Summer Swim Season

This summer's swim team season was different, but still fun! CC was the only Morrison kid who swam -- Sweet Pea bowed out, and Little Man hasn't done it in years. But CC did more than just swim: she was also our team's Coach In Training, helping coach the Shrimps (kids under age 7). Some of this year's Shrimps are kids that she babysits and knows well, so in her eyes, it was the perfect combination of two things she really loves.

Coach In Training is an unpaid position, but she's hoping that by doing a good job, she'll be selected to be a full coach next year. Several moms approached me during the season to tell me what a great job she's doing. It was nice to hear that her efforts were appreciated. 

Meanwhile, as a 14-year-old, she also was a member of the team and swam in every meet. It was her goal from the first day of the season to be selected as a primary swimmer for the All-Star Meet (every year in the past, she's been selected as an alternate).

But it's a tough age group to be in, because most 13-14 girls have already had huge growth spurts and muscle gains. So her expectations were low. Surprisingly, she scored more points this year than she ever has before! At one meet, she was even moved up to the A relay team for a freestyle relay, and won her first ever BLUE ribbon for first place!

At the end-of-season banquet, three huge surprises happened: 

• She was awarded "Most Improved" for her age group
• She was selected as a primary swimmer for butterfly at the All-Star Meet (as well as alternate for backstroke, breaststroke, and the freestyle relay)
• She was paid $250 for being a great Coach In Training

All three of those were huge shocks to her. When she saw her name on the All-Star list, she actually started crying! And when they handed her a check, she initially gave it back and said, "No, sorry, that's a mistake -- I don't get paid." They laughed and said yes, she did such a great job that they really wanted to reward her. It's more money than she's ever had at her disposal before!

Once we arrived at the All Star Meet, she learned that in addition to swimming butterfly, she'd also be swimming in the freestyle relay to replace a swimmer who had to leave early. Her team ended up taking third in the event, which at the All-Star Meet results in a medal! She was so proud of herself!

It's safe to say that this year's summer swim season was a huge success! CC is already looking forward to next year, when she's hoping to be a full coach.

Studio Observation

The girls' dance and acro studio offered a parent observation week, and MJ and I took turns watching the girls. They each take 2 classes there, so MJ went to one for each and so did I. It was wonderful watching them! And we both took video so we could share the experience.

Direct link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLV5fcHoEyI

Sweet Pea takes Acro and Acro Dance. She has yet to find a challenging tumbling class since she stopped doing gymnastics, but she enjoys this studio and instructor more than any other she's tried. Her Acro Dance class performed their Polichinelles routine for the parents, but I didn't record that (since I already recorded it last week at the performance). But her acro demonstration is included.

CC dreams of dancing en pointe someday soon, despite not having taken any ballet classes since she was four. This year she started up with two classes per week: Ballet and Ballet Technique. At first she felt very overwhelmed with the French words and the movements she didn't understand. But she caught up quickly and is really loving it. I think she's naturally very graceful, and we are encouraging her interest in ballet.

Nutcracker #1

Sweet Pea is in two different productions of The Nutcracker this year. She's taking acro classes at a local studio this year, and her class was given the opportunity to perform as Polichinelles in another dance studio's production of the show. Of course she jumped at the chance! But there was a cost associated with it, and I didn't love the idea of Sweet Pea just adding things to our family's already full plate when she didn't have any skin in the game. So I told her she'd have to split the entrance cost with me. She didn't hesitate for a second, and has been doing extra chores around the house to earn her share of the money.

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/HpGwkA-oT4s
(Sweet Pea enters on the left side, doing a handstand walk.)

Last weekend was the big performance. It was a beautiful show! We loved watching the dancers, but of course our favorites were the Polichinelles tumbling around. Grandma and Grandpa joined us, so Sweet Pea had plenty of fans in the audience!

Cross Country Wrap-Up

Little Man and CC finished up their inaugural cross-country season with their third and final meet. Little Man definitely enjoyed it the most -- he was eager to join the team at the beginning of the season, and he never complained about practices. His times were a little erratic, but he ran hard and seemed to enjoy the social aspect, too.

CC was more of an enigma. She originally wanted to join the team, then changed her mind, then ended up doing it, but complaining the entire time. And although she claimed to be trying her best, her times worsened by over a minute with every meet. That's a ridiculous amount of time to lose in a race that's less than two miles!

But in her final meet, she sprinted her hardest down the final stretch. "Did you see that girl in the red shirt?" she asked afterwards. "I just had to beat her!" And she did.

So that's a wrap! Little Man is already looking forward to next year. CC claims to want to try out for track in the spring, but I can't imagine that's true!

