Swimming Lessons 2019

The kids all took swimming lessons again this summer, June 17th-27th.  There was a little grumbling from Sarah about me making her take lessons, but I reminded her nicely it wasn't a choice.  I want her to be a strong swimmer and know how to do the strokes correctly.  What she didn't know was that one of her good friends would be grouped in her class with her, which made a world of difference for her.  She actually liked lessons and looked forward to them each day this year!  Silas and Phoebe also had friends in their lessons too, which made for smiles all around everyday.
Week One

Below, Phoebe and Shawna.  They were in Level 3 together.

Below, Silas all the way on the right and next to him is Felicity.  They were in Level 1 together.  Silas really wanted to pass Level 1 this year and was prepared to work hard and put his face in the water.

All three of our kids went off the low and high dive several times throughout the two weeks of lessons.

Week Two

Phoebe's class used the flippers a few times during lessons.

Silas made big improvements with his freestyle stroke and putting his face in the water.  He will move up to Level 2 next summer.

Phoebe learned how to dive!  She will repeat Level 3 next summer to make sure she has her strokes down before advancing.

Sarah did a good job of leading others and practicing her strokes.  She passed the final Level of swimming lessons and will be ready to start Life Guard Classes/Lessons next summer.

Below, Sarah, Felicity, Silas, Abigail, and Phoebe.

Father's Day Pictures 2019

Every year since Sarah was born I help the kids make a "Happy Father's Day" sign and we take a picture with it.  This was Eric's 13th Father's Day.  And, here are our pictures from this year.  We tried to include our dog, Jessee this time around.  As you can clearly see Jessee was making some silly faces in the pictures and in a few she refused to look at the camera.  We did manage to get a few good shots though, and Eric loved the flag sign we made this year.

Happy 13th Father's Day, Eric!

USSSA 12u Rec State Tournament

We played in the USSSA 12u Rec State Tournament on June 29th and 30th.  There were 5 teams in the tournament.  Four were from our league and one was a Wichita rec team.  The first two games were pool play to decide the seeding for tournament play.

Game #1 vs. Wichita Belles (pool play)- win 9-0

We played the Wichita rec league first game.  Based on their pregame warm-up, they looked like a decent team.  Their play wasn't as good as their warm-up.

We won the game easily 9-0.

Game #2 vs. Conway Springs (pool play)- win 8-0

The second game was against Conway Springs.  They were the second ranked team in our league

Out of the 5 games we played, this is the only inning that someone other than Quinn pitched.  Sarah pitched a scoreless inning.

Several of the fans, including Sarah's fans, sat under a canopy outside the right field fence.  It was a hot and sunny two days.

The girls had another dominating performance against a team that was higher seeded than us.

Game #3 vs. Conway Springs - win 11-2

We were the number one seed after pool play.  Odd that Conway Springs, who was considered a higher seed going into the tournament, was one of the lower seeds.

Sarah has been a ball magnet for the past several games.  Stacee likes to say that they hit her because they don't want her to hit.  They are scared of her.  Sarah does have some power and she is not afraid of the ball.  She stays in the box and doesn't seem to mind getting hit, or "taking one for the team".  That is my tough girl.

We dominated the team for the second game in a row.

Game #4 vs. Oxford - win 7-1

Oxford is the team we beat in the championship game of the league tournament.

Sarah = Ball magnet.

Even though it was morning it was still a hot day.  Many cooling rags were used.

This game was at 9 am which gave Phoebe, Silas, and I time to get to church.  I was thankful I did not have to miss because I was leading Children's church for the 4th graders.

Game #5 vs. Conway Springs - win 10-6

The next, and final game was not until 1:30pm.  I was able to go from church to the fields and not have to miss a thing.

Sarah hung out with some of her fans in the shade in between games.

Our team came out flat and gave up 5 runs the first inning.  Most of this was due to defensive errors.

Sarah played shortstop the entire tournament except for pitching one inning in game two.

Sarah was aggressive running the bases.

The five run deficit soon became a 5 run lead.

We won the game.

We are the....

 Champions!!!

Pictured left to right, Morgan, Hannah, Abigail, Lauren B., Lauren M., Sarah, Aleigha, Maddie, Mykayla, Brooke, and Quinn.

They didn't give out skimpy medals or a puny trophy.  I was impressed.

They watered Coached Wade and I.  I think they were afraid to water coach Ted.

On such a hot day, the water felt pretty good.

Sarah with some of her biggest fans...Daddy, Nanee, Phoebe, Popee, Silas, and Mommy.

Great way to end the rec season.

We are playing in one last tournament the weekend of July 13th.  This will not be a rec league tournament so we will see how we match up.