dana's going to do a "Running Academy" with him at home. He even has certificates already ready-to-go for when Eli makes certain times, etc. :)

Emma
I was trying to remember, but I think this is Emma's 7th year doing swim team. She's become such an awesome swimmer. Dana raced her (can't remember which stroke) and they tied! (Update: Emma said she actually won by a little bit.) She's getting geared up for High School swim team. It's begins right when school starts. Everyone can sign up but you have to make certain qualifying times to compete. She may have a chance with breast stroke. She got 2nd in the meet for that stroke. But either way, it'll be a fun experience and a chance to make new friends.

She was a little nervous beforehand.
 
The nighttime meets are fun since the sun is down :)
 
"GOOO EMMA!!!"

Woo-hoo! Second place!
 
Can't wait to see how she likes the high school team! :)

We're keeping active this summer. We're doing a decent job of staying away from those electronics too!