NW Distict Champs {Varsity Swim and Dive}

2012 NW District Champs! 

Next stop: State

Way to go Sehome Swim and Dive Team!

Zachary swims the 100M butterfly

 

At the finish

Placing 7th in the district, Ezra competed well.

Local news report here.

Lawyer Visits {Pawn Shop Stop}

My husband Tim and my brother (our lawyer) Peter exchange goods for services at our pawn shop. 

 

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In order to get my little brother to drive north for a visit, we required his legal assistance for a matter plaguing one of our pawn shops.  We tried all the usual avenues for enticing him and his family to drive the full two and a half hours up Interstate 5 to see us, but none brought us a victory like needing his legal help.  Now we know the secret to getting a piece of "Uncle Pie" as we lovingly call my little brother Peter John. 

 A little glimpse into Tim's work life

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Visiting our pawn shop(s) is never dull.  On this occasion, we were showing my brother Peter one of our "new" locations (been doing business there for 3 years now, but hey, it's new to him).  While there, we found the perfect 'payment' for his legal services.  Peter so generously donates his time and talent for our benefit, and it's a pleasure to be able to find a tangible way to show him our appreciation.  Peter drove home with 250+ pounds of weight lifting equipment, bars, plates and accessories to make it happen.  He had a bench at home, and just needed the hardware to seal the deal.  Probably hoping his boys will beat our boys at arm wrestling

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Did I mention we opened a new music shop?  With lesson rooms in the back?  Here's proof. 

'Luke' and 'Leia' in the (constant) act of climbing

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Our former foster twins spent the weekend with us, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company.  They have mastered the art of climbing, and found every occasion to stretch their vertical limits.  Leia took a few steps, but still defaults to crawling and begging to be held.  Luke runs, and says "car" every three seconds.   Their mom needs help with occasional babysitting, so we are blessed to be included on her list of helpful and willing twin-sitters. We do miss them dearly.

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Joseph made a 'gold' time in the 50 free at his swim meet Saturday.  This means... he swam fast.  His teammates had a sharpie war on deck, and Joseph's back was decorated to look like abs (as in abdominal muscles).  Beats having a pig on his belly, like one of his (very thin) friends; or a handle-bar mustache on his face, like one of his (goofy) teammates.  Who says swim meets aren't entertaining? 

Goofy hat (Chris) with wild hair (Zac)

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Zachary's psyche sheet is posted and he's heading into his final 2 weeks of varsity swimming.  Although I am excited to cheer for him at the district meet and (hopefully, if he qualifies) the state meet, I am most eagerly anticipating the return of my clean-cut son after the big shave later this week.  We are hosting his pre-district team dinner this week at Grandma Billie & Grandpa Cliff's place, which is much bigger and more awesome for entertaining than our humble abode.   The menu calls for tons of pasta and a several baskets of bread.  Nothing like a good carb-loading fest to kick off the post-season competitions.

me

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When given the choice today between the Knights' big screen Super Bowl party or a quiet afternoon at home followed by evening Mass on campus with a friend (who missed our morning Mass with a sick kid), which do you think I chose?  Not a bad way to begin the week!  May your week be blessed.  Thanks for stopping by.

Click here for more Quick Takes.

Senior Send Off {Varsity Swim & Dive}

 Team Captain Zachary leads the pre-meet yell

Today marked the final home swim meet for Zachary and the other seniors on his swim team.  Following team tradition, the five seniors were honored with a call-out by Coach Don, a run through the team tunnel and a gift (purchased by their parents; presented by cheerleaders).  The guys beamed as they took the blocks for a moment of honor during a short break in the swim meet after the diving competition.  The gifts this year, embroidered team towels, seemed to be a big hit, and rather more useful than a bouquet of flowers as presented in previous years. Although Zachary has been home schooled since kindergarten, our high school PE curriculum centered around participation in sports through the local public high school.  

Coach Don congratulates Zac on his four years as a varsity swimmer.

 Zachary's senior gift, presented by cheerleaders~~from the high school he never attended but represented well as a four year letter man and team captain.

 

Although Zachary was quite forced to join his first public school sports team as a home schooled ninth grader (freshman), he developed a great love of especially swim team.  Zachary participated on the (phenomenal) cross country team for three years and the track team for one, but swim team became such a focus that he rejoined the club swim team last winter to train all year in preparation for this final varsity season.  Together with his coach, he set high, yet realistic goals, and stands a good chance of reaching them in the next few swims before the final varsity splash in a few weeks.

Ezra in air

Ezra took first place in the diving competition, beating out three divers from the opposing team.  His dive scores weren't as high on the whole, but the six dives he performed ranked at higher degrees of difficulty, so adjusted scores gave him the win.

Zachary's still looking to shave a few minutes off his times, and has high hopes that the well planned taper will give him a burst of speed to round out post-season competition with all-time PR's.  Speaking of shaving, the facial hair, body hair, hair-do-shaving ritual happens in a little over a week.  I am looking forward to having our clean-cut son back after the scruffy swim season.

Our local newspaper covered today's swim & dive meet: gallery here.  Enjoy!

A Few Laps To Go {Varsity Swim & Dive}

Zachary competes in the 200 free

With only two home swim meets remaining on the schedule, the varsity swim and dive season will soon enter post-season competition.  Zachary's hopes are very high for a state qualifying time, and Ezra may wild card to the state meet in diving.  The three-time defending AA state champs, Sehome HS swim and dive team looks to wrap up the season with an undefeated record, their biggest conference challenge coming from Anacortes next Tuesday.

