By 1:20..........

So as we were getting things in order to leave for our California trip at 2:00 I went to get Justin and I a Pepsi from Minit Market. This was actually Christmas Eve for most people, we just celebrated early. As I am driving home I get a phone call from Justin saying, "Kiersten broke her wrist!" I actually did not believe him at first, but after a little convincing I did. We met on the side of the road and I took Kiersten on to the hospital. Justin went home until I could call around and see who could help with the boys so Justin could join us at the hospital.

There was no question if Kiersten broke her arm. It wasn't her wrist like originally thought, once we got her long sleeve shirt off it was obvious. I think because it hurt to not be holding her wrist Kiersten thought it was her wrist that was broke plus the pain was so bad it just hurt every where.

A sweet nurse, Crystal Lehmann, held Kiersten's arm as I comforted her. I called Wendy and had one of her girls go to the house to watch the boys so Justin could come to the hospital. Justin took over holding her arm once he got there.....about an hour later. Then Grammie Cluff knew we were at the hospital she offered to go watch the boys. Poor little Kiersten had to get an IV twice even though she laid completely still while they tried to put it in the first time. She was in so much pain, but did amazing. On the drive to the hospital she kept telling herself, "It's Okay, it's okay!"

I was so relieved once they had pain meds in her......she was much more comfortable once that morphine kicked in!

Dr. Bryce came looked at the X-rays .........Kiersten had broken both bones in her arm. But one bone was displaced severely. Dr. Bryce discussed with us how bad of a break it was. He said that he would try his best to get it back in place but he wasn't sure it would stay. He did tell us to be prepared for surgery if he was unable to set it. He would not let us stay in the room while he set it, like he let us when he did Logan's arm. He said, "This is a much worse break and that we wouldn't want to watch."

So we waited right outside the room for a good 25 minutes. I was getting very nervous and was totally prepared for them to come out and say they were taking her in to surgery.

Finally they opened the door and she had this purple cast on.

As Kiersten was waking up from the anesthesia, she would try to roll over to her side. Dr. Bryce says all side sleepers do this. As she continued to wake up, he told us that he had a real hard time setting Kiersten's arm and that it took three times to get it to stay, which he said isn't typical. He told us she would need to have X-rays every week to make sure the bone heals correctly.

Kiersten then tried to roll over to her right side, the one with the broken arm. I tried to stop her and she said so sweetly, "But I want to give Dr. Bryce a HUG!"

So he reached over and they hugged and she thanked him for fixing her arm. He said he has never had anyone immediately give him a hug and that she just made his Christmas. Even in pain, Kiersten is thoughtful and sweet. The whole time at the hospital she thanked the nurses for holding her arm, for the warm blanket, and for being so nice. She was such an example to me! And she was so brave!

Kiersten was so sad and thought she had ruined our trip. I told her nothing was ruined and that none of this was her fault. We would just be leaving a few hours later but that it was no big deal. We were just so happy she didn't need surgery!

Because we were leaving for California in a few hours and not returning for 6 days, Dr. Bryce needed to cast her arm. He said the bone was still very unstable and he wasn't 100% sure that it was going to stay in place with a cast on but that splinting it was not an option.

He warned us that he was worried about the swelling and that he was okay with us traveling but that we needed to be prepared to stop at a hospital if her fingers started to turn colors or if they swelled too much and were hurting her. We figured we had just gotten our vacation ER trip out of the way early and that this trip would now be a breeze.............no ER visit in California we were just sure of it!

We stayed the night in Phoenix and then woke up Christmas morning and traveled on to San Diego. We got there about 4:00 or so. The kids enjoyed collecting sea shells on the beach by our hotel bungalows. We then decided to go eat dinner and finally found a Denny's that was open, it was Christmas day after all and not a lot of selection for restaurants. While waiting for our food Kiersten's fingers were hurting her and they were turning a scary purple color. We knew we needed to get her to an ER. She became very scared and nervous of what to expect and the unknown plus it was hurting her.

It was almost as if she was having an anxiety attach or something. As we drove in the car I continued to tell her, "It would be Okay!"

