Take your mark...

The Pinnacle Pirates had their first swim meet of the year last Wednesday. It was a home meet and the boys were ready for their second year of competing. The kids all wear their team's red and black jammers and suits, put on pirate tattoos, chant crazy cheers and the pool is decked out in pirate decorations and apparel. You would never know these are neighborhood pools and swim teams and run by volunteers and parents and very young coaches (None are older 21). Amazing. TreyJoshMattLuke M., Matt and Josh. They swim with the 6 and Under boys.
Josh swam the 25 meter freestyle. Matt also swam the 25 meter free. (Regretfully I didn't get a photo. Thank heavens they have another meet tomorrow so I can make up for that!) I was SO proud of Matt. He has been terrified of swimming on the lane line. He and Josh both have to stop and hold on to catch their breath. Matt only swam in one meet last year and he was next to the pool wall. On his second meet, which the very last meet of the 2007 season, he was asked to swim in the lane line at the last minute. He was too afraid and backed out at the last second. It broke his heart (and mine!). He was still terrified of swimming on it this year and after some serious encouragement he swam it after practice while I watched. OK, so I bribed him with a candy bar, but it worked. He swam the entire length of the pool and held on to the line when he was tired. It was so exciting to see him overcome his fear. I rewarded him with not just a candy bar, but got talked into a set of new Indiana Jones action figures. (I'm such a pushover!) It was money well spent!Coach Phillip told Matt he'd be on the line at practice Wednesday morning. Matt was worried all afternoon, but when the time came he jumped in and swam his little heart out! There were only 2 boys in the heat. Matt got 1st place in the heat. He earned himself a blue ribbon. Here's Coach Phillip congratulating Matt on an awesome race.
Trey swims with the 7 and 8 year old boys. He swam the 25 meter freestyle. Trey also swam the 25 meter backstroke. He took first place in his heat. Who would think these two are twins? Not many.I had Trey bring cards to pass the time. They played war.
Rich was on call, so I had the girls to myself. They just fit right in with the rest of the swimmers.At 7:30 PM I had to get Josh and Matt across the street (so convenient!) to the ball park for their final regular season t-ball game. Trey still had one event left, so I had their baseball gear in the van. They changed in the parking lot and the girls and I rushed them over to their practice. Their game started at 8:15 PM.
We made it back just in time to see Trey's last event. Trey's freestyle relay team. He looked great and they took 2nd place.The girls were all smiles through it all. What sweeties. Then it was off to baseball, but that's another post.... Congrats boys!!

The Arboretum

A few weeks ago Trey's cub scout group (our ward and the Pioneer Ward combined) held Pack Night at The Arboretum: State Botanical Garden of Kentucky. It was created in 1991 between a joint effort with the University of Kentucky and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. The Arboretum is 100 acres of gardens that include walking paths, a river, bridges and it is truly a lovely place to explore. There is something new to see in every season of the year.

We spent a night there last summer as a family and I was dying to go back. Rich was on call that night, so I happily took the kids downtown. The Arboretum is located just south of the hospital and across the street from the UK football stadium.First the scout awards awards were presented. Trey wasn't pleased he didn't get any. I had to remind him you actually have to WORK and EARN the badges and beads. Life's been so busy with school and sports we haven't gotten too into scouting. Looks like we had better be pulling out his book this summer each afternoon after our daily pool outing.While the leaders talked, the girls pulled out their snack they insisted we bring: an entire family size bag of Cheetos. I know, I'm the queen mom of healthy food. At least they shared with each other and various scouts that begged for the good stuff.Then the real fun began. They gave each scout a nature card and told each to mark the items they could find. They made small groups of scouts with an adult supervisor and set off into the large space to hunt. Trey went off with some boys and I was left with my other kiddos.
We searched for about an hour.We found a lot of the items.Kaitlyn sniffed to see if this was an item we could eat. Yup. She was correct: mint.The girls loved smelling all the flowers and eating as we walked.

The roses were beautiful.Josh and MattKaitlynI love this section in the rose gardens.The girls took a quick break while Josh and Matt found Trey and his group and ran off looking for berries. Even after Josh's crash on the gravel walkway and two band aids on his scraped up knee, he was all smiles.
They ended the night with cookies and cold juice boxes. We drove away with the sun setting on the UK water tower located on the grounds.Lastly we grabbed some pizza, said hello to Rich for 5 minutes in the hospital drop off zone and headed home for bed. A very memorable night for all.

