Took T to the doctor today. Last Thursday he got really really sick - vomitting a couple dozen times, up all night moaning and groaning, his abdomen VERY distended. It spaced out some Friday and finally Saturday no more pukes and his belly was mostly flat again. But he was still having cramping. I suspected food poisoning (or a stomach bug but no one else got sick!). The doc concurred and said since he was still cramping that the bacteria was still probably there - so onto antibiotics he goes for 5 days. The last day being the day he leaves for Mexico.
D man started summer school last week and so far he's enjoyed it. (as best you can I guess?) Hes taking world geography to knock it out of the way. So he's at school from 8 til 5 for 3 weeks. In one day they crammed 4 weeks worth of work in. Amazing what they can get done in summer school when they really try. Why can't they focus and get mroe done during the school year? We also met w/ the counselor and set up the time for him to take the THEA - which is the college entrance test. He'll take that on the 21st. This will allow him to take the dual credit classes. He's already scheduled for 1 his freshman year. She also talked to him about his foreign language classes. He needs 2 years to graduate. He wanted french b/c of principal (hates all the spanish here by necessity) and also b/c he'd misunderstood and thought it was the only one available in the first 2 years as a dual credit (besides spanish). Turns out though - if he takes spanish dusl credit, on campus, that he can take it in 1 year - get 1 year college credit (the 2 semesters, so what? 6 credits actually?) but TWO years high school credit! That's the only language that does that. Amazing how his convictions are so easily swayed! So - now he's ready for spanish! lol! That will probably be his sophomore year though. He wants to graduate w/ as many college credits as he can - if not actually getting an associates WITH his high school diploma. And I'm like YEAH! Cuz it's FREE! Plus - then there's only 2 years of college left for him and he could have his bachelor's by 20 years old - and with his maturity - it totally works for him!
S and dad started back this AM from Virginia. They stopped for the night in Hickory NC. My bike has issues now. Apparently the Blue Ridge Parkway is VERY bumpy or something - and my bike has fairly poor suspension and it ended up rubbing the wires - so the brake lights and turn signals are OUT! They got settled in a hotel and dad went to bed. They were 15 miles from a friend's shop - so S went out there to see what he could figure out. (he didn't initially know what was wrong) Got things working but then blew the fuse again and immediately knew what happened - cuz it's happened before! (when we first got the bike) but there's no fixing it now. Everything mechanically is working - just not the lights. So Dad will lead home and S will be the turn signals in the back. If they take the time to fix it - it means taking the rear tire off and everything - and that's 1/2 a day lost. Hopefully they'll stay safe and nothing else goes wrong. Have to laugh that they are in Hickory though (I think of the Hemi commercial dude - he was on last comic standing and he's from Hickory - and it's the way he says it). Plus I felt very blessed that they ended up where they did b/c badx's shop was 15 miles away! Thank goodness for *E*friends!!!!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Stormy Weather, swimming, and 'the trip"
G had her last swim meet on the 21st and only swam in 2 races. Kind of bummed about that b/c the coach overlooked putting her in the butterfly or breast stroke for her age group, and didn't up her to the next age group for relay like he did last time. So no relays. Good news was her last race was the 14th so we were out of there before 10AM. No point and sticking around to watch races when she ain't swimmin' in them! ;) She did very well too. The morning prior I told her we'd go to family fun night at the Y but she had to swim her very best (no goofing off like she had done the night before) and she did SO well! And she did just as well at the meet. Knocked 11 secs off her freestyle and I think 2 secs off her back.
And it turns out she qualified for the state meet by both of those times! (the back was a *barely* qualify but still!) YAY! Not sure if we'll go to the state meet since it's several hours away and she'd have to swim on 2 different days for those races, but if she qualified for more, we'd definitely go! And this coming week - the coach set up time trials for the kids to try to qualify in areas they haven't yet. So she'll be trying in everything she can. From the 25m breast and fly; to teh 50s in all 4 areas; to the 100IM. Hopefully we'll get her qualified for something else. She also has another meet coming up on the 12th and that will give her the last chance to qualify for the state meet. The state meet is in Frisco (near Dallas) the last weekend of July.
Here's pics from the last meet.
All geared up and ready to go!
Ready for freestyle (JUST after the horn blew to go)
Ready for backstroke
On the way to the meet that morning, we saw a really cool cloud w/ the sun behind it. G said it looked like an alligator ready to chomp! lol!
