Grandma's Kitchen Table

Matt & Ali at Homecoming: The Couple That Isn't

   The Couple That Isn't.  Homecoming dating isn't what it was in my day.  In my day, you had a date for Homecoming, or you sat home.   Now, with the swimmers at least, they all tend to go informal, and go in one large group.  At the dance, they dance with everyone. 

 

Oh, sure, there are a few couples, like Beth and John, who are an automatic assumption when it comes to dating and events like Homecoming, etc., but by and large, there aren't a lot of couples in Matt's group of friends. 

 

Ali and Matt have been friends for years and years.  They swim together with CSC, they grew up through the years in ICC/IYC choir, have done countless swim meets, sang in countless musical performances, traveled in Italy together with the choir, etc., and there is just a certain amount of closeness that develops from those shared interests and times together. 

 

They are like an old married couple together.  One looks out for the other, each having their own ways of just motoring about together.  So it was that Matt took Ali to Homecoming...literally:  he picked her up, took her to the party, took her to the dance, took her to Stephanie's party afterward, and then took her home.  But it wasn't a date.  They weren't going to Homecoming together.  It was just Ali and Matt motoring about in their usual style.   

 

A nicer friend Matt could not find.  Are they dating?  Absolutely not.  Are they secretly hoping to date?  Absolutely not.  They are The Couple That Isn't.  They are just Matt and Ali.  And they had a great time at Homecoming!

 

Trying to get a photo of the two at Margaret's party...both on their cell phones chatting away with others, Ali trying to get her mom to hurry up and get to the party to take photos, etc., and Matt trying to talk Taylor into coming along to the party and having a good time.  Taylor had plans with girlfriends, but Laurie I did get to see.

 

CHS Homecoming

High School Homecoming this past weekend.  Are you ready?  Back Row (L-R): Harrison, Jonathan, Ryan, Jimmy, Ariana, Nik, Matt, Kiernan, Alexis, Cameron, ?, ?, Jack; Johnny, Robbie, Rhea, Amy, ?, Carly, Sam, Colleen, Marissa, Devon, Katie, Alicia, Stephanie, Caroline, Ali, Rebecca, Beth, John; Front Row:  Taylor, Erika, Margaret (the Hostess), Lacey, Emily, Lucy.  Good luck, the middle two rows are rather jumbled due to heights of swimmers. The swimmers gathered in force, missing about half of them, but a good turnout nonetheless. 
A bit of a stag line:  Johny, Matt F., Jack, Cameron, Kiernan, Nik, Matt, Cheffy in front of Matt, Jonathon, Harrison, and Mike.

 

This year, the lovely Margaret hosted the pre-party (with a pre-pre party at Ali's house for some to gather and get ready there, which Matt attended and got to spend a portion chatting with Mr. P, always a favorite). 
Nik, Matt, Jonathan, Harrison.

 

Margaret has a lovely home and lovely parents (her grandparents were also there, very fun to meet them), and her home is ideal for hosting hundreds of people on a given Saturday night. 
Margaret herself looked absolutely lovely in her white dress against those long dark locks of hers and although she has always been a tiny little girl, the boys for some reason have always called her "Large Marge," because they are, after all, boys and none of them ever realized Large Marge was going to grow up and be such a stunning beauty. 
The Juniors:  Harrison, John, Kiernan, Mike, Matt, Carly in back; Beth, Marissa, Ali, Devon, Caroline, and Cameron in front.

 

They ate, they chatted, they posed for photos, they all had a great time before heading off to the dance.  After the dance, they all went to Stephanie's house for more eating, chatting, and having a good time just being together.  

 

A nice photo of Lauren J. and Matt (she is the girl Matt took to homecoming their freshmen year and a good friend).  Lauren is on crutches so couldn't dance this year.

 

It is always amazing to me that these kids spend almost every single day together at swim practice and meets and yet when there is a non-swimming occasion, their first thoughts are always to get together and have a good time.  We have watched all these young ladies and gentleman grow up day by day over the years, this being our 11th year of swimming together.  It's hard to look at the photos of them all without a few tears...just two more years together before they all go their own ways...better enjoy it all an awful lot right now.  Photos from the evening (as all the kids will be checking the blog to see them today).

One Last Stand

Saturday the weather was warm, the sky was sunny and beautiful, and Matt had one last stand at swimming lessons all afternoon for all the children he taught over the summer here in our pool.  The last classes were Rachel, Rebecca, and Marie, so they all stood together for one final summer swimming photo of the season.  Bill comes to close the pool on Monday. 

Part of the entertainment always is finding Louise slithering about in the ground cover, mulch, plantings, etc. down by the pool.  She was cooperative enough to stick out her little red tongue at me as I snapped her photo.  You wouldn't think with all the activity down there, and lots of noisy children jumping around, Louise would be anywhere in sight, but she is a rather social creature and the little swimmers all love to be the one who spots her first. 

 At the end of the day, Chip and I had a little discussion about the mess he is leaving with all the tomato skins he discards as he eats his way through the last of the tomato crop on the deck.  It wasn't much of a discussion as he headed out once he spotted me opening the door onto the deck.  I wasn't really going to scold him as I like having him around, the mess is incidental.

Life in the slow lane...I love it more as time goes on.

Still Standing

  Lauren is in a few of Matt's classes this year, so last night was a bit of studying for a history test after swim practice.  JJ is off at college at OSU now, so Lauren has one less brother to contend with at her house.  Oh, and Matt's foot?  Not broken, just a contusion.  He can swim and will be back running by Tuesday.  (Sigh of relief since Mike is a boot from a foot injury and will miss six weeks of swimming, we got lucky.)  So, all in all, he's still standing, no broken bones.

Long Standing Friendships

   Matt's 17th birthday came and went with a smattering of celebrating here and there due to various swimming meets, swim commitments, travel swim gigs, etc., going on at the time, so finally on the 22nd of August we managed to get this group of guys (minus Alex who had to miss for the first time), Adam, Jacob, Matt, and Colin, together for a bit of celebrating by going to an Indians baseball game, etc. 

  These friends have been celebrating birthdays together since they first met in scouts in the first grade.  Matt had to drop out of scouts many years ago due to swimming commitments and scouting ones conflicting far too often, and Alex finally called it a day with scouting last year, but the friendships continue and the memories they built in those years of scouting activities, camping, and such have led to the memories they make now with their teen social years. 

  Their voices have all changed...they all shave...they all drive...they all are juniors and they all don't see that we parents still see them sitting around the birthday tables when their feet didn't even touch the floor and wonder where all this time went all so quickly. 

  Susan, these next two shots are for you!  Susan makes and custom decorates the most wonderful sugar cookies for all occasions.  She made Matt's centered around swimming, 17th birthday theme, baseball, etc. and they were a big hit with the guys who love cookies and brownies. 

  The next photo was taken after the baseball game with them sitting down at the kitchen table to desserts of cookies and brownies, and trying, with their 17 year old large size hands, to untie the little ribbons Susan had carefully tied to each little package of cookies. 

  It was hysterical to watch these guys try to get those little ribbons untied, unknotted, and the cookies unsheathed.  Susan, you would have enjoyed it and the giggles from the guys trying to see who could get theirs out first, or at all! 

  And, because Alex was not able to be there this year, here's a photo my friend Jan found the other day while scrapbooking some scout memories for Johnny, of Alex at scout camp in 2005 when he was twelve years old.  Alex, always the littlest guy through the years, is the one at the first table facing the camera.  Talk about changes...he's grown a bit since then, changed eyeglass styles, and has a different haircut, but when I look at this photo, I still see him like this as if it were yesterday.  You were missed, Alex.   

Near the Top (One Sentence Blogging Week)

  Matt is out at Junior Nationals this week where the team all got to visit the Space Needle in Seattle on Sunday, which Matt thought was a great deal, of course, so I thought I'd include a photo of that as I haven't managed to get Lauren J. to send any really good photos back yet, making my selection a bit sparse...the girls being much better with the photos than the guys:  from all accounts, they are having a nice time so far.

Nearly Time To Go (One Sentence Blogging Week)

   Early Saturday morning last once again found me on an airport run for Matt, with Mike also in tow this time, to meet up with their CSC swim teammates so they could head off to Junior Nationals near Seattle, Washington, for 8 days of swimming competition and fun: reading from left to right would be Matt, Mike, Nik, Rhiannon, Jessie, and Lauren, a few of the swimmers heading west, all with happy smiles and excited voices, even after a 5:30 a.m. practice and arrival at the airport around 7:30 a.m.

Nearly There

  Just a couple of photos from the beginning of the weekend at Senior State Finals.   Shows Matt exiting my car after a lunch at Lennie's and heading into the pool for his first swim. 

  He swam three swims, not getting  better times than his existing ones in any of the three, so while he was, of course, disappointed, every swimmer reaches a plateau, stays there for a bit and then surges forward with new best times again.  We've been doing this for ten years, so we know the experience well. 

  He was so nearly there on the 50 Free, but just could not take off those final ticks...that said, he dropped time in that swim 2-3 times this past month and that is probably all that was there for a swim of such a short distance.  He had reached a plateau on that last year and it took all year to get a drop, then it was followed by two more, so for that we are thankful.  

  Friday was Matt's 17th birthday, so he picked one of our favorite restaurants in Bloomington for his birthday dinner, the Limestone Grille.  If you haven't been, go...we always have wonderfully prepared food there, never a miss in anything. 

  He had a great time, wearing a new birthday shirt (Taylor had gotten him a black version of this shirt, which he loves, and it does look really good on him, fits very well, etc., and since it is difficult to fit Matt with those large swimming shoulders, I decided he could use another, so he picked out blue, always a good color for him:  I think I will have Taylor do the shopping from now on, she is much better at it than am I). 

  After his last swim on Saturday, he headed down to St. Meinrad for a religious retreat with the Knights of the Holy Templar, a group of high school aged young men who serve their church and community.  Matt was elected President of the Indiana group this year, so he was hoping to get to attend at least part of the retreat after swimming, missing Friday and Saturday morning, but still getting there in time for the rest of Saturday and Sunday.   He always manages to pack a lot into a little amount of time.  I cannot even believe he is 17 already...where did that time go?