All kinds of CrAzY!

Maybe it's the fine, wispy hair that juts out in all the wrong places. Or the mischievous glint in her clear blue eyes. Or the silly way she gives you a wide toothy grin. Or her deep belly laugh. But something about her just spills her secret. Her aura simply radiates her true nature. You see complete strangers have call her on it. An old man at Wal-mart yesterday asked if the girls were twins. He took his long, dark finger and pointed at Brynn. "You gotta look out for this one. This one, you gotta watch." And he was right. Last year during baseball a mom that I had just met summed it up in one short sentence. "She is hell on wheels." It was too close to the truth to admit. I love Kristi's explanation the best. "They are angels on speed." Yup. You got it right. This tiny two year old girl is one fearless chick. A dare devil that could rival Evel Knievel. I like to call her nutty. She told me today, "I funny," in between giggles. Yes, sweetheart. Sometimes more than others.

You see she climbs out of her crib. She has thrown herself out of her crib head first once. She bounces up and down like a UK cheerleader as she tears through the house. She pushes chairs around the kitchen and stands on the counter rummaging through cupboards. She swims in the tub. She jumps off the bed and tables. She scales Trey's rocking game chair, stands on top while it rests perilously on the wall and then leaps off like a bird. She opens soda cans with her teeth. She got in the sink today and flooded the kitchen when she turned on the faucet and used the sprayer to hose down everything in an eight foot radius. It took 5 large towels to mop it up. She makes pretty pictures with pens on paper, the floor, her arms, chest and legs and then happily shows it to me like it's as lovely as a priceless Monet. I have found her on Trey's top bunk twice. She hangs on shirts in the closet until the hangers snap. She opens the fridge and uses the shelves as a ladder to get those hard to reach items. She exploded an entire box on Q-tips on my bathroom floor- all 200- in 4 seconds flat. She pops open new tampons and shoots out the cotton bit. She is go, go, go and then some. But today she went too far. Without my knowledge, she unfastened the seat belts. Hers and her sisters. I was driving around with my babies not secured to the seat. I had to draw the line somewhere. After a few futile attempts of making her stop while the van was parked safely in the garage, action was necessary. I have to admit, I think this is quite creative in an odd, sad way. Baggie, surgical lap and duct tape seemed to do the trick. Try to get that undone little missy. Actually, just forget I asked. You might find a way. In less than a minute. Here's my other bright idea. There are a few things I'm just not ready to share yet. A wide open fridge and freezer are not one of them my little darling.

What a sweet, wonderful, lovely, funny, silly, hyper, gentle, happy, nutty, crazy girl! Truly. Love you Brynnie Brynn. I really, really, really do.

Park Day

For an entire month the students at Veterans Park Elementary tried to earn a sticker every day. To get that precious sticker you had to be on time, could not be absent, turn in your homework and not pull a ticket. I was reminded countless times to make sure I had their folders in their backpacks or they wouldn't get a sticker. We had better get in the van right now, or we would not get a sticker. The one and only time I forgot to put in their Friday homework was the second day of stickers. I heard about it all weekend long. If you got 20 of the 25 possible stickers, you were able to participate in Park Day. This was held on Wednesday May, 28. This was a four hour fun filled afternoon of freedom. So of course the girls and I had to come and join in the fun.Josh and Matt stayed around the playground area of the school. Trey's class walked to Veterans Park and played on the large grass field and playground by the baseball park. We ate lunch with the boys. Here's Matt with Marin, Holly and Lexi.Trent, Ty, Sam, Josh and NoahMatt flew his first kite Mrs. Corales and her 2007-2008 K/1 class. Mrs. Brumfield is the assistant on the right side.Josh played something they call the 'kicking game' or 'bobbling game'.
The girls LOVED being right in the middle of the action.It was freezing cold that morning and Matt nearly cried in fear they might cancel their play day. Thankfully the clouds blew away and it was lovely outside. They even had Popsicles (which made most of the kids cold.) I'll take that any day. The year before we all nearly died of heat stroke. Really.Kaitlyn tries a hula hoop for the first time.Matt with Mrs. BelcherJosh with Mrs. Corales (Though I should write Ms. on both of their names since every teacher is called Ms. It is written that way on their door and yearbook regardless if they are married or single. Maybe it's a southern thing?)The girls kept me busy making sure they didn't fall and break an arm. (Josh already did that one two summers ago. No fun!)Then we headed off to find Trey. The girls kept him busy too!He joined in spinning the girls on the tire swing.They also looked for Cicadas.They weren't hard to find. They were everywhere. They really are quite cool bugs. The night air has a rhythm to it as they create a loud beating, hum.