She was very, very upset! She kept telling me, "No It Is NOT Going to be OKAY! Quit telling me that!!"

Finally I stopped her and said, listen to me. It is my job as the mother to comfort you and help you feel okay. It's my job to tell you it's going to be okay! It is my job as the mom to stay calm and to make the mood as calm as it can be! I told her.... you can cry and scream, but that's not my job. And it's not my job to overreact and be upset. I asked her if she wanted me to start crying and acting scared with her? She said, "No." I told her then quit telling me that "it's not going to be okay." The truth of the matter was that yes it was going to be okay. Was it not going to be scary, no I couldn't guarantee that, but that taking her to an ER was the best thing we could do for her and that they could make it okay. She was worried that the doctors would be mean. I comforted her and told her that the doctors worked for us and that if any doctor was mean I would ask for a new doctor. After this conversation, she was much, much calmer and at easy. I was a little sad I had to be so firm with her while she was in such drama but I didn't know what else to do to make her change her perspective. I kept telling her that it was okay for her to cry and to be scared but that as her mom it wasn't okay for me to act that way. And she could see that if I was acting that way it would make it worst for her.

We finally made it to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego and they got us right back to a room. Uncle Brian was so nice and called ahead to the hospital to let them know what was going on. Brian and Tif were just great and took the three boys back to the resort. Hunter was a huge help Tif said as he helped find everyones p.j.s. Tif even commented on how good and easy the boys went to sleep..........bedtime is pretty easy at our house I will say.

Everyone was so sweet and nice to Kiersten. I think with it being Christmas and all everyone felt so sorry for her. And after hearing our story that we were here for a vacation and that she just broke her arm the day before. She even said, "I guess I didn't need to worry because everyone is really nice here!"

You can see if you enlarge his picture how much her fingers had swelled and that they are a different color then her other hand.

They took some X-rays just to make sure the bone was still in place. It looked good so they then planned to cut her cast off.

It was extremely hard both the day before at our hospital and here at the San Diego hospital to keep my composure. I was so sad to see my sweet girl in pain and scared.

As we waited for the doctor to return we watched the movie, "Elf." We were all impressed with the nice rooms and technology at this hospital. Kiersten though this TV on long swivel arm was cool.

After the doctor finally got the cast machine turned on, it took like 5 minutes for him to figure it out, which wasn't a comforting sign. It was a brand new machine and he had yet to use it. Before he began he showed Kiersten and us that it wouldn't cut through skin. He did it on his own hand and then on Kiersten's hand.

Kiersten was a little nervous but was handling things great once he showed her it couldn't cut her. The doctor was cutting Kiersten's cast, as he kept moving the blade back and forth in the crease of her elbow she just came unglued. She was kicking and crying hard. He stopped the machine and asked what the problem was. I thought to myself what are you retarded, she broke her arm yesterday and you are putting a ton of pressure just above that break.........what wouldn't hurt about that right? Sometimes doctors ask the dumbest questions, it's almost like they forget the person they are working on is ALIVE!!!

Kiersten told him it was really hurting and that it felt like he was cutting her. He told her that he was sorry but that there was no way he was cutting her. He had to cut the cast completely on both the inner side and the outer side so that if we needed to pry it apart we could. It was horrible just horrible. Kiersten was hurting quite a bit and I was tearing up! I wanted to scream at the doctor!!!

As he was finishing up and cut the small part of the cast between her thumb and her pointer finger guess what HE CUT HER SKIN!!!

Kiersten said, "Ouch!" And we all could see he did in fact cut her. He was so surprised and felt horrible. Then as he was making sure the cast was completely cut, he was pulling on the part up by her elbow. When he opened it up a little we could see a cut about 2 inches long. I brought it to his attention and showed him that indeed he had cut her right in the place she had said he did. I told him no wonder Kiersten was so upset. He was extremely apologetic and was truly sorry. He did seem very surprised that it would even cut her.

Kiersten was exhausted by the time we left the hospital. She had some major bad luck with this arm so far. We are just praying it heals up right!

Guess we shouldn't assume we wouldn't visit an ER on our vacation just because we had to visit it a few hours before we left.

