Jane's Pre-Team Meet

Jane has been dying to be on swim team the past few years. It killed her to watch Emily & Jacob and not be included over the summer - especially as she could have made the swimming requirement (to be able to swim 25yds) last year. You have to be 5, so this year was her chance and she had been really looking forward to it.  You can imaging my surprise when she got out 1/2 way through practice the first few times, or just sat on the side of the pool and refused to move. It was not super hot then and she just got really cold and refused to keep going!

I really didn't care if she did it or not. She can already swim well, she's only 5 and she swims year 'round. I figured it's not like it was her only chance to be on swim team .... but I thought she would like it if she were warmer and didn't want her to think she could just give up so easily.

It was probably hard for Jane to go from swimming 1/2 an hour in a heated pool (which she does twice a week September to June) to 1 hour in a cold one. The kids are assigned to a lane for the duration of the pre-team. One of the teachers from their winter swimming, Jessica, was a coach in another lane. I knew she knew Jane's ability and that she could use all the buzz words that Jane already knew to get her motivated. Most of all, I knew she would work her a little harder and keep her moving which would warm her up. So, I asked her if I could switch Jane into her lane, which she did and it made everything much better. It also helped that the weather warmed up a little.

Today was the pre-team "meet." Jane was really excited and kind of nervous. First up was freestyle. She did a great job! She has a very nice freestyle stroke. I overheard someone watching say "She's going to be like her sister." She definitely wants it like Emily does!

Not bad for one of the youngest on pre-team.

I had Bek video from the end of the pool. (Sorry about the jiggles.)

Next was backstroke. Seriously, could this be any cuter?

She zig-zagged down the lane. Jacob was standing next to me at the side of the pool. He called out "Jane! Jane! Keep your head straight & back and your body will go straight too!" She actually stopped to look up at what he was saying. I yelled down "Just keep going Jane" - Sheesh buddy,  mid-race is not the time for pointers. Although how adorable is it that he gave them to her? Such a good big brother.

She stopped as she neared the end of the pool to see if she was getting close.

Then bonked her head on the wall anyway.

The last race was their choice - butterfly or breaststroke. Jane has a great little breaststroke but I think she might have overheard some praise for Emily's butterfly and decided to do 'fly.

She got up on the block and into this nice looking "take your mark" position.

Then did this!

Rick is calling it her "Wolverine Attack" dive.

Then, bless her little heart, she did "butterfly" the entire length of the pool. Both arms were going, she did a dolphin kick, she only came up to breathe every few strokes. She had all the fundamentals there (but she did look a bit like she was drowning the whole way down).

After their 3 races they were awarded a medal & a trophy by their lane coach & lane helpers.

AND they got italian ices.

I was so happy I moved Jane into Jessica's lane. She was super sweet and understanding with her and helped her have a great experience.

Way to go Jane! I am so proud of my littlest swimmer!

Last Summer Meet

The "regular" last meet of the summer (before we enter Counties & Conferences) for our team was against Westchester Country Club. I love to go there for meets because the facility is lovely and because they tend to be in the evening when the light is so beautiful.

Jane and her friend Avery had a blast playing in their kid pool.

Jane has several friends who's older siblings are on the team with Jake & Emily and it makes it nice for her to have friends to play with when we are at the (eternally long) meets.

They were seriously in this pool for hours. I was still calling them out of one end of it as the lifeguards starting cleaning the other end!

They also alternated between the beach and playing in Long Island Sound.

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W.C.C has a bunch of fast swimmers. Our kids were ready for battle! It's one thing I love about being on such a big team - the older kids really watch out for the little kids, get them pumped for meets, teach them the team cheer, etc.

Emily swam freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and the free relay (you are only allowed to swim 3 strokes + relays per meet.)

Jacob swam free & backstroke.

He also swam the boys freestyle relay. After that he got to relax, eat and enjoy the beach area too.

Emily was swimming against one of her friends from her winter swim team in her 50yrd breaststroke.

She came in second - to her friend. Here she is laughing and saying
"You told me you weren't fast at breast!"

Then they high fived. It made me so happy to see. I like to see good sportsmanship. I think it's something I see a lot in swimming - but could see more of.
Most of these kids swim through the winter where there a fewer teams and often they travel a bit to get to them. In summer swimming there are many more teams and they usually swim for the team closest to them or whichever country club their parents join. I like that Emily has competed against kids she knows and that there hasn't been animosity between them. I think it's healthy for them to keep it that way!

I am becoming obsessed with getting the perfect fly picture of Emily. These were close (and I love how she looks swimming this stroke).

I'm looking for arms level, face up getting a breath, water droplets flying, perfect light .... keep swimming Em!

The meet was exciting. We were a little behind going into the relays. The team had been undefeated to that point. W.C.C had lost one. The division title was on the line. We ended up tying the meet! Amazing if you think just how many variables go into scoring (the team president said she had thought it statistically impossible.) The tie meant that we won the division title and all the kids were thrilled!

It was a totally fun night and everyone went home happy and looking forward to Counties & Conferences.