On the 21st we had a viscious storm come thru. A tornado came a few miles north of us. Here's some pics from that day that other people took (got these off the khou.com website).
Luckily we didn't get a tornado! Whew! But we did have some viscious lightening and very strong cross winds. It ended up bringing part of a tree down from our yard - and hit the roof. Luckily no damage. Again - whew! Here's pics of the limb that came down but it was taken after S had already cut up part of it. During the storm he and the boys had to run out and drag it off the roof. They were SOAKED! Anyway - here he is cutting up the tree (and sticking his tongue at me in the process - lol)
And where it broke off at the "V" in the tree
S left for Virginia (Fredericksburg) on Wednesday evening. Him and dad trailered the bikes up w/ a friend of ours and his wife. They made it last Thursday night and set up camp. It sounds like it's been a really good time. There was a ride planned for this AM and on the honda powersports window there was a big sign advertising the ride (and rally) and saying to come ride w/ pepsx (friend) and cybrhick (S)! How cool is that? They had flyers too. He was supposed to have gotten a pic of it and brought home a flyer. We'll see. Dad seems to be handling things okay too and really enjoying himself. I'm jealous b/c I'd love to be there! The friend was packed up this afternoon and has headed out to come back home. S and Dad will head home tomorrow morning. They are hoping to make 500 miles a day but the mountainous area can make for slower riding - so they might not make that the first day or 2. Potentially they could be back late Wednesday night but it could be as late at Thursday evening. Depends on weather and how far they get each day. they will be staying in hotels - Dad has had enough of camping! lol! Hopefully they make it home safely and quickly. We're missing them bunches!!!
And it turns out she qualified for the state meet by both of those times! (the back was a *barely* qualify but still!) YAY! Not sure if we'll go to the state meet since it's several hours away and she'd have to swim on 2 different days for those races, but if she qualified for more, we'd definitely go! And this coming week - the coach set up time trials for the kids to try to qualify in areas they haven't yet. So she'll be trying in everything she can. From the 25m breast and fly; to teh 50s in all 4 areas; to the 100IM. Hopefully we'll get her qualified for something else. She also has another meet coming up on the 12th and that will give her the last chance to qualify for the state meet. The state meet is in Frisco (near Dallas) the last weekend of July.
Here's pics from the last meet.
All geared up and ready to go!
Ready for freestyle (JUST after the horn blew to go)
Ready for backstroke
On the way to the meet that morning, we saw a really cool cloud w/ the sun behind it. G said it looked like an alligator ready to chomp! lol!
On the 21st we had a viscious storm come thru. A tornado came a few miles north of us. Here's some pics from that day that other people took (got these off the khou.com website).
Luckily we didn't get a tornado! Whew! But we did have some viscious lightening and very strong cross winds. It ended up bringing part of a tree down from our yard - and hit the roof. Luckily no damage. Again - whew! Here's pics of the limb that came down but it was taken after S had already cut up part of it. During the storm he and the boys had to run out and drag it off the roof. They were SOAKED! Anyway - here he is cutting up the tree (and sticking his tongue at me in the process - lol)
And where it broke off at the "V" in the tree
S left for Virginia (Fredericksburg) on Wednesday evening. Him and dad trailered the bikes up w/ a friend of ours and his wife. They made it last Thursday night and set up camp. It sounds like it's been a really good time. There was a ride planned for this AM and on the honda powersports window there was a big sign advertising the ride (and rally) and saying to come ride w/ pepsx (friend) and cybrhick (S)! How cool is that? They had flyers too. He was supposed to have gotten a pic of it and brought home a flyer. We'll see. Dad seems to be handling things okay too and really enjoying himself. I'm jealous b/c I'd love to be there! The friend was packed up this afternoon and has headed out to come back home. S and Dad will head home tomorrow morning. They are hoping to make 500 miles a day but the mountainous area can make for slower riding - so they might not make that the first day or 2. Potentially they could be back late Wednesday night but it could be as late at Thursday evening. Depends on weather and how far they get each day. they will be staying in hotels - Dad has had enough of camping! lol! Hopefully they make it home safely and quickly. We're missing them bunches!!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Ground control to Major Tom
T minus 3 days and counting for my trip to Virginia. We ran into some snags this weekend (what's new) and it looked as if my Father-in-law was not going to be able to make the trip because we could not get all three bikes on the trailer. After several phone calls and a couple forum posts we were able to find 2 usable trailers. We decided to use the one that was closest and easiest to get ahold of. Today we will load the bikes, strap them down for the trip, and hopefully the stress will subside.