So our Study on ER's Across the U.S. continues!!!

Brothers

Kiersten's 5th Grade class along with the 4th grade class had a Poetry Reading on Thursday.

They were suppose to be dressed up so Kiersten wore an adorable dress. Kiersten was so excited for the Poetry Reading! Mrs. Percell was bringing refreshments and everything.

Kiersten wrote her poem about her Brothers.......it's just a sweet, wonderful poem!

I love all her little drawings to the side that represent what her poem talks about.

Both Mrs. Skinner and Mrs. Purcell mentioned to me that Kiersten's was their favorite poem..............all the kids did a wonderful job I was told!

Brothers

by

Kiersten Cluff

My brothers are very cool,

Even if they look like a fool.

When we play house we always make scrumptious homemade soup,

And sometimes we play in our fort,

Or on the basketball court.

We fight for fun and love to make mud pies,

That sometimes attract flies.

We add berries and put our initials on it.

We often do ninja moves on the trampoline.

We also scare our Logan Bear,

And he really thinks its not all that fair.

So we say we're sorry and go outside.

For a messy rainbow Popsicle,

After that we play as a cat or dog,

But often we play as wild Indians.

We get bored and make a craft,

We glue and paste,

My mom says, "what a waste!"

But we love to do it!

As you can see, even if they are a pest,

They certainly are the BEST!

Kiersten's Recognition Night

We received an invitation in the mail for a recognition night at the school.

It was for Kiersten's scores on the AIMS tests from last year 4th grade. The AIMS are taken at the end of each year starting in the 3rd grade.

Kiersten received her award for EXCEEDING THE STANDARDS IN ALL.....yes ALL AREAS OF THE AIMS! There was only one other person in the whole school that exceeded in ALL areas like Kiersten. We could not be prouder of her! These are all the kids that exceeded in at least one area of the AIMS. Kiersten is super smart and even more then that she applies herself 110% at everything! She is a wonderful example to us all! Great job Kiersten!!

The Sounds You Wake Up to...

Over the course of my years of being a Mother I have woken up to many different sounds.

Babies crying, kids whispering in my ear, Justin's alarm clock going off in the early morning hours, the sound of tiny feet running across the tile to get to my room..........to name a few.

Our kids are early risers so it's been a while since I regularly set an alarm clock. I guess last year for about 9 months I woke up at 4:40 a.m. to go walking/running with my friend Mac. But since about March of this year we haven't been doing that so no alarm clock for me.

For awhile I was woken up by the sound of Mr. Grant on the monitor either crying or saying, "I need Daddy!" Yes he is quite the Daddy's Boy!

But for about a month now he has been sleeping in past when Kiersten gets up. So I have had the rare occasion of being woke up by the sound of Kiersten either playing the piano or her playing her violin. It isn't super loud because she is always in the front office with the door closed.

So it's just a gentle whisper of music that awakens me and I have to say it is a fabulous way to wake up...........way, way better then any alarm clock.

Last week I started to think about what an amazing person Kiersten is. I have always known that, but sometimes her behavior stands out so much that you can not deny that she is amazing.

Every morning, well weekday morning, without any reminder or asking, Kiersten gets up and heads straight for the front office. She either plays the piano or violin first then follows up by playing the other one. She is only 10 years old...........in fact she just turned 10 in August. How many 10 year olds are that dedicated or responsible? She knows I will reminder her to practice every morning but I never have to, she does it all on her own and when no one else is even awake.

She never ceases to amaze me!

Thank you Kiersten for being YOU! Because YOU are simply AMAZING!!!

I genuinely love the light that Kiersten shares with our family!

I love waking up to Kiersten's music..........it really brightens my day and helps me get through the 2 hours of kids fighting, kids arguing about what morning chores the other kid didn't do, kids being mad because they don't like the breakfast, Mr. Grant being a grouch and everything else that goes on before the kids leave for school.

Yea, I didn't want you thinking it was all music and roses around here.

But I have to say, the sounds I have been waking up to the past month tops my list that is for sure!

