Ribbons and Medals Galore - Oh My!

I wanted to share a picture of Cooper with his beautiful new bulletin board full of this Summer's awards.  He is so proud to have his own display that shows how hard he worked this year!

Not bad for a 4 year old!

Way to go, Coop!

Surrounded by Champions!

Seven Hills wins City Meet!

For the 9th consecutive year, Seven Hills is the City Champion and brought home the trophy for the big end-of-meet party at the club.  As in years past, they mowed a message in the hillside and this year it says: 7 Hills Again!  Way to go, Barracudas!

Monday night was the swim team banquet where they give participation trophies, City Meet medals, and individual recognition awards.  Cooper was super excited to get his medal for placing 8th in the City on his Freestyle Relay.  He also got a participation trophy for being on the team but he didn't want to take a picture with it because it was "too small."  He apparently was expecting a life-sized trophy.

Cole also collected his City Meet bounty - 5 medals and a ribbon - from placing in every event.  If you didn't see the update the other day, the results of the relays ended in 3rd in the Medley and 4th in the Free.  WOW!  After each member of his group of 7-8 swimmers was called to the stage to receive their participation trophy, Cole was singled out as the 7-8 Boys Most Valuable Swimmer!  WOW!

Cole with his amazing Coach Amy Caulkins

(Amy was recently named Southeastern Age-Group Coach of the Year

which includes Tennessee, Alabama and the panhandle of Florida)

On another note, here is Ivy in her new applique shirt to match the skirt.  What a doll baby!

Barracudas, Barracudas, CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP!

The Nashville Swim League City Meet is this weekend and Cooper and Cole both swam their hearts out to help put Seven Hills into their current 11-point lead over Hillwood Country Club.  The last day of the meet is today and we are hoping the 11-18 year olds can hang on to bring home the monster trophy for the team!

This was Cooper's first City Meet while veteran Cole competed for the 5th time.  6 and Under events ran on Friday and Seven Hills had a great showing - finishing the day with a 1 point lead.  We arrived at 12:45 for our 1pm warm-ups and Cooper was fired up.  He swam 3 events - 25y Freestyle, 25y Backstroke and the Boys B Freestyle Relay.

After warm-ups, he wanted to get his "promised" Icee and I made the mistake of opting for the GIANT one with the souvenir cup that allows for cheap refills for the rest of the weekend.  He slurped it down and waited his turn.  Then came his first event - the 25 Free - and off he went to the clerk of course.  By the time he got to the start, the little guy had to pee so badly that he was dancing around and holding his "wee-nis" worse than I'd ever seen him.  It was terribly sad for Mama because I never even thought about taking him to the potty beforehand.  But the entire crowd noticed his dance of shame and it was quite a memorable moment of the day.  BUT, on a positive note, the little guy dove off and swam a 42.93 seconds (shattering his personal best of 59.19!)  He placed 94th out of 127 competitors!  Dad stood in waiting to whisk him off to the john because, I'm proud to announce, he STILL had to go when he reached the other end of the pool.

A great treat for the 6 and Unders this year is that after their first event each swimmer received a medal when they got out of the pool.  On one side is the Nashville Swim League 2010 logo and on the other is "6 and Under" etched in black.  All he talked about was getting that medal and he can't wait to hang it from his new bulletin board that Giddy gave him that will display all of his ribbons and medals he has earned.  Cole has had one in their room for several years and Cooper is so proud to have one of his own like "Brother's."

Next was the backstroke and again he broke his record of 1:08:06 by swimming a 57:23 and placing 92nd out of 114.  Coaches Amy and Garner cheered him on from the pool deck as he "flew" down the pool in lane 8.  As usual, he smiled the entire way!

His final event was the free relay and his gaggle of guys did great!  With a time of 3:56:25, they placed 8th and will get a medal at Monday night's banquet!  I'll be sure to post pics once they get their awards.  For Cooper, it was an amazing experience and we are thrilled that he went from the struggle of holding onto the lane line at the beginning of June to rocking down the pool victorious by mid-July!  Joining Seven Hills this year was a great choice for us and the kids have truly benefited with fun, fitness and lots and lots of self-confidence.

