Life Lately

Summer has been busy since we have actually had commitments this summer. Besides swimming, Sadie has still had basketball:

Didn't their team picture turn out so cute this season?!

And speaking of sports, we went to another FC Dallas soccer game with friends this week:

They might have been a little hyper that night & spent more time playing instead of watching, but I think it got Sadie excited for soccer season again. 

We met friends at the $1 movie one morning:

I think Connor was embarrassed he was with a bunch of girls & we were watching My Little Pony!

Speaking of friends, Sophie was beyond excited to have a reunion with her pre-school class at the splash pad:

It was a new splash pad we hadn't visited yet & Sadie loved the water slide:

Finally, we went out to eat after Sadie's swim meet with all of the grandparents & while we were there we celebrated Bryan's birthday:

We had told Sadie she could go wherever she wanted & she chose Babe's Chicken Dinner House. I knew it would be perfect for the birthday boy to celebrate:

The girls thought it was hilarious watching him dance like a chicken!

Who knew summer would be so fun & I would have so much to share on our little family blog!

Girl Scouts at the Arboretum

Technically Sadie's Girl Scout Troop took a break for summer, but the girls sold so many girl scout cookies that they earned $36 per girl to go back to our troop! When we had a parent meeting at the end of the year, we decided we would use part of the money to let the girls celebrate & then we would roll the rest of it to our troop for next year. We gave the girls several options & they chose a trip to the Dallas Arboretum. However, when I originally suggested this, it was back in the spring. I had no idea we would go in the middle of July when it was literally 100 degrees outside! These girls didn't care though because they were just so excited to see each other again:

As soon as we got there, we headed straight to the main gardens to walk around & the girls found a water fountain/splash pad right away:

 

They had so much fun running & splashing around! Next stop, the koi pond where they had fun looking at fish:

The girls loved watching the fish! We even gave each of them a penny & they all made a wish at the same time. That might have been my favorite part of our afternoon :)

I don't think they quite appreciated the main gardens as much as we do, so we headed to the children's garden:

where they found another splash pad to play in. Afterwards, we took a snack break. Since Sunday was National Ice Cream Day, we brought little blue bell ice cream cups:

After we climbed the treehouse, we went to another children's area & we couldn't help but laugh because even with all of the outside activities, our girls still ended up at the computers. Go figure:

Last stop, the water station:

It was such a fun afternoon even though it was hot out there. Even the moms had fun visiting with each other since we hadn't seen each other much this summer:

I am so proud of these girls for working so hard in selling girl scout cookies earlier this year! I have a feeling they will be motivated to sale even more next year:

Hip Hop Camp

Since Sophie started dance, Sadie has been asking to dance also. Especially after she saw her recital. The problem is, she is definitely our tom boy & I do not think dance is her thing. But I figured I could put her in a dance camp & that might solve both of our problems. And then I got even more excited when I realized there was a hip hop camp at Sophie's dance studio for ages 4-6. Perfect! They were so excited that they got to go together:

It was an afternoon camp for a few hours each day which was just enough time to give me a break :) Their first day there, they posted pictures to their Facebook page & I loved seeing the girls in action:

Sophie danced all year with her friend Landry & she was at camp also:

The next day Landry's sister, Emery came to camp & the 4 girls spent the week together. They came over & swam one afternoon after camp & we even went & got free slurpee's at 7-11 together:

On their final day, we got to come early to watch their performance:

I didn't take any action shots of them dancing because I was busying take videos but they did 2 dances for us, some free style hip hop & then they showed off some of their tumbling moves. It was so cute! The girls had an awesome time dancing with Miss Ashley & I am so glad I was able to find a camp for them to do together:

TAAF Regionals

After 5 swim meets & too many swim practices to count, Sadie finally had her biggest swim meet this past weekend:

We compete against several cities from the DFW area at most of our normal meets, but in order to go to regionals, you have to swim a certain time. Luckily for Sadie, she qualified for both of her events, the 25 meter backstroke & the 25 meter freestyle in her very first race so we have been excited for regionals:

When we got there, it was crazy. It was so crowded & very official. They had to get there early for roll call, they warmed up together as a team, were very strict on dress code, no jewelry, etc. & they even had official judges there handing out disqualifications. Definitely a first & talk about a lot of pressure for the kids! There were actually 30 kids in Sadie's age group & she was seeded 1 in the backstroke & 3 in the freestyle. Ribbons went to the top 8, medals to the top 3 & the top 5 get to swim at the state meet. Granted, we didn't tell Sadie all of this! We tried to keep it as normal as possible but inside, Bryan & I were so nervous for her! She went into this meet undefeated & she had beaten her time in every single race. But, something happened in her first event, the backstroke & she lost it. She ended up getting 10th overall & we were heartbroken. I wouldn't have cared if she lost had she swam a good race, but everything about the race was off. And she was over 3 seconds slower than her race last week. Actually, none of the girls from Frisco did good. She was disappointed but honestly, she is too young to really understand what happened & we have tried not to talk about it:

So, we gave her a snack, cheered her up & then she wanted to get back in the pool to warm up for her next event & let me tell you, she definitely redeemed herself! Her freestyle was amazing & she finished confidently, breaking her best time:

She got 2nd place but it was so close! Literally, these races are so close sometime you can't tell from the top of the water - we have to wait & see what time comes up from where they hit the wall under the water. Not only was her time good, but she got 2nd out of 30 girls, she earned a silver medal & she gets to swim at the state meet!

Her final event was the 100 meter freestyle relay with 3 other girls & it was my favorite event of the day! Our 1st girl had a strong start & easily had a big lead, but we had another team member who had a hard time & the team had dropped to 4th place but Sadie was the last girl in the water & she really turned it on because she swam one of the best swims I have ever seen to bring the team from 4th to 2nd place! Seriously, it was so exciting! So she earned another silver medal & her relay team also gets to swim at state!

We have this awesome app where we can follow times through the meet & it lists everyone's name, times, history, etc. Anyway, thought I would throw some of the details on here for reference. 

After their relay, I ran down there to congratulate her team & unfortunately, Lexi had already left but I was able to get a picture with Caroline & Vivian:

Vivian has became one of her closest friends at FASST so we were so excited she came in 5th place in the freestyle so the girls will get to swim together at state in the relay & their individual race:

There were 8 girls from FASST who were in Sadie's age group that qualified for regionals & honestly, I am so proud of all of them for the way they handled the pressure & had fun in such a big meet:

I have a feeling we may be seeing these girls at swim meets for many years to come! Or who knows, we may see some of these girls training at the pool during the school year :)

Once Sadie finished her last meet, her first request was to get a sweet treat. There was an ice cream truck parked outside & she had been asking for a snack all day so I promised her afterwards she could get whatever she wanted:

Then we went back inside to order spirit gear for state & to wait for the medals. This is what happens when a bunch of 6 year olds get ice cream & are bored waiting around for their medals:

Finally, they got their medals & Sadie couldn't have been more proud:

My personal goal was for her to earn a red swim cap:

The white swim caps are part of their team uniform & that is what she has worn all year, but if you make the state team, you get a red swim cap & it is a big deal to get to wear your red swim cap, especially in meets. 

Of course we couldn't leave without taking a ton a pictures with her cheerleaders. She was lucky to have both sets of grandparents there:

Who knew we would become a swim family?! I mean we have always loved swimming & we have definitely put the girls in swimming lessons since they were young, but we have really enjoyed it as a sport. Sophie has already asked if she can join FASST next summer when she is old enough so I think we have a lot more swim meets in our future. But first, the State Games of Texas in 2 week. I still can't believe we have a daughter who will be swimming there! Sadie, we are so proud of you & can't wait to see where you go from here!