Rodeo Fun Day

On the Saturday that I was in Phoenix for Time Out For Women, Kiersten and Hunter had their first rodeo. I was really sad to be missing such a fun day with them!

Justin is such a great dad and took all the kids to the rodeo. It was kind of a rodeo fun day...........there was goat dressing, a chicken chase, greased pig chase, rescue race, grocery race, and then some of the usual events sheep riding, roping, steer riding, barrels......Just all kinds of fun events.

Look at my little cowboy!

Hunter was beyond excited about getting to ride sheep for the first time. He really really wanted to win a belt buckle. He rode extremely well for his first time but didn't win the buckle. He got to ride three times because the first two times he stayed on the sheep and they just laid down. So he had to ride a third time. On the third time the sheep kind of tripped coming right out of the shoot and it threw Hunter's momentum off. He ended up scoring a 42, really good for his first time ever!

He had a great time and that's what really matters. Thank you Kelly for letting him borrow all your gear so he could ride!

Hunter and his friend Justice did the goat dressing and love it as well.

It was fun to get to see Hunter's rides on video. I was impressed........he has one hand in the air the whole time just like the real bull riders. I was so glad Justin video taped it for me to see. Thanks Sweetheart!

This is Kiersten before she ran the barrels. It was freezing cold! I believe it was like 40 degrees most of the morning and the wind was outrageous. In fact Justin ended up calling my mom and having her come get Mr. Grant because it was just too cold for him. Thanks mom for always being so willing to help us out! You're the best!

Kiersten has been taking lessons for only 3 Fridays before this rodeo but Kelly talked her in to competing in the barrels. Kiersten was really just trying it out to see if she even liked riding in a competitive setting. I am defiantly not pushing Kiersten to like it, but will support her (and Hunter) if they do. Kelly is really good at telling the kids that they don't have to do rodeos, they can always just take riding lessons and enjoy horses. This was a smaller rodeo and kind of a "play day" so it was the perfect time to try it out.

Kelly was up in the announcer booth. So she told the guy that this was only Kiersten 4th time doing the barrels. NOT her 4th rodeo no her 4th time ever running a barrel pattern. So the announcer did a great job and annouced all that......he really got the crowd cheering for Kiersten. Kiersten even made Snickers lope, which is the next speed after trotting. You go from walking to trotting to loping a horse. Kiersten was able to trot Snickers through her barrel pattern and on her run home Kiersten made Snickers lope.

Justin said Kiersten was smiles from ear to ear when she got done. Kelly was so proud of her and so are we!

Great job Hunter and Kiersten!

Snickers

Don't ask me how I got roped in to horse riding lessons. I guess the part that they are free is really hard to argue with.

So for the past three Friday's either after or before piano lessons I load up the kiddos and head out to the Graham County Rodeo Arena. Kelly and her boys are there with Snicker's ready to give Kiersten and Hunter riding lessons. Kelly has been riding horses and competing in rodeos since she was 5.......so she is a wonderful teacher.

