A Day Like This

I am not entirely sure how it happened this way, but we have managed to jam-pack our summer days.  

For example, today:

Jersey #1 had her very first swim meet this morning.  She was suppose to report to the pool at 6:30am.  Why is swimming such an early morning activity?  Our family is not accustomed to going to bed early and waking up early.  We did it anyway.  I put the kids to bed early last night....almost right after dinner.  I closed up all the shades in the house, and tried to make it look like it was closer to night time.  That is no easy feat in the summer, when the days are longer.  

I packed up snacks and a blanket, so they were ready to load into the van.  I laid out clothes for the younger 3 kids, because I knew they would be too tired to put much effort into getting dressed.  I gathered all of the ingredients for a crockpot chili to be put on in the morning, so we would have a hearty meal waiting on us when we returned.  Lastly, I plugged in my camera to charge, and printed out directions to the pool, before going to bed early myself.

I woke up at 5am.  That is rare.  I do not intend to make it a habit.  I had plenty of time to shower and cook some breakfast items before I woke the kids.  One-by-one, the kids managed to crawl out of bed, get dressed to the shoes, brush teeth and comb hair.  As they were ready, I had them sit at the dining table and eat.  The slower kids got to put their breakfast in a baggie to eat in the van.  Jersey #1 and Jersey #5 really surprised me with their cheerful attitudes first thing the morning.  They were both obedient when I sent them to bed the night before, and fell asleep quickly, so I suspect they felt like they had gotten enough sleep. 

We made it to the pool, and found seating in the shade, near friends.  We unloaded our luggage, set up a chair, and prepared for a big morning of fun and competition.  Jersey #1 was pretty nervous.  She turns into a robot, with a serious expression, and goes through the motions.  I knew she would warm up as the meet went on.

She swam 3 events:  25M freestyle, 25M backstroke, and 25M breaststroke.  I was completely stunned by how much her strokes have improved in just the 1 month of swim team practice.  She has achieved levels of ability that were just not happening during summer swim lessons.  I am totally impressed with the coaches on this team.  Jersey #1 did great.

She took 8th place in Freestyle, 6th place in Backstroke, and 7th place in Breaststroke.  After every event, her coach ran up to her and cheered her on for completing the race with ease.  It was neat to see how they praised her.  She was nervous first.  She was troubled that she was often in last place for the heat.  But, she was proud of her accomplishment, especially after the coaches pointed it out.  

While Jersey #1 swam, her younger siblings ate.

As the meet was wrapping up, the coaches mentioned that the team has a tradition of going out for a meal afterward.  We went to a nearby pizza place.  Even though they ate breakfast, and snacked all morning, my children were also able to eat an entire large cheese pizza!

I managed to have 1 slice of pizza before my children consumed it all.  

The fellowship with the swimmers and parents was a lot of fun.  It is a great group of people.  We already knew a couple families.  I enjoyed some conversation with my former boss, whose youngest son swims on this team.  Plus, I re-met a lady who had been part of our homeschool co-op a couple years ago.  She has a daughter with the same name as Jersey #4.  Another friendly lady introduced herself to me, and I learned she is the Mom of two of the coaches, including Jersey #1's coach.  One month of practice, and one swim meet, and I am already a big fan of this team.  

On the way home, Jersey #1 asked if we could go bowling that afternoon.  Everyone was in good spirits, so we invited a friend and headed out to the bowling alley for a couple games through the Kids Bowl Free program.  I joined in on the fun, and we had a blast.

I am pretty sure that Jersey #4 is in for a major growth spurt.  In addition to asking for a 2nd bowl of spaghetti last night (which she never does), and also asked for a 2nd slice of pizza (which she seldom does).  Then, she fell asleep in the van on the way to bowling, AND started laying down to watch her ball complete its path...

Once we returned home, I started to tackle the laundry and dishes that have been piling up.  The kids helped feed the dogs, and unload the van.  Laundry managed to get washed and dried, but it is still sitting on the couch, waiting to be folded.

We ate crockpot chili for dinner.  The older 3 children ate twice as much as usual.  There are hardly any leftovers, which is so odd.

I gave the younger 4 kids a haircut.

The younger 3 kids took a bath.

I trimmed fingernails and toe nails.

The kids brushed their teeth and put on PJs.  I tucked them into bed.

Then, I sat down at my computer to work on my assignments for the Nutrition class I am taking online.  I am really liking this online course option.  I do most of my studying after the kids are in bed. 

I am exhausted.  I wrote this blog post just so I could see how busy I was today, so that I can justify my exhaustion.  

Yep, it is justified.

It is now time to hang up my clean laundry, to clear my bed.  I am hoping to read my Sunday School lesson materials before I go to sleep.  Thankfully, tomorrow is Sunday.  I manage to get more rest on Sundays.  I am going to need it.  If I thought this week was intense, next week is bound to be wilder.