   Just time enough to get his laundry done up and his suitcases repacked before he is off again in five days for a week of swimming at Junior Nationals in Washington State.  I cannot even believe the summer is almost over...it barely seems like it just got started, but we are nearly there:  time for school to start again on the 13th...he will miss the first two days being out at the swim meet, so guess he is figuring he can drag summer on just a little longer. 

 

Hiatus: It's Senior State Swimming!

       Senior State Swimming Championships begin tomorrow in Bloomington, so I am taking a little break from blogging from now until Sunday while we concentrate on supporting Matt in that. 

      Whisk Wednesdays will return next week. 

      Mastering the Art of French Cooking will return next week also. 

      Nancy's Notions will begin next Saturday, stay tuned for that one and I will explain then. 

      I will also be taking some time off for a little vacation and Art Museums from August 8-15, but hope to cook ahead next week and bank the posts to be published on the correct days.  At least that is the hope. 

      Think fast swim times, the boy needs to drop 11/100ths of 1 second in the 50 Free for a Jr. National time...so close, so very very close!

Seasonal Sectionals - Day One

      Day One of Sectionals started off quite well for Matt.  He had the 50 Freestyle this morning and got a new best time of 24.59, qualifying him for finals tonight.  He did not best that time tonight, so gets to keep the 24.59 from this morning as his new best time.  A good way to start a meet, so he was happy.  

      CSC swimmers are doing great, some with new best OPEN times, which is better than Jr. or Sr. National times, so Congrats to them!

      Photo is Matt and Stevie after they finished their swims this evening, happy to have something to show for Day One.  Keep those good thoughts going, tomorrow he swims the 200 Freestyle, Wednesday the 100 Backstroke, and Thursday the 100 Freestyle. 

 

Seasonal Sectionals

      Josh, Matt, Harrison, Mike V., Michael G., Daniel, and Peter eager to get started on the trip...didn't manage to get all the guys as they were arriving in dribs and drabs and I was lucky to get this many in one place at one time. 

      Harrison and Matt heading out to duel it out over the freestyles and backstroke. 

      Sarah and Lauren all smiles and ready to swim fast this week. 

      It's that time of year already, USA swimming Sectionals for the swimmers. 

      Summer has just flown by this year.  This morning the Sectional qualifiers loaded onto a bus and headed east for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. 

      Charles packing his bags into the bus trunk.  Bags were checked. 

      The swimmers loaded onto the bus.  Lisa checked off all her trip lists making sure they were all set for the trip, and they headed off with hugs and waves from parents as they drove off, excited to be together and going off on a road trip for swimming. 

      Carly and Megan going for new best times and new good times! 

      Back to front:  Matt F., Michael, Trish, Rhiannon, and Elizabeth all seated and ready for a week of fast swimming and new best times! 

      And, because the silliness is never just limited to the antics of the swimmers, here's one of Carly's dad and Josh and Lauren's Dad goofing on the kids a bit.  Carly refused to hug her dad goodbye a second time because "he's all sweaty from working in the yard!"  So that Rick wouldn't feel rebuffed by his 16 year old, Larry ran over and gave him a big hug, with Carly dodging "corny embarrassing parents" by running for the bus!  We all laughed...some kids will still hug at the bus steps, and some won't...they are all growing up way too fast!

      Road trips: always fun to see the swimmers heading off to compete for those coveted spots at Nationals, fun to be a part of the excitement, the hopes, the dreams, the incredible work ethic this team has for their love of swimming and always, always, going for that new best time, that sense of achievement, the payoff for all the hard work. 

      Best of wishes, CSC Sectional Swimmers...we'll all be here for hugs and congratulations when you return!  We are so proud of each and every single one of you...we stand in awe every single day of what you do and what you have achieved.  We could not be happier than we are right now, so have fun, swim fast, and know that we appreciate all the efforts you put into swimming each and every day.  Go CSC!

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:

Last week I received quite a few suggestions for novel reading, so I am gathering those and going in on those next week while we have a lot of swim meet time and I can read!  In the meantime, now, I am finishing up odds and ends and some magazine articles I have put aside to read.

PHOTOS:  Swimming Lessons with Matt (1) Dominic (2) Jacinta (3) Luke (4) Monica...all having a great time learning to swim! So cute!  

LISTENING TO:  Billy Joel and Elton John...how large are those concerts??!

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), pages 419-420; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Blanc Manger on pages 398-399; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Challah on pages 133-134; The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking(Marcella Hazan), this week's recipe is La Florentine Grilled T-Bone on page 385.  You can cook/bake along, too! 

FAV NEW FIND:  Matt's rankings in the Psych Sheets for upcoming Sectional Meet...pretty good for a 16 year old, yep, pretty good!  Actually, they are pretty good no matter the age since he swims Open (15 and older) these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAV THING TODAY:

Okay, yesterday...dinner at the Hamilton County Fair...a charcoal grilled ribeye sandwich and a lemon shakeup!  I get one every single year...it's a tradition for the past 30 years.   

GOING TO:  Celebrate birthdays...Mark's Dad's was yesterday, Mark's is Sunday, and Matt's is the 31st, so we will head up to Elwood and celebrate with the three of them together.  The fair is going on, so we will be in and out of there looking at various projects our kid and our friends' kids have entered.  Getting Matt ready for sending off to the Sectional Meet on Sunday morning.

PRAYING FOR:  Safe travel...a lot of people vacationing and going various places...please join me.

Seasoned Conditioning

      Well, the World Championship Swimming Meet here in Indianapolis at the Nat has finished.  All those well-seasoned conditioned swimmers roaming our streets and the Nat now a thing of the past.  Don't know if you got to see any of it on tv, but the swimmers are poetry, grace, and power in the water at that level of swimming.  We had two girls from our club swimming in the meet, and what a thrill it was for them to compete at that level! 

      Our club officially had Saturday as our volunteer day to work at the meet and while the kids all got to see various swimmers, the adults were pretty busy working.  Mark was taking tickets yesterday when Mrs. Phelps came through the line, so he got to see her up close and personal...we all think that Mrs. Phelps is as much of a celebrity as her son, Michael.  She asked Mark if it would be possible to switch sides to sit on as she wanted to sit with another swim mom and Mark told her that she could give it a try with the ushers.  He said, "I was figuring if anyone could do it, she should be able to." 

      Matt, Daniel, and Stevie (compliments of the Haslers) got to have VIP tickets the night Michael broke the 200 Fly record, so they were thrilled with that, and the fact that they were sitting in the VIP section in front of Mrs. Phelps (seen in photo at left behind them in light blue shirt), so that when Michael was awarded flowers each time for winning an event, he would bring them to his mother in the stands and they got to see Michael a few times.  They were on television as when the cameras panned to that, the boys were right there front and center, so friends were texting them saying, "We just saw you all on TV!"  That was, however, as close as they got to actually meeting Michael. 

      Aaron Piersol broke the world 100 Backstroke record last night...one of Matt's major swims, so that was a good and exciting way to end the run.  A lot of fast swimming and fun times for the CSC swimmers (and their families) over the week. 

      Ali and Sarah got to attend a World Swimming Championship kick-off breakfast with Cullen Jones (Olympic medal winner and one of the first African-Americans to be so in swimming), so here is a fun photo of them at the Make a Splash breakfast, compliments of Buddy and Laurie.

      Sectional swimming starts week after this at Miami and Matt is entered in four events for that, hoping that if he gets the cuts he wants in that meet, that he won't need to swim Senior State, making his next meet be Junior Nationals in Washington State and having that week of Senior State Swimming as a bit of a break.  Keep your fingers crossed as it would be nice to have that all in place earlier rather than later. 

Word on the Streets is They are Having a GREAT Time

       Yep, from all phone calls back home to our house and all the other swimmers' houses, and even the word on the streets is that the OTC swimmers are having a GREAT time in Colorado.  I have two photos sent from Matt's phone yesterday, which are not the best in clarity, but I'll post them anyway as they are all reading this out there and hoping to see photos of themselves posted.  (At the top in the rings are: Blue: Chris J.; Black: Harrison W; Red: Mike V. and Mali K.; Yellow: Dion L; Green: Matt and Allie D.) 

      A cute thing Matt shared: they are most delighted with their USA Olympic passes which not only contain those words, but also grant them access to and around the center.  Being swimmers who exercise hard and like to eat, the passes entitle them to go into the cafeteria and get food any time they want it without charge.  One thing I have learned over the past few years with teenage boys is that life is about sports and food, and occasionally other things as long as the sports and food have been taken care of first. 

      Matt said that the high altitude in Colorado Springs makes exercising, swimming, dryland, and stairs difficult...just breathing properly has become an issue.  Coaches tell them that once they get through this week, returning home, the practices will seem easy because of this week's training at that altitude.  We have a swim meet coming up, so if that results in new best times, so much the better. 

     Photo at right is Mali K, Matt G, Allie D, and Chris J checking out a toboggan.

     Today they were going white water rafting for the afternoon and the excitement about the prospect of doing that was running extremely high. 

      The time has just flown by so quickly for them...in another few days they will be flying home.  Enjoy the days left, Swimmers...we miss you terribly back here, but we are so proud of you all for achieving this trip and this opportunity!

Words Are Few and Far Between

       Haven't heard much from the swimmer out in Colorado because they keep them incredibly busy each day. 

      I guess that's good, but I miss the kid.  There are leftovers in this house.  No one volunteers to run to the store for me.  I have to do things like pump the rain off the pool cover.  And, well, I just miss him being around. 

      He did call Sunday and gush about the wonderful time he is having for eight minutes. 

      He sent these two photos from his phone.  I have to admit, he looks pretty good against that Colorado rugged mountain scenery. 

      The photo of the four boys on the rock is one from Sunday morning after Mass.  Tony took the Catholic boys to Mass with him and then showed them around the area of Seven Falls which they thought was a great deal.  

Back row: Cameron and Matt; Front row: Stevie and John. 

      He says his swim times are good and he is learning a lot.  He says the time is going too fast.  Sounds like it is everything he hoped for and more. 

      Lauren, if you are reading this, TAKE PHOTOS for me as the guys will come home with either NONE or "guy photos" of crazy things.  We miss you all!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

       Pretend it's Thursday.  That's about how far I am behind in blogging things happening around here.  So, it's Thursday, June 11th, 2009, at about 5:10 a.m. at the Indianapolis airport and Team Indy is getting ready to take off for Colorado and the Olympic Training Center.  27 Girls, 27 Boys. 