Snicker's is a great kid horse and a wonderful horse to start lessons on. When the kids are ready for more speed Kelly has other horses she'll put them on. But for now the kids are loving Snickers! It's hard to believe Kiersten will even get back on a horse after having Grammie Cluff's horse get spooked and took off running with Kiersten on the back.........not once but twice! The more times Kiersten is on Snicker's and nothing scary happens the more confident and comfortable she becomes. Who'd have thought Hunter would like cowboy stuff? I want my kids to grow up to be well rounded individuals........so if he wants to try out cowboy stuff it's fine with me. He still is in Hip Hop, takes archery, plays the violin and the piano and is loving every minute in all those activities. So I believe doing and trying many different activities will help Hunter (and all my kids) to be well rounded. Plus I want them to know they can do anything they want to do, as long as they are willing to put forth the effort to do it! Silly Cowboys! Hunter loved flipping down off the fencing in this position. I was just happy we didn't end up with stitches or anything. Looking pretty happy! During this lesson Kiersten learned to run the poles for the first time. Plus this was the first day Kiersten loped with Snicker's. Kelly always makes the kids decide a goal for their lesson and loping was Kiersten's goal for today. Great job Kiersten accomplishing your goal and pushing past your fears! Hunter's goal was to learn a barrel pattern today. Hunter did have a little scare today because he was wearing spurs and he kicked and smooched at Snicker's and she started loping. He was NOT ready for loping nor was he expecting it. He handled it well and learned a good lesson about the difference between kicking with spurs and without them. Wonderful job Hunter not giving up after being scared! This was actually a Saturday because Friday was too busy for us to meet. So Kelly's husband Trenton was there as well. This picture was after the non-intentional loping incident. Trenton was really sweet to Hunter and made him keep riding so he could see that Snicker's won't just take off. What she did was exactly what Hunter unintentionally asked her to do.........to lope. He also had Hunter ride to learn how to get Snicker's to stop..........she is such a great horse and will stop on a dime when you ask it of her. Trenton and Kiersten are riding on Gunner. This is the next horse the kids will be riding when they are ready for more speed. And I guess he has a much smoother ride, but he is more horse and they aren't in need of that yet. I can't thank Kelly enough for the lessons. I did have my dad make her a roping dummy just like the one he made for Hunter. She saw Hunter's and said it was better then any she had seen or that they had. The kids and I surprised her with it. We took it one evening after dark to her house, put it in their front yard, left the thank you cards that the kids and I had written, rang the doorbell and drove away. They opened the door just as we were driving away so the kids yelled out the windows...."We love you Kelly!" Needless to say she was so grateful and that can count for payment til I think of something else to give her since she refuses to take any money. Plus I probably couldn't afford riding lessons for both kids right now any ways.........so we are all thankful for her generosity and kindness.

Salsa Fest

Kiersten is in her second year of Company and LOVIN' it!

During the summer she attended Intense Dance Camp for a week. Which was Monday through Friday 8:00-5:00 and she was so happy to go each day!

So the Salsa Fest was last weekend and her first chance to perform.

Hunter and Logan are in an all boys Hip Hop and Tap class this year.

They were thrilled when they found out they'd be able to perform at the Salsa Fest as well.

Nice picture huh? Yeah the boys faces look so funny! It was so hot and sunny and hard to keep your eyes open for a picture :) Kiersten is in Hot Shots this year! She is the one in the front center..........this was her group doing their "Wanna Be" routine. They totally rock at this routine. They also did "Party Rock Anthem" which included all company dancers..........they learned it at intense dance camp. I got several comments on how impressive of a dancer Kiersten is. She really does steal the show when she is dancing!

Just push play to see a few seconds of their dance!

This is the boys hip hop group. Logan is the second from the left and Hunter is the last on the right. Now I wished I had video taped the whole dance. It was super cute and they only had practiced it for one class time.............so awesome job boys!

So it's our tradition to go to the Salsa Fest with the Pryor's and this year was no exception. We decided to watch the kids perform and then taste all the salsas. Yeah Bad Idea!!! The salsas were ALL GONE! I guess less people entered then last year and tons more came to taste. So next year we won't make this mistake.....it will be salsa tasting first and then watching the kids perform. It was so sad to miss out on tasting all those wonderful salsas. I had even skipped lunch just to be ready to take in all those chips and salsa............yeah I should have eaten!

Our Study on Urgent Cares across the US Continues..........

Can you say Ouch!!

You'll never guess who's chin this is??

Most would guess Hunter or Logan, but not this time. It is actually Kiersten's chin..........our least accident prone child....LOL!

After only 30 minutes of swimming at the hotel pool, Hunter pushed Kiersten in the pool.........all in fun of course. She happened to be at the corner of the pool so when he pushed her she basically landed on the other side of the pool and caught her chin on the edge.

I saw it happen and knew right away it wasn't going to be a scratch!

Justin had stayed back in the room watching TV. So I have Kiersten crying, mostly because I said she'd need stitches, then I have Hunter who is hysterical and Logan who is scared about the whole thing!

Hunter was so so upset and just kept saying, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her!!!"

It truly took longer to get Hunter calmed down then it did to calm Kiersten. It was nice to see he had a great deal of remorse for the accident.

