Meet of Champs

Collin swam well enough during the regular swim meet that he was part of the Meet of Champs today.  He was an alternate for the 7/8 boys relays and swam in Heat 2 of the breaststroke.  He was not happy about swimming the breaststroke because he knew he was better and backstroke.  However, the team needed him in breaststroke, so he did it.

We had to be at the meet at 7:30am to check in and get ready to warm up with the team at 8:10am.  The meet started at 9am.  My job was to get the kids lined up by their event and heat so they could be lined up correctly to swim.  I got to use the megaphone to help me do this.  It took a few tries to get it down but I LOVED having ti after that.  After doing it for 3 1/2 hours though, my arms were tired and I was ready for some A/C.

The great thing about being a volunteer is that I could see Collin close up and watch him right behind him when it was his time to swim.

He came in 8th place (last) during his swim.  He told us that he swam terribly and did not understand why he had to do that stroke.  We reminded him that not all of the kids on the team were even asked to attend the Meet of Champs. It was great that he was even there.  This meant the Coach was counting on him and knew he could do it.  We were proud of him no matter which place he got.

Checked in and ready for Ready Bench

Lining the swimmers up on the bench 

Where Collin and the swimmers hung out until it was time to line up.  This was during the National Anthem.

Waiting for me to call his name to line up

Inside waiting their turn

Almost time to swim!

Waiting for the Meet Director to sound the horn so he could start.

Here is a quick video of Collin starting the breaststroke. He started out well but got tired and slowed down at the end.

Talking Back = Time in His Room

Collin is talking back to us more.  Instead of trying to talk to him about it, again, for the 10th time, that day, we sent him to his room for the night.  He was NOT happy about that because it was 7pm and two hours before his normal time to settle down and go to bed.  He screamed all the way down the hall to his room which further confirmed he needed to stay in there the rest of the night.  We could hear him continue to cry loudly in his room for at least 20 minutes.  Good thing we had plans to rest and watch a movie the rest of the night.  At one point, we turned down the volume to the show and did not hear him anymore.  Dad checked on him and he was sitting on his bed looking through a book.  When Dad got up later to check on him again, he found this note laying outside the hall door:



It says, I am sorry that I was argueing with you.  I will never do it again.  At least he knows why he was sent to his room.  All of the crying must have worn him out because he was asleep within 30 minutes.

The next morning, he was apologetic and very helpful the rest of the day.

Summer so Far

Summers are hard on a 3rd grader...and parents.  What to do with the kiddo during the day to wear him out, entertain him and possibly provide some learning scenarios as well.  Here is what Collin has done so far this summer:

• He continues drum lessons 2 days a week.  His new instructor says he catches on really quick and has lot of potential.  They are working on the basics again to make sure Collin has these before learning a song.  He also practices at home at least twice a week.  We are trying to increase that by a day or two.
• He attended Reading Camp for a week in the afternoon.  His teacher said he does really well when he applies himself (we have heard this before).  She said he rises to the level of the kids around him.  He was the youngest in the class by 2 grades but he read and comprehended just as well as the other kids.  She recommends he reads daily which we started last week.  It's hard to do with all of the other activities and a tired Mommy but we are making it work as much as we can.
• He attended soccer camp for the week in the morning.  He loves soccer and was just happy to be playing with his friend Brody.  I did not hear from him that he learned anything new but I know he had fun.
• He attended a two day evening football skills clinic to get him ready for tackle football.  He LOVED this and wanted to do more of it.  There were a few times he got the ball and ran with it which he did not want to do in the past because of the people watching him and letting down his team.  Maybe he is over this fear now.
• He had swim team which consisted of 4 Meets and one practice meet.  There were swim lessons in the morning he missed because he was already at camp.  He could have done a make up swim lesson in the evening but he rested instead.
• He is attending baseball camp this week in the morning and likes it so far because he loves baseball also.  Plus, he is getting to play on a college size field which is different.  



Clayton and Collin waiting for baseball camp to start.  Looks like Collin is a little tired or cranky this morning.  Yeah for the coaches.

• I started boxing  and kickboxing classes at night.  He has heard me talk about these and wanted to go with me.  We finally found a class that we could attend together.  I thought he would want to leave after 20 minutes of the class but he stuck it out and hung in the entire hour.  I was so proud of him and enjoyed having him there with me as I worked out.  He even told me I was doing something wrong and push trough the planks.  Ha!



