Individual Freestyle and Backstroke Relay

 On Thursday, the boys had their first swim meet of the 2012 summer season.  They swam the individual Freestyle and then a Backstroke Relay.  Although it was a record 112 degrees outside, Jeremy and I enjoyed watching the boys swim.

This was Ledger's first swim meet.  He swam on the team last summer but never did any of the meets.  As you may remember from my previous post, Ledger threw a HUGE fit at the time trial on Monday. He screamed and cried and absolutely refused to swim across the pool (although we know he can do it.) That night at dinner, Brody and Case were telling Jeremy how Ledger threw a fit during the time trial.  In the middle of our dinner, Jeremy looks at Ledger and says, "Go get your suit on." Puzzled we all sat there wondering what was going on.  Jeremy repeated the sentence again and the next thing I know, we are all on our way to Red Mountain pool so Ledger can prove to all of us that he is capable of swimming across the pool. Sure enough, Ledger jumped in, swam across the pool and back home we went. Lucky for Ledger, coach Brian knew he was capable of getting across that pool too and still let him do the meet.

Ledger swam the backstroke relay first and his team got 3rd place.  SUPER!
He was pretty happy about that white ribbon.

Nanny and Papa were there to see the boys compete.

After the backstroke relay, Ledger swam the individual freestyle, the race he refused to swim during the time trial on Monday.  That boy jumped in, swam across, and did so good.  Jeremy and I were so happy!  Then....he gets out of the water, get his 4th place ribbon, and pouts for the next 30 minutes that he only got 4th.  HONESTLY?!?! I couldn't even believe what was happening.  3 days earlier, the boy couldn't make it across and now he just finished his first race ever.  I was not happy with him for acting like that.  He's already lost 3DS, Computer and IPAD privileges for a looooong time, I don't even know what else to take away...OH WAIT...HIS FREEDOM!!

 Boys 6&U 25 Yard Free

 name Age Team Finals Time

1 O'Brien, Shea 6 PVCC 24.30

2 Smith, George 6 PCC 25.37

3 Burns, Luke 6 ACC-AZ 27.04

4 Zacher, Tommy 6 ACC-AZ 27.17

5 Rampley, Aidan 6 MVCC 27.89

6 Fischer, Patrick 6 PCC 27.95

7 Dunnion, Carson 6 MVCC 29.47

8 Brown, Trevin 6 MCC-AZ 29.52

9 Pederson, Brenden 6 MCC-AZ 30.92

10 Lehmann, Oliver 6 PVCC 32.60

11 Beischel, Lars 6 ACC-AZ 33.00

12 Roe, Luke 6 ACC-AZ 33.10

13 Castro, Braeden 6 PCC 34.11

14 Nickle, Andrew 5 PCC 34.69

15 Frakes, Mack 5 ACC-AZ 34.77

16 Georgeoff, Michael 6 ACC-AZ 35.28

17 Perkins, Sawyer 5 MCC-AZ 35.31

18 Del Bianco, Colin 5 MCC-AZ 35.36

19 Benson, Chase 5 MVCC 37.38

20 Patriquin, Ash 5 ACC-AZ 38.91

21 Hornburg, Matt 5 MVCC 39.00

22 Hubert, Bobby 6 PCC 39.11

23 Pedersen, Keegan 5 MCC-AZ 39.52

24 Heglie, Drew 5 ACC-AZ 39.70

25 Mallender, Ryan 5 PVCC 39.74

26 Brigowatz, JJ 6 MVCC 39.77

27 Coury, Jack 4 ACC-AZ 42.40

28 Cozby, Catcher 6 MVCC 43.77

29 Veidmark, Isaac 6 MVCC 44.25

30 Kopp, Anderson 5 PVCC 44.88

31 Woods, Stone 6 PCC 44.95

32 Snyder, Jack 5 PCC 45.71

33 Felstead, Ledger 4 MCC-AZ 47.79

34 Aramian, Colin 5 MVCC 47.83

35 Meyers, Jackson 5 PVCC 50.61

36 Clark, Cameron 6 PCC 50.72

37 Kendall, Asher 5 PCC 51.50

38 Johnson, Nicholas 4 ACC-AZ 1:00.29

39 Furey, Connor 6 PCC 1:00.94

40 Levitz, Jack 4 ACC-AZ 1:12.12

41 Dunn, Patrick 5 PCC 1:22.74

42 Pafford, Jake 6 PCC 1:39.67

Case is an amazing swimmer.  He got first place in his individual freestyle.  He was in the second heat.