Kiersten was way nervous about getting stitches. I guess I have told them about getting stitches as a kid and how bad the shot that they give you is. It seemed like they put that shot right in the wound......that was worse then getting the cut in the first place, I thought. I had stitches ones in my head and once on my lip as a kid.

But man have things improved!!! There was no shot at all.............they put some gel on her chin and bandaged it up for about 20 minutes, then they came back in and she was numb. So the doctor got to work on stitching her up. She was a good sport! I tried to get Hunter to wait in the waiting room with Justin, Logan and Mr. Grant but he wouldn't have it. He insisted on going in with Kiersten........it's all about revenge now I told Hunter! You can see a little bit of truth in that statement in Kiersten's eyes in this picture. This was while we were waiting for the doctor to come back to stitch her up. So she was still worried she would feel the doctor putting in the stitches. The doctor was great and reassured Kiersten that if she did feel pain, not pressure that she needed to tell him and he would get more of the numbing stuff. That kind of put her at ease! I bet Grammy Boswell could do amazing stitches if she had the stomach for it. I was surprised it didn't bother me to watch the doctor. Kiersten was such a trooper. The last stitch was a little hard because the doctor thinks the numbing stuff didn't get put all the way across the wound. Kiersten didn't even cry but you could tell she was feeling some of it, unlike the other 4 stitches. The doctor even apologized but told her how tough she was! So 5 stitches later things were much, much better. This ended up making going to Sun splash out of the question!! What luck we have! I bet at least 50% of our trips out of town as a family end up with a trip to an Urgent Care or an ER. Hunter and Kiersten learned a huge lesson about not pushing each other into the pool. It was tough to take because it meant they'd have to wait another year to experience Sun splash! But it was nice to see how much they truly care about each other and what tender hearts they have. The next day when the kids were spending their money and picking out a toy from mom and dad. Kiersten spend all but $10 of her own money buying a birthday present for Hunter. It was remarkable to Justin and I that she would think to do that less then 24 hours after he pushed her and she ended up with stitches. She has such a sweet personality and is extremely forgiving to say the least. Hunter has a tender heart too because once he knew Kiersten was buying him a Lego set he put back the toy he had pick to spend his chore money on and he got Kiersten a owl stuffed animal and some little things for her collection. Even though this little accident ruined our plans it ended up being a sweet lesson!

Pretty Excited Girl....

Kiersten's days of loosing teeth are getting few and far between.

So when she lost a tooth the other day she was so happy.

Well the next morning she looked under her pillow......and.....

NOTHING!!

She was so bummed........dang that tooth fairy!

But the next morning was more then worth the wait. Not only did the Tooth Fairy come, but she left $5.00 AND a note!

Yep that smile says it all! Kiersten was almost as excited about the tiny note as she was about the cash! She was very jealous a while back when Hunter received a tiny note from the Tooth Fairy and she never had. So it was a great day!

The note explains it all........so the Tooth Fairy really did come the night before ;)

I knew the Tooth Fairy wouldn't have forgotten!

I do not have a child in double digits!!!

Forgot I had these pictures so I am adding them late....sorry!

The pool was the perfect temperature....

Kiersten had a ball as you can see. We even played "Marco Polo" a few times........yes just the two of us! Thanks Kiersten for a FABULOUS weekend! I love you very much!

YIKES I do!!!

Kiersten turned 10.

Once our kids turn 10 we have decided that they can choose to either have a birthday party or get some money instead. This year Kiersten chose the money...........I'd have to say I was a little bummed because I LOVE PARTIES!

So to help with my sadness I decided to surprise Kiersten and have a girls weekend in Mesa.

Thanks to my mother-in-law and my mom who helped me with the boys on Friday, Kiersten and I were able to head to Mesa right after her piano lesson.