      CSC had the honor of having ten boys selected from their group of elite swimmers.  Matt was lucky enough to be one of them. 

      We barely slept through the night as we were so excited to just get going.  We were up at 4:00 a.m. more from the excitement than from the raging stormy weather, although it was a close call.  We drove through rain, lightening, thunder, and road construction to get to the airport on time. 

      I had barely enough time to line up the guys (the girls were scattered all over the area chatting), for a group photo of the ten CSC boy OTC swimmers.  Remember this was about 5:10 a.m. and all these guys are looking pretty happy to be getting on that plane that early in the morning. I've seen them plenty of times at that hour of the morning, but never looking quite this happy at that hour.  Congratulations, guys...we all hope you have a wonderful time and bring home some new best times.

      Reading left to right:  John S, Daniel H, Josh J, Nik A, Matt G, Mike V, Harrison W, Jonathan A, Stevie S, and Tyler G.

The Word is Out...

      The word is out, the requests have been pouring in, and while we weren't sure if we were posting Taylor as the "girl" friend or the "girlfriend," here is a nice photo from this evening of Matt and the lovely Taylor, The Girlfriend. 

      Taylor is the same age as Matt, has just completed her sophomore year of high school (at CHS) like Matt (at GCHS), attends St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church like Matt, is a dedicated sports-minded person like Matt, although gymnastics would be Taylor's venue while swimming is Matt's, and best of all, is sweet and cute, like Matt (okay, I am a little bit prejudiced in this area). 

      They have been going out to dinner and watching a movie one night a week since about February, and as Matt's curfew is 11:00, we have been able to keep a fairly close track on it all. 

      While I wasn't sure I was ready for a "girlfriend" type thing, seeing one another just one night a week for a few hours has been fairly painless for an over-protective mother.   Matt has good taste:  she is a lovely girl with a good heart.  They both seem to have their priorities all in the right places...and as parents, we couldn't ask for more at this age. 

      So whether we are ready or not, these days there is now a girl in Matt's life who he thinks quite a lot of...and as we get to know her, so do we.

 

A Few Lines About This and A Few About That

      Photo:  My lilac bush with blooming lilacs for CP as I can't seem to get it to load where it was actually supposed to end up...See, Caitlin, lilacs just for you! 

      All day Saturday Matt had an gig up at CHS where all the Olympic Training Center swimmers from Indiana got together to train a little, get all their forms turned in, meet one another, meet the coach going along (happens to be the CSC head coach: Chris, so that's nice), etc.  It started at 9:00 with dryland training an hour before.  

      Matt called home at 8:20 and said, "You both need to come up here as soon as possible."  Panic.  "Why?"  "Because apparently neither of you can read directions on how to fill out all these forms and you have to redo them.  Now." 

      He was a bit mortified that amongst all 54 swimmers, his were the only parents who had to be summoned to the practice because of faulty form-filling-out abilities.  The forms were to be filled out in black ink...we used a lovely shade of blue ink on ours.  Not acceptable.  We both looked at the instructions and somehow missed in BIG BOLD WRITING the words:  FILL OUT FORMS IN BLACK INK ONLY.  Oops.  16 year old boys are not amused by things of this nature.  At all.   

      We spent the weekend cleaning (still not done with spring cleaning the upstairs and at this rate, it could become summer cleaning, too many distractions), doing yard work (the guys handled this), cooking for Whisk and TWD (that would be me, of course), and generally just going from this to that. 

      Pool is not open...to protect the not-so-innocent, I will just say that it is rescheduled for next week. 

      Oh, Alex cleaned his room...dusted, vacuumed, straightened, cleaned, brought down six loads of laundry that he "just found laying around," and two bags of "stuff I don't need."  Wow.  I haven't seen his actual carpet in probably three years.  That was one of the battles I just chose not to pick and resigned myself to the fact that his room did have a door that closed to keep it all contained and out of my sight.  Looking good in there.  Who knew?

      Matt had an IYC concert in Columbus, Indiana today.  While they give the singers detail sheets and driving directions, Cassie and Danielle forgot to look at them, couldn't find them, or whatever, and drove to Columbus, OHIO instead (about 3-4 hours away instead of 1 hour away), not realizing they were in the wrong state, let alone wrong city, until they called home to figure out where the concert venue was located in "downtown Columbus."  You really need to know Cassie and Danielle to understand how such a thing could even happen...there is no end to the entertainment value those two have inadvertently provided in ICC/IYC over the years. 

      And, so I leave you on this quiet Sunday evening (okay, not so quiet as we are forced to mow the lawn on a Sunday due to all the rain we have had and are going to have), and wish you a very lovely week ahead. 

 

Before the CSC Brunch Banquet

      Matt and his USA swim coach, Chris P.  Last year, I predicted that Matt would be as tall as Chris this year...I will let you be the judge!  I think Chris is 6'4". 

     Our annual CSC banquet was yesterday, a brunch honoring all the swimmers and their families (Matt, Mike and Daniel at right)...around 300 swimmers in our club, so that's a big undertaking, and a whole lot of people and chatting for a morning. 

      We look forward to this each year and enjoy seeing the swimmers and their families.   

      In photo in back:  Daniel, Jonathan, Matt, Nick, Harrison; in front:  Mike, John, and Peter.    

      Matt F. missed being in the guys photo, but didn't mind posing with some of the girls.  Left to right:  Margaret, Lauren, Matt F., Taylor, Erica, Jessie, and Sarah.

      I confess, my knowledge these days gravitates more toward the older swimmers rather than the younger ones...the club encompasses swimmers from age 6 to high school, with some college student alums coming back in the summers to swim again for long course with the club. 

      My friend Jan and I were marveling at how our boys were all the size of the littlest ones when they were just starting out in swimming, and now...well, our boys are some of the tallest, Johnny being a junior this year, and Matt a sophomore. (Jan and Johnny at right.) 

      The speeches from the graduating seniors now bring tears to our eyes and lumps to our throats, whereas many years prior to this, they were just nice inspiring stories.  Now we are saying goodbye to kids we have known and been swimming with for ten years. 

      Jessie (pictured at left with Lauren and Carly) gave the girls' speech and Josh (JJ) gave the boys' speech.  Jessie's was sweet and meaningful, and while Josh's was all that, it was also very humorous, as is fitting for JJ. 

      Josh is an amazing swimmer...most all of the swimmers come up through the ranks, from the time they are 6 and 7.  Josh, however, just started swimming four years ago and is one of the best CSC has...national times, etc., and next year he will swim in college for Ohio State.  

      In his speech he recalled how he was playing in the backyard four years ago and his parents saw Michael Phelps being interviewed on tv, the interviewer pointing out that Michael's arm span was greater than his height, etc.  Sherry and Larry called Josh in, told him to hold out his arms, started measuring, and said, "You aren't going to like this maybe, but from now on, you are going to swim!"  And, so he did...working his way up very quickly to national time status. 

      Another photo of some of the guys, this one with Josh as he was not in the first, also including another fan favorite, Charles.  Left to right:  John, Dan, Matt, Nick, Josh (JJ), Mike, and Charles. 

      We have come to enjoy watching JJ's career soar as he lives across the way from us, swims the same swims Matt does, and is just a whole lotta fun to be around.  It won't be the same at meets with JJ gone next year. 

      So, here are photos of swimmers, etc.  Laurie, Ali, and Buddy at right, and last, but not least, a shot of the two singer swimmers, Matt and Ali. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

      A lot of noticeable gaps here as I could not get around the room with so many people and the swimmers are all like trying to nail jello to the wall to have them stand still for photos while they are busy socializing.  Sometimes I can pin them down for photos after the banquet, but not this year as they all drive, and they were headed out as soon as things wrapped up for other things, jobs, choir, etc.  This was the best I could do this year.  Enjoy!  (You can click on all photos to enlarge.)

 

In Front of the Restaurant

      Molly and Matt in front of the restaurant where we had breakfast recently...the two Godchildren, friends since birth, Molly the elder by just two months.  Molly's mom, Cindy, is Matt's Godmother, and I am Molly's Godmother, and we have enjoyed photographing them through the years together...when they were younger, our plan was to marry them off after college, but since each seems to view the other more like a brother or sister, that plan has pretty much been shelved over the years.  It's fun to watch them grow up together, though.  Lots of photos through the years of lots of fun times. 

      That was my first favorite thing to share today...the second is this:  this morning I did not have to be anywhere until 9:30, so after everyone left the house for work and school, I decided that I was going to just snuggle under the warm covers with my book and read until 8:30.  It was raining and dark and dreary, however, I do love the sound of rain falling against the roof and windows, so I just read my book and listened to the sounds of the rain falling for an hour...it was really nice.  I am very lucky.  I hope you had a lovely day, too.

On Top of The World

      Each year the USA Swimming organization sponsors elite swimming camps that are designed for swimmers, ages 14-19, who have exceptionally fast swimming times. 

      The Olympic Training Center in Colorado and the Brophy Sports Center in Arizona host these swimmers at training camps designed to give additional training toward Olympic goals.  It is invitation only, the invitations being very few. 

      Indiana Swimming awarded 27 boys and 27 girl these coveted invitations to the Olympic Training Center for a week this June (all expenses paid except the flight), swimmers the committee believes will have fast enough times to compete in the Olympic Trials in 2012. 

      Matt received an invitation last year to Brophy and this year he received one to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado for his 100 Backstroke and his 100 Freestyle.  It came last week, and the boy has been walking on air on top of the world ever since. 

      18 of the 54 invitations went to CSC members, the largest contingent of club representation in Indiana.  Congratulations (alphabetically) to the girls:  Alexis B., Jessie H., Megan J., Lauren J., Lucy K., Lacey L., Trish R., Rhiannon S., Lauren S.; and the guys: Jonathan A., Nick A., Tylor G., Matt G., Daniel H., Josh J., John S., Mike V., and Harrison W.  We are so very proud of each and every single one of you!

 

Behind

      Last swim of the last session of the last day...all that's left on deck are the freestylers:  Harrison, Michael, Nick, JJ, and Matt, Coach Chris P., Coach Ian, and Coach Chris W. 

      Zones are now behind us.  The 100 Freestyle finals were the last events on the last day.   

