Block House Creek Tidal Waves 2009

If I had yet to mention I LOVE swimming!!! This year has been a lot of work but a lot of fun as well. All three kids were on the team this year. I was on our swim team board this year so it was sort of a part time job for me. The Swim season started the first week in May and our last meet was July 11th. Swim practice is every day and the swim meets are every Saturday. It was a pleasant surprise to see the kids take off right where they left off last year. Here is the season in a nut shell for each one of my little swimmers:

Carson (5)

Being his first year on the swim team he had some work to do. Thanks to a mountain of patients from his coaches he did really well and by the end of the season had solid times in both freestyle and backstroke. He was known for his pre-race warm-up stunts (dancing, pushups and a few yoga moves.) Three timers stand at the end of each lane I would always ask them to cheer him on because the look on his face when he could see people cheering for him was priceless. He loved being a part of relay teams and would make his sisters play relay with him any time were at our neighborhood pool.

Carli (6)
She was our little swimming star this year. She ages up late so she had a good age advantage from the start. By the end of the season last year she had worked her way near the top of the 6 and under swimmers. And this year she started at the top. She was swimming strong for most of the meets but the second to last meet she stepped it up and took seconds off of all her swims and qualified for our invitational meet in three events. Then at our last big divisional meet she swam her fastest ever and took first in both Freestyle (very unexpected) and Breaststroke and she got third in backstroke. By finishing so strong in all her events she won First place overall (6 & unders). She really didn’t seem to care all that much until she got her trophy. Carli was known for her big smile she was always wearing while she raced. She worked really hard and we were very proud of her.

Amy(10)
Amy really enjoys swimming. She always has a good attitude and listened very close to what her coaches were telling her. While her competition was tough she always held her own. Amy made lots of good friends and always enjoys the social aspect of the swim meets. She mastered the no breather (swimming the length of the pool with no breath) and made good strides as a very natural breaststroker. She has great form and seems to really be getting the hang of swimming. I love to watch her swim and appreciate the way she always tries her best.

It has been fun to watch the three of them become strong swimmers. They had great coaches who always made it fun. I am grateful to be in an area where this summer swim league is available. I was a swimmer as a kid and swimming is an everyday year round sport. I look back and wonder how my mom took us to swim practice every day. It’s nice to get such a good taste of swimming in two and a half months. It’s a busy time but a worth while investment. I can’t say that Chet has my same sentiments as 5 am wakeup on Sat. mornings is far from his idea of a good time. But he was a trooper and hung in there for the 6 hours in the sun and 100 + temps (record breaking for us) at the meets. Well till next year. I am off to yet another swim meeting :)

Carli, Amy and Carson with Coaches Jorden, Taylor and Randy

My Crazy Carson!!!

When I am asked “When are you due?” I say “at the end of August.” I don’t have a date just yet for many reasons but one is that I am really due September 7th. I have set the end of August as when the baby will be showing up because the school cutoff date here is September 1st. Yes, I am planning 5 years out I want to have the choice when the time comes and not be annoyed that we missed the deadline by 4 lame days. I tell you this so that you can understand the type of Mother I am. No tears were shed when Amy went to Kindergarten and I have never had a second thought about the fact that my children (because of the places we have lived) attend full day Kindergarten. I have always been ready for the next stage. I had been looking forward to having all of my children in school all day every day next year and dreamed of a clean house, time to work out (later then 5am), time to read and lunch with my friends without finding a babysitter. Plans have changed and that's okay.

You can imagine what a big surprise it was to me that I started to feel my eyes fill with tears at Carson’s preschool graduation and on his last day of preschool (and what is my deal now, hormones are the only explanation). Carson has been my little buddy for so long and we have had such a nice year together. My Carson has been a high maintenance child most of his life and I have found myself wanting to pull my hair out more than once. Carson is not the child who makes big bad messes with markers or crayons, he is very rarely found crawling up in the cupboards. At home I couldn’t really ask for an easier kid. It’s just every time I leave the house that my stress level as his mother is pushed to its limit. He is sensitive and dramatic, loud and never afraid to ask any stranger for anything. But this year I have been given the gift of being able to enjoy him more than feel frustrated with him.



Here are a few pics of him on Splash Day (last day of preschool) and I will add graduation pics as soon as I get them (I forgot the camera, proof to the lack of attention I show some of the sentimental things). He has loved Mrs. Tish his teacher. He attends a Chruch Of Christ preschool and we have gotten a kick out of the songs and things that he has learned there durring their bible time. He has grown so much and really had a grate year. He is looking forward to riding the bus with his sisters next year to the big school.









In the spirit of enjoying the things our kids do. Instead of saying “IF I FIND THIS ONE MORE TIME…….” I had better document it. So the last of the pictures is what I find on my camera on a regular basis, Carson and a little sneaky camera time.

