River Place Rapids

Maddie joined swim team this year for the first time ever!  Her swim team is called the River Place Rapids (through the country club).  I never grew up swimming so swim meets are something completely foreign to me.  I showed up way early on Friday night and from the moment we got there, I was totally overwhelmed!  Hundreds of kids running around in bathing suits and swim caps so they all look the same and you have no idea which one is your kid.  They are all supposed to be "stationed" by age group and then volunteers are running around writing the events in sharpie on their bodies.  I don't know how this all comes together but it does.  All the kids line up at their designated time and it's just race after race. I've seriously never seen anything like it!  Maddie decided she would do the freestyle and the backstroke.  Since she's never participated in a meet before, she didn't have a time for any of the events to try and beat.  She finished the freestyle in 26.81 seconds (#30 out of 46 girls ages 7-8).  She finished the backstroke 44.85 seconds (#29 out of 31 swimmers).  You'll see in the videos that she's still learning how to do these strokes and we can't wait to see how she progresses this year!!  Never thought I'd be a fan of swimming but watching this meet was way more fun than I imagined! 

In this video, she's doing the freestyle and she is in lane 6 closest to the camera.



In this video, she's doing the backstroke and she is in lane 4, 2nd from the top of the screen

Maddie's First Communion

I don't quite know how to express how special it has been to see both of our kids receive their First Holy Communion.  Maddie could not wait to get "the host" and had been counting down the days until her special day.  They prepare for it all year in second grade!  This day was made even more special by getting to celebrating it with family and dear friends. Nowadays, she can't wait to go to church just so she can get communion!  (ha - I wonder how long that will last?!)

A few days before First Communion, the school hosts a "Last Supper" where we re-enact the last supper with Jesus.  The parents wash their child's feet, then all the kids sit at a long table where they break the bread and share the "wine".  Each family was responsible for writing down a blessing for their child which other parents read aloud.  It was such an incredible, moving little ceremony that I will never forget!!

Play Ball!

This has been a very fun ball season for both kiddos.  Jacob was lucky to get on a baseball team again with the same coaches (our friends) from last Spring and this team has just been so fun to play with.  The coaches, parents and kids are all so amazing!  I'm usually ready for baseball season to end because it can sometimes be a grind, but this season I'm sad to see it come to a close.  Jacob has also grown a ton this season and it's been fun to watch him get better and better!

Maddie started softball this year for the same league and she's been loving it.  Now she says it's her new favorite sport (I can't even believe that's possible since basketball has been her "thing" for so long!) 

Here are some pictures of Jake and his team and videos of Jacob's best hits this season.  He struggled at the plate in the beginning but then finally found a groove.  He also pitched a great season too!

And here are some videos of Maddie's great hits this season!