Getting his wraps put on



In my gloves after class

• For the rest of the time, he is either at a friend's house or he has a friend over to play
• Lots of pool time because it already feels like July around here and getting REALLY hot.  He is drinking more water and knows the value of being hydrated.

I would say the summer is off to a great start for the Collinator!

Last Swim Meet

...and just like that, the swim team season is over.  Despite a rain delay of an hour, the Cudas swam hard and won their last meet by over 50 points!  Collin was scheduled for only 3 heats and ended up swimming the backstroke for a swimmer that could not make it.  Even though backstroke is his favorite and best, he has not swam this stroke in any of the meets.  We were not sure why but knew it was hard to schedule all of these kids for each of the meets.  Collin was not sure about swimming for someone else but his dad encouraged him to do so while I was keeping the score for the meet.  Because the scoring table is right by the pool, I had a great seat to watch all of the kids swim, including Collin. I saw him swimming the backstroke and doing great.  He did not take a moment to look over at the other lane which helped him win is first 1st place ribbon of the season.  He was so excited about this had told me the details of the last seconds when he brought his ribbon over to show me.  I wish I could have taken a picture of this finish or of him swimming but I am not allowed to at the scoring table.  That's certainly a negative about volunteering for that spot.

The boys had a good time swimming and playing.  That night, I asked Collin if he was sad the season was over.  He said, "It is?  That was really fast this year mom."  It sure was Collin.

The 7/8 boys ready to swim

Collin on the Ready bench waiting his turn

Collin is on the 2nd row, 2nd person to the right.

Swim Meet #2

Collin competed in 5 races tonight during Meet #2. No wonder he came home hungry and very tired.  

His first race was swimming up in the 9/10 boys relay.  He was really mad about this but he did fantastic swimming the last lap of the relay freestyle and helped the team win a 4th place ribbon. Here he is during that swim:

He rested a little and then swam 4 more times.   Here is how he did, I think (I was Ribbon Judge so I had to pay attention to my lane and now always getting to see how he did):

5th - Freesyle

4th - Breast stroke

2nd - Backstroke

3rd - Relay - 7/8 boys

So proud of him sticking it out and trying his best.  He was no upset about any of the ribbons he received and was a good sport about it.

Wonder if he is nervous....or just hungry

The great thing about Ribbon Judge when he swam in my lane or the one next to me was that I got some great pictures of him

On the Ready Bench for backstroke

Lined up for breast stroke

On the crowded Ready Bench

.

All marked up and ready to swim

Coming in for the 9/10 relay team

Finding out he got 4th place

Finishing the backstroke and waiting for his 2nd place ribbon

Last race .... the breast stroke

Ride Em Collin

This Memorial Day, we spent time on our friend's boat just as we did last year to celebrate the holiday.  Collin and his buddy, Foard did fantastic riding the float.  There were multiple times I thought Collin would get tired or fall off but he held on tight hanging in there for over

Just starting out on the float

Getting a hang of which way to lean to get over the wave

Foard and Collin are doing great!

 Here are a few videos of them in action:

Daddy got into the action as well and had fun.  He held on for a few minutes and won for the best crash off the float.  Too funny!!!

Get ready Dad!

Look at him go!

Check out that splash 

The Mommy's did not get on the float.  Hey, someone had to make sure the boys were feed a snack and to let the driver know if the person fell off the float, right?

What a fantastic day with friends...until Collin got wrapped up in a jellyfish while playing in the water.  He screamed so loud we did not know what happened to him.  I was hoping to not see any blood when he got out of water....and didn't. So, then we could not figure out what happened until I saw several spots on his left arm swelling up and that arm from the elbow to the back of his hand was bright red.  Not having baking soda or meat tenderizer on the boat, Dad started pouring cod water on his hand which helped a little.  I took Collin's shirt, drenched it in cold water and wrapped up his arm. That settled him down and helped keep the burn not feel so bad.  By the time we got back to shore, his arm was much better and he did not want to stop to get "medicine".  I think he was afraid it would hurt more if we put something on it.  Later when we got home, the swelling was down but he had a rash everywhere.  Some Benadryl later, and he was much better.

