Sunday, June 2, 2013

US Masters National Championship

A few weeks ago Mikey competed in the 2013 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals. He qualified in many events and swam alongside 2,000 other swimmers from across the country. Here are the events he swam in and the place he finished:

Individual
·         1650 Freestyle – 4th Place
·         500 Freestyle – 11th Place
·         200 Backstroke – 14th Place

Relay:
·         200 Yard Freestyle – 1st Place
·         200 Yard Medley – 2nd Place
·         Mixed 200 Yard Freestyle – 4th Place
·         Mixed 200 Yard Medley – 8th Place

The meet was a 4 day event at the IU N.atatorium, where the Olympic Trials have been held.
I went to cheer him on during the day for his mile event...this was his best event in college so it was special for me to witness him swim this one in competition.
Then I brought the girls to watch daddy compete. You can tell they loved it.
Mike's college swim teammate also competed, Kip.
Proud of their daddy

Here is Mike counting laps for Kip

Swimmers take your mark...

And Kip counting laps for Mike

Mike did an amazing job at Nationals, I'm so proud of him for all he's accomplished in swimming this year!

Izzy's on her way to kindergarten...

It's official: Izzy is no longer a pre-schooler. She is going to be entering kindergarten in the Fall and I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by.

A few weeks ago Izzy's pre-k classroom had a graduation celebration complete with a slide show of her class throughout the past 5+ years. Izzy has been with this same group of kiddos since she was 11 months old and all of them will be going to different schools in the Fall, so I knew this day was going to be emotional. Izzy saying goodbye to her teachers and her friends.
On the way to the ceremony Izzy kept telling us how nervous she was about speaking, singing and dancing in front of such a big audience. I just laughed and told her she lived for moments like this; a new audience to witness all her material.
Saying the Pled.ge of Allegiance
While Luke proudly held the flag
Cutest two kids in the class.
The group performed a handful of songs and dances.
And each child had separate speaking parts. Izzy nailed hers.
One of the dances they performed was the Twist...where Izzy got to dance with her buddy Caleb. He twirled Izzy and she was grinning from ear to ear. I love Maggie in the background shakin' it up.
I'm going to have to keep this photo for her high school graduation...she just looks so grown up here.


Every child was awarded with a 'Certificate of Silly Award' and Izzy's was for "The Tiny Dancer." Her teacher told the audience that Izzy was always asking for music to be turned on and she would dance constantly around the room, even to lullaby music. Give this girl a beat and she will drop it like it's hot, that's for sure.
This is Izzy's pre-K teacher, Ms. Scott. Izzy adores her and already misses her. Ms. Scott is an incredible teacher, honing in on students' strengths and letting them shine, while also paying special attention to their weaknesses to ensure they succeed. Izzy loves Ms. Scott so much and their school wouldn't be the same without her. I'm excited to see what Laney will do in her class this year!
Izzy's buddy Audrey
This crew....they have been buddies for years. And each one of them will be parting ways for kindergarten. Maybe they'll all reunite in high school one day. Until then...

And these pictures, oh my. When I sent the above picture to Jaime she immediately sent me the picture below. I can't stop looking at them. All four of us have grown and changed so much over the course of the 5 years. So much has happened. Yet so much has stayed the same. These little kiddos have known each other since birth. Jaime and I met while they were in our tummies growing. And here they are, all grown up. And heading to kindergarten.
Let the floodgates open. Jaime and I were hit pretty hard with the graduation. It's a big life change / rite of passage for the Littles. And for us mommies at the same time. Just another sign of them growing up. And I love every minute of it.