It was a perfect day to celebrate a very good school year.

Loss

Gloomy was the word that fit the mood of the weather this morning. There was no bright sun like yesterday. Dark clouds blocked the cheerful light. Thunder cracked and shook the house. The flash of lightening and the loud boom were almost instantaneous. It rained and rained and rained. Rich got soaked running from the garage to his can parked 8 feet away on the drive way as he headed off to work. Swimming was soon canceled. The kids were running around unbathed in swimsuits. Then the phone rang. I got news I didn't want to hear. One of Trey's dearest best friend's mother passed away this morning after a valiant fight with breast cancer. I knew she had been sick, but was unaware of her illness's severity. My heart broke for sweet Parker. I spent lunch with him on a near weekly basis. He is tall, handsome with bright blue eyes and a shy smile. He is quiet and polite and just the kind of boy you hope your own child would be friends with.

Trey had told me earlier in the year that his mom had cancer. I asked about her on a regular basis, but after the courteous 'fine' the subject was dropped. I was unsure how asking made him feel. And yet my mind would wander. I knew she had been in the hospital. I knew she had endured another round of chemotherapy and radiation. I knew this was her second bout with the disease. Was he really alright? How could someone so young deal with something so big? How could a nine year old look the possibility of death straight on and continue unchanged? I know I could not and I am so much older than he.

Then I would think about his mother Paula. How could she go on every day knowing since January that her time her on earth was so limited? How could you imagine your life ending with two children so young and full of promise? Who would love and comfort and care for your babies? Who will help your best friend and husband grieve and move forward? How do you prepare yourself to say goodbye knowing there would be no more swim meets, baseball games, recitals and plays? No dating, driving, graduations, weddings and grandchildren in your future? Those things will come, but you will not be there to share in their joy. My heart aches for her too. Of course I know she is well now after much suffering, but she simply has to wait. Wait through their lives so she can see them again.

My boys are too young to fully understand death. They haven't had to experience it very closely. Their focus has been on where will Parker go after school and who will take care of him. They can only see the ramifications that will affect him now. But I know. I see. I worry. I truly understand. I am a mother.

In young women's on Sunday Brother McQuivey read a moving quote about trials and life. He stated that life is a test. We all agreed to come to this earth knowing that there would be good times and bad, trials and pain and we all agreed on the plan. We said yes knowing our lives could last a few minutes or hours or years.

And while I know that is completely true, I am sure we didn't realize how much we would want to stay once we arrived. How fast times goes by. Just how precious 24 hours can be when it's filled with hugs and kisses and smiles from family. How a few hours with your spouse and children can add up to a lifetime cherished moments.

I am sure if it were me, I would have been pleading to the Lord, begging him for just a little more time. Just let me remain to love, help, teach, nurture, care for my little family for just a bit longer. Wouldn't anyone?

I think how I can get so frustrated when the house is a mess, dinner has taken over the entire kitchen, laundry is piling up, groceries are waiting to be put away, bathrooms need to be cleaned, emails need to be sent, lessons need to be prepared and yet I can't get them checked off because life just keeps throwing a new curve every few minutes.

Then the phone rings and the focus of life is suddenly clear. Everything is black and white. There are a few simple things that matter. The rest can just wait. It never was all that important in the first place. Family, love, memories, scriptures, temple, repentance, testimony, faith, prayer, the Atonement, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father suddenly stand out from the rest of the bits of life. These things bring peace. They bring comfort. They bring joy. Even when the world begins to cave in on you.

Always.