Resting on the ride back to the boat dock.  What a handsome little boy.

1st Swim Meet

Collin had his first swim meet tonight.  It was a practice meet for the team to get ready for their first meet this Thursday.  Because it was a practice meet, the kids got to swim in every type of race.  Even though Collin was not in the first heat of any of the races, he did really well for the first meet.  He came away with the following:

• 3rd place for freestyle
• 1st place for back stroke
• 2nd place for breast stroke
• 3rd place for butterfly

Collin said he liked backstroke the best.  He was really good at this last year and it looks like this is his best stroke so far this year too.  He likes breast stroke next and then freestyle.  He likes butterfly just a little but it's still new to him and he is still learning this difficult stroke.

Here he is during the freestyle.  He is in the second lane from the bottom ending up with a 3rd place in the second heat.

He had a great time tonight and is ready for the first meet Thursday.  Way to go Collin!!!

First Aquathon

Collin competed in his first aquathon this morning.  The distances were a 100 meter swim and a 2 mile run.  There were 80 kids signed up so this was a small race which was really nice.

As with the last race, he wanted to use my transition mat to set up his stuff in transition.  "I want to use what I used before because it worked".  He helped me pick out and pack his race gear the night before.  Aquathon's are easy to pack for because we did not have to think about what he needed for his bike.

It was a little more challenging to get him out of bed this morning than it was for his last race.  We finally got him moving and made it just as the transition area was opening.  Before putting his things in the transition area, he had to get marked with his race number (528) and race age (9).  He liked that they used a marker because he knew this would not easily wash off and would stay on for a few days so he could show his friends.

"I am ready to go mom.  Where is the transition area?"

His gear loaded up for the race

Putting his things in the transition area

The timing chip on his ankle

Listening to the race director give the announcements and talk about the race

After the announcements, he walked over to the pool to line up.  Dad went to watch him while I stayed back at the transition area so I could get pictures of him running out and getting ready for the run.  Dad said he was really strong on the first 50 meters of the swim and then could tell he was getting tired.  This might have been his first time to swim 100 meters without stopping.  Out of 18 boys in the 8 - 10 age group, he was 15th for the swim.

Glad I was waiting for him near the transition area because he forgot which row to run down.  He found his spot and had trouble putting on his first shoe but then quickly put on the second shoe and was off running.  Out of the 18 boys, he was 4th.  That's fast!  He did not take time to dry off or put socks on which really helps him start the run quick.

He is out of the water

Running down the steps to the transition area

"Where are my things mom?"

He had a little trouble putting on that shoe

The run was a 1 mile loop they had to run twice.  He looked really strong each time Dad saw him.

Starting the run

On his second loop

I waited for Collin at the finish line with Mimi.  I did see a few boys in his age group come in but he was not too far behind them.  He was 9th on the run which gave him a final finish in 8th place.  Great for his first aquathon.

Crossing the finish line

Getting a finisher's medal

Sitting in his transition spot waiting for the awards

Mimi was glad to be there to watch him race

He did not care if he won anything or not.  He had a good time but did tell me that he want to only do duathlons or triathlons because he really likes to ride his bike.  That is no surprise at all.  When we got home, we signed him up for a triathlon at the end of July.  He said he would like to do at least one a month.  I told he we would see if we could fit that in with the other sports he will be playing throughout the year.

After the race, we all went to breakfast.  Collin was still a little hungry after eating 6 small chocolate chip muffins at the race finish.  Plus, he wanted to visit with Mimi a little before she had to leave.

2nd Grade Final Report Card

Collin graduated 2nd grade!!!

Here is his final report card.  Looks like he continued talking and disrupting class the last few weeks.  He will really need to work on that next year.  We are also going to work with him on his reading.  He continues to do great with reading comprehension but is at a level 24.  That is still passing and where he should be to start 3rd grade but he barely made it.  He has been working with a reading tutor for a few weeks now but he might be switching to someone else to give a little more guidance.

His handwriting is still very legible and nice especially for a boy.  I noticed he got a little sloppy towards the end of the year but it looked like he was just in a hurry to complete his assignments....this really showed in all of his grades.  Because he is in a hurry, he does not thoroughly read the question or the instructions...or even finish.  Bad habits we will need to address in 3rd grade too.