Saturday morning came early for Cole and me and we arrived at the Sportsplex at 6:30am for 7-8 warm-ups.  Jason came with the other two at 9am for the start of the meet.  With one day down, we knew that Cooper and Ivy could only stand so much so this worked out best for everyone.  I took the Pack-N-Play with me and nabbed our spot at the top of the bleachers.  

Cole was entered in 6 events: 25 Free, 25 Back, 25 Breast, 100 IM, Free Relay and Medley Relay.  In the regular season, the top 3 spots get points for the team.  But at the City Meet, the top 8 spots get team points.  Swimmers who finish in 1st place to 8th place get the following team points: 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 respectively.  The top 8 individuals in each event get medals and the swimmers placing 9th-16th get ribbons.  With Seven Hills vying for their 9th straight City Championship, it is icing on the cake to not only place individually but to help the team reach their goal.

Cole's first event was the 25 free and he was in the top heat, lane 1.  He had a slightly late start but did a great shallow dive and kicked it in gear immediately.  His stroke is beautiful and he came from behind to catch up and pass some of the pack to place 6th overall (out of 109) and take .36 seconds off his best time by swimming a 17.70!  3 points for the team.

Cole's next event was backstroke and he was seeded in the second-to-last heat (the last heat is the fastest).  After a great start and a beautiful streamline and butterfly kick, he blew to the front of the pack and held on to win his heat - beating out a boy who glided to the wall rather than charged - and finished with a time of 23.16 (3.43 seconds off his best time.)  He got a heat ribbon and awaited the final race.  His 23.16 ranked him ahead of one of the guys in the final and he came out with an 8th place out of 100 contenders - gathering another individual medal and another point for the team.

Up next was the 25 breaststroke and he was in the second-to-last heat (lane 3) with a seed time of 27.44.  A great start and an amazing underwater pull/kick, and he finished with a best-ever 26.91 to place 8th overall out of 64 for another medal and point for the team.  

His last individual event was the 100 IM (individual medley).  Top heat, lane 8 and he looked great!  After 1 lap each of fly, back, breast and free he came out with a 10th place overall out of 50 and a time of 1:55:94 - a bit more than 3 seconds slower than his best time - but he was super proud to place and get a much needed rest.

His last two events were the Free and Medley relays.  For the free relay, Seven Hills A was seeded in the top heat and the top lane (lane 4) with a 1:10:36.  Cole was Anchorman and after the other three swam their legs we were in the back third of the pack.  Cole came on strong and passed a few along the way and they finished in 4th place with a time of 1:19:70 - 8 pts for the team!

He swam the breaststroke leg in the Medley and they were again in the top heat/lane 5.  It, too, was a great race and the guys came in 3rd with a time of 1:33:15 gathering 10 more points for Seven Hills!  The guys were awesome and proud and it was so much fun! 

Last but not least was little Ivy!  Trapped in her pack-n-play at the top of the stands for most of the day, I quickly realized that in order to watch any event without complete chaos, I just decided to give the child whatever the hell she wanted.  As you'll notice in the pictures, this free-for-all included a jumbo Icee and the latest issue of Teen Beat!  Who can whine and fuss when you're busy reading about Justin Bieber?   

Cover Up Cuteness!

 

I made Ivy this adorable terrycloth bathing suit cover up yesterday and it is even cuter than I imagined it would be.  I don't know anyone who can wear orange quite as well!  Not a bad color to love!

 

Seven Hills conquers Sequoia

With a team score of 777 points for Seven Hills and 560 for Sequoia, the Barracudas came out on top vs. our former home team on Tuesday.  The boys swam great and were blessed with a huge fan base of extended family: Aunt Nan, Aunt Eileen, Uncle Ron (who all came down from Illinois to show their love and support), Grandma Giddy, Auntie Beanie and Cousins Adie and Isaac.  It was amazing to have everyone there and the boys were super proud to swim for this adoring crowd.

Cooper once again swam free, back and the free relay and in the latter took either 3rd or 4th place (we still don't have the ribbons).  He was awesome and, as usual, smiling the entire way!

Cole did great, too, and had fly, back, the IM and both relays in his lineup.  Their medley relay took 2nd (he swam the breast leg), he took 2nd in the IM, and 2nd in both the fly and back individual strokes in which both were super tight races.


