David's 20th Reunion

(David NOW)

David and I drove to Fort Lauderdale, Florida last Thursday to attend his 20th high school reunion. It was great!! We went through Gainesville and spent the night with his best friend and his wife. On Friday, we went to dinner in Hollywood at a very Miami-type Thai restaurant called "Tatu" with 4 of his high school buddies and their wives. Friday night was spent at a club seeing old friends and Saturday night was the more formal reunion dinner and dance. The rest of our time was spent lazing at the pool and on the beach. It was neat to watch people's reaction to seeing David for the first time in 20 years. My favorite was overhearing a conversation between classmates during which one exclaimed "That's David Rushton in the corner. He's lost half his hair!"
This was the first time in about three years that David and I have gone away without the kids. It was GREAT! I would highly recommend it for everyone married with children.
(David Then)

Summer's Over??

Okay, I am not sure what happened to our summer but we (yes, I mean all of us because of how much I am at the kids' school) go back to school in a few weeks. It's crazy to think about!! Macon will be in kindergarten this year and so for the first and only time, all four of my children will be in the same school. Amazing! He is super excited about it but insists that he should be in first grade. I am worried that he is going to act like he runs the place since he has been there so much. When we go in, the secretary always gives him candy, snacks, or toys. Teachers take him into their classrooms to play computer games. He has no idea that the rules are about to change!
Hannah and Knox are getting to be so grown up. Knox will be getting braces right before school starts. While he obviously needs them, he is dreading it! I think he thinks it will incredibly painful but I have assured him that millions of other kids have done it and survived. I know it is uncomfortable but it will be so worth it in the long run. Hannah, in the meantime, has a steady sweetheart. She and her "boyfriend" Bryson (to whom I am not sure she has ever spoken) celebrated their one year anniversary this past May. Actually that is him next to her in the swim team picture from the previous entry. He brings her presents whenever his family travels for his many baseball tournaments but he never gives them to her directly. The one he got for her tenth birthday, his mother brought it to Hannah. Ah, young love!
Katy hasn't said much about going back except that she misses her friends. Most of her girlfriends don't live in our neighborhood and we didn't make much of an effort to invite them over during the summer. I don't know their parents all that well so that is my excuse. I think that she will be excited to see everyone in August.
Well, the girls will have a Back-to-School sleepover while Knox is gone (he is leaving to go visit his mother for two weeks). I think David and I will take them camping at a nearby state park. Roasted marshmellows, girl giggles and bedtime spooky stories ought to be a nice way to end the summer!

Divisionals

(Hannah is in the front right above the "f" in Silverleaf. Knox is four guys to the right of Hannah, wearing a white t-shirt and Hawaiian bathing suit.

Katy is kinda hidden. David and I are up on the hill at the very top of the picture towards the left. )

The kids had great swims on Saturday. Katy and Knox both took time off. Katy had her season best in breaststroke, dropping 1.14 seconds, and also in backstroke, dropping 2.56 seconds. After the meet, we went to Mom and Dad's for dinner and Katy fell asleep on the couch. We had to wake her up to take her home and then she still slept all night.

Knox took another 2.69 seconds off his breaststroke. Overall, he had the best season. He dropped his times pretty much all year and really improved on all of his strokes. He didn't DQ anything!!

Hannah had a decent meet on Saturday. Not her best, but good enough to get her into the regional event. Her free relay team is ranked 6th and will compete on Sunday. She is ranked in two individual events, short free and backstroke, and is an alternate in breaststroke. She is 12th in short free and 7th in backstroke. She is thinking about swimming year round starting in the fall. I think she has a lot of natural talent but she has to decide if she really wants this. Of course, it helps that she has friends who will be swimming too! I didn't realize how quickly I was going to become obsolete. The two older kids are definitely all about the friends. Luckily, we live in a neighborhood with some great kids. It has been a great summer swim year. I am very very proud of all four of them (Macon swam tadpoles). They all had a fantastic time hanging out in the tents, eating a bunch of snacks and candy, going to Fuddrucker's or having pizza after the meets and goofing around with friends. I can't wait for next year!

Summer at CWR

Just posting pictures of camp....the kids had a blast!! After we picked them up, we spent a couple of nights with friends and family in Littleton (yes, Hannah has a friend who actually lives in Littleton!). I hope to post video of them jumping off the top, fishing and tubing at Joyce and Bill's. We all enjoyed our mini-vacation!