Brody's First Duathlon

On Saturday, July 21, Brody competed in his first Duathlon!!  He had to run 1/8 mile, bike 1/2 mile, and then run 1/8 mile to the finish line.  The day before the race, Brody got an early birthday present...a brand new bike!  He was a little nervous about riding it in the race, but he did great!  We are so proud of him!!!  He had never done anything like this, but he went out there like a pro and finished strong!  He completed the course in 7:26 and placed 10th out of 23 five-six year old boys!  He was so happy to have finished in the Top 10!  Emilee also competed in the duathlon and did great!!  They both had a lot of fun!

Swim Team Banquet

Tuesday night, July 17th, was the Bluegrass Marlins Awards Banquet.  We all had a great time!!  It's hard to believe that the season is already over.  It seemed so short...almost too short!  The boys are already missing going to practice every morning.  They absolutely love swimming, and they definitely love all of their coaches!!!  Thank you Coach Lisa, Coach Will, Coach John, Coach Blaike, Coach Kelsey, and Coach Sara for making this such a fun summer for our boys!!

At the banquet, both boys received a Marlin Trophy for being a part of the swim team this season.  Brody received a dedication award for swimming at all practices and swim meets.  Colby also received a special award...Most Inspirational.  He is definitely an inspiration to us, and I am so proud that he is an inspiration to others as well.  This banquet was a great end to a great summer of swimming!!

Happy Birthday Jeremy

On Saturday, July 14, we celebrated Jeremy's birthday with dinner and dessert at their house.  The boys always love playing with Uncle Jeremy!!  

Swim Meets 2012

The boys swam in 4 swim meets throughout the summer, as well as the Nashville City Swim Meet on July 13th.  They both showed growth and improvement with each meet, and we are very proud of them!!

June 12: Swim Meet 1 at Willoughby

Brody:  25 yard Freestyle 33.15 seconds / 2nd place

            25 yard Backstroke 1:03/ 8th place

            50 yard Mini IM 1:39/ 5th place 

            Relay Team 1st place

Colby swam with Coach Will as an exhibition swimmer.  

June 19: Swim Meet 2 against JCC

Brody: Freestyle 28.60/ 3rd place

           Backstroke 54.82 / 8th place

           Mini IM 1:38.58 / 6th place

           Relay Team 1st place

Colby swam with Coach Will again as an exhibition.

July 3: Swim Meet 3 at Fairvue

Brody: Freestyle 30.50 / 3rd place

           Backstroke 44.97 / 5th place

           Mini IM 1:39.43 / 5th place

           Relay Team 2nd place

Colby swam with Coach Will again, but he did much more of the swimming on his own.  He even jumped off the block at the start!!

July 10: Swim Meet 4 against Wildwood

Brody: Freestyle 28.40 / 4th place

           Backstroke 46.68 / 7th place

           Mini IM 1:25.69 / 3rd place

           Relay Team 1st place

Colby jumped in with no coach in the pool!!  He was very nervous about holding the rope when he needed to breathe, though, so Coach Will and Coach John jumped in.  He swam from Coach John to Coach Will down the pool and did incredible!  

July 13: City Swim Meet at Centennial Sportsplex

Brody: Freestyle 27.57 seconds / 29th out of 139 six and under boys...1 second improvement!

           Backstroke 35.24 seconds / 45th out of 128 six and under boys...12 second improvement!!

           Relay Team 3rd place 

We are so proud of Colby for trying to swim in City Meet!!!  He lined up and jumped in all by himself.  Once in the pool, though, he realized he couldn't get a good hold of the lane rope.  Luckily, Coach Will was right there by the pool to pull him out!  He still got his City Meet Medal for trying, and he was very happy about that!

I love looking at Brody's times and seeing how much he has improved!  It's crazy for me to think that last summer when he started swim team, he couldn't even swim the 25 yards without stopping 3 or 4 times.  Now, he is putting up some pretty impressive times!  He is such a hard worker and takes correction from his coaches so well, which has really paid off!!  At the 2011 city meet, he finished his freestyle in 41.74 seconds, so in one year, he has taken off over 14 seconds and really improved his form!!  At the 2011 city meet, he finished his backstroke in 46.9 seconds, so in one year, he has taken off over 11 seconds and drastically improved his form on this stroke!!  Brody still has one more year in the 6 and under division, and I think it will be a great summer for him!

When Colby started swim team this summer, he wasn't even jumping into the pool!  He would only play on the steps.  Now, we can't keep him out of the pool.  He loves to jump in, swim on the wall, and then do it all over again.  He will do it for as long as we stay in the pool with him.  I love seeing that he is a hard worker just like his big brother!  He is very self motivated and loves to learn and practice new skills.  I can't wait to see how he does next summer at the swim meets!  

Swim Team Fun Fridays

Every Friday, the swim team has "Fun Friday," where the kids dress up before practice and get to play pool games after practice.  The theme for the dress up and games normally goes with whatever movie was shown at the Float Inn on the Thursday night before.  Brody and Colby have really enjoyed dressing up this summer!!

June 1: Pajama Day...

June 8: Chipwrecked (from Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked)...

June 15: life size dolls (from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)...

June 22: Disney Characters...

June 29: Egyptian Dress (Emperor's New Groove)...

July 6: Rock Stars...

Our 10th Anniversary

Jason and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on July 13th!!!  It is crazy to think that 10 years have already passed.  It still seems like yesterday when I met him for the first time.  I am so thankful that God brought Jason into my life!  The last few years have definitely had many ups and downs with Colby's diagnosis, hospital stays, and surgeries, but instead of letting all of the stress drive us apart, we have used these as opportunities to grow closer to God and closer to each other.  I cannot imagine facing each new day without Jason by my side.  His love, friendship, support, encouragement, and humor are nothing short of amazing!  I know our next 60 years will be just as wonderful!

To celebrate, Jason surprised me with a weekend at the Biltmore.  We left on Friday night and got back Sunday afternoon.  It was a perfect weekend!!  It was fun spending time together...just the two of us away from the reality of our daily lives.  That rarely happens, and I am thankful that we had the opportunity to do it for our 10th Anniversary!

Happy Birthday Harper

On Thursday, July 5, Harper turned 8 years old!!  We were able to celebrate with her and the rest of the family with dinner at Rainforest Cafe' and then cake at Granny Shug's house.

4th of July at the Pool

It's no surprise that we spent the 4th of July at the Bluegrass pool.  These boys never get tired of swimming!!  Our friend and neighbor, Lucy, came with us, which made it even more fun for the boys.