Boys 7 25 Yard Free

 ame Ag e Team Finals Time

1 Coury, Benny 7 ACC-AZ 22.33

2 Felstead, Case 7 MCC-AZ 22.99

3 Snyder, Luke 7 PCC 24.87

4 Miller, Cole 7 MVCC 26.13

5 Walters, Finn 7 ACC-AZ 27.16

6 Morin, Josh 7 MCC-AZ 27.79

7 George, Nate 7 MVCC 27.84

8 Clark, Charlie 7 PCC 28.07

9 Darst, Hayden 7 MCC-AZ 28.94

10 Spiekerman, Jack 7 ACC-AZ 30.86

Case and his relay received a second blade ribbon for backstroke.
His relay team was Luke Nicholas, Matix Arnette, and Zack Morin

Brody received a second place with his backstroke relay.  His relay was Max, Thayne and Brody (Max swam twice) He also got second place in his individual freestyle. Here is his time:

#18 Boys 9 25 Yard Free

 ame Ag e Team Finals Time

1 Wilson, Max 9 MCC-AZ 15.49

2 Krzykos, Alexander 9 MVCC 16.68

3 Lundstedt, Lawson 9 PVCC 16.82

4 Hahn, Spencer 9 PCC 18.32

5 Carlson, Teague 9 PCC 19.04

6 Marsden, Benjamin 9 MVCC 19.10

7 Felstead, Brody 9 MCC-AZ 19.42

8 Rampley, Cameron 9 MVCC 19.71

9 Stubbs, Thayne 9 MCC-AZ 20.05

10 Castro, Brennan 9 PCC 20.93

11 Gaylor, Dylan 9 MVCC 23.42

12 Osselaer, Mitch 9 MVCC 23.51

13 Gliss, Michael 9 MVCC 24.01

Well, these two competitive kiddos are back at it again. All Kim and I can do is laugh because these two could care less how they do against the other kids they swim against.  All they care about is how they do against one another.  Katlyn had the faster time tonight by 9 one hundredths of a second.  She ended up with a first place medal while Case ended up with a second place medal.  You should have heard these two after the meet.  Case was happy for Katlyn but upset that he got second and she got first.  It's gonna be a long summer for these two.

13

Thirteen years ago today my dad was killed in an accident on our farm. That was the worst day of my life. I had just finished my first year of teaching at Entz and needed to move my classroom over to Bush where I had just received a new teaching contract.  I had talked to my dad that morning and we were set to meet up and get things loaded into the trailer. Our plans for the morning changed and by late afternoon I received a call from my Mom that she was on her way to Chandler Regional Hospital.  When the hospital called her, they simply told her she needed to get to the hospital because my dad had been involved in an accident.  My sister had flown into town from Wyoming that day and as a family, we were all set to get together for dinner.  I remember talking to my mom and sister on the phone as they drove to the hospital and the conversation was that we were worried that maybe my dad had lost an arm or finger in the equipment he was working on.  If only.  Jeremy headed home to pick me up so I could get to the hospital too.  That had to have been the longest drive of my life.  The traffic was terrible that day as we headed down south on the one way streets.  As we got closer to the hospital my cell phone rang and it was my mom.  She told me in the calmest voice that my sister Ashley was going to meet me at the emergency room entrance.  I started screaming at my mom to please tell me what was going on.  She wouldn't.  As we drove into the emergency room entrance my sister was standing there screaming, "Dad is dead." "Dad is dead." We both started crying and screaming as the hospital staff quickly walked us inside to a private waiting room.  My Mom was there crying as the doctors and nurses tried to console her.  Phone calls were made, friends arrived and the rest of the year was a blur.  I often wish I could have just had one more day with my dad, to say good-bye, tell him that I love him, and thank him for teaching me so much.  Other times I am grateful that I didn't have to see him suffer with illness before he died.  It all happened so fast. I wish I knew why the tractor he was on that day jumped into gear and threw him off.  I wish I knew if there was anyone else there with him.  I wish I knew what he said before he died on the way to the hospital.  Did he know what was happening?  Was he in pain?  I think about these things often.  I miss my dad.  I wish he was here to enjoy these crazy kids of mine, to teach them the simple life of farming.  I have hope that we will see each other again.  Until then, I will continue to visit the cemetery and eat Gummy Bears and Popsicles in his honor.  