Afterward the season there was a nice sports awards banquet at the school for all the fall teams. MJ and I attended and patiently sat through all the other sports until cross country, which was the final team and also the largest. CC and Little Man were all smiles and definitely enjoyed their moment in the spotlight!

Busy Weekend

Last weekend we were BUSY. On top of our normal weekend activities, the girls had two Cirque performances on Saturday. And on Sunday, Little Man and CC had their second cross-country meet. Grandpa and Grandma joined up for both events, and Memere and Pepere came to town, too. 

Cirque went well. It was the studio's annual "Tricks and Treats" festival. There were lots of activities, and two shows in the afternoon. CC's contemporary dance class performed in the first show. The second show featured a silks solo by CC, plus a number by Sweet Pea and CC's jazz class.

Direct link here: https://youtu.be/jFAobsZoXGQ

CC was extremely nervous about her solo. She worked her tail off these last few weeks, doing all the choreography herself, selecting music, and picking out her costume. She even learned several skills just for this solo -- like tying a knot in the silks with her feet. At the dress rehearsal the night before, she made a big mistake, and she woke up the morning of the show in tears, convinced she'd do it again. But I told her that people in the performing arts always say that a bad dress rehearsal leads to a great performance. And that was definitely the case with her solo! It was beautiful. I was so proud of her for putting herself out there and taking such a big risk.

The next morning we went to early Mass, in order to be at the cross-country course by 9:30. CC and Little Man were raring to go after having so much fun at their first meet. The rest of us stood around, shivering in the cold and wind! It was a complete turnaround from the day before, which had been hot.

Little Man beat his time from the last meet, so he was happy. CC's time was slower than last time, but she attributed that to sore knees from Cirque the day before. She was pleased, however, that she met her goal: to keep running (not stop and walk) up and down the hill. And she was happy but a little embarrassed that we lined the track to cheer at several different places, and took pics as she ran past.

The weekend was successful all the way around! 

Cross Country!

CC and Little Man both decided to run cross-country for the school team this year. It's a club sport, so there are no tryouts, and it's a welcoming introduction to school athletics. The coach is a friend of mine with a very positive attitude, and I love the way she layers self-esteem and nutrition lessons on top of the running program.

This past weekend was their first meet. Little Man was raring to go, but CC did not have a great attitude about it. Fortunately, once we arrived at the course and she was surrounded by her friends, her outlook improved.

The boys ran first, and Little Man held his own. He was especially proud of the final stretch, where he used his last reserves of energy to pass quite a few other runners.

To our amusement, CC did a combination of running and walking. Afterwards she explained, "I walked up and down the big hill for safety." MJ and I laughed and told her that everyone else managed to run up and down the hill. But CC insisted, "I saw a lot of people almost fall!" So there you have it: safety first.

They both finished around the middle of their respective packs. But the most important thing was that they agreed it was more fun than they thought, and wasn't as hard as they feared. Great lessons!

Circus Arts

After several years of working on their circus arts skills, the girls had the opportunity for professional pictures to be taken on the apparatus of their choice. I was thrilled to think of the beautiful images we'd get of the girls doing what they love! CC picked Silks, and Sweet Pea picked trapeze.

CC was in her element, picking out exactly what she'd wear and how she wanted me to do her hair, and applying her makeup very carefully. The pictures are gorgeous:

Sweet Pea had a last-minute case of nerves, saying she didn't want to go, and that she didn't like pictures of herself. But after a few pep talks and a little tough love, she decided to go. In typical Sweet Pea fashion, she wanted no makeup and just a simple ponytail. But her images are just as special to me.

Tennis

For the last year, I've been learning tennis. It's very humbling, but fun -- especially when it's with a bunch of friends! There are about 12 ladies who started attending a weekly beginners' clinic at our local club last fall, and we've become good friends. Even MJ and I have been playing together on the weekends, which is a really nice way to spend time together.

This fall I started playing competitively on the club's lowest-level team. My first match was yesterday, and I was partnered with a lovely older woman named Malu. She's extremely nice, and has been playing in this league for years, so she's knowledgeable and a great resource for me.

We lost our match, but it was close! We won the first set 6-0, and I thought we were in great shape to win the match in two sets. Unfortunately the other two ladies came back with a vengeance and won the second set 6-1. So we played a tiebreaker, and it was neck and neck! But unfortunately we lost the tiebreaker 6-4.

I used my brand-new racquet, a birthday gift from my parents and Jon & Susan. Thanks to all of them! It should last me for years, and it's so pretty with bright blue strings. I love it!

End of an Era

After three years, CC has quit her year-round swim team. It's very time-consuming (four times a week), and she'd like to take more dance and cirque classes in the future.