Summer Swimming

I love summer swimming for my kids. It's a huge time commitment on my part (like everything else that benefits them) because the 3 of them practice at different times each day. Emily is from 8:30am - 10am, Jacob is from 10:30 - 11:30 and Jane is from 12:30 - 1:30pm ... so most of our day is sucked up at the pool. In a way though, I love the structure that it gives us. We make sure that we are up with beds made, family scripture memorization, breakfast eaten, and Jacob & Jane's reading done before I have to take Emily at 8:15. I drop Em off & come home to start laundry, mow the lawn or whatever daily tasks I have and Jacob & Jane do their morning jobs. I go back to get Em at 10am. She works on her jobs, reading, summer goals etc while I take Jake (Jane usually swims and plays while Jake practices) then we eat lunch - sometimes we dash home for it & sometimes stay at the pool. Then Jane has her practice. I try and swim some laps while Jane is practicing, since she is being supervised then & I trust Jake to swim and play with friends without me watching him.

The only thing that throws us off is the meets because they have to be there so early (usually 7:15am) and last for hours! At the last swim meet I wasn't volunteering (parents are required to volunteer as timers, scorers, ribbon writers, etc) and Jane had gone to play with a friend so thought it was a perfect  day to take the camera!

This is Jacob at the start of his freestyle relay as the other swimmer touches the wall. I love watching the little "6 & Under" races - the kids are just too adorable. He's not starting off the blocks because the little kids relays are only 25 yards and he started at the other end.

His technique is nowhere near as beautiful as Emily's but he's a good little swimmer & he loves it (& it burns off some of that endless energy) so I love to see him swim.

By the time he gets old enough to do the "mile swim" in Scouts, he'll be all over it!

Oh, and I am totally in love with this kids backstroke.

How could I not be?

He's got a pretty decent backstroke and does well ...

...  until he gets 3/4 of the way down the pool and starts to just kick on his back with his arm out because he's too worried he'll bonk his head on the wall. I've been trying to teach him to count his strokes from the flags but so far he's favoring the "slower than cold tar at the end" approach.

I tried to get some good pictures of Em doing her freestyle but she's so darn quick it's tough to get. She swims the 50 free in 32 seconds. Not much opportunity for good pictures, since she's only coming towards me for 16 seconds! I really should try and get some from the side, but she's usually in the middle lanes and harder to see. Also, I like to cheer for her and she really wouldn't be able to hear me from the sides. I know she hears me from the end of the lane because I see her smile as she does her flip turn :)

Her best stroke is breaststroke. It's just beautiful to watch. Her technique is perfect and she's really fast - she pretty much always wins in her breaststroke races.

Over the past year Emily's butterfly has really improved. I give myself a lot of the credit (tee hee.) She had a good 'fly, but because she wasn't as fast and perfect at it as she was other strokes, she didn't ever want to do it. In winter swimming the parents sign up for meets and races (not like summer swimming where the coaches decide who swims what). I "encouraged" her to try some butterfly races. The first was not received so well, she really didn't want to do it. I told her she really should if she wanted to be a well rounded swimmer and signed her up. Then at the meet she came over and asked if she could scratch - I told her she couldn't and I just wanted her to give it a shot. I said "I don't care if you come last" - she answered "But I do!"

Well, she swam it and did well and took 4 seconds off her time. She was pleased as punch with herself and willing to try a few more butterfly events after that. Now she's doing really well in the fly and usually places 1st or second in the meets - more importantly she really likes to swim it!

I just love that my little petite & gentle Emily can swim this challenging stroke.

It makes me so happy to watch her power through the water.

Here she is getting ready for her freestyle relay. She's the "anchor" because she's so fast, but it stresses her out a bit. She feels the weight of winning for the team and making up any lost ground. She's started to wear 2 caps - one on her head, then her goggles, then another to hold the goggles and cover the top of them. She says she likes it better that way because she doesn't feel the drag of the water on her goggles. You know you're serious about swimming when you try to eliminate the drag from your goggles!!

Another happy meet! Our team won again - they've never lost a meet in all the years we've been on the team & have been county champions for the past 6 years. Kind of makes me sad that Bek stopped swimming when she was about 13.... such a great sport.

Stay tuned. Jane is on the pre-team this year & her one & only meet of the summer is next week. Pictures are bound to follow.

Still Winter Here ....

The ice did get worse today. Much worse. It's actually treacherous to venture out my front door.

Danger aside, I think that the ice is just beautiful. I love how it has evenly coated every branch of all the trees (& coated everything else as well.) I think it makes them look magical.

And we're also just loving all the icicles that are forming outside our windows to look at.

ICE

We've had so many storms this winter!

I haven't minded them because I love snow, I'm not afraid to drive in snow, Rebekah & Rick shovel the snow and we like to play, sled and ski in snow!

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Ice is a totally different story. I AM afraid to drive on ice, we can't play out in it and it is miserable to shovel (although my sweet husband still gets up before dawn to do it for us.)
I did venture out this afternoon to go get pizza for lunch for the kids (who were home from school again) and drop off the dry cleaning. The car had a thick coating of ice all over it. It looked as if it had been encased in glass.

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Since I hear it's only going to get worse, I headed out again this evening to return library books & pick up a few groceries so that we can hunker down tomorrow.