First Day Of Summer...Not Exactly What I Was Hoping

Today was our first official day of summer.  I have been looking forward to summer for weeks now.  I was ready to "get my kids back," if that even makes any sense.  I was ready to be on less of a schedule and have more fun as a family.  I was ready to be done with homework, projects, AR, and end of the school year garbage.  I have to say that our first day of summer was not what I was hoping for. Ledger threw a huge "Ledger fit" at swim team while Brody laughed and mocked him in the pool.  Speaking of Brody, he was literally a pain in the neck all day.  He teased, tormented, and drove everyone crazy all day. I'm not kidding when I say that these boys were out of control and mean all day today.  As I sat at Miss Carolyn's today and chatted with Heather, we both commented on how we remember this from last year.  We remember that it takes time and adjusting for the family to learn how to be with each other all day, everyday.  It is a big adjustment to go from the evening time together to all day together.  My hope is that we will adjust quickly and have the fun summer I was hoping for.

Hooray For Summer!

I honestly thought this past week would never end.  It was non stop craziness and I am happy to say we all survived.  I can't believe that the school year is already over.  It went by waaaaay to fast.  These boys of mine have grown and learned so much.  For the most part it was a good year.  Brody loved attending Mrs. Bells reading class each day and Mrs. Kazmi's math class.  He learned lots about being a friend and making good choices.  His favorite time of day was the bus ride to and from school along with reading and AR.  

This kid is just funny these days.  He is way to cool for school but loves his friends, P.E. and riding the bus.  He became an amazing reader this year and a mathematician.  This kid is so smart and thoughtful.  I am so proud of him and relieved this year is over!

Ledger actually finished school this year on the same day as his brothers.  He had a fun water day at school along with popsicles.  What a fun way to end the school year. This boy is smart. He is reading so well and has great penmanship.  He loves doing math facts with his big brothers.    

I don't really think his brain ever stops.

To see what the kiddos looked like on the first day of school, click here.

Case's teacher called about a week before school got out and asked if I would throw an end of the year pirate party.  I quickly called Libby and Thelissa and we had the party of the year.  The kids rotated stations for about an hour and 15 minutes and then we had doughnuts and juice before heading home.  Here is Case doing, "Walk The Plank."

"Man Overboard" was a huge hit!

So was "Cannonball Blast."

After the CRAZY first grade party, I quickly headed home and set up for a surprise attack on the kids as they got off the bus.  I set out 25 cans of silly string along with 25 super shooter water guns.  I attacked the kids as they got off the bus which turned into a super awesome water fight. By time it was over, we were all drenched.

Brody was soaked.  Thank goodness it was a hot hot May afternoon.  

My hope is that this summer I will be able to enjoy some time with my kids having fun and relaxing. I hope we can get back on track with behavior, chores and attitude.  Sometimes it seems like they become different kids when I send them off to school.  I hope after some time at home they will feel safe, happy and loved.  I am happy to get them away from their friends and have them to myself. Here's to summer!

Our Graduate

Last Tuesday, Ledger graduated from Preschool.  It's really hard to believe that his time with Miss Jody is already over.  He has learned so many great things this year and is totally ready for Kindergarten.  However, Jeremy and I have decided that because he has a late June birthday, we are going to keep him back another year.  This decision has been EXTREMELY difficult for me.  This kid is beyond smart and oh so ready for the next step.  We worry though that as he gets older, he will be the last to do everything, driving, dating, graduating, sports, etc. All of Ledger's friends are going on to kindergarten next year which will be hard.  I hope we have made the right decision.

Here is the 2012 preschool graduating class.  

Ben, Merrill, Ledger, Kaitlyn and Jaiden

Love his cute graduate.

Sugar and Jim were able to come to the ceremony.

  Miss Jody had such nice things to say about Ledger during the graduation ceremony.  She commented on how he likes to build things like his Dad and that he loves to play motorcycles.  She said he has great form in his handwriting and really puts the effort into making his work great.  Miss Lauren and Miss Jody are the best!  So happy Miss B. will be going to Miss Jody's awesome school this summer and next year.

Love this self portrait of Ledger.  

I love you my little Graduate.  You are going to be one amazing dude one day.

Keep working hard and having fun.