On the Free Relay, he was anchorman.  They were behind by a body length when it was his turn to swim and when he dove in the pool IT WAS ON!  He started gaining on him immediately and the entire pool was screaming and jumping up and down yelling "Go Cole" (even Coach Amy and Coach Garner).  It was a hair-raiser.  And the little joker caught him and out touched him FOR THE WIN!  It was CRAZY!!!  The coaches were so proud and were high-fiving each other.  Then, when he got out of the pool with the other guys and was walking down the side of the pool the coaches yelled from the other side "Hey, Cole!  Great swim!  Great swim!"  It was the best race of the whole meet!

Can you believe that?!!  It was amazing!!!  So proud!  So proud!  And the other guys on the relay all had their arms around him like buddies as they were walking down the poolside.  Super cute!

I don't have any pics of the day but I'm sure you can picture the excitement and pride I have for these little fish.  I sure do love the spirit of a swim team.

Family Fun on the 4th!

We went camping for the July 4th weekend, arriving Thursday afternoon at David Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg, TN.  As usual, it was a wonderful opportunity to rejuvenate our love for the outdoors and each other.  The kids always have a great time as we attempt to eliminate any unnecessary use of electronic media.  An occasional break from exercise is allowed and out pops the DS or the DVD player, but for the most part they entertain themselves (and us) with good old-fashioned games and activities.

A pop-up camper is our home away from home and Jason took it down on Wednesday afternoon to claim our spot - a nice one along the creek bed.  The kids woke up Friday morning and spent some time watching the water out their window.

We told some morning "ghost stories" and Cooper used his flashlight souvenir from Cole's birthday party to add effect to his creative recollection of his favorite Scooby Doo episode.  

After a great breakfast, we hopped on our bikes (Cooper and Ivy in the trailer with their usual Dum Dum suckers) and headed to the park office to visit Grandma Dee Dee.

Dee Dee invited the boys to handle some of the rescued animals (a corn snake and two turtles) which was certainly a highlight of the trip.   

Afterward, we headed to the park pool and swam for a bit.  The huge baby pool was Ivy's favorite but the boys and dad enjoyed the diving boards.  One of the lifeguards dared Cooper to squirt an unexpecting guard on the chair and he happily obliged.  It was fun!

On Friday night, Dee Dee, Granny and Paw Paw offered to take the kids to dinner and Putt Putt so that Jason and I could go out to celebrate our anniversary.  We went to Florence, AL to a great Italian place called Ricatoni's.  These pics show why I love this man so very much!  

Saturday morning, Dee Dee came over and she and I took the kids to Sunrise Bakery for some donuts.  They loved it (who wouldn't?) and we even managed to save a few to bring back for dad.

Most of Saturday afternoon was spent in the creek behind the camper.  The boys enjoyed floating down river and then carrying the floats back up to do it again.  They are such good buddies and it was adorable to see them floating down holding hands and talking.

There were a lot of other kids in the park and Cole gathered a group together for a game of Creekbed Football.  Cole played hard tackle while the parents kept guarded watch.  I tried to maintain that this was innocent play, but I noticed our 9-year old going extra hard after this bikini-clad participant.

We gathered some others for a game of water balloon toss.  This was my great idea - one that I regretted once I realized that someone had to fill up the water balloons.  It was worth the sore fingers, though, because they had a great time.

That night they were having fireworks at the Lawrence County High School football stadium (Jason's field of fame) so we took the kids.  We chose McDonald's for our tailgate party which the kids, of course, loved before heading to the field for the festivities.  Ivy wore her red, white and blue tu tu dress for picture-taking enjoyment and then I changed her into something more comfortable.  It was a great night and the kids got to run all over the field and play football, frisbee and run all over the place.  We couldn't have asked for better weather as we watched the fireworks on our blanket with Dee Dee.

It was a great weekend.  We love these opportunities to get away and make great memories!  By Sunday morning, the kids were worn out and, when I FORCED them to pose for my photo op, this was the best I could get.  Don't they look thrilled?

We are all blessed for the freedoms we are given.  I hope you had the chance to celebrate these blessings in your own special way!