I've packed my clothes, camping equipment, parts I will be giving away as door prizes at the event we are going to, and I am now just ready to get on the road. I've been looking forward to this ride for quite some time now. Not so much the ride to Virginia, because nobody wants to show up at a motorcycle event with their bike on a trailer. But because of time restraints, we will be "trailer trash" for the ride up. LOL. But I'm really looking forward to the return trip which the FIL and I will do on the bikes while my friend tows his own bike and all our camping equipment home for us. We will take four days to make the 1500+ mile trip home through some of the most beautiful roads our country has to offer. We will leave Virginia Monday June 30th and head north to DC to get a few photos (Arlington Cemetary, White House, The Wall, Etc. Along the way we will ride Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. We'll take in US 129. (aka: Deal's Gap, or the Tail of the Dragon) The Gap boasts 318 turns over an 11 mile stretch of road. For the motorcyclist, (not biker) this is Mecca. This is the single stretch of road said to separate the men from the boys. Often times it merely separates the overzelous rider from his/her bike. We will ride this stretch of pavement a few times, claiming to be "Dragon Slayers", and move on. The excitement of not knowing what we will see, who we will meet, or what kind of weather we will encounter along the way is part of the fun. Part of the fun is just to say I did it. And still part of it will be getting to know the FIL a bit better as we spend a week on the road together. It's kind of ironic really. Originally the plan was for my youngest son to ride along with the FIL for a week in his 18 wheeler, but due to the fact that the FIL has lost his job, the son's cross country ride with "Papa" has become "Papa's" cross country ride with me. LOL.
I'm also looking forward to spending a couple days with probably 200 people I only know through an internet motorcycle forum. People who have helped to build my part time motorcycle parts business over the past 2+ years. People of varied age, race, religion, and geographic background. People whom I respect. And all of us converging on Fredericksburg, VA for a couple days of food, riding, and getting to know each other beyond a screen name.
But even with all the anticipation, I can't help but feel anxiety as well. I know that this trip will be physically taxing on both myself and my FIL. Tmps for the return trip are expected to climb into triple digits, and I know that both of us will need to stay very aware of our core temp and keeping ourselves hydrated in order to make it home. Also, the process of preparing for this trip has taken quite a bit of time, and I have not been able to spend near as much time with the family over the past two weeks as I would have liked to. And I know that although I may crave the testosterone filled wonder of a guys trip halfway across the US, I also wish my wife were able to be riding at my side, enjoying the roads and the food along the way. I will miss her so much. There is no doubt of that. But arriving home after 8 days away, I'll really be happy to get back home.
I've packed my clothes, camping equipment, parts I will be giving away as door prizes at the event we are going to, and I am now just ready to get on the road. I've been looking forward to this ride for quite some time now. Not so much the ride to Virginia, because nobody wants to show up at a motorcycle event with their bike on a trailer. But because of time restraints, we will be "trailer trash" for the ride up. LOL. But I'm really looking forward to the return trip which the FIL and I will do on the bikes while my friend tows his own bike and all our camping equipment home for us. We will take four days to make the 1500+ mile trip home through some of the most beautiful roads our country has to offer. We will leave Virginia Monday June 30th and head north to DC to get a few photos (Arlington Cemetary, White House, The Wall, Etc. Along the way we will ride Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. We'll take in US 129. (aka: Deal's Gap, or the Tail of the Dragon) The Gap boasts 318 turns over an 11 mile stretch of road. For the motorcyclist, (not biker) this is Mecca. This is the single stretch of road said to separate the men from the boys. Often times it merely separates the overzelous rider from his/her bike. We will ride this stretch of pavement a few times, claiming to be "Dragon Slayers", and move on. The excitement of not knowing what we will see, who we will meet, or what kind of weather we will encounter along the way is part of the fun. Part of the fun is just to say I did it. And still part of it will be getting to know the FIL a bit better as we spend a week on the road together. It's kind of ironic really. Originally the plan was for my youngest son to ride along with the FIL for a week in his 18 wheeler, but due to the fact that the FIL has lost his job, the son's cross country ride with "Papa" has become "Papa's" cross country ride with me. LOL.
