The Creek is Rising! - Swim and Dive 2019

Wow! We had a really amazing swim and dive season. I honestly think it may have been our best season yet! Not only did our team do well, but Evan and Preston did really well too.

The Hunting Creek Swim and Dive Team won three out of four of our regular season meets, which included a win over Louisville Country Club. This was pretty special, because our team hasn't had a win over Louisville Country Club in a couple of decades! We also placed fourth in the championship meet!

Evan excelled in dive this year. He placed first at each regular meet and he placed second at the championship meet. His meet was the final one for the championship meet and one of the officials said his back dive was the best dive they had seen the whole meet! He was really excited and we were too!

Preston had a rocky dive season, but he proved that he is one of the bravest kids ever. He started off the season well and even placed third in the second regular dive meet of the season. This was pretty impressive, because he dove against a lot of other 8 and under boys. Unfortunately, he hit the board in practice and became unsure of himself. He tried again at the the next meet and hit the board again. It was so sad. He was hurt and scared, but he STILL completed the last dive! He was SO brave! He also dove in the last regular meet, he just did a front jump instead of a front flip. We were SO proud of him!

Evan did well throughout the swim season and won lots of ribbons for both his individual races and his relays. All three of his relays won medals at the championship meet. He was also asked to swim the 12 and under Boys 100 Meter I.M. His coaches thought he could make the top six, which would would win a medal. He surprised us all by placing 2nd! It was a really great race!

Preston loved swimming and his freestyle relay placed second or third most of the season. His medley relay also placed in the final meet. Both of his relay teams also placed at the championship meet, so Preston got to bring home two medals! He was thrilled!

Evan and Preston were both the young kids in their age group this year. Preston is seven years old and was swimming and diving against eight year old kids and Evan is eleven and was swimming and diving against twelve year old kids. Evan even swam some relay races in the fourteen and under age group! I think that makes their victories even more exciting.

Evan was very excited to win second place in the championship dive meet.

Coach Jacob helped Evan a lot this year and really encouraged him to always keep working hard.

This year for the championship meet, the kids on our team were caught "speeding in the pool!" This was a fun theme for us and we even had a Prospect police officer drive up with the sirens on to surprise the kids as we got ready to head over to the championship meet. Plus, we got a special police escort out of the neighborhood!

We were so happy to have Coach Petie and Coach Brandt help the boys this year. They were amazing coaches and really bonded with both Evan and Preston.

Look at all of that hardware! Great job!

Evan and Preston were always excited for people to come and watch them swim and dive. Grammy, Granddaddy, Bonnie Mom and Grandpa came to lots of swim and dive meets and the boys loved having special cheerleaders. Also, Mr. Pollock attended the championship meet and cheered for both boys. 

Hunting Creek Swim and Dive Team 2019

Summer 2019

We have had a really great summer. We have been incredibly busy though and I haven't thought about updating the blog until today. I don't want the summer to go by without an update, so this one will be one big post on lots of the things that have kept us busy and having fun.

Summer 2019

1. The boys have spent LOTS of time playing with their neighborhood friends.

2. We have spent a great deal of time at the pool. In addition to swim and dive practice, we have enjoyed pool parties and hanging out with family and friends.

3. We have spent quite a bit of time with our extended family, including Grammy, Granddaddy, Aunt Heather, Caleb, Emily, Jackson, Bonnie Mom, Grandpa, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Teddy, Caroline, Alex and Andy.

4. We have gone to the zoo, Bernheim Forest, House of Boom, Malibu Jack's, Kentucky Kingdom, and Farmington Historic Plantation.

5. We walked the bridge, enjoyed the Saint Aloysius picnic, hiked to the waterfall, played at the playground, had a sleepover with Grammy and Granddaddy, and gone fishing and crayfishing.

6. We celebrated Father's Day. Carl picked walking the Bridge and having lunch at Parlour. We also got ice cream. We all enjoyed our time together.

7. We enjoyed a very laid back Independence Day. We went to the pool party, took a nap, went to the parade and enjoyed fireworks with the Himmelsbach family.

8. We got a new cat! Eliza is such a sweet kitty and we are so excited to have her as part of the family.

I am sure I have forgotten something, but this sums up a lot of the fun things we have done. It has been a great summer so far. Thankfully, we still have several more weeks of fun before school starts!

Here are some pictures from our adventures this summer.

Happy Father's Day! We are so lucky to have such an amazing Daddy!

Welcome home, Eliza! We love you!

