Swim Meet Saturday

This last Saturday was our third swim meet of the summer. I usually get up around 5:45am and the kids get up at 6:15 so we can be to the swim center by 7:00. Jason then brings Preston and Adam much later, in time to watch the individual races. They stay as along as can be managed (it just depends) and Jason takes them home so Adam can take a nap. It can be a long day too. The last two meets didn't get over until 2:30. The kids really enjoy it though. They both like the competition factor and they like hanging out with their friends.

There can be a lot of down time in the morning before the meet starts. This is Andrew playing his DS in his "tent" that I made for him to help with the glare.

The bump under the black sleeping bag is Natasha playing her DS. She has a lot of friends on swim team so sometimes I don't see her for a long time. She is usually hanging out at their tents.
Here are the girls going to the blocks for their next race. Natasha is on the left with the pink goggles.

Swimmers step up,..............take your mark,............

.

...........Beeeep! (Natasha just learned how to dive a few weeks ago.)

Andrew waiting at the ready bench. This is where they get the swimmers lined up based on what heat, and what lane they are swimming in.

Swimmers place your feet..................

........ Beeeeeep!

Andrew finishing back stroke.

They usually swim in five races during the meet. The first race is the medley relay, where 4 swimmers swim and each one swims a different stroke. This meet Natasha swam breaststroke and Andrew swam backstroke. Then Natasha swam the 25 yard freestyle (1 lap) , 50 yard freestyle (2 laps), 25 yard breaststroke, and the 100 yard freestyle relay (4 swimmers swim 1 lap of freestyle). Besides the medley Andrew swam the 25 yard backstroke, 25 yard, breaststroke, 25 yard butterfly, and the 100 yard freestyle relay.

They all swam great and they usually try to compete against their own personal times rather than other swimmers. This was the first time Natasha has ever swam a two lap race and she took second place by hundredths of a second. We are so proud of our swimmers!

Camping - sort of

Last weekend we had planned to go camping to Calaveras Big Trees but we ended up having to cancel because of thunderstorms.  The kids were devastated. We were going with our friends the Edward's so we decided to have our own camp out at our house.  Since we had already bought all the food we had a BBQ and then our own campfire. We got to roast marshmallows and make smores.

The kids really enjoyed playing in the tent. 

Having a camp fire and doing smores just wasn't enough for the kids. They REALLY wanted to sleep outside so Jason slept with the three older ones in the tent. 
Luckily we were able to turn major disappointment into some fun.  The next day we went with the Edward's to go see Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian on IMAX.  It was a lot of fun and the kids were good.  I think Andrew liked seeing the preview for the new Transformers almost as much as the real movie. Yay for a fun weekend!

Spirit Week

This last week at school was spirit week so I took a few pictures.  I didn't really think the themes were that great though, they were really girl oriented. I really missed not having crazy hair day.  Anyway, one of the days was dress like a teacher and Natasha spent a half hour in her room coming up with this outfit all on her own.

Another day was Hawaiin Day.


Monday was the first graders field day and Natasha loved her face painting. She didn't want to wash it off.  I thought it looked really good too. They went all out!

2nd Best

This last weekend there was a giant yard sale where hundreds of people contribute.  The kids each got to pick out something and they did a really great job.  They found something that they were uniquely interested in.

This is the picture I took that night after the sale.  They played with their toys for a long time. Natasha would get phone calls on her phone from the "master" who would then tell them what to do.  The boys would go off and shoot the bad guys based on what the "master" would say.  The "master" would also inform Natasha that she would have to turn into a dog or sometimes other animals.  It was a cute game that kept them occupied for quite awhile.
I was very excited to find this banana car for only $5.  Adam also LOVES this car.  If he's not riding in it he's pushing it around.
Preston immediately found this toy gun and it has lived up to his expectations. It turns out that Andrew had seen that gun first but passed over it because he thought it needed bullets.  Preston wanted it and he didn't even think it made any noise. After we bought it we found out it made noise and that was an added bonus.  Ever since Andrew has been kicking himself for not getting the gun himself.  They call it the tank gun and EVERYONE always wants it.  It is all mechanical and not electric. You pull back this one part and when you shoot it sounds like a machine gun (no batteries needed).  It was packaged with a PowerRanger gun (the one Andrew's holding in the picture of all four of them) and they have been worth WAY more than the $3 I paid for them.  
Natasha found this outfit all by herself. I don't think I would have picked something so bold but it looks absolutely beautiful on her. She wore it school the next day, to the movies the day after that, and then to church the day after that.  Needless to say I think she likes it. 

Memorial Day

We got a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa Behrmann over Memorial Day weekend.  We spent the day with them at Nathan and Renay's house. 

In Brentwood they have this new park that has sprinklers.  It was a hot day so the kids really enjoyed it.

Adam was Kaeli's little shadow. It was really cute.

They would run from the sprinklers to this slide over and over again.  Since everyone was wet it went SUPER fast. That's why Adam liked to go down on Kaeli's lap.

I love, LOVE this picture!!

Back at the cousin's house they have a trampoline. Preston was in heaven jumping on it. He likes to jump on his knees and then flip over.
Adam likes to jump too and here he is trying to make Preston go up and down.
Kaeli and Andrew came on and then they were trying to bounce Preston and Adam high.
This really shows just how much fun they were having.  Adam insisted on holding Preston's hand. He doesn't like to get too crazy.  
Here's Preston getting some real air from the big kids bouncing him.

We spent all day there and it still wasn't enough for the kids.  It was a fun day all around!

Happy 7th birthday Natasha!

On May 23rd it was Natasha's 7th birthday. Luckily it fell on a Saturday so she got to have her party on her actual birthday. It was also the first birthday party that she got to invite friends from school.  She right away wanted a pool party but I was a little hesitant.  One, I was worried about having so many young swimmers in the water and two, the weather.  Last year it rained and was 63 degrees on her birthday.  I decided rain or shine we could heat the pool so she was very excited.  She planned for weeks all the details of the party and who would be invited.  She also couldn't stop "reminding" me to buy her a present.  She thought that I might forget. 

Here is a picture of everyone that came.

We got giant cupcakes from Costco and they were a big hit. 

Here is everyone swimming. At one point we counted and there were 13 kids in the pool.  Everything went off without a hitch and the weather even cooperated! I think that everyone had a good time.

1, 2, 3 jump!

It's hard to believe it's been 7 years already! Here is a trip down memory lane.

3 months old

One year old with Nana.

Two years old

Three years old

She bought these boots in Wyoming right after she turned three and wore them every day until they were too small.

Four years old.

Five years old.

Five years old with Nana.

Six years old.

7 years old.