I'm also looking forward to spending a couple days with probably 200 people I only know through an internet motorcycle forum. People who have helped to build my part time motorcycle parts business over the past 2+ years. People of varied age, race, religion, and geographic background. People whom I respect. And all of us converging on Fredericksburg, VA for a couple days of food, riding, and getting to know each other beyond a screen name.
But even with all the anticipation, I can't help but feel anxiety as well. I know that this trip will be physically taxing on both myself and my FIL. Tmps for the return trip are expected to climb into triple digits, and I know that both of us will need to stay very aware of our core temp and keeping ourselves hydrated in order to make it home. Also, the process of preparing for this trip has taken quite a bit of time, and I have not been able to spend near as much time with the family over the past two weeks as I would have liked to. And I know that although I may crave the testosterone filled wonder of a guys trip halfway across the US, I also wish my wife were able to be riding at my side, enjoying the roads and the food along the way. I will miss her so much. There is no doubt of that. But arriving home after 8 days away, I'll really be happy to get back home.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
swim team
The swim meet 06/27/08 was awsome! I knocked 11 points of my swimming seconds! The
last time it was 33.24, this time it was 22.06! Awsome,right?
(eta7/12: apparently it wasn't 22.06 but it was 32.06 once we got the official time sheets. She HEARD 22 from the timer and it may very well have been (but I kind of doubt it since she's never swam that fast since. In practice she's gotten as low as 27 and today she got 28.06 and ROCKED the competition but 22? Maybe. I didn't video the last one to see though. 32 was what was recorded though.)
last time it was 33.24, this time it was 22.06! Awsome,right?
(eta7/12: apparently it wasn't 22.06 but it was 32.06 once we got the official time sheets. She HEARD 22 from the timer and it may very well have been (but I kind of doubt it since she's never swam that fast since. In practice she's gotten as low as 27 and today she got 28.06 and ROCKED the competition but 22? Maybe. I didn't video the last one to see though. 32 was what was recorded though.)
Friday, June 20, 2008
swimming
Swimmer girls mom said she did good today but BEGS her to try HARDER!!!!!!!!!
(editted by "the mom" - I don't "beg" her to try harder - she did awesome at practice! I've never seen her swim so well and she never took a break! Now I know what she's capable of though! bwahahahahahahaha!)
(editted by "the mom" - I don't "beg" her to try harder - she did awesome at practice! I've never seen her swim so well and she never took a break! Now I know what she's capable of though! bwahahahahahahaha!)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Rants of a Teenage Nerd
WARNING!
NERD TALK AHEAD
TURN BACK NOW
I MEAN IT
In case your not familiar with wizards of the coast, (http://www.wizards.com/) it is a very popular comapny that has become quite rich on the re-release of a certian RPG game called Dungeons and Dragons.
I have accepted dnd (in all it's nerdage) into my heart and it now accounts for 10.7263547584763758473828% of my daily life.
However,
Wizards has released a new version of dnd. This is version 4.0 (duh, duh, DUH)
Woo hoo. At-will powers, paragon classes, epic classes, new races and classes, encounter powers, Yay!
How the he---- heck am I supposed to keep track of all this. Where are all the alignments, where are the gnomes and half orcs, no more multiclassing, no barbarian, no sorcerer, no monks, nothing!
Also, in case you dont know, dnd rules are located in hefty 3 lbs and up handbooks that range from $20-$40 each, and I need 3.
I have to download them on my computer and they range from 300 to 500 pages.
*sigh*
My life is so hard.
Yours truly,
Vanilla Dice.
NERD TALK AHEAD
TURN BACK NOW
I MEAN IT
In case your not familiar with wizards of the coast, (http://www.wizards.com/) it is a very popular comapny that has become quite rich on the re-release of a certian RPG game called Dungeons and Dragons.
I have accepted dnd (in all it's nerdage) into my heart and it now accounts for 10.7263547584763758473828% of my daily life.
However,
Wizards has released a new version of dnd. This is version 4.0 (duh, duh, DUH)
Woo hoo. At-will powers, paragon classes, epic classes, new races and classes, encounter powers, Yay!
How the he---- heck am I supposed to keep track of all this. Where are all the alignments, where are the gnomes and half orcs, no more multiclassing, no barbarian, no sorcerer, no monks, nothing!
Also, in case you dont know, dnd rules are located in hefty 3 lbs and up handbooks that range from $20-$40 each, and I need 3.
I have to download them on my computer and they range from 300 to 500 pages.
*sigh*
My life is so hard.
Yours truly,
Vanilla Dice.