We have made several trips to House of Boom this summer. The boys always have lots of fun!

Malibu Jacks is always fun. The boys like mini golf, go carts, and playing games.

We enjoyed the Saint Aloysius picnic. The games were lots of fun and both boys won several games. Preston liked the kid splay area and getting his hair painted. Evan REALLY wanted to win a fish. He played so long without winning, that they let him pick one anyway. He was THRILLED!

We visited Farmington Historic Plantation, where President Lincoln stayed while visiting his friend. The boys learned a lot about life in the 1800s. Afterwards, they enjoyed lunch at Costco, which they loved.

Independence Day

We have gone fishing and crayfishing many times this summer. 

We enjoyed going to Bernheim Forest to see the Forest Giants. They were super cool and we had a lot of fun.

The kids were SO excited to be together again!

Summertime!

School ended about two weeks ago and we are officially on summer break! We are all excited to have more relaxing days and lots of time for fun with our family and friends.

Evan completed fifth grade and he will be going to Kammerer Middle School next year. He had a really great year in fifth grade. He is a bit sad to be leaving Chancey Elementary, where he has attended since kindergarten. He is excited for middle school though! He is a great kid and I am sure he will have a great time in middle school, full of new friends and new opportunities.

Preston completed kindergarten. He also had a great year. He learned so much and made many new friends. He loved having Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Walker as his teachers. He also loved recess! I am really impressed with his reading and math skills, as well as how well he did with the transition from preschool to elementary school. He is SO outgoing now. It has been amazing to see him blossom this year.

Preston had an adorable closing ceremony! Grammy, Granddaddy, Bonnie Mom and Grandpa were able to join us for the program.

Preston received the "Jolly Rancher" Award for always being so funny!

We are SO happy that Preston had Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. Walker as his kindergarten teachers. They are AMAZING!

After the program, Preston went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate! He LOVED playing the games and winning tickets!

The kindergarten closing program featured Pete the Cat. I loved Preston's "costume." He was adorable as he sang and danced throughout the program. He even rocked his small speaking part!

 We are ready for summer!

Evan had a promotion ceremony on the last day of school. Bonnie Mom, Grandpa and Grammy were able to join us. Granddaddy would have joined us too, but he was on a mission trip to Belize.

Mrs. Lotze and Mr. Pollock were great teachers! I don't think we could have had a better combination for Evan's fifth grade year.

Chancey Soccer Team - Spring 2019

Evan earned a place on Chancey's soccer team this spring. The Chancey Cardinals had a great season. They were good enough to play in the "A" league this year and they were competitive all season. They had some great wins, as well as some ties. They lost a few games too, but the games were always close. I was so proud of the team, because even when they were down, they worked together and played hard. They never gave up.

Evan had a great season. He worked hard and became a really good keeper. He was encouraging to his friends and was always a good sport. We are really proud of him!

We were all sad to see the season come to an end, especially since this is the last year Evan will play for Chancey. It was really fun to watch this team play and we know all of the kids had a great time playing together.

Vera

On Monday night, Vera unexpectedly became very ill and passed away. We are heartbroken. She was the best cat and we miss her terribly. She was incredibly sweet and she liked to follow me around the house. She would often flop over on her side or back, so that I could rub her belly. She loved being wherever we were. She was often found cuddling up next to to us on the couch or sitting on top of the couch, so she could see what we were doing. Her favorite spot was on my lap, where she would knead bread and often fall asleep. She had the sweetest and softest meow, but when she was happy, she had an amazingly loud purr. She was also incredibly beautiful. She had a beautiful multi-colored coat and striking blue eyes.

It is hard to imagine that we almost didn't get to have Vera as part of the family. She came to us when she needed a break from the shelter. She was incredibly shy and hid from us. I usually didn't even see her at feeding time. After a few weeks, she decided she liked us and started to be very happy here. She stopped hiding and enjoyed it when we would pet her. We fell in love with her and loved watching her blossom here. We decided that she had to become part of the family and she never went back to the shelter. I am so grateful that we had these past few years with our sweet girl. 

Vera loved to be with us. This was taken in the bathroom, as I helped the boys get ready for school.

Vera loved to get her belly rubbed.

Sometimes I can squeeze in an afternoon nap. Vera loved to sleep next to me.

Vera loved to sit on my lap and purr.

Both Evan and Preston loved Vera very much. The first picture is of Preston holding Vera. This is was the day we found out that he was allergic to Vera if he held her. Thankfully, he could pet her or she could sit near him with no problems.