Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween 2015!  Our good friends had a fun Halloween party this year in which we all got to dress up.  Haven't been to a party like this in about 4-5 years and it was long overdue.  We ate great Halloween-themed food, played games, chatted around a bonfire… it was a great night.  Max and Lydia spent weeks deciding what they could be as a duo so they could wear their costumes to the party as well as trick or treat together.  They finally landed on Alice and the Mad Hatter.  Chris and I joined the theme as the Cheshire Cat and the White Rabbit.  We also had fun on the 30th, carving and painting pumpkins.  We chose emojis this year as our carving theme.  We laughed.  A lot.  ;)

Sunflowers!

Every year the farmers that own the Yankee St. Market are kind enough to plant a whole field of sunflowers for all to enjoy.  This field is a popular spot for pictures and is always swarming with photographers.  And every year I try to steal 15 minutes out of our busy schedules to sneak over and have Max indulge me for a few photos.  This year we even all managed to get in one thanks to a photographer friend of mine who happened to be there at the same time and took my camera to take the shot. The light was dim and warm and perfect!

It's a final farewell to summer… Such a beautiful field!

August 29, 2015- Max's Baptism at Southbrook Christian Church

Every year our fabulous church puts on a spectacle called "Big Splash Weekend".  This weekend is dedicated to those who want to be baptized.  Now you can get baptized any time at church, of course, but this weekend they just try to make it more of a fun, party-type celebration.  Church starts with a typical service (although it's about obedience and baptism this weekend) and ends early so everyone can make their way outside to two big tubs to watch the many, many people who have chosen to take this step declare "Jesus is Lord" and be dunked in His name.

Max brought up the idea of wanting to be baptized a few months ago.  I knew this weekend was approaching and thought it would be a perfect way for Max to "jump in".  He agreed and really looked forward to the evening.

The afternoon of the "Big Splash" Max made his way into the changing area after checking in and receiving a book as a gift from church.  He came back out wearing his "Big Splash" shirt and we headed into the service along with my parents and grandma.

Once outside Max waited his turn.  He was announced the crowd by Charlie, who has been our pastor for at least 15 years, and climbed his way up the ladder and then down into the tank.  A few minutes later he was baptized.  I took a few pics myself but the better photos were done by the photographer the church had on hand to capture the moment up close and personal.  The last photo is the best.  Pure joy.

Afterward we had dinner out, Max's choice, and finished off the night at Cold Stone, again, Max's choice.  We are so proud of Max and the decision he has made.  <3 p="">

August 18, 2015. First Day of School. Last Year of Elementary. *cry*

The start date was moved back (earlier) this year and next year will start another week earlier still!  I can't take it.  August is our month off from everything and now it will be mostly devoted to school.  And we will get out in May when it's still chilly here.  Boo!  But anyway… this is about THIS year and Max's first day of 5th grade.  He's a big kahuna in school this year; the "oldest" grade in the building.  He seems to think that is super cool.

He chose his first day outfit this year to represent his new swim team's colors, green and navy.  Lookin' good, Kid!  :)

He has a lot of friends in his class this year again, which is always a blessing, and was eager for the year to begin.  I'm glad he always looks forward to going back.  At what age does that change?  ;)

Here they are, the obligatory first day photos. (in the weird fog!)  Enjoy!

USA Swimming Central Zone Meet: July 31- Aug 2, 2015

Max had a great year of swimming in both short course (Sept-Mar) and long course (April- July).  He competed in the 9/10 age group all year; he learned a lot, he achieved a lot, and most importantly he had a LOT of fun.

Within the swimming world there are a lot of goals to be made, most of them revolve around getting certain times in events.  USA Swimming categorizes their "time standards" using part of the alphabet and all are based on age groups (9/10, 11/12, 13/14).  So as you swim throughout the year you can set goals based on earning these times; the first cut is a B cut, then the next fastest is a BB, then A, AA, AAA.  That doesn't even include the time standards set forth by your own LSC (Local Swimming Chapter- ours is Ohio)… those are times set per chapter to earn you a spot in the Junior Olympics twice a year.  So anyway… my point is there are goals to be reached to keep swimmers motivated!