She made this decision back in the fall, but she's had a really hard time going through with it! She loves her coaches so much, it's been hard to say good bye. She first decided to finish the short-course season, which ended in March. Then she decided there wasn't any harm in finishing the long-course season, since it ends in August, before all the new dance and cirque classes start up. 

Since she'll be gone at camp for the next two weeks, her final practice was last Saturday. She was sobbing as she hugged Jeremy, her favorite coach, and it even made me teary! She'll still continue to swim for our summer league, and Jeremy helps out for some of those events, so she'll still see him every once in a while.

The Wizard of Oz

This was the big weekend! The weekend the girls have been working towards for months! The Wizard of Oz! CC was a munchkin (silks) and a winkie (hip hop), while Sweet Pea was .... (drumroll please) .... THE COWARDLY LION! She had auditioned for Toto, and was floored when she ended up being cast as a lead performer.

Sweet Pea and CC did great. We thoroughly enjoyed the performance, and all four grandparents were in attendance, which made it extra special. During the weekend, both girls had multiple friends come see them perform -- such a wonderful showing of support!

Because the girls took the same hip hop class, they performed a number together, and did a partner cartwheel. Sweet Pea thankfully did not drop CC on her head like she had several times in rehearsal!

After each show, the director presented awards. Sweet Pea won the Perfect Attendance Award, and CC won the Most Improved Award. Wow! We're so proud of them both. And as they are both auditioning to be in the Company, we are crossing our fingers that their schedules will align next year. Wish them luck!

Sweet Pea's Cirque Performances

Sweet Pea has really been getting into cirque and arial skills these last few years. CC has too, but Sweet Pea has a year's head start on her, plus her gymnastics experience gives her a leg up. This spring, Sweet Pea has been featured in several cirque events.

The first was a production called Spring Forward, and it was a variety show choreographed by students at the studio. Sweet Pea was in two numbers: a partner-acro duet, and a group dance/tumbling routine. We had fun watching her, and as usual, she beamed the entire time.

Direct link to video: https://youtu.be/XXcrdTtuYsA

Her second show was in honor of International Circus Day. Her studio hosted a day-long event highlighting performers from all kinds of international dance and aerial traditions. We saw garba dancers from India, a belly dancer from Egypt, an aerial straps performer from Russia, a scarf dancer from China, and hula dancers from Polynesia. Sweet Pea and one of her friends were asked to demonstrate trapeze (from France). Trapeze has been Sweet Pea's favorite apparatus this year, but it was our first time seeing her perform. She was impressive!

And now we're looking forward to seeing both girls perform in The Wizard of Oz next weekend!

Boosterthon

This week we had our final Boosterthon run. Now that Sweet Pea and Little Man are big 5th graders, they got to have a color run, which made it even more exciting. 

I was amused that Little Man saluted at attention during the National Anthem -- that's not something we've ever encouraged him to do, but it was cute, and at least he did it correctly.

Little Man ran mostly with his buddy Sage, who thankfully will be going to the same middle school with him next year. And Sweet Pea ran with Charlie, a good friend who's finally in the same class this year!

They were messy but happy afterwards. And they helped raise money for the school, which also earned them a lot of fun prizes. Huge thanks to everyone who donated to support them and our wonderful school!

Career Day

It's our final Career Day! Little Man went as a football player (again), and Sweet Pea went as a graphic designer. We couldn't figure out how to dress like a graphic designer, so we finally decided to print some graphic design software logos onto sticker paper and put them on her shirt.

(And yes, Little Man wore the helmet to school!)

Nutcracker

Sweet Pea has been taking classes a local aerial arts studio for the last 18 months, and this year she participated in their Nutcracker performance. It's all the same music from Tchaikovsky, but set to choreography on silks, trapeze, stilts, tumbling, lyra, and cyr. It's really interesting! I'm not that knowledgeable about ballet, so I find a performance like this -- with multiple genres -- more entertaining.

Sweet Pea had great experience. She and Mia were in it together, performing in the tumbling act as bracelets, and in the hip hop act as nightmares. (And yes, we had fun teasing Sweet Pea about being "a total nightmare"!)

She had lots of fans in the audience: us, all four grandparents, her cheer coach from school, and even her good friends Raleigh and Mackenzie. I was also extremely thankful for a professional photographer who took great pictures of the dress rehearsal and shared them with the families.

And don't you just love this family picture? Someone was very unhappy about wearing a sweater.

It was a fun but exhausting weekend for Sweet Pea. And now CC has made it her goal to be in this performance next year, so we might have two nightmares on our hands soon!