      Matt swam a respectable 54.13, not a better time than this morning, but better than the 55.22 he was seeded at as he went into the meet at the beginning of the weekend.  The swimmers are rejoicing, having a bit of fun after a job well done.

      With the swimming behind us, we can now start officially getting in the Spring Break frame of mind.  Before we part for a week, I thought I would enlighten those of you who are sending emails inquiring as to the theme of this month's titles for the GKT posts and can't quite figure out the common bond linking the words.  The title words:   Over, Past, Above, From, Since, Through, Between, During, After, Among, and Behind are all prepositions.  That's the link...prepositions. 

      Have a great week!

 

Among

      Matt and Nick having a great time at the meet this morning...great swims make very happy swimmers and coaches!

      This has to be among the top best swim meets Matt has ever had to date.  Another new best time, this time in the 100 Freestyle. 

      He went in at 55.22 and clocked a 53.87 this morning, which earned him the fastest time of the CSC boys, something he has never done in the 100 Freestyle before. 

      It also earned him his second Olympic Trial Camp time, so he is keeping his fingers crossed between now and the time the letters come out that he will get an invitation to the Olympic Trial Camp this summer. 

      He finished 14th, so that means he is among those in the consolation final this evening.  Between now and then he has IYC choir rehearsal...they are getting ready for their New York City tour in June.   

      He also swam the 400 Freestyle Relay this morning...shown suiting up and lining up are Nick (in front), JJ, Harrison, and Matt behind.  They finished fourth.

      We are almost finished with the swimming for the short course season.  In two weeks we start practices back up for the long course season, which will carry us through August.

      It's cold and rainy here today...with some talk of maybe a few snowy bits flying around later.  Good day for the LAST fire of the season in the fireplace (she says hopefully) while I watch the MSU game this afternoon. I need Oklahoma to win tonight for any hope of staying alive in the NCAA pool at Mark's office, as I had rather a little more faith in Jim B. and the boys of Orange than perhaps I should have entertained this year, but sometimes you just vote with your heart! 

      The swimming can only get better if somehow this evening he manages to take another eight tenths of a second off that time and get a Junior National cut.  We are definitely not pinning any hopes on this tonight, but if it happens, that would take this meet from "among" the best to "over the top!"

      Hope you are having an enjoyable Sunday!

 

After

      Getting into these fancy racing suits is no easy feat.  It takes a swimmer, a friend or two, and at least one coach to get it all assembled.  I don't know how they swim in those things!  Matt and Stevie getting suited up for the 100 Backstroke this evening.

      After the letdown this morning in the 100 Backstroke, Matt went back tonight with a renewed commitment to get a new best time in that swim.  He did it!  He went in at 1:01.63, and tonight he clocked 1:00.63, a whole second faster than his seed time and a new best time for him, about a half second off that elusive Junior National cut in that swim, but we have a couple months to try and get there.   (Photos are shots of Matt's 100 back tonight...he is the one leading down the return stretch in the first photo and then he is shown hitting the pad for a first place in that heat.)     

       He ended up finishing 17th for the meet, but in actual time, he was 9th overall.  I will try to explain this:  when you swim pre-liminaries, you swim for a time to swim in one of the finals heats.  There is a top finals heat (8 swimmers), a consolation finals heat (8 more swimmers), and a bonus finals heat (8 more swimmers), for a total of 24 swimmers.  Then there are two alternates in place in case someone scratches or gets ill. 

      Once you qualify in pre-lims and you are placed in one of those three heats for finals, you cannot move up in placings between the groups.  Only the top heat can place for podium and medals.  The next two heats can only place in their respective heats. 

      What this means, is that you cannot "jump" into another heat if you swim a better time than someone in that heat in finals.  You can only place in your heat.  So, while Matt's morning swim was not his best, he did make the bonus heat and he could only place in the bonus heat this evening. 

      That said, he swam very well this evening and his time was the 9th best for the day.  So, while he finished 17th for the meet, his time was a 9th place finish.  And, once you get a new best time, it's YOURS, you get to keep it until you get another new best time.   

       Photo at right is a bit of fun while they were warming up for the relay swim...warming up or goofing off, sometimes it is hard to tell!  Tylor, Stevie, John, Matt, and JJ. 

      They swam the 400 Medley Relay tonight and Matt swam in the B relay...you swim 100 meters of one of the four major strokes, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle...and you are placed on a relay depending on what stroke you swim best.  Matt's strokes are the freestyle and the backstroke.  JJ got the backstroke for the A relay and Stevie got the freestyle for the A relay as they both had better times than Matt in those two swims, so he swam the anchor (freestyle) for the B relay.    

     Matt (blue cap red C) on the block ready to swim anchor for the relay.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      The photo shows the pool as Matt is leading the way back toward the finish.  And, the accompanying photo shows Matt touching the pad and their relay winning the heat.  It is very exciting when your swimmer gets to swim the anchor leg of a relay and brings it home.  

 

      The best part is that he did his "leg" in a :53 something and that is the fastest he has ever gone in a 100 freestyle, so he is hoping tomorrow in the 100 free he can get close to that.  An exciting evening after all! 

      So, Aunt Karen, are you feeling the excitement, breathing the chlorine, aware of just how much you have been sitting on bleachers, etc. all weekend so far?? Do you feel like you are there?  (Aunt Karen likes these scrapbook posts as she says since she can't be there, it makes her feel like she was there just seeing it all.)  

      And after this, I am heading to bed because we have one more day of swimming...the 100 Freestyle tomorrow.  And after that...a two week break!!!

 

 

During

     Matt and JJ (Josh) getting ready to swim the 100 Backstroke this morning.  They got to swim side by side (JJ in Lane 4, Matt in Lane 5), which is always good for Matt as JJ is a senior and one very fast swimmer, so Matt usually swims faster when JJ is in the next lane...well, usually.  Not today. 

      While we have a little time here during the break between swim sessions, I thought I'd update a bit. 

      Those of you wishing to see this week's Whisk Wednesdays' assignment, you can scroll down to Wednesday's date and I now have it posted.  I ended up making it for lunch today as this was the first I could get to it this week.  It was a pretty big lunch, but we hadn't had much in the way of breakfast when we left for the pool this morning, so it worked out fine.   

      This morning's swim, the 100 Backstroke, was not the stellar swim Matt had hoped it would be, as he added a little time, so he wasn't all that pleased.  (Note photo at right showing the end of the swim with no smiling boy with a "thumbs up" sign for Mom and Dad in the stands at the end, a sure sign he was not happy with the swim.)

      Nevertheless, this is his best swim and he did make finals, even with the time he swam this morning, so he will be swimming it tonight for another try at a best time.  JJ finished 3rd, Nick 7th, Stevie 16th, Matt 18th, and Harrison 19th, so we will have several CSC swimmers to watch this evening.  He also swims in a relay, but I'm not sure which one yet. 

      So enough updates, during the break, I need to get some laundry done, hopefully make my TWD dessert for this week, and get things in general order.  What's going on over at your place during this time?  Hope it's fun and/or productive! 

Friday's Favorites Fare

PHOTO:  Matt and Coach Mary Lynne Voigt at the Winter Sports Awards program at Guerin this week.  Mary Lynne was the Assistant Coach due to Roch's business and travel schedule this year, and he was not able to be there to speak as Matt's head coach, so Mary Lynne spoke for Matt and his swimming season.  It was very moving and sweet, all the nice things she said and did for Matt all season was so much appreciated.  Her talk about Matt to the assembly was really wonderful.

READING:  Nothing Like It In The World:  The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Stephen E. Ambrose.  Still building the railroad.  (See last week's entry.)

LISTENING TO:  Bruce Springsteen 

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes (Herbed Frog's Legs) from Chocolate & Zucchini; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Coconut Butter Thins, and can be found on pages 145.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Curly Kabob Skewers (p. 48 in the new Sur La you-know-where catalog); 15 inches long and curl into 8 inch diameter circles so they fit on a dinner plate; four for ten bucks...how cool are those...and my birthday is coming up, so I thought I would leave this page open on the counter with a big star by them!  Just in time for summer grilling season!   

FAV THING TODAY:  There's swimming zones, of course, always a favorite, and the NCAA tournament is a happening thing, always a favorite, so I guess I have two today.  Matt has another new best time from this morning in the 200 Freestyle.  He went in with a 2:02.97 and clocked a 1:59.63 this morning, so he is one happy boy this afternoon.  He is first alternate tonight for that swim, so if someone scratches, he will get to swim in the finals.  If not, he is swimming on the 800 Freestyle relay this evening, so he will swim either way. 

GOING TO:   Watch swimming, watch basketball, watch and see if I can get two more rooms checked off the spring cleaning list, and most of all going to have a wonderful time next week on spring break!   

PRAYING FOR:   Safety for all travelers, especially all the spring break families, and yes, I admit it, a new best time and Junior National cut for Matt in the 100 Backstroke, please join me. 

Between

     We have sunshine!  We have beautiful yellow daffodils!  

      Here we are between swim sessions, rejoicing in a new best 50 Freestyle time on the first day of a four day meet.  Matt is swimming at the USA Swimming Speedo Champions Series (we are Central Zone Section 3) here in Indy at the Nat.  The boy went in at 25.20, and clocked 25.14 at the morning's session. 

      While he was happy to have dropped 6/100ths of a second (always rejoice at the drops!), his goal of getting it under a 25 has eluded him for months, so he is hoping for a chance to get back in the water for finals and whittle away some more time. 

      After a refueling stop with several of his teammates, tons of pasta at Noodles, they are all supposed to be home resting before heading back to the pool at 3:15.   So, we are just kicking around this afternoon enjoying the time together between doing this that and the other. 

      Here's the link for the Live Scoreboard for those of you who are interested.  Matt's events are as follows:  Thursday 50 Freestyle (Event 5); Friday 200 Freestyle (Event 10), meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and Event 10 follows the first event which is the Girls 200 Freestyle; Saturday 100 Backstroke (Event 18), meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and Event 18 follows the first event which is the Girls 100 Backstroke; Sunday 100 Freestyle (Event 32), meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and Event 32 follows both Girls and Boys 200 IM and the Girls 100 Freestyle.  Evening finals Thursday, Friday, and Saturday start at 5:30 and on Sunday at 4:30.  They follow the same order as pre-lims.  Here's the connect for the schedule for those of you who know how to read such a thing: click here.  You need to scroll down a bit to get the Order of Events schedule. 