Games and Father's Day and Funny Faces
We like to play games in the family. We have TONS of games. Heres a pic from when we were painting bedrooms and closets and had the games all taken out of the closet. At that time we counted over 30 games. We've added several since.
Here's el Tejano child w/ a spoon in his mouth - a challenge from Would you Rather - he had to keep it in his mouth for a couple rounds. The game involves LOTS of discussion. It was VERY funny!
We got a wii recently. Here's dice man and dad boxing. D ends up being knocked out.
T took the pics so they were very dark and when corrected - they are grainy but you get the idea.
Father's Day was Sunday. I had gotten off work that morning so I was VERY TIRED! I slept for about 4 hours and then got up to do stuff w/ the kids to get ready. Then "the dad" got to open presents. He got some fun goodies.
yay - presents! he-he-he! I's gots some gooooooodies!
Dad Rules - did you know that???? Now you do!
He got a Lastros, er, I mean Astros shirt (actually I really like the astros but pops calls them the lastros)
He got a fan - well, actually he's got a few. We're all big fans of his! But this was a working fan (cuz we're lazy - haha!) for the garage where it's HOT HOT HOT and he has his "office". This was a GOOD gift for him! It's also a turbo for the bike! Yeah! Dual function!
There was some fun w/ G
He got a cordless screwdriver
I guess he was scared! But then he thought some about it....
And realized some of the extra functions it has as well!
Flippin' sweet.
A self portrait of me and G while I vegged on the couch. I look SO energetic - eh? Geez, I'm just the picture of radiance and beauty when I've only had a few hours of sleep! lol!
Self portrait of G and pops - funny faces!
A much fought after pic of tejano boy actually smiling!
And what blog entry w/ pics would be complete w/out devious D man of course??
Here's el Tejano child w/ a spoon in his mouth - a challenge from Would you Rather - he had to keep it in his mouth for a couple rounds. The game involves LOTS of discussion. It was VERY funny!
We got a wii recently. Here's dice man and dad boxing. D ends up being knocked out.
T took the pics so they were very dark and when corrected - they are grainy but you get the idea.
Father's Day was Sunday. I had gotten off work that morning so I was VERY TIRED! I slept for about 4 hours and then got up to do stuff w/ the kids to get ready. Then "the dad" got to open presents. He got some fun goodies.
yay - presents! he-he-he! I's gots some gooooooodies!
Dad Rules - did you know that???? Now you do!
He got a Lastros, er, I mean Astros shirt (actually I really like the astros but pops calls them the lastros)
He got a fan - well, actually he's got a few. We're all big fans of his! But this was a working fan (cuz we're lazy - haha!) for the garage where it's HOT HOT HOT and he has his "office". This was a GOOD gift for him! It's also a turbo for the bike! Yeah! Dual function!
There was some fun w/ G
He got a cordless screwdriver
I guess he was scared! But then he thought some about it....
And realized some of the extra functions it has as well!
Flippin' sweet.
A self portrait of me and G while I vegged on the couch. I look SO energetic - eh? Geez, I'm just the picture of radiance and beauty when I've only had a few hours of sleep! lol!
Self portrait of G and pops - funny faces!
A much fought after pic of tejano boy actually smiling!
And what blog entry w/ pics would be complete w/out devious D man of course??
Swim Meet 6/7 - aka Eat My Bubbles!
Swim Girl had her first swim meet on the 7th. That was fun. Here's just how exciting it was.
We had to leave the house at 6 and be at the facility - which was downtown - by 7. So we all were tired! And it took forEVER to get started too. Not enough volunteers to run everything and no way no how was I goign to volunteer the very first time b/c I had no CLUE how things were run!
The kids got warmed up by swimming laps.
They had fun waiting for things to start by trying to psych out the other teams and just having fun together.
Swim Girl was in 3 races. The first was the 3rd race, 2nd heat (I think). the 7-8 yo girls, freestyle 25m. There were only TWO girls racing. Here's a pic but you can't see the other girl - she was in lane 1.
She came in 2nd place in that race. (or last but hey - it was TWO people! It's either first or last!)
The next race was the 14th, 2nd heat. Again 7-8 yo girls, 25m backstroke. She was excited about this!
She went against 4 girls this time. She said she came in 2nd, but really I think it was 3rd. I have the time sheet aroudn here somewhere (in the van I think) to say for sure. but it wasn't last and that was what mattered! lol!
