Swim Season is Almost Over

Luke and Pres


With only the districts meet left, the multiple practices a week have paid off greatly.  Both kids can swim all four strokes (some better than others), and they have continued to improve their times and endurance.  In fact, last weekend both kids swam their first 50 yard events (50 yd free and back), and were entered to swim all four strokes.  Though they still have lots to work on, it is amazing to watch them and see how far they have come.






For those who are unfamiliar with BSL and these meets, they are two day meets, with the young children swimming 8-12 each morning, and the older children swimming each afternoon.  Since they have to be there to warm-up by 7:15, it becomes a long morning.  As much as we love watching them swim, the events they participate in last less than a minute....and then we are waiting for the next event.

BSL cheering before meet starts

 

Needless to say, there is a lot of down time between events.  Thankfully they have friends there, but there are also a lot of ipads, coloring and eating going on between events.

P with Miss Taylor

Sunday was a little different though...the morning flew by due to all of the cheerleaders that came to watch the kids.  We need to thank Brian, Christian and Henley (Shannon was home with sick Lucy), and Preston's teacher!  Both didn't come and just watch one event, they stayed for a couple of hours.  It meant the world to the kids.  They both looked back at their cheering section when they were on the block, and then proceeded to give it their all.

What a weekend!

 

		6/10/2014	6/17/2014	7/8/2014	7/22/2014	9/27/2014	11/8/2014	1/31/2015
Bennett	25 yd free	34.67	34.52	33	32.75	31.63	28.22	25.54
	25 yd back	41.93	41.93	34.67	34.79	32.57	31.11	32.87
	25 yd breast	-	-	DQ	-	-	-	DQ
	25 yd fly	-	50.22	-	55.65	DQ		36.82
	50 yd free							62.52
	50 yd back							71.93
		6/10/2014	6/17/2014	7/8/2014	7/22/2014	9/27/2014	11/8/2014	1/31/2015
Preston	25 yd free	39.25	37.97	35.13	32.27	30.91	30.38	26.37
	25 yd back			39.17	33.43	29.31	29.31	26.63
	25 yd breast	-	DQ	-	-	-	-	-
	25 yd fly	-	-	38.27	42.82	DQ		29.52
	50 yd free							58.96
	50 yd back							61.5 (DQ)



3rd Annual Daddy-Daughter Dance!!

 

This is Bennett's third year in the Girl Scouts, and every winter (near Valentine's Day), there is a father-daughter dance with several other local troops.  Bennett LOVES this night!  She likes nothing more than getting dressed up and going on a date with her daddy.  They chose to try a newer, casual restaurant this year - Melt.  They specialize in gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.  Both enjoyed it.

Following dinner, they headed to the dance, which was at the McWane Science Center.  There they cut a rug, and then Bennett went and explored the museum with her friends.  They stayed the whole time, and had another wonderful evening together.

There is nothing better than our daughter learning how to be treated like a princess from a man who loves her more than anything.  Hopefully she will never forget to demand respect from any male in her life in the future.

White Boys Can Jump!

A year ago Preston received a basketball hoop for his birthday.  Initially he didn't play with it very much, but this fall he really started to enjoy it.  He goes out and throws baskets by himself, and loves to play "horse" with friends.  This winter we signed him up for basketball.  He loves it, and has really liked playing it the past couple of months.

We signed him up for the Upward league, which is a Christian run program.  They play every Saturday morning for one hour, practicing for 20 minutes, then getting introduced and playing four six minute periods with a short Bible message in the middle by the minister at the church they play at each week.  It is a well run program.  Following each game, we go into a little room where the boys all receive a snack, and then an iron-on star for whatever they excelled at that game (offense, defense, sportsmanship, Christ-like behavior, etc.) decided upon by his coach.

Initially he didn't get many baskets on their 8 feet high hoop, but the last few weeks he has consistently gotten at least one goal, if not two.  He is even learning to pass the ball.  Though he still travels some, he is getting better at his running and dribbling, and even getting assists.  For this age, they make the boys all wear a specific colored wristband that signifies their position, and matches a boy on the other team that they should be blocking.  Another great tool to help them learn the game, rather than having all 8 boys just chasing the ball.

Sadly it is coming to an end in a couple of weeks, but just in time for Spring baseball to begin.  These are pictures of Preston at his most recent game.

Happy 80th Birthday Mimi!

Last night we celebrated Myra's 80th birthday!!  We got the immediate family together (sans our children) and went to Gian Marco's to celebrate together.  As always, we had a phenomenal dinner....over talked, over ate and over drank! 

I know we all agree that she would do anything for any one of us, and for that we LOVE her.  After speaking with many friends, I also know that Michelle and I are quite fortunate to have a mother-in-law that we love.  Of course, her boys and six grandchildren love her too.

Happy 80th Birthday!!

Don't Shoot Your Eye Out!

xmas morning

Ever since Preston's visit to Peoria and Poppy's hunting camp, Pres has been infatuated with guns.  He has a whole arsenal of nerf guns, but he has been dying for a real gun.  Thankfully, Santa heard his wish and brought him a red rider bb gun.  He was over the moon when he saw it, and asked to shoot it every day over Christmas break.
Since Steve really wants to instill gun safety with him, he wanted to take him out to some land where he could shoot at targets and just have fun.  One of our friends, Ken Johnson, sells Benelli guns and has some property at his family lake house.  Since his son, Reid, is a good friend of Preston's and also has a bb gun, we took both of the boys out there to let them practice.  We threw a bunch of cans in the yard, and they aimed at them (they knew they hit one if they heard the ping).

Steve and Ken went over the rules (1. never point a gun at anyone, 2. wear safety goggles, 3. use the safety, 4. don't leave a gun cocked, etc.) and then showed them how to do it.  Reid has shot many times before, but Preston was just learning.  Over time, he did manage to hit some of the cans.  He loved hearing the "ping" and was pretty proud of himself when he connected.

They had a great time together, and I know Pres is eager to go hunting.  He really wants to learn more about guns, and maybe even shoot an animal sometime in the future.  Since we don't belong to a hunting camp, we will have to wait for an opportunity, but I am optimistic that Preston will like it whenever he gets to go.

Closing Out 2014!

2014 started off wonderfully with the birth of Walker!  It continued to go well, but FLEW by!  We took several vacations: 4 week long trips to the beach, an Oregon/Wine Tasting trip with just Steve and me, a hunting trip for Steve and some guys, and two girls trips for me....WHAT A YEAR!!  All of our children continue to thrive and do well in school.  And we all have our health, a blessing in itself! 

Though we had a heck of a year, we know there are some challenges ahead of us....with Steve more than likely changing jobs.  Since we don't know where that could take us, we are milking our time with family and friends and cautiously moving into 2015.


To celebrate the close of this past year, we dined with three other couples.  Alisha and Ken Johnson hosted us, and cooked everything...and it was divine!  We showed up at 6:30, and were promptly served prosecco.  We snacked on a few appetizers, and then sat down for our first course: scallops in a burre blanc!  In the past, I haven't really cared for scallops, but these were incredible and had awesome flavor.

me, Alisha, Kadie and Jennifer

The second course didn't disappoint either, with beef tenderloin and potatoes.  Complimented with some delicious wines along the way, we did not leave a bite on our plates.  We finished off our meal with biscotti and port.  All I can say is WOW!  We had a blast telling stories and making fun of each other, and was a perfect way to spend the night.  So bring on 2015, we are ready!!

Michael, Steve, Dan and Ken