      Have a great Thursday...the weekend is only a day away! 

 

Since

      Since it's Saturday night, and since the guys enjoy hanging out in the Men's Den playing any number of video games, and since I had a freezer full of numerous cartons of excellent ice cream, and since they all love ice cream, it seemed like a good way to add to the evening, and definitely a good use for all that ice cream!

      It's been that kind of evening around here...NCAA games, teens hanging out, my very excellent book available for time outs and such. 

      Hope you are all enjoying yourselves at your house, since it is the weekend and all! 

      (In the photo:  Matt, Mike, Nick, and Josh; Not in the photo:  Harrison, who arrived too late for the group photo.)

Above

        Before we lay to rest the 2009 boys high school swim season, I have one more post that I wanted to do about it all.  It's about our Head Coach, of course.   While those who see us often, know how much we think of Roch...I have had to remain a little quiet here in blogland throughout the season. 

       Last year, Roch fell into our laps from the sky...seriously, we were six weeks into the swim season with no coach and weren't sure if we were even going to have a meet to swim in to qualify for sectionals.  Then HE appeared...the coach to end all coaches. 

       Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration because we do have Chris P and Ian over at CSC and believe me, THEY, too, are the coaches to end all coaches...as are the rest of the coaches at CSC.

       Roch fits right in with the best...we could never pay this man what he is worth in the coaching world.   He always goes above and beyond anything required.   He crunches numbers, he reads everything known to man on the subject of swimming and times and events and swimmers, etc.  He has coached all levels, including college.  He is absolute gold. 

      So, when we heard that he would be doing a bit of traveling for his job during the high school swim season, and probably would not be able to coach Matt this year, we were very sad.  How on earth could we come up with anyone like Roch? 

      Then, he took a step back, we took a step back, and both kinda said at the same time...."Well, maybe we could....." and somehow, with all the crazy schedules, crazy practice times, crazy communications, and the help of Mary Lynn Voigt who would volunteer to be the Assistant Coach and cover what could not be covered when Roch was on business...somehow with all that...we had our Head Coach back for this year. 

      He coached from Indiana, he coached from Alabama, he coached from (believe it or not) Thailand via Skype, and all points in between, texting us during sectionals from airports in Texas and Florida.  I'm not really sure all the places he was when we would get emails, text messages, Skype calls, phone calls, etc.  I just know he made it all happen. 

      Everything was documented, turned in on time, filed, dated, and delivered.  And, while he was not able to make sectionals (since he was in Thailand), he did make it back for all the state events. 

      We chuckled the whole season:  One Swimmer, Two Coaches, International coaching...it was quite a ride.   We are ever so grateful.  Roch has a way of inspiring the whole person in Matt as a swimmer. 

      It was Roch who suggested having "Totus Tuus" on the state shirt...Guerin's motto this year taken from Pope John Paul II's Apostolic motto of the same.  It means "Totally yours" in Christ through the Trinity and With Mary.  That's the kind of coaching Roch is able to pull off and the kind of inspiration that can convince a sophomore that he CAN get to state in both events, he CAN place in the top 16 in both events, and he CAN do it again next year.   And Roch is all about giving proper credit where proper credit is due:  Totus Tuus.

      For a truly wonderful year, we have ALL Matt's coaches, Guerin and CSC, to thank...and for making a high school swim season possible at Guerin, we have Roch to thank, for without him, it never would have happened.  We are incredibly lucky...or as Roch would say, "Rich in Providence."  Rich indeed.

 

Over and Past

       Matt holding up his state swimming shirt for Guerin.  It's now past history...state swimming finals for 2009 are over.   

      How did Matt do?  Well, he did a fantastic job.  He finished 13th (out of 32) in each swim, the 200 Freestyle (pictured at right, Matt in white cap, lane 7) and the 100 Backstroke. 

      He was happy with that...thinks one can always do better, but for a sophomore, with two more years to swim state, he is feeling very good about his two finishes in finals.   

      He was very happy just to even make the finals actually.  Last year he made state in one swim only, the 100 Backstroke, but he did not have a good enough time to come back for finals on Saturday.  (Finals are the top 16 swimmers in each event.)  So this year, he had times good enough to come back on Saturday's finals in both swims...that meant a lot to him to be able to do that.   

      All on his own (with no relay or anything), he scored 8 points for his school, so Guerin ended up in 43rd place (there are 406 member schools in Indiana as swimming is a one-class sport here, not all of them, obviously, represented at state, etc., but still Guerin didn't do too badly as there were teams at state that finished below that score).  (Pictured at right are Matt, Coach Roch, and Coach B, the Athletic Director at Guerin, who once again, came to both sessions to watch and support Matt swimming.  Very nice of him.) 

      The BIG NEWS is that the CHS boys finished SECOND at State and they all get these fancy rings and bragging rights!  We are so excited for them!  Congrats to all the CHS guys...well done, well deserved!  We are very proud of all of you! 

      We are very proud of the The Boy also...it is very exciting to watch him swim and do so well in something he loves.  Here are a few photos that I managed to get with all the distractions going on:  one of Mike mounting the podium for his Championship Finals finish,   one of Matt and JJ getting ready for the 100 Backstroke, they had the lanes next to each other,     one of Harrison gathering up all his gear after his 50 Free swim, not all he had hoped for, but he did a wonderful job, and a photo of Jay (courtesy of Buddy) with his Go Harry shirt on. 

      We all had a great time being together and watching and cheering for all the kids. 

      What's next?  USA swimming continues...the swimmers are all reunited in their CSC team now with Chris P at the helm, and upcoming events were USA Time Trials today, USA Divisionals next weekend, USA State, and USA Sectionals, all before the end of the month.  And, so it goes with meets and championship meets from now until the end of summer, where in August, he hopes to be in Washington State at the Junior National Championships.   It never stops...but, it's been a very good thing for all of us. 

      Oh, and there are the NCAA playoffs this month, etc.  March Madness is truly March Madness around our house...in swimming and basketball watching! 

      One last photo from yesterday, again courtesy of Buddy, a photo of Laurie and Ali at the meet:  Ali had studying to do!  Laurie and I sat beside each other and had a great time chatting throughout the meet.  She even brought her knitting. 

   

 

Who is Going Where When?

      The Blonde is Gone...we are now in the bald phase of swim hair.   

      Matt qualified for the state swimming championships in his two events yesterday.  Coach Voigt instructs, advises, encourages during warm-ups today. 

       He began the day by finishing second in the 200 freestyle in a new personal best time of 1:43:64, just 45 hundredths of second out of first place, which went to Michael G., a senior from CHS, a fellow CSC teammate, fourth went to Matt F., a CHS junior and fellow CSC teammate, while sixth went to Peter, a Westfield High School freshman, and fellow CSC teammate.   In the photo the whole left side are these guys.       

      Here is a good look at the fancy body suit the guys were wearing for finals.  Coach Voigt not only has to know all the swimming techniques, she has to know the techniques of getting her swimmer into that skin-tight, no room to hardly breathe, body suit!  The last step of zipping that thing up rivals the scene in Gone With the Wind when Miss Scarlet is being laced into her party dresses!   

      Later in the afternoon Matt finished 3rd in the 100 backstroke, again in a new personal best time of 53:52 (the 3rd place performance was just 2.14 seconds out of first place, first going to JJ, a senior from CHS, a fellow CSC teammate, second going to Nick, a junior from CHS and fellow CSC teammate, missing from the photo for some reason, and fifth went to Mark C., a CHS freshman and fellow CSC teammate).  I know it seems like maybe there were only three teams present from these podium pictures, but there were in fact eleven high schools represented at this sectional...should be fairly obvious the ones that dominate the lanes.  And Guerin, despite the fact that it is a one man team with no relay points, did NOT finish last...GCHS finished with 25 points and in tenth place, the ninth and eighth places only had 27 and 29 points and they had a whole lot more swimmers!  Not a bad finish for a one man team.   

      We have one very happy boy here today.  We are particularly excited as he is only a sophomore, so we have two more years of high school swimming and this is going to look pretty darn good on the college resume.   

      Here are some fun photos from yesterday, and you know what...I have a long way to go to figure out those camera settings...I think I was doing better before that class...LOL!  Be patient.   I like this photo of Matt F., Michael G., and Matt after the 200 Free...no matter what team you swim for, the CSC kids find their way to the ropes to congratulate and encourage each other...very nice always.     

      Peter and Matt with a "thumbs up" for me after his 100 Back, happy with his new best time.  Peter, Matt, and Alex started swimming together in the same class when Matt and Alex were 7 and Peter was 6...they are the only two left swimming at CSC from their original class of about 20.  Peter and Alex were swimming buddies for years, their birthdays being one year and one day apart.  Peter goes to Westfield High School and swims for them, but as you can see, it's the CSC connections that draw these guys all together...ten years of swimming together is a long time!   

      The last photo is a cute one of John and Beth...Beth running a little late from her volleyball team commitments and John happy she managed to get to the meet to watch him swim.  What a lovely girl Beth is, we had the nicest chat.  It's very strange seeing the boys growing up over the years and now discovering some of them have "girlfriends," while others are going off to college, and some are entering high school...it's all moving way too quickly! 

      Once again, the GCHS Athletic Director, Chris Buhler, came to the swim meet sectionals to support Matt...and stayed for the whole time Matt was participating, about three hours, I think...how nice was that?  Way beyond the call of duty to spend that much of your free time watching ONE student athlete.  That's why we like Guerin...it's always like that in everything.   Very very nice. 

      Keep The Boy in your thoughts and prayers...he has three days of finals starting Wednesday and then the State Swimming Finals on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  That's quite a bit in a short space of time for one 16 year old to concentrate on.  It's going to be another exciting week! 

 

Who Did What at Sectional Prelims

       Sectional prelims went well.  Matt went in seeded first in the 200 Free and came out seeded first in the 200 Free.  He added about a half a second in time, so hopefully a little better start and third turn work will shape that up for finals.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

      He went in seeded third in the 100 Backstroke and came out seeded third in the 100 Backstroke, taking off a bit of time, going from 54.34 to a 53.89, so a new best time there, which was nice.  Josh and Nick finished in front of him, as predicted.  (Pictured at left, top to bottom:  Mike V., Josh, Nick...Carmel's powerhouse lineup and Matt's fellow CSC teammates.)  All in all, it was a great evening.   