Midway thru the day they have a coaches/parents relay race. Only our YMCA was the only one to have anyone participate. bummer! So we did it anyway! 1 dad, 1 grandpa, 1 mom and the coach. Here's teh coach doing the butterfly. (the other pics I got weren't great - mostly water splashing! lol)
So needless to say - our coach/parent team came in FIRST! (and last I guess too huh? LOL!)
G's last race was the 50th. (I think there were a total of 53 races that day) She was w/ 2 other teams from our Y as well. She was in the 50m free relay - in the 3rd position. Kind of scary since it was 50m and not 25 and also b/c it was a relay which they hadn't done or practiced yet. AND - she messed up. The coach told her when S touched the wall, to go. I'm sure it was more detailed than that but that's what she heard. So when S touched the 25m wall - she went! NOT when S got back to the 50m wall (and back to HER!). So here comes S back to the start and G is already in the water. Oh well. Should have been dq'd - but turned out they weren't. Still, slowest of all 3 teams. Not by much - 3 seconds. I have to wonder, how much longer had she actually waited??? LOL! Oh well - she did great and we were very proud of her!
Here's the coach making one of the kids do pushups before the relay for being mouthy (they harrass the coach so he harrasses back - w/ pushups - it was all in fun though. not mean)
Here's G ready for her race! the marker on her arms - are her race numbers. 3rd race free, 14th race backstroke, and 50th race 3rd position (for the relay). It got smeared w/ sunscreen. I am thinking next time though we'll write on her legs though b/c come sunday mornng and church we were STILL scrubbing to get sharpie off her arms! Legs can be covered w/ a skirt!
Congrats G!!!! you did a FABULOUS job and we're very proud of you!!!!
And btw - our YMCA came in FIRST w/ the combined scores, 2nd w/ boys and 3rd w/ girls (or vice versa - my sheet is in the car). YAY for our Y!!!!! And congrats to the coaches and team!!!!
The next meet is on the 21st. Looking forward to it! It's a lot closer so we don't have to get up QUITE so early, The Dad will be there to see it and we know she will only get better each time! She is LOVING swim team!!!
We had to leave the house at 6 and be at the facility - which was downtown - by 7. So we all were tired! And it took forEVER to get started too. Not enough volunteers to run everything and no way no how was I goign to volunteer the very first time b/c I had no CLUE how things were run!
The kids got warmed up by swimming laps.
They had fun waiting for things to start by trying to psych out the other teams and just having fun together.
Swim Girl was in 3 races. The first was the 3rd race, 2nd heat (I think). the 7-8 yo girls, freestyle 25m. There were only TWO girls racing. Here's a pic but you can't see the other girl - she was in lane 1.
She came in 2nd place in that race. (or last but hey - it was TWO people! It's either first or last!)
The next race was the 14th, 2nd heat. Again 7-8 yo girls, 25m backstroke. She was excited about this!
She went against 4 girls this time. She said she came in 2nd, but really I think it was 3rd. I have the time sheet aroudn here somewhere (in the van I think) to say for sure. but it wasn't last and that was what mattered! lol!
Midway thru the day they have a coaches/parents relay race. Only our YMCA was the only one to have anyone participate. bummer! So we did it anyway! 1 dad, 1 grandpa, 1 mom and the coach. Here's teh coach doing the butterfly. (the other pics I got weren't great - mostly water splashing! lol)
So needless to say - our coach/parent team came in FIRST! (and last I guess too huh? LOL!)
G's last race was the 50th. (I think there were a total of 53 races that day) She was w/ 2 other teams from our Y as well. She was in the 50m free relay - in the 3rd position. Kind of scary since it was 50m and not 25 and also b/c it was a relay which they hadn't done or practiced yet. AND - she messed up. The coach told her when S touched the wall, to go. I'm sure it was more detailed than that but that's what she heard. So when S touched the 25m wall - she went! NOT when S got back to the 50m wall (and back to HER!). So here comes S back to the start and G is already in the water. Oh well. Should have been dq'd - but turned out they weren't. Still, slowest of all 3 teams. Not by much - 3 seconds. I have to wonder, how much longer had she actually waited??? LOL! Oh well - she did great and we were very proud of her!