When you achieve a AAA cut, that is called a "zone" cut.  That means you qualify for the Zone Meet set up through USA Swimming where you compete no longer for your specific team, but rather for your LSC (again, Ohio).  The meet is described best by this bit of info I found online:

Central Zone Championship Meet The USA Central Zone Championships is an All-Star format held each August where athletes represent their Local Swimming Chapters (LSCs).  There are sixty LSC’s in the country organized into four (4) USA-Swimming Zones  – Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern.  Ohio is one of fifteen (15) Local Swimming Chapters (LSCs) in the Central Zone. The Zone Championships is the highest level of age group swimming conducted by USA-Swimming.  Starting in 2009, the Central Zone Championships were split into three (3) meets: two (2) Age Group meets (10-Un, 11-12, and 13-14) and one Senior Meet (15 & over).  The Age Group meet offers prelim/finals for all ages groups, swimmers can compete in up to six (6) Individual Events, and stroke 200s are offered for the 11-12s.  The Senior Meet offers prelim/finals for 15-18 and swimmers can compete in up to six (6) Individual Events. So there are four zones in the US.  Team Ohio is part of the Central Zone and travels somewhere in the midwest each summer to compete against other LCS (or states).  It's a big deal.  :)  This year, Max qualified!!!  His first qualifying event was the 100 fly in Dec. 2014 at Miami University.  Once he got it we were like "woohoo, we are going to Kansas!" (where the meet was to be held in summer 2015) In January, he dropped a gazillion seconds in the 200 IM in Indianapolis and qualified for that as well.  Ok it was 8 seconds but in swimming that might as well have been a gazillion.  In February he decided he wanted to try to go for the 500 free zone cut, even though he was 24 seconds off.  Guess what?  He got it!  Swam a 6:05 and earned that cut by three seconds.  He was super disappointed to learn they don't offer the 500 free at zones for 9/10 year olds though!  Poo!  Why have the time cut then?   Long course started and he swam great all season.  At the Junior Olympics at Miami he earned two more zone cuts:  the 200 free and the 100 free.  No one was expecting that!  He was headed to Kansas with 5 cuts! The meet was amazing.  He got to represent Team Ohio with the best swimmers from our state.  It was a truly wonderful experience for him after a year of super hard work.  He swam great, made new friends, got to stay in a hotel (!!), and had a memorable time.  While there you could hire a photographer to snap photos of your child swimming.  Only two per heat were able to be photographed so it was a rush to get your child signed up. I got Max signed up for the 200 IM event because that would capture all four strokes.  We plan on making canvases for his room to commemorate a great year!  Here are several from the week…

Kettering Kids Fun in the Sun Triathlon, 2015

Oh boy!  So this is the reason Max finally decided to learn to ride a bike.  He wanted to participate in a triathlon this summer.  Once he got the hang of a bike, we signed him up, along with his friend Bret.  Now mind you, this was probably like the 10th time ever he had been on a bike.  The seat was still low enough that he could touch the ground if needed, and he was cautious on that thing. (which I'm thankful for!)  The event was divided up by age groups.  It was a 100 m swim (Max wished for longer, of course), a 2.5 mile bike, and a 1 mile run.  I honestly think the toughest part of the whole race for Max was the transition from swim to bike.  He is so helpless when it comes to putting socks on wet feet.  I wanted to jump in and help!  ha!

He did awesome though and loved the competition of it!  After the race ended and results were posted we found out in his age group he got 1st in swim, 7th in run… 68th in bike.  HAHAHAHAHAHA.  Oh Max.  I love it!  What a trooper!!!  He is determined to be better at the bike portion next year.  And I believe him!  He honestly did great.  It was really fun to watch.

Findlay, OH FAST Flag City Invitational, June 2015

Every year Max's (old) swim team goes to Findlay for a weekend to swim in the Flag City Invitational. It's the only outdoor meet we do all year long with the club team and it's always really fun.  Max loves staying in a hotel with friends and running around between events… and of course has us spend a fortune on Kona Ice while we are there.  ;)  I love it because it's the only meet all year where I can get up close and personal to take pictures!  Typically parents aren't allowed on deck.

The three day meet went off with just a few delays for storms.  What was supposed to be a super rainy weekend turned out to be pretty nice after all!  Luckily!  And Max had a great meet!  He not only won the boys 9/10 High Point Award at this meet, but he also broke two team records- the 200 Fly and the 200 Back.  He was thrilled about that!  In fact those were the only two events he really wanted to make sure didn't get stormed out that weekend!   

It was a hot, long, summery weekend but a lot of fun for Max… and all the other swimmers.  One of the meets we look forward to all year.  Hopefully Max's new club team will consider entering that meet next summer.  We would hate to miss it!