SWIM SEASON 26

Swim season began on May 26...thankfully this year has been overall warmer to start than the past few.

We have 4 swimming competitively and 1 in developmental. 

#7 was nervous about making the team, but he has been doing awesome.

Especially as we had our first meet this week and he came in 2nd in his first ever race.

He probably could have at least tied for first, as he pulled up his suit that slipped as he dove in.

Most of the team...its a bit smaller this year.

We had a lot of older kids graduate last year, but lots of potential for future growth.

#8 was actually evaluated for joining the team, which really surprised me, but he did great and *almost* made it.  In order to swim competitively, one has to be able to swim a 25 without stopping.

One of the "drawbacks" of this year is that we have at least one swimmer in all 3 of the practice sessions.

That means LOTS of time at the pool.

4 hours.

Pretty much every morning.

On the flip side, I'm hoping I get make a dent in my tbr pile!

Entertaining themselves.

Meet warm-up.

The past several years, the first meet has always been rescheduled due to thunderstorms and rain.

I'm so glad we could run the meet this year.

All the boys did well; they mostly placed 1, 2 or 3rd in all the races they swam.

Hoping its a great season!

Go Cudas!

WEDDING #2

June 20th was wedding day (#2) for Mike's sister.

The girls were bridesmaids, MJ was the photographer and 2 of the boys were ushers..plus Mike being a groomsman.  It was a busy day with lots of moving parts.

Photographer getting pre-wedding shots 

Beautiful weather

ushering....

groomsmen

snapping pictures..about 6,000, he said.

Lots to go through

flower girls

my girls..

Down the aisle

Mr. & Mrs.

after the ceremony snaps

munchkins.

Congratulations and blessings on your marriage.

PROMS

Prom #1 was the 22nd of May and took place in PA.

The kids have attended this prom for a few years, but this year it was taken over by a new person and unfortunately, it was not the same.  Missy and her bestie actually called and asked if they could leave early.  She was the only attendee from our house.

 

Prom #2 was the 26th of May and was a dinner cruise around Manhattan

They had the best time.

This one was put on by the NJCH graduating class, a Christian organization.  

They drove down together.

Bean was a bit worried about seasickness..

Some pics they sent me throughout the night

They had beautiful weather for it!

I don't know why these pictures are backwards, but prepping to go.

A few quick pictures before hopping into the car

Kudos to those who planned it, everyone I heard from said it was an amazing time!

NEW THINGS

 This kid has been trying a lot of new things lately.

He decided to try roller hockey and is loving it.

First ride on the bike with Dad.

He has been on the developmental team for 2 years and this year made the competitive team.

(He is a little nervous about that, but I'm sure he'll do great)

AAAAaaand, we found out that the gentleman that runs archery at co-op, also has another location!!

He was told he has great form and really enjoyed it

SIGHT AND SOUND. TAKE 2.

Back in April, Bean and I traveled out to Ronks, PA for another audition for Sight and Sound's Conservatory.  This year they did video auditions to also "weed out" and cut down on the amount of in-person auditions.  Bean made it to this in-person level and her audition was scheduled for Saturday morning.  We drove out after co-op on Friday night..grabbed some dinner and settled in.

She brought a ton of her own bedding, since she was advised to be as comfortable as possible.

Which makes sense to calm nerves etc.

It was rather amusing walking into the hotel with a ton of bags for an overnight stay though

There were a handful of people at the audition, but I'm pretty sure there were 4 separate groups over 2 days of auditioning.  The instructors were getting ready to introduce themselves here.

People come from all over the country to audition, since it is the ONLY Sight and Sound Conservatory.

Afterwards, we got some lunch at Agape and headed home.

Lunch view.

We did find out about 2 weeks later that she did not make it for this year.

She actually had someone reach out to her and set up a phone interview to go over her audition--which is rare!  That was encouraging and she has decided to try again for next year while spending this year strengthening the skills she needs and working, knowing that the Lord has a plan for her life and perfect timing.

We're proud of you!  Keep working hard!