Here's the coach making one of the kids do pushups before the relay for being mouthy (they harrass the coach so he harrasses back - w/ pushups - it was all in fun though. not mean)
Here's G ready for her race! the marker on her arms - are her race numbers. 3rd race free, 14th race backstroke, and 50th race 3rd position (for the relay). It got smeared w/ sunscreen. I am thinking next time though we'll write on her legs though b/c come sunday mornng and church we were STILL scrubbing to get sharpie off her arms! Legs can be covered w/ a skirt!
Congrats G!!!! you did a FABULOUS job and we're very proud of you!!!!
And btw - our YMCA came in FIRST w/ the combined scores, 2nd w/ boys and 3rd w/ girls (or vice versa - my sheet is in the car). YAY for our Y!!!!! And congrats to the coaches and team!!!!
The next meet is on the 21st. Looking forward to it! It's a lot closer so we don't have to get up QUITE so early, The Dad will be there to see it and we know she will only get better each time! She is LOVING swim team!!!
Last Day of School
I haven't updated in a while so I thought I'd try to do some separate posts and get things caught up. The last day of school was June 5. Lots of parties that week going on in G's school and lots of testing going on at the jr. high.
I didn't go to G's party b/c I had a ton of errands to run and ended up being late. She wanted me there at 1130 but i didn't get this til 1215. And school let out at 1230. So I didn't get any pictures. Bummer! We gave her teacher a nice picture frame that says "friends" (all the teachers call the kids friends for some reason) and had some pictures I'd taken of the class on the arboretum field trip as well as an individual shot of G. Turns out Mrs. S will not be coming back next year. Darn! She was a good teacher and we'll miss her but she's working on her masters (or principal-ship?) and this is her last year. She said she did plan to sub though. G was given her phone number and email address and Mrs S's daughters invited G over to swim anytime. lol! G's report card was good too. All As - all year long. G was sad to see the end of school come b/c now she has 2 months w/out any school and she really likes it. Bummer! (me on the other hand am THRILLED to have 2 months w/out school although I'm STILL having to get up early every darn day for swim team practice! haha)
The boys had an okay time I guess. All the finals were done - still waiting on T's report card to see what the grades were on those but D aced all his w/ high A's or 100's, except language arts while was an 89 on the final. He also got all As for the report card period. he was excited b/c that means MONEY MONEY MONEY MO----NEY! MO-NEY! (T struggled hard at the beginning of the year w/ his adjustment to jr high life and the life of all advanced and super advanced classes plus and extended day class. Plus being a pre-teen and getting the slacker attitude at times. So we put a monetary value on grades this year hoping to motivate him since he loves money so much. It didn't work too much. D loved it though! Had to do it for both if I was doing it for one. Told G that it didn't apply to her until jr high)
T's report card - like I said we're still waitingo n the final grades and all that but for the 9 weeks I was able to check online. He did well, except in history which was a bummer. B/c I know he tried really hard. I'm not sure what happened except they just didn't have a lot of assignments. He did end up failing the 9 weeks but I dont think it will affect him for teh year. I should get his grades today though. His spanish grade was ONE point from a B - and that was the highest it'd been all year. I was very proud of him on that one! we did find out that despite his struggles he will still be in the magnet program again next year - and it should be easier for him b/c now he knows what to expect as well as not having the extended day class. (so he'll go from 7 classes to 6) Unsure if he'll have spanish or not next year. But he's hoping to improve his spanish enough that come 8th grade he can take the advanced class (if he doesn't take the 7th grade class this year) - which means only ONE year of spanish needed, instead of 2 (at the jr high level) for that high school credit. But you have to be fluent to get in to the 8th grade advanced class. After 6 years of spanish you'd think he would be - but he really doesn't get a lot of opportunities to speak it. So while he understands a lot - he doesn't speak it well at ALL. So the trip to Mexico is *hopefully* going to help him with that!!!!
So - the end of school came and D also was not thrilled w/ summer b/c he too likes school and gets bored easily at home. T was VERY excited for sme time off. I am too!