      We all missed Roch, who couldn't be there due to a work conflict, more on that later in the week, but Mary Lynne is one very fine coach, so she gave Matt lots of encouragement, advice, and support.   The Guerin Athletic Director came to see Matt swim tonight, which was very nice.  How many Athletic Directors do you know who would go to a swim meet in his free time just to watch one student swimmer?  Not many, I would venture.  It meant a lot to Matt that he would come to watch him swim.  We are very lucky.  Pictured on the block is Matt and the last photo is Coach B, the Guerin Catholic Athletic Director, Matt, and Assistant Coach Mary Lynne Voigt, all with happy grins this evening, happy to see Guerin Catholic represented in the high school swimming realm.  It was a great evening.  Keep the good thoughts for Saturday's Finals.   

      Gotta go...the Hoos are playing at home against Wisconsin, and my seat is TV side tonight, but down in Hooville, it is another SOLD OUT game.  IU is ahead by two at this point, thought I would say that while I could!  Have a great evening!

 

What's Up?

       The team moms at CHS all decorate the swimmers' lockers, etc.  Since I am the "team" mom at GCHS for our team of one, I made him a poster of sorts for his locker for this week, pictured at the left.  He was happy with it.  At least the kids will know he made sectionals!

        The 2009 Indiana High School Boys Swimming Sectionals begin today!   Here's a little preview going into tonight:  Meet starts at 5:30 at the CHS pool (they alternate pools yearly, so this year happens to be in Matt's home practice pool, which can be good, i.e. you know where all the bathrooms and refreshments are located and you are used to swimming there, and it can be not so good as there is a certain amount of complacency that develops when you are swimming somewhere so familiar).  Prelims are tonight; Finals are Saturday, State is next Friday and Saturday at the Nat in Indy. 

      There are about a dozen high schools represented...from the very large (that would be Carmel) to the very small (that would be Guerin).  It's a tough sectional, one of the toughest, if not THE toughest in the state.  Swimmers can swim two swims and relays (Guerin, of course, does not have a relay as it would not be possible for Matt to swim, jump out, dive back in, swim the next leg, etc. etc.). 

      Matt's two swims are the 200 Freestyle and the 100 Backstroke.  He is seeded first in the 200 Free and third in the 100 Back.  The two seeded ahead of him in the Back are CHS swimmers, fellow CSC teammates of his:  JJ (a senior) and Nick (a junior), both absolutely fantastic swimmers...JJ is going to swim in college at Ohio State next year.  

      I just want you to know that I am more nervous than Matt is...by the end of the evening, I will have absolutely no fingernails left to speak of.   

      Here is a blonding photo from the party last Sunday for the CHS swimmers.  Some of the guys look very very different, Charles and Johnny look exactly the same before and after! 

      I had several emails remarking on my comment in another post about the CHS boys being so cordial to Matt and asking why I found that amazing.  Hmmm...well, here's why:  The CHS girls team is outstanding (obviously winning 23 state championships will back me up on that).  The CHS boys team has always been ranked very high and is very competitive also.  Both teams feed from the Carmel Swim Club. 

      At the high school level, several of the top boy swimmers have chosen to go to private prep schools and not Carmel High School, leaving the boys high school team without some of their top CSC teammate swimmers...i.e. Daniel, Stevie, Matt, Harrison, Scott...with those five not eligible for the Carmel High School team because of their/their parents' choices to attend other high schools, there could be hard feelings from the CHS swimmers, as with those five swimmers on that CHS high school team, there isn't another school in the state that could touch them for the state championship...with those five swimmers, CHS would have both the girls' and the boys' titles. 

      That said, the swimmers and coaches could have chosen to harbor a little wishing that those five were swimming for CHS, but they don't hold it against these swimmers at all, and in fact, go out of their way to make sure everyone feels the same camaraderie they all feel during the USA team meets.  Priceless, believe me.  We are very lucky. 

      Tonight I will be cheering just as hard for the CHS swimmers as the GCHS swimmer...it's a swim family thing as we have been swimming with these boys for ten years.  At this point, they are all "my kid" in the water!  Go guys!  Swim New Best Times!

 

                           

 

Top Row:  Mike V, Charles, Johnny B., John S.

Bottom Row:  Jack, Nick, Jimmy V., Cameron 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  American Lion:  Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham. 

LISTENING TO:  Neil Young's Heart of Gold. 

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Blanquette de Lotte aux Petits Légumes (Monkfish in White-Wine Cream Sauce with Vegetables); Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Devil's Food White Out Cake, page 247-249.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Matt looks good as a blonde, too!

FAV THING TODAY:  Spending the day with Matt as Guerin has a 4-day weekend for President's Day.  We had a nice time just ambling about doing this and that as the spirit moved us.  Picked up his new swimming togs for the upcoming sectionals/state high school swimming meets.   

      And, who in their wildest dreams knew we would be bleaching Matt's hair today...OMW! 

      The Carmel High School boys swim team has a tradition of bleaching their hair the week before sectionals (Matt goes to Guerin High School, but he swims with all the Carmel High School boys in the Carmel Swim Club, confusing, I know), so they invited him to join them in this little tradition by bleaching his hair with them.   

      Since they were all going to do it on Sunday afternoon while Matt had choir rehearsal, we decided to just get it done today.  How much fun was this????   

      So, the hair is bleached, and will remain so for about twelve days, when the boys all shave their heads for the state swim meet, at which point all the blonde will be gone.  It was fun day. 

GOING TO:   Watch Big Ten Basketball, that's always a given this time of year, Hoos play on Sunday at 1:00 in Hooville, so we will go down for lunch, game, movie, dinner, etc. and Hawks play Saturday at 4:05, Eastern Time, in IC, taking on the Boilermakers...lots of black and gold at that game; probably check in at the girls swimming state finals to see how the CSC girls are all doing (ranked first in the state for the past 23 years, I would think the answer to that would be "fairly good") and hopefully catch Ali on a relay team for the Braves; numerous bits and pieces between the above.  It promises to be one very fine weekend. 

PRAYING FOR:   Safe travel for all the swimming families on the road to Indy this weekend...and all other travelers as well...Guerin had a long weekend, and many of the families are on the road, taking advantage of the additional days to vacation here and there, please join me. 

PHOTOS:  Matt's little transformation this afternoon.  I knew you would all have to see it to believe it!

What: Something Special!

       Tonight was the presentation of the sophomore class rings at GCHS.  The parents and students celebrated with a Mass, a blessing of the rings, and the presentation.  (Photo at left is Principal Wagner calling the students to the front, Father presenting the ring to Matt.)  

      We managed a few photos, not too many, so hope you enjoy these.  (Photo at right is AJ getting his ring, since quite a few of you know AJ, I figured I would include his photo, and the next photo is Father with The Lovely Tess and Laura after the ceremony.)   

     

 

 

 

 

 

      We had a wonderful time, beginning to end...it is always fun seeing the kids and seeing them excited about things, like new class rings!   

 

 

 

 

      It was also fun to see what colors and styles they all chose.   Matt chose his birthstone color, red.  His hands have grown since the sizing, so it will need to be resized.  He got it on his left hand long enough for me to take a photo (there was no way he could get it on his right hand at all).  At first I thought maybe he just couldn't get it on as he had just finished swimming practice for three hours, and his hands might be a little swollen, water-logged, or whatever from that, but I think regardless, we are going to get it resized right away so that he can comfortably wear it rather than struggling with getting it off and on. 

      He is very excited to have a class ring...one more step on that path to eventual graduation, I guess.   

      Did you all catch the CBS News Sunday Morning show yesterday, the segment about Lincoln, and see James McPherson chatting about his book Tried by War?   And, I am sure you all remembered that this is one of the books I am currently reading...now all those comments about me reading books that "no one EVER reads or KNOWS about or has even ever HEARD of..."  See...I kept telling you, it was only a matter of time until I ended up on the cutting edge!  LOL!  Oh, and I highly recommend the book...it is very very good.  And, when you finish that one, he has about a dozen others that are just as nice.  Justsoyouknow.

      The foot of snow is GONE...all melted away in the high 40s-high 50s temperatures we have been having here these past several days.  I don't need to see any more snow this winter, really...I am just fine going directly to spring right now.

       Last but not least this evening, because I have had many emails asking for the update on Ali's swims this weekend, here again is our guest contributor, via an excerpt from an email to me after the meet on Saturday, aka, the proud papa, Buddy:   "As for my prize challenge, she made me very proud. She was the top seed in the Fly consolation finals and won that heat.  Her time was 6^th fastest but she came in 7^th.  She returned in the 500 Free seeded 9^th but had a great race, cut time from Thursday night, and came in 8^th.  Should have won and come in 7^th.  Ali will once again be an alternate on the 200 IM Relay next weekend since we had a state cut time.   I am a very proud Dad tonight."

     Buddy isn't the only one proud of The Happy Girl...we are all very proud of all that Ali accomplished this year as it is her "aging up" year and she is a year young for her grade in school...great job, ALI!  New Best Times!!!

 

Dealing With A Foot Of Snow

      The view looking out our living room window...lots of snow! 

      Yep, we got a foot of snow, I kid you not, between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.  On Wednesday they canceled everything they could think of, so Mark, Matt and I had a nice day snowed in at home.  Mark tried to make it in to work, but got stuck several times and just figured he would call it a day and work from home.  

      Thursday and Friday have been much better, although the schools are on a two-hour delay (I know, you Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, upstate New York, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire people, not forgetting all my Canadian friends, are all laughing at canceling and two-hour delays for one little round of snow...this is Indiana and we don't get a lot of that around here usually, so people gather themselves in a tizzy quiet quickly when they hear more than one inch of snow is expected). 

      I didn't get Whisk Wednesdays recipe made this week as I sort of waited until the last minute, and could not find any whole trout, so that will come along at another point as I do want to make it...it looked delicious, and being an Iowa girl:  I love trout!  I don't think you can grow up in northeast Iowa without going fishing for trout. 

