HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM aka MARGIE!!!

Happy Birthday to you.....Happy Birthday to you......Happy Birthday dear Mom.....Happy Birthday to you!!! Mom, I hope that you have a wonderful day and a fantastic year. I LOVE YOU! (way more than the others...)

Age Group State...one last short course time....

This weekend was Conner's last Age Group State short course swim meet. Next year he will have to swim with the big boys! (which, hello....he does have facial hair starting to grow!) This weekend he swam a TON of events.

Friday he swam the 500 freestyle and the 400 Medley relay. He dropped 6 seconds in the 500 and swam a 5:06. Just to give you an idea how far he's come this season, he started the season doing a 5:45.

Saturday he swam the 200 Medley relay, the 100 fly, 200 freestyle and 200 freestyle relay. He dropped over 2 seconds in his fly, doing a 57.57 and came back in finals doing a 57.43. The 200 free he had a little add. Oh, and he also ripped off about an inch of skin off his big toe during the 200 free. :(

Today he swam the 200 Individual Medley (added 1/2 second) the 100 free (dropped 1.5 seconds) and the 200 fly in which he dropped over 7 seconds swimming a 2:08....and the 400 free relay. We will be heading back tonight for him to swim the 200 fly again in finals.

EXCELLENT JOB CONNER!!!!

Relay for Life

Caitlin is participating in the Relay for Life for cancer research. Her swim team has put together a team and Caitlin's goal is to raise $200. Here is the link if you would like to support her in her race for a cure.

It is a great cause. Everyone know someone who is suffering or who has lost the battle to cancer. Let's help the Illini girls make a difference!

Caitlin visit

Yesterday Caitlin was able to come home and stay the night. Some of the girls were swimming at IU so a few of the girls that were not swimming decided to come cheer them on. Two of the older girls, Amy and CeCe, decided to stay in Bloomington in a room that another parent could not cancel, but they were so kind to drive Caitlin and her fellow freshman friend Torrey to our home to stay with us. It was great to see them all and have her home, even it was only for 8 hours. :) In the morning I drove the girls over to Bloomington and we cheered on the girls that were swimming. It was a VERY small meet and was over by 12:30 (prelims and finals!)
We were so glad to see Caitlin, and her friends are just wonderful!

Winding Down....

Swim season is winding down. The Big 10 Conference was the past few days and the boy's high school sectionals was Thursday and Saturday. I went off to Ann Arbor, Michigan to cheer Caitlin on and Brian stayed home to cheer Conner on.

Caitlin swam the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly. With all she has been through with her Crohn's diagnosis, her goal was to swim a season best in all events. She certainly accomplished this. I have complete faith that next year she will see new lifetime bests. The whole team did very well with a lot of girls reaching new best times. All their hard work and dedication has paid off. It was a thrill to watch them all succeed. I spent a lot of time watching them all interact with each other, and I have to say they are the NICEST group of young ladies. They are truly a team in every way.

Conner had a life time best in the 200 free. He started the season doing about a 2:10 and ended the season swimming it in a 1:54. He swam a great race. The boys team came in 2nd in their sectionals after a 4th place finish last year. I know next year will bring a sectional win for them. We also learned that Conner can certainly pull off "bald". He looks pretty darn good with no hair. I can't wait to see him swim additional events at Age Group State. This should be an awesome year for him.

Smurffie

This was the week for the boys to dye their hair blue....or whatever color it turns into. Conner's is somewhere between purple and green. Wednesday is the big day.....shave it bald! Sadly, I won't be here to see it take place. Conner's Sectional meet falls on the same days as Caitlins Big 10 Conference. So I will be heading to watch Caitlin while Brian stays home to shave Conner BALD!

It's only hair!

This past week the boys team bleached their hair to support the girls team for the sectional meet. (the girls won...woohoo). This coming week they will dye it blue to support the girls state team. And then...they will SHAVE IT BALD for the boys sectional meet. Which is a good thing, because Conner needs to start fresh in the hair department.