She was way excited! We ate at The Cheese Cake Factory, Red Lobster, Panda Express. We watched the Movie Glee the Concert, we swam at the hotel, we went and painted at As You Wish, and of course WE SHOPPED!! We actually had dessert at both Red Lobster and The Cheese Cake Factory...... YUMMY!!! Kiersten and I loved spending time together. She was so fun to hang out with. And she is the sweetest thing ever.......with some of her birthday money she bought something for each of her brothers. How sweet is that! She also was ecstatic to buy a gymnastic outfit and the cutest lime green, black and white dance wear, plus a new dance bag. Let's just say she was in heaven!! I love you Kiersten! Thanks for being the best daughter EVER! I love being your mom and I feel blessed beyond words to have you be mine for eternity!

10 Things I Treasure About Kiersten

1. She has a gorgeous smile with dimples!

2. She is very thoughtful to those around her!

3. She gives 110% at everything she does!

4. She LOVES to dance and I LOVE to watch her!

5. She is an example in kneeling to say her prayers. I often walk in on her kneeling at night saying her prayers!

6. She is very girly but she also loves to ride quads, fish, swim in the river, play laser tag. So I have the best of both worlds!

7. She is kind and considered to everyone!

8. She is a great example to her brothers!

9. She applies herself at everything she does........she just started gymnastics and already learned her back hand spring. Heidi, the gymnastics owner, said very few people have ever gotten it this fast!

10. She is helpful beyond words.........and she just radiates a love for life that is addicting!

I could go on and on....... You Rock Sister

Celebrating Summer on the Swim Team

The kids look forward to Swim Team every summer and this year was no exception. Especially because Logan was able to join the team as well.

I spent most of my summers as a kid racing on the Safford Swim Team and then later as an adult I was a coach for 8 years. This is Calvin James one of the assistant coaches and Life Guard at the Pima pool. He adopted both Logan and Hunter this summer and boy did they LOVE every minute of Calvin's attention. Still if they run into Calvin somewhere he scoops them up and hugs them. He is a great influence for them! Thanks Calvin! I always got a babysitter for Mr. Grant because I knew he would not be happy sitting in the heat and not being able to get in the water. It is nicer now that the meets are in the evenings, but it's still pretty hot! I always packed the ice chest, loaded up lawn chairs for everyone and took this all in to the meets at the different pools.......just the kids and I. Justin would come somewhere about half way to 3/4 way through the meet. I even had two people comment to me that I was like a single mom doing it all on my own. It was amazing to see how many people had husbands that were off and able to help with all the load of getting things ready, carrying everything in and getting there about an hour early to get a good spot. That's just not my life so I am kind of use to doing this all on my own. I do get tired of people asking when Justin is going to come to the meet. Because their guess is as good as mine!!! Having a blast playing around with Calvin! Logan on the left getting ready to step up on the block. Doing the breast stroke baby!

Hunter doing the breast stroke.......this is his best event.

Logan is a social swimmer and always watched as he swam........I guess he was being competitive.

Yep looking at the other racers in most the pictures I took of him swimming.

Hunter is in the middle lane getting ready to race.

Taking the competition in the breast stroke!

Kiersten is such a competitive swimmer and she gives 110% every time! She even started training with the older group of kids that swim at 7:00 a.m. just to push herself.

It is hard because one year you'll be the oldest kid and it's easier to win. Then the following year you're the youngest kid and it's harder to win. This year all my kids were the younger ones, but they still did a wonderful job and won ribbons and even metals! So there is really nothing to complain about!

Missy Windsor..............I just love her!

I love all the fun people that are at the swim meets. The meets are just a blast for even me and I am not even swimming!

Stacy Moore is such a great friend. She came to a couple of the kids swim meets with her boys. I told her last year that she just needs to put her boys in swim team if she's going to come to the meets anyways. She is just a wonderful friend and is always so supportive of my kids...........I guess we kind of do the same for her boys!

I just couldn't be prouder of Kiersten and the boys. They worked so hard this summer on swim team and they did wonderful at the meets!

It's interesting because Kiersten and the boys are so different. They eat the whole meet and they eat everything I bring. Kiersten on the other hand can barely get down some water so she doesn't get dehydrated, but after the meet she is beyond starving! She got my nerves.

Kendall, Hunter, Brinner and Logan

What a bunch of silly boys!

Kiersten had to join the fun! She is so good to put up with all these crazy boys!Kendall and Hunter

Such great friends!