      Matt's swim meet on Tuesday was canceled as the roads were starting to get bad during the early hours of the afternoon.  He was very disappointed as it was hosted by Ali and Harrison's school and he was really looking forward to swimming with them in the meet.  No reschedule on that as girls high school swim sectionals start next week, so there is no time to get a meet of that caliber rescheduled in a timely manner.  Boys high school swimming sectionals are in two weeks, state is the last Friday and Saturday in February.   And then we gear up for USA senior state in March.   And the best part of all that is that winter is OVER at that point.

 

So, What's the Deal?

        So, what's the deal with the GCHS swim team this year?  Well, we are, once again, a team of one.  A team of one with two coaches.  Seriously.  Roch is again Matt's main Coach, but due to his travel schedule, MLV has graciously filled in the post of Assistant Coach, filling in where needed.  And, we are oh-so-appreciative of both of them!  We are very very lucky!  

       Last night Matt attended the Flying Tigers Invitational and did very well.  He swam the 200 Freestyle, 100 Freestyle, and 50 Freestyle, dropping time in each event...always a great deal!   

      He led most of the way in the 200 Free, losing concentration on the last two turns, allowing Anderson to touch him out for first at the very last moment, so that was a second place finish.   (Photo shows the congratulatory handshake with Anderson, a well-deserved win for him.)   

      In the 100 Free, it was neck and neck literally the entire race between four swimmers, and another touch out at the end, with Matt finishing third.         The 50 Free was another touch out at the end with Matt finishing second. 

      All in all, he was very happy, as was his coach.  All the swimmers that bested him were Seniors.  Matt is a Sophomore, so that means it looks pretty good for going into next year.  All three times qualified him for sectionals. 

      It was nice meet, and The Lovely Tess came by with her father to cheer on The Boy, so it was fun getting to sit with her and hear all about her lacrosse travel team, etc.    

      Last photo of the night:  One Happy Coach and One Happy Swimmer:  On to the next meet where he will swim the 100 Backstroke, and the 200 Freestyle, and hopefully have two more sectional times so he can pick and choose what he wants to swim for a chance to go to State.  

      As always:  We swim.  It's what we do.  So, that's the deal with GCHS swimming this year...pre-season we were ranked 40th in the state.  Not bad for a team of one.  With two coaches. 

      The next meet is Tuesday night at the Nat in Indy for the Brebeuf "Schools Without Pools" Invitational.  This is Ali and Harrison's school/team, so we are really looking forward to swimming in that meet.  If you can't be there to cheer, you can cheer from where you are!

 

Frosty the Snowman

       Alex figured he would lend a hand to the cookie baking cause around here and frost a few for me today.  While he did this without complaining, I did note that the ones he frosted for himself as a snack had twice as much icing on them as the ones he did for the cause, motivation enough as it were, it would seem. 

       Alex has always been an interesting child.  When he was little he loved, and still does actually, broccoli.  He was convinced that the song Frosty the Snowman was actually Broccoli the Snowman, and he would sing it thusly when he was two.  Matt, being quite put out that Alex was "not singing it right," turned to Alex and said very sternly, "Alex, it's not Broccoli the Snowman!  It's supposed to be FROSTING the Snowman!"  You can tell what Matt's favorite food might have been at age 2, no doubt.  It's tradition around here to have at least one chorus of Broccoli the Snowman and one of Frosting the Snowman.

      Matt had a really great morning at the swim meet with his favorite swim, the 100 Back, dropping time, going from a 54.34 to 53.92...that is the swim he has been struggling to drop time in since last spring, so he was very happy to drop below 54.  He would have gone into finals 7th out of 49, and in the top heat, but as I mentioned yesterday, the swimmers headed home before finals tonight, so Matt had to pull from swimming in that coveted top heat.  Oh, well, the time itself is enough reward!  His 100 Freestyle was so-so, going from 48.85 to 48.93, so adding just a little bit there, 8 one-hundredths of a second.  Not bad for the last swim of a four day trip.  Shoulders held out, so that is encouraging. 

      Not a lot going on around here this evening, swimmers have returned to homework, and re-entry into civilian life.  They have tomorrow morning off, but Roch is in town and Matt will swim for a Guerin practice in the morning at 5:15 a.m. until 7:00 and then head off to classes and Roch will head down to Alabama for his day...see what I mean, the two of them are just crazy enough to make this whole long distance coaching thing work.  I am truly amazed.  And we are truly grateful as Roch is an amazing coach for Matt...somehow Roch is just able to coach the WHOLE Matt, not just the kid in the water...Matt and Roch have a good read on one another when it comes to the whole swimming picture.  We are very lucky.  

      Today's little Christmas ditty can be found here and you have your choice when you sing along, you can sing Frosty the Snowman, Broccoli the Snowman, or Frosting the Snowman!  Have a great evening.

 

Run Rudolph Run (Run Run Rudolph): Swim Swim CSC

       Matt's home away from home this weekend as they are in Nashville, TN at the Tracy Caulkins competition pool swimming at a meet.  (All photos courtesy of Matt's iPhone camera and sent to me from the road.) 

      News from the meet is good.  Matt swam the 50 Freestyle today and took off time both in the morning prelim session and the evening finals session, so he was pretty happy about that.  This morning he took off one-tenth of a second, which to you, and also to me, doesn't seem like a whole lot, but to a swimmer, especially in the sprinting 50s, it is quite nice to take off that amount of time.  His comment, "Oh, I was happy to have taken off time, but if I would have just been able to swim four one-hundredths of a second faster, I could have gotten in a higher consolation."  Even after ten years in the swimming world, I still have no idea what the heck four one-hundredths of a second is...the difference between life and death and swim times, I guess!  Anyway, he went back to finals and took a little more time off, so he was a happy boy when he called on their way to dinner after the meet.     

      Michael and Charles also with some happy faces for good swim times.  And, of course, Michael and Charles just always have a good time wherever they are and whatever they are doing:  so cute!

 

        Trish and Lauren, looking wet and happy and ready to head back to the hotel for some rest, two sweeter girls you will not meet, and the two of them hold some really fancy swim times at CSC...Olympic trials bound, both of them. 

 

      Tomorrow Matt swims his two best swims, the 100 Free and the 100 Back, but only in prelims as they are slated to all pull from finals in order to get back at a reasonable hour rather than arriving back at three in the morning and then having school the next day, etc.  He was a bit disappointed that those particular two swims fell on the last day and he wouldn't get to swim in the finals for them, but sometimes that's just the breaks. 

      The swimmers are all staying healthy and having a great time, everyone getting some new best times, and the coaches apparently pleased with the road trip.  Can't do better than that!  Swim Swim CSC!  Click here for a fun song for the swimming kids today.

 

Jingle Bells

       Well, although it is not a "one-horse open sleigh," some of the swim club's swimmers embarked on a team travel trip over the rivers and through the woods for swimming late this afternoon and will return on Sunday, hopefully with some new fancy swim times and some fun memories of good times out of the water as well.  Matt and Mike boarding the bus, get to be roomies for the weekend...the two motor well together, so they will have a great time no doubt.     

      Matt and Matt F. riding down together as seat buddies, always a good time as those two motor about well together also.   

      And, just for fun...because he is always about the fun, Charles arriving just in time to hop on the bus and head out, toting pillow, cereal, and juice.  Charles always makes my day...always a smile for me, always a bit of chit chat, always fun with Charles around.  Rhiannon and Michael likewise...always fun. 

      Matt called about five and a half hours later and said they were all safe and sound and getting ready for lights out as they have early warm-ups tomorrow morning.  It feels very strange to be staying here while they are away as I usually go along...definitely going to be missing all that this weekend, but there are things to do here, so hopefully the time will pass quickly and I won't have time to be sad that I am not there with them all...these years are passing quickly.  

      And, last but not least, a little Christmas listening for you today, click here.

Angels We Have Heard on High

       Another concert this evening for Matt's choir.  Tried to get a good photo of them, but I am hopeless.  I have no idea how to get the singers' eyes not to look like they are possessed...each year in these church concerts, this happens and if anyone knows how to prevent this from happening, please let me know.

      It was a very nice concert...kids sang nine songs and then four sing-along-songs with the audience which was a lot of fun.  My favorite song tonight was Angels We Have Heard on High as it was the first time they had performed it for an audience with the new arrangement by Martin and it was very very good. 

      While I don't have a recording of them singing it, you can click here and hear Angels We Have Heard on High as the Christmas blog song for today.  (In the photo, MTS...My Tall Son...is in the back row, left, tallest one, and note that Matt and Matthew, Thing One and Thing Two from our carpooling days are singing side by side for the first time ever, and Greg is right in front of them so they form sort of a triangle which is nice as usually the three of them are spread out all over the stage.)      

      The singers had all been at rehearsal at Butler all afternoon, eaten pizza together for dinner, and then changed into their concert wear and drove the ten miles to the church to perform for a 7:00 concert. 

      Various singers were driving and various ones were riding...I tell you...I am still a little nervous about this as this is major city driving for a new driver, etc. 

      Matt and Ali rode over together and then after the concert, Rachel and Ashley, requested a ride back to campus where they had left their cars, so I made them all line up here, Alea, Ali, Rachel, Matt, and Ashley and had the girls hold up their right hands as I said,  "Repeat after me...I (insert your name please) will ride nicely in Matt's car.  I will not distract him when he is driving in any way, shape, or form.  I will not play the radio loudly so that he cannot hear approaching vehicles.  I will not squeal and shout and scream for any reason whatsoever while riding in the car.  I will go to the bathroom before we leave so that Matt does not have to stop in some questionable area of the city so that I might use the ladies' room.  I will not shout out the windows at anyone passing by.  I will not reach over and honk the horn while Matt is driving.  I will not put my hands anywhere near Matt or the steering wheel while Matt is driving.   I will wear my seatbelt at all times.  I swear that I will obey all these things, so help me God."  Everyone in the vestibule of the church got quite a kick out of it, but hey, I was serious!   Matt was laughing the whole time and the girls were giggling but they knew I was serious.  I am thinking of drawing up some sort of document for future use in this regard.   

      Am pleased to say everyone arrived at the appropriate places without incident.  Thank God.

O Holy Night

      Hawks were lookin' good last night against Bryant...that Tucker can shoot those threes!  Gotta get Tate remembering that he is the senior dog and acting like it, and those Hawks could possibly be a force this year.  Couple of Hoosier guys on that Iowa team, one from Carmel, and, of course, a Hoosier native as coach, so that makes it extra fun to cheer for the Hawks. 

