June was all about swim team. We were there by 7:30 every morning which seems like more of a marvel with every passing day this summer. At this point in August, the kids are lucky to be presentable by 11:00 am, and that is with enough prodding to make me want to pour myself a glass of wine/beer/double scotch on the rocks by about 9 am. Not that I've spent any time thinking about that!
Guess who was on the team this year?
The neighborhood swim team is open to all kids from age 5 through high school. The trouble is that Emery is a total fish and wildly excited by her buddies on the 5-6 team. Combine that with the fact that she had to attend every practice her brother did, and it was looking like it was going to be a looong season. I figured the team was pretty small so perhaps she could try out?
Yes!
The coach didn't have a problem with it and after the first few days, during which Emery forgot she knew how to swim, then convinced all the senior swimmers to hold her up, and finally graduating to hanging on the lane ropes every 10 feet, I thought perhaps it was not to be. At that point, I said that if she could swim all the way across the pool on her own, she would earn an ice cream sandwich. I think we found Emery's love language! She zipped across the pool roughly six times that practice and all the senior swimmers were amazed at her sudden improvement. Turns out eating ice cream was way more fun than getting everyone to baby her.
By the end of the season, she even won the "Most Improved Swimmer" award for her age group. Perhaps she inherited Kim's flair for sandbagging?
Alastair was in the 7-8 group this year and had a bit of an adjustment since he was top dog last year and now the youngest again.
He did very well in free and backstroke and was swimming breast and fly by the end of the season.
Anyone who has attended a swim meet knows that it is only marginally about swimming for these kids. It is all about video games, begging for snow cone money, and hanging out in the wrong tent. Or maybe that is just Emery. Alastair's tent was all about electronics, Diary of the Wimpy Kid books, and food.
In Emery's tent, there was much drawing and discussions of princesses.
These do not belong to her.
Both kids were invited to the Meet of Champs, the last meet of the season where all the teams compete for points. Alastair swam free and back and Emery swam freestyle.
Alastair on the ready bench at MOC.
Emery and her girl friends at MOC.
I think Emery kind of because an unofficial team mascot. She was very popular at the end of the season party with all age groups.
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