I didn't go to G's party b/c I had a ton of errands to run and ended up being late. She wanted me there at 1130 but i didn't get this til 1215. And school let out at 1230. So I didn't get any pictures. Bummer! We gave her teacher a nice picture frame that says "friends" (all the teachers call the kids friends for some reason) and had some pictures I'd taken of the class on the arboretum field trip as well as an individual shot of G. Turns out Mrs. S will not be coming back next year. Darn! She was a good teacher and we'll miss her but she's working on her masters (or principal-ship?) and this is her last year. She said she did plan to sub though. G was given her phone number and email address and Mrs S's daughters invited G over to swim anytime. lol! G's report card was good too. All As - all year long. G was sad to see the end of school come b/c now she has 2 months w/out any school and she really likes it. Bummer! (me on the other hand am THRILLED to have 2 months w/out school although I'm STILL having to get up early every darn day for swim team practice! haha)
The boys had an okay time I guess. All the finals were done - still waiting on T's report card to see what the grades were on those but D aced all his w/ high A's or 100's, except language arts while was an 89 on the final. He also got all As for the report card period. he was excited b/c that means MONEY MONEY MONEY MO----NEY! MO-NEY! (T struggled hard at the beginning of the year w/ his adjustment to jr high life and the life of all advanced and super advanced classes plus and extended day class. Plus being a pre-teen and getting the slacker attitude at times. So we put a monetary value on grades this year hoping to motivate him since he loves money so much. It didn't work too much. D loved it though! Had to do it for both if I was doing it for one. Told G that it didn't apply to her until jr high)
T's report card - like I said we're still waitingo n the final grades and all that but for the 9 weeks I was able to check online. He did well, except in history which was a bummer. B/c I know he tried really hard. I'm not sure what happened except they just didn't have a lot of assignments. He did end up failing the 9 weeks but I dont think it will affect him for teh year. I should get his grades today though. His spanish grade was ONE point from a B - and that was the highest it'd been all year. I was very proud of him on that one! we did find out that despite his struggles he will still be in the magnet program again next year - and it should be easier for him b/c now he knows what to expect as well as not having the extended day class. (so he'll go from 7 classes to 6) Unsure if he'll have spanish or not next year. But he's hoping to improve his spanish enough that come 8th grade he can take the advanced class (if he doesn't take the 7th grade class this year) - which means only ONE year of spanish needed, instead of 2 (at the jr high level) for that high school credit. But you have to be fluent to get in to the 8th grade advanced class. After 6 years of spanish you'd think he would be - but he really doesn't get a lot of opportunities to speak it. So while he understands a lot - he doesn't speak it well at ALL. So the trip to Mexico is *hopefully* going to help him with that!!!!
So - the end of school came and D also was not thrilled w/ summer b/c he too likes school and gets bored easily at home. T was VERY excited for sme time off. I am too!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend
Sunday we went to Kemah Boardwalk and enjoyed the view on the boardwalk, ate at Joe's Crabshack, and rode some rides. We had a really good time! Here's some fun family pics we have:
This pic is not that great of ME, but I LOVE the face swimmer girl is making (and it's a self portrait of us) plus the bunny ears el tejano is making behind us!
And dice boy looks OH so enthused! lol!
biker dude looking OH so feminine in this shot and dice boy is again looking thrilled to be there! haha!
The next day we decided to take a sail. We went out on the Capt Kidd - a 55' replica schooner. It was quite fun! Pretty windy which kept us tipped quite nicely and feeling like we were going to go diving into the water at any moment - if we were on that side of the boat. But it was very nice. Not hot at all - which was very surprising. B/c it was a very warm day - but the breeze kept us very cool! Swimmer girl got nauseous once - for about 20 minutes - and that was after an hour on the boat. We were out for 2 hours. Here's some fun shots of us:
The boat we went on (this was actually taken the day before!)
Pretending to be scared
Chillin' in the cool breeze.
A little wrestlin' never hurt anyone, right???
And some cool nature shots from the two days
(check out the doll - can you find it?? lol!)
This pic is not that great of ME, but I LOVE the face swimmer girl is making (and it's a self portrait of us) plus the bunny ears el tejano is making behind us!
And dice boy looks OH so enthused! lol!
biker dude looking OH so feminine in this shot and dice boy is again looking thrilled to be there! haha!
The next day we decided to take a sail. We went out on the Capt Kidd - a 55' replica schooner. It was quite fun! Pretty windy which kept us tipped quite nicely and feeling like we were going to go diving into the water at any moment - if we were on that side of the boat. But it was very nice. Not hot at all - which was very surprising. B/c it was a very warm day - but the breeze kept us very cool! Swimmer girl got nauseous once - for about 20 minutes - and that was after an hour on the boat. We were out for 2 hours. Here's some fun shots of us:
The boat we went on (this was actually taken the day before!)
Pretending to be scared
Chillin' in the cool breeze.
A little wrestlin' never hurt anyone, right???
And some cool nature shots from the two days
(check out the doll - can you find it?? lol!)
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