Time really goes by so fast and I feel very grateful to be his Mom. I will miss him next year……

BYU Women’s Conference

I have been very fortunate and have been able to attend BYU Women’s Conference quite a bit in the last ten years. The first weekend in May I flew to Vegas met up with my mom and sisters and then headed to Provo. This year was reminiscent of other year’s lots and lots of women everywhere you looked at BYU. The classes are always good and the snacking is just the same (kettle corn, mint brownies, cinnamon bears, and whatever else someone has found at the book store.) The Thursday night concert is always a special treat for us. We had sweet front row seats (we know people). Our cousin Hillary Weeks snuck us in the side door. WC is a fun time for me to see family, run into old friends, hear a few good messages and fly on an airplane all by myself. Unfortunately next year will be an off year for me, as WC is a little rough with a baby on your hip. If you haven’t ever been you really need to go!




My sister Janna, Me and my bellybutton, My sister Marylin, My sister-in-law Ashley, My Mom and My Aunt Marylin


WC is always good for running into friends you have not seen in a few years. These are some of my childhood friends it was so fun to catch-up with them.


If you have never seen her (Hilary Weeks) perform you really must! You always walk away feeling like she has been shoulder to shoulder with you either in the laundry room or your toughest time. Her music speaks to everyone’s heart and her hummer makes everyone laugh!!!

I know it seems odd to hear from me again so soon but I am trying not to get so far behind.

Onward!!!

Swim Season is Just Around the Corner

I know this is unlike me to post this soon but if you have read my blog you know how I feel about swimming. We are fortunate to have friends with a heated pool in their neighborhood. So I have been taking my kids over there in an effort to get Carson ready for swim team this year. I started teaching swim lessons and have been testing out my new found swim curriculum on Carson. Well the other day while Carson was in the bath he asked for his goggles. Here he is performing a really good Blue Fish float.









If Chet wants to get any of his soccer influence in he had better step in now.

Long Time Coming!

Okay, back this truck up!!! It’s been so long I hardly know where to start. If I remember correctly I tried to get all caught up at the end of November. I did that so I would be ready to blog my upcoming accomplishment - Life just keeps getting in the way! I am going to do my best to get through this update as effeciently as possible.


*My 1st Marathon!!!!
At the beginning of December a really fun group of people from our stake traveled to Memphis, TN to run the St. Jude Marathon. The last six miles reminded me a lot of Childbirth, I was ready to be done at 20 but had to finish up. It was quite rewarding to set a big goal, work really hard for months and have 26.2 under my belt.



Thank you first and foremost to Chet for being there to support me! Thank you to all the other great people who were there, My Kathy, The Browns, The Nelsons, The Lushes, The Milletts, and The Carlsons! The food pics are for Chet he had a great time on his Memphis food tour!

*Christmas:
Good and quiet- just us at home!!! Really really nice ;)

*Carson turned 5:




*A fun visit from the Kelley family :
Somehow I only ended up with only one pic but here it is.


*Chet and I had a fun V Day date:

*I had a birthday and Grandpa and Grandma Holler came to town:
We all went to San Antonio for the night. We had a great time at Sea World and then a fun and educational day at the Alamo. One of the things we really love about Amy is her desire to learn. She used her own money to pay for the audio tour. She loves to read and did so covering any and all informational plaques in any given display. Amy, I am sure learned the most and will never forget the Alamo!!

*Carli the Performer:
Carli has always been the type that when put on the spot and everyone is watching she will then decide to hide. At school there is a theater arts class as one of the “special” classes. Carli’s class had a showcase day and knowing her as I do I was very interested to see how this would go. The teacher was narrating short stories and the kids were playing the parts. Carli threw me for a loop! She volunteered for every skit she could, showing no hesitation.

*Spring Break 09:
Nothing too exciting, days in the park and a trip to the Waco Zoo.

*Chet B Day: Sorry no pics :(

*My BFF Jamie came for a visit:
We went for a little run! We ran the Zooma Half Marathon, were blessed with great weather and ran a good race.

*Amy turned 10 and Grandpa and Grandma Rowles came for a visit:
It was fun to have our grandparents here. Amy’s birthday party entailed taking a couple friends to get a pedicure. They had a great time and all had beautiful toes when they were done.

*Easter brings this update to an end:
We had a nice holiday- went to church, had a visit from the Easter bunny and a small Easter egg hunt in the backyard.

*Oh yeah, one last thing…
If you feel like i'm looking a little chubby in the running pics of me and Jamie, it's true and I am getting fatter by the day.
Baby number 4 will be here at the end of Aug. The ultrasound says that poor Carson will still be the only brother but he is just not buying it, he insists it’s a boy. I am sure he will love a baby sister anyway.

Okay lets see if I can be crazy and go less then 6 months betweet posts.