Three Hammerheads

The girls had their first Hampton Park Hammerhead swim meet today after two LONG weeks of practice.  Four days each week, we spend 2 1/2 hours at the pool...hence "long".  The girls haven't complained and have actually been sad when it's been delayed because of thunder. So, the fact that they are enjoying it makes it worth it. I am looking forward to summer when we don't have to juggle piano, homework, and church activities on top of swim practice.  The only downside is having to get up at 7:15 to get them to the pool...not fun! 
But...back to today.  Our morning started out at 6:15 and our first event was at 8:00.  Despite our grumpy start, we perked up quickly after arriving to the pool surrounded by our neighbors & friends.  Everyone was so excited and the energy was extremely positive.  I wasn't prepared for the chaos of meet sheets, sharpies, and mites, but figured it all out pretty quickly.  Within minutes of arriving, a friend said Elise was in the first event which was a relay.  So....we got her to her group and waited for her to swim.  Our morning of shuffling our girls here in there for freestyle, backstroke, and even butterfly didn't end for three hours.  We were all pretty exhausted, but had so much fun (well, once Danny started sweating the fun started going downhill :0)).  The girls did such an AWESOME job!!!!!!  Anabelle won 2nd and 3rd place for butterfly and backstroke.  Elise won 1st in backstroke and Sadie won 1st in backstroke! All qualified for silver or bronze, so we might be going to champs in July (I'm still trying to figure out how this whole thing works). We definitely have some serious backstrokers in our family!  Danny and I are so proud of our girls.  All of them handled the pressure well and applied all of the skills their coaches have taught them with each event.  I was simply beaming! 
So...one meet down, five more to go :0)!  Here are some pictures from the day~

 Eat my bubbles was the theme of the day :0).

 Anabelle after her butterfly event & sporting her new swim cap.

 Danny & Elise with her first place ribbon.

 Sadie on the block & ready.

Elise on the block & ready!
Go Hammerheads!

Kindergarten Word Wall Ball

 Sadie had her Word Wall Ball a few weeks ago where all of the kindergarteners celebrate learning their required list of word wall words.  Sadie was SO excited!

 Here she is with her teacher, Mrs Handzel all dressed up for the occasion.

Here she is with her dance partner Chase.  I asked if I could take her picture with him and they instinctively held hands!  How sweet is that?

Here's a little of Sadie's dancing moves. 

Color Me Rad!

So I signed up for a short race...short because I've had knee issues again along with a nice foot injury.  If you're thinking about trying out the whole barefoot running craze, don't do it!  I didn't actually go Kenya style and run barefoot, but I did buy "minimal shoes" to help my body adjust to running barefoot.  After 3 runs in my new flat thin shoes, my foot landed funny on an uneven surface and I pulled my arch.  It's been two months and it still hurts.  Anyway...I signed up for a 5k because I think my ol' body can handle it :0).  The cool thing about this race is they spray you with all kinds of crazy paint colors while you run.  FUN!!!!  I got my friend to run with me, so it should be a good time!  I can't remember the last time I got messy just for the fun of it!  Oh will my girls be jealous! 

Dow Theatre

On a whim, Danny decided to build a stage for the girls.  They are always putting on plays for us in the attic and recently created a new backyard venue in the grass, so he thought it was something they would use a lot. Boy do they ever!  After just about an hour, my amazing hubby had the stage completed.  I was pretty impressed!  So far, I've seen multiple plays and musical numbers.  I think all we need now is a chalkboard sign. My favorite show was the one they created for Mother's Day.  It was short, but oh so sweet.  You can watch it below.

 

Happy Birthday Calvin!

Calvin turned one on April 24th.  The girls put a little party together to celebrate complete with Frosty Paws and two of Calvin's friends...Duke and Lucy.  He even got presents!

Little Ballerina

Sadie had her dance recital a few weekends ago and did a fabulous job.  She had two dances...one was ballet to a Little Mermaid song and the second was a jazz number to the tune of Crocodile Rock.  She said she was only a little nervous.  I also included a picture of her with her teacher who came to see her at the dress rehearsal.  After a long day at work, she picked up her two little ones and zipped on over to see Sadie.  How nice is that???

Crabtree Falls

We spent two nights at Crabtree Falls and had a great time despite the 30 degree temperatures at night :0). Here's Elise with her giant fire that made mom nervous and a view of the river that was right next to our campsite. The kids spent most of their time here and wished the water was a little warmer. Danny even got adventurous here and decided to show the kids that he could leap over the falls. Do as I say...not as I do...right? I was impressed that he made it and amused that he fell in while walking back to the side.

Calvin came along with us and seemed to enjoy himself. His lab instincts really came out along the river. He pranced along the rocks and loved being in the water. After along day though he reverted back to his cushy lifestyle. The dirty ground was not for him. He preferred to lounge on the chairs and sleep in the air mattresses with us.

On Friday we hiked up to the top of Crabtree Falls with minimal whining. We're getting better. It's the biggest waterfall east of the Mississippi and a pretty steep 1.7 mile climb up. It doesn't sound long, but it was. Despite the incline it was a beautiful walk with amazing views on the way.