Hunter and Calvin having an oreo eating contest! We all just adore Calvin!

They were laughing so hard they could barely eat the oreos.

The final meet you had to of qualified for your event at the previous meet..........the qualifying meet just two days prior to this.

This shows Logan on the steps.....he took 3rd in backstroke.

He was just so happy to get his metal!

Great job Logie Bear!

Hunter was beyond excited when he took first in the breast stroke. And he should be .........look at the size of the kid next to him. I had to remind Hunter that he is a year younger then quite a few of these boys and he took first. His hard work paid off!

Pretty happy Kid!

We are so proud of you Bud!

Kiersten got 6th in backstroke. She did a great job! Her group was the strongest group of swimmers out of the whole meets. There is so big competition and she is the youngest, but she still pushed herself and did great!

The rule is that we have to be happy no matter what place we get. It isn't always easy but it is something I am helping the kids to work on. Because I just want them to be proud of themselves and enjoy being a part of the swim team. I am happy with them no matter what place they get and I want them to be positive as well.

Logan took 2nd place in Butterfly...........the hardest of all the events until you get to the age of the four laps events!

Nice job!

Showing off his metal!

Hunter took 2nd in backstroke.

Now seriously look at the kid to the right of Hunter..............I told Hunter you need to be very happy with how well you swam because you had to do two strokes at least to stay ahead of that kid. He is like twice your size..................so Hunter really did have to swim fast to beat him.

We do have the best coaches here in Pima. Natalie was my coach when I was a kid and then I worked with her for many years helping coach. So I know my kids are being taught by the BEST!

Kiersten got 6th in the IM..........that is the individual medley. They swim one lap of each stroke............so four straight laps. That's a lot when you are just 9 years old.

Every single meet Kiersten insisted on pushing herself and being in every event that she could. Once you are in the 9-10 year old group you can start being in the IM and the 100 free, plus doing all four regular events and the two relays...........Kiersten never got much rest at any of the meets. But she never complained about that!

She was happy with this race because she beat Danika by quite a ways. Danika got 8th this race.Hunter is always happy to get a metal!

Kiersten took 5th place in the 100 Free...........that is four laps of Freestyle. She beat her qualitfying time by almost 30 seconds, which is huge. She really did kick it that last lap!

Great job Kiersten!

And seriously look at the girl two kids to the right of Kiersten. I told Kiersten she should be proud of herself because she had to work, kick and pull twice as hard as that girl because of the size difference. She was happy with herself and how hard she worked.

Showing off her well deserved 5th place ribbon!

This is Kiersten with her cute friend Emma Hackett from the Safford swim team!

Great job to them both!

You work it girl!

Logan, Justin James and Hunter

The team calls themselves the Pima Lemon Heads because of our yellow racing caps. Which my boys hate wearing. They do kind of pull your hair. Justin was in Logan's age group, he turned 7, Hunter's age just days after the deadline. It's just crazy but the way it goes.

Danika Derek, Cloie Mattice and Kiersten

These girls are the 3 Musketer's.

They just had a ball with each other all summer long.

They did a wonderful job cheering each other on even though they were racing against each other. After every race they all told each other who well the others did. It was great to see this ages of girls show so much maturity!

It was another wonderful year on the swim team and I can't wait til next summer!

It's only of the highlights of the summer for me. I just love every minute of it. I kind of go back into coaching mode............I am not the parent that can sit up in the stands and not cheer. I guess 8 years of coaching swim team it would be hard to do that for anyone. So I am up cheering my kids on during their races............and boy does my high school voice come back to me! I had two ladies this summer tell me they would have never guessed I could yell so loud. But put me next to a pool and have kids race and boy howdy can I yell...................."KICK, PULL, GLIDE, KICK..........PUSH IT!!!" My kids were talking with Liz, another assistant coach and she said he remembers me cheering and yelling for her during her races.............I was her coach years ago. Both her and my kids talked about how they loved that I wasn't the type to just sit in my lawn chair and watch...........that I got up and cheered them on, as loud as I could. Hearing my kids agree with Liz just made my day and I cheered them on proudly for the rest of the season!