Ezra's sixth dive

In the interest of team unity, discipline and cross-training, Ezra's coach signed him up to swim a leg of the 4 x 100 free relay in yesterday's meet against Bellingham HS & Mt. Vernon HS.  Ezra participated, though not gladly.  He completed the 100 with only a few breaks, and his teammates cheered for him as if it were the final leg of a competitive race.  The support was heartwarming and hopefully Ezra felt the love a bit more than the pain.

Ezra's off the blocks, a new kind of dive

Tim and his parents cheer for Ezra in the 4 x 100 free relay

Joseph and Peter join the high school swimmers cheering for Ezra on his final leg.

The crowd goes wild as Ezra completes his forced swim race.

Team captain Zachary leads the final cheer before the team meeting in the hot tub.

Birthday Wrap Up {Bridget's 44}

Opening my new pressure cooker (from Tim) with glee

A day to remember, my 44th birthday brought love and laughs, plus many blessings and graces.  After successfully ejecting Zachary from his bed (two minutes after his Logic class began), and sending him off with a cooler full of food to fuel his tank on meet day, the boys and I began dissembling the Christmas tree.  Our usual visit to Sacred Heart for confession and Mass was graced by Father Qui Thac's birthday prayer for me during the general intercessions.  Witnessing Joseph and Peter (and Zac) as altar servers always brings me great joy and such gratitude for the gift of faith we share and practice.  After Mass we stopped for a splurge on smoothies, then a brief stop at home before departing for Zac's swim meet in Mt. Vernon with Tim and Grandpa Cliff.  Cousin Pat met us in the stands to cheer.


A smashing victory for his swim team, and a PR for Zachary in the backstroke made the stifling heat and uncomfortable bleachers bearable enjoyable.  With written request, we were able to snatch Zachary from the team bus and head to a steak house for a birthday dinner (on Grandma Patty and Grandpa Pete thanks to gift certificates).  The lighting (or lack thereof) gave the restaurant a cave-like quality, but after about an hour our pupils were fully dilated and we could see each other and our food. 

About to enjoy dessert #1, on the house at Outback; wearing my new hat

Opening cards and gifts, being showered with loving calls, texts and many messages on my FB page, the day just kept getting better and better.  Capped off with not one, but two desserts, this birthday evening concludes with me feeling completely spoiled and totally blessed.  Thank you for your kind wishes!

Ready to extinguish the flames on dessert #2: key lime pie made by Joseph; Peter's warming up for his birthday next week!

St. John Neumann, pray for us!

Spectacular Saturday {Titlow Park & Pool}

Zac and his brothers and cousins, poolside at Titlow Park

Zac stretches out in the 200M butterfly

Decidely a day to enjoy outdoors, our first summer Saturday spent at Titlow Park with family and friends kicked off summer with style. Zachary's swim meet at Titlow's outdoor pool brought us close to our family and friends in Tacoma who joined us for picnic and playtime at the park. At our home away from home, we gathered to share a meal and visit in a shady gazebo; a few steps from the swim meet, surrounded by grassy fields, with views of the Puget Sound beyond the train tracks, right next to a playground.

Grandpa Pete with grandkids MacKenzie, Peter, Brendan, Jacob and Joseph

Days like this are to be cherished, even with the awkward moments like my enthusiastic greeting to Jacob with, "Hi Brandan!" How Jacob has grown! Now nearly as big as his big brother, Brendan, he caught me off guard. Nevermind the fact that I had already greeted Brendan. Jacob looked at me with a surprised, curious grin and vehemently declared, "I'm not Brendan!"

Cousin time at Titlow Park, Tacoma, WA

 Under the shade of a gazebo at Titlow Park, Grandma Patty, Niko and Mike enjoy memories of Christmas Eve.

• Trooper of the day award goes to Aunt Michelle, who came to join  us at the park despite the fact that she's on crutches following knee surgery.  With very limited parking, Titlow is not exactly crutch friendly, but Aunt Michelle trekked down to be with us for the day.  
• Biggest loss of the day goes to Uncle Peter's iphone, which splashed into his coffee mug as he pulled up to park at Titlow.  Not the first time this phone's taken a swim, we do hope it will make a full i-recovery.
• Best swimmer of the day goes to Zachary, who was also the only swimmer.
• Best dressed for the day goes to brothers Niko (17) and Mike (almost 16), who have a real sense of style (even if long sleeves seemed odd on such a warm, sunny day).

Climbing trees, throwing the football, chasing the soccer ball, wrestling on the grass, relaxing in the sun,watching trains and cheering for Zachary made for a wonderful Saturday at the park.  Our day at Titlow Park will long be remembered as a highlight of our 2011 summer.  And we have the pictures to prove it!

JosephPeter

Home Meet

This weekend Joseph and Peter competed in a club swim meet at our local pool. 
We were on deck to cheer and shoot, and one of our great friends, Mike H (often abroad, recently home from Kabul), was able to join us, as were Grandma Billie and Grandpa Cliff.

Teammate & good friend, Jonah's little sister, Maria, participating in her first swim meet, was devastated to have been DQ'd in one of her races.  (Joseph and Peter usually DQ in at least one event per meet.)  Turns out she correlated the DQ with being accused of cheating!  She was so upset.  Her parents had the brilliant idea to 'celebrate' her DQ by taking her to DQ (for ice cream).  A little ice cream goes a long way sometimes!