      The Hoos were looking very fine today...okay, they lost, but the score does not reflect the effort those baby Hoos were putting out against the number 5 team in the country today, Gonzaga.  Considering the Hoos are sporting a brand new coach, only two players from the return roster, and one of the best players today for them was a walk-on from Carmel who is a state soccer player...this was a pretty good showing and much better than anyone had predicted. 

      Splitting our time between basketball and concerts this weekend...oh yeah, and the Colts game tomorrow.   We were watching the IU game at home today since we needed to go to Matt's concert, so no trip downtown to watch the first basketballs dribbled in the end zone of the new football stadium and all.  Matt had gone off to pick up Ali for their concert...this was Matt's first time to drive with someone other than just himself or one of us in the car (in Indiana you need to have your driver's license for 3 months before you can drive with someone else who is a minor in the car with you and his three months was up last week), so we had a bit of chat about the seriousness of driving someone else in your car, etc. (Matt is a good driver, but these types of discussions are written in The Parent Handbook in italics and underscored heavily...or so I told him). 

      About 45 minutes before Mark and I were ready to leave for the concert, we got a call from Matt in a panicked voice saying, "Mom, we need your help."  I tend to go from calm to panic in less than a half a second and said, "WHAT?"  I had envisioned Matt and Ali in some sort of accident or something.  Matt says, "Ali forgot to eat, and we can't get her parents on the phone, so can you bring her something to eat before the concert?"  Geesh...teens!  Scared me to death and all they wanted was food. 

      Relieved, I packed a yogurt, a granola bar, a napkin, and a spoon all neat and tidy and lovely looking in a ziploc and we headed out.  Mark looked at the bag and teasingly said, "What, no after dinner mint?"   Ha ha very funny.  The guys around here have no appreciation for my chick ways in matters such as these...they would have shoved something in their pockets and handed it to Ali that way.  Seriously, they would have. 

      They met us at the door, grabbed the food, gave me thanks and hugs, and ran back to the rehearsal room as I was reminding them that I would like a photo of the two of them after the concert.   

      They remembered...sort of...as before I could get a photo, they had gone out to the car, changed half of their clothing, and came back in with everything else in their arms racing to the changing room to see who could get changed first.  Believe it or not, Ali won.  

      Photos are them semi-dressed still (we put Ali in front so it wouldn't be as obvious that Matt was missing most of the upper part of his tux; next photo is the full shot with each of them sporting footwear NOT worn for the concert; next  photo is of the two of them afterward munching on the brownies Laurie and Buddy brought for them as they received a text saying, "Bring food."  Swimmers...are...always...hungry.     

      Last photo is Buddy, Ali, and Laurie before we all departed for new television shopping and dinner out.  Buddy is holding two pairs of the three pairs of shoes Ali brought for the concert...Ali has a thing for shoes and does not travel lightly in that particular arena...we still tease her about being limited to 50 pounds of luggage on the Italy trip and packing seven pairs of shoes!  Since I have only guys around here, it is tremendously lovely to have Ali in my life to bring in the pink and giggle factors. 

      The concert was great, and our favorite was O Holy Night, for which they received a standing ovation...they did an awesome job!  On the way home, Mark and I heard  it again on the radio and decided that would be today's blog song, so click here for O Holy Night.

Up and Coming

       The Up and Coming younger bowlers yesterday:  Alex, Steven, Jonathan, and Matt (Cousin David is usually present, but he had other things going on this year). 

      The Gerths love their bowling.  A lot of it stems from being originally from St. Louis where I think it is required that each and every resident knows how to bowl.  I did not grow up this way, so it is sort of lost on me, but my sons are both big into bowling.  From the time kids are old enough to hold a bowling ball, in the Gerth family, they bowl.   

        Thanksgiving weekend is a big weekend for bowling when everyone is together.  (Mark's brothers Brian and Phil at right.)  Each Friday after Thanksgiving at 4:00 the lanes in Elwood are home to various Gerths bowling three games before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for a lasagna dinner.  Are they of Italian descent?  Nope...I have no idea why they have lasagna each year, but it has always been part of the tradition. 

      The bowling is as much of a tradition as the turkey dinner on Thursday.   I think a lot of it is that Mark's family is made up of six children, all very close in age, who grew up doing a lot together and still enjoy getting together and doing things together.  Bowling is a good thing to do with siblings as you have time to chat while you bowl, etc.  You might think the photo at the left is Brian and Al (another brother) engaging in some deep and thoughtful conversation over a couple of beers, but looks can be deceiving as they are actually advising Phil (in the background at the jukebox) on tunes while at the same time entertaining us all with their rendition of the Flintstone's bowling song.    

      The next photo is of Matt trying to do his best to ignore Brian's High Five after his seventh strike that game.  After awhile it just becomes discouraging to bowl against Brian...we have been trying to talk Brian into actually joining the bowling circuit as the guy is an amazing bowler, but apparently being a pharmacist and a bowler don't mix all that well.    

       And, because the Gerths don't mess with tradition, even if the Purdue game is on at the same time as the scheduled bowling outing, there is a way to combine the two. 

      This is a divided house, Al and Susan being Purdue fans as they both attended and work at Purdue, and the rest of us all Indiana fans.  Nevertheless, when the two teams aren't playing each other, SOME members of the family can work up a certain amount of enthusiasm to cheer on the black and gold.  OTHERS just tune in to enjoy watching Purdue getting beaten by their current opponent.  I am not saying which members are which, to protect the innocent and harbor the guilty, but there was both cheering and grieving when Purdue went down in overtime to Oklahoma.  It did not, however, affect the camaraderie over the dinner table, which is always a good thing.  

      Round two of the bowling continues today when the traditional Saturday's outings include "going to a movie, bowling, and to dinner."   

Upcoming High School Swim Season at GCHS

      You've all been asking...so here it is:  Opening Day of GCHS Boys High School Swimming Season! 

      Indeed...we are again a team of one.  This year, however, as Providence again played a mighty role, we are a team of one with TWO coaches. 

      Our coach from last year, seen here today with Matt at the first practice session, has been traveling between two venues with his new job in Alabama.  His home, however, is still here, and our swim practice schedule is set to accommodate both as Matt had his heart set on having Roch coach him again this year and Roch is just crazy enough to agree to this.  Meanwhile, back in the hallowed halls of GCHS resides a lovely lady who teaches English and has in her resume, a swimming past with coaching credentials for high school girls swimming, and who graciously offered to coach or be an assistant coach for Matt's swimming days at GCHS.  How does one boy get so lucky?  Providence.  Guerin is known for it, due to it's Patron Saint and all. 

      Today it was just great being back in the water with Roch at the helm and Matt trying to get started on the right track.  Photos with Mary Lynn coaching will appear a little further into the practice schedule.   

      So, there you all have it.  The Lone Eagle Swimmer will be swimming freestyle and backstroke this season and hoping to arrive at State to represent his school.  Next year, we are hoping to build the team even further...so perhaps a relay could be forthcoming in the future, but for this year, we will be swimming only individual events at invitationals again. 

      This morning at the pool, Mike's mom, Sue, informed me that GCHS was actually ranked in the state swimming polls...too funny, with our lone swimmer to be ranked pre-season.  Apparently someone thinks he is going to make a state time again this year.  The rankings for IHSAA Indiana State High School Boys Swimming are printed below...hey, not bad for GCHS since we are the only team with ONE swimmer and all.   

      Keep the good thoughts coming and let the season begin!

IHSSCA RANKED BOYS SWIM TEAMS
1	North Central	138		29	Franklin Central	16
2	Chesterton	112		30	East Central	15
3	Munster	97		31	Fishers	14
4	Carmel	66		31	Yorktown	14
5	Concord	60		33	Floyd Central	13
6	Homestead	59		33	Tri-West	13
7	Lake Central	57		35	South Adams	12
8	Hamilton SE	53		35	Southridge	12
9	Kokomo	41		37	Crawfordsville	11
9	Plainfield	41		37	Greencastle	11
11	Brebeuf	39		37	Zionsville	11
12	Northridge	35		40	Guerin Catholic	9
13	Bedford NL	32		40	New Palestine	9
13	Seymour	32		42	New Prairie	7
15	Carroll	29		42	Vincennes	7
16	Michigan City	28		42	Wawasee	7
16	Terra Haute South	28		45	Anderson Highland	6
18	Portage	26		45	Warsaw	6
19	Muncie Central	25		47	FW Dwenger	5
20	Avon	24		47	Terre Haute North	5
21	West Lafayette	23		49	Eastern Greene	3
22	Rensselaer	22		49	Marion	3
23	Maconaquah	19		49	Noblesville	3
24	Castle	18		52	Culver  Academy	2
24	Center Grove	18		52	FW Snider	2
24	Crown Point	18		52	Huntington North	2
27	Indian Creek	17		52	Richmond	2
27	SB Riley	17		56	Merrillville	1

Happy Thanksgiving!

     Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!  Many good thoughts from us to you for great food, fun times, happy memories, and, of course, safe travel.   

     

    

      As usual, I took a few photos, put down the camera, and never picked it up again for the rest of the night, what can I say?  Sometimes there is just a lot more to keep one occupied and photos go by the wayside.  Glenn, David, Alex, Matt, Steven, Jonathan, and Mark getting the littles settled with their plates.  Steven's favorite:  rolls!  And not much else!  

      The little boys have very strange eating habits at Thanksgiving.  I decided to take a photo of each of their plates as they sat down to eat because in a few years they will not believe that this was all they would eat from a large selection of offerings at Grandma and Grandpa's house each year.   Jonathan has just turkey and a half of a deviled egg.

      You will note that as they get older, the plates seem to mature also...well, with the exception of Alex, of course, who remains an enigma on all things food.  Honestly, I don't know where he gets that...LOL.   Turkey and a roll...these are the plates AFTER they have gone through the line and BEFORE they have eaten a single thing off of them.  David (left) has a bit more going on with his plate of food.  And, Matt, of course, below, makes sure all the colors are represented, and this was only his FIRST plate of food as he doesn't like to mix savories and salads on one plate.  I guess it is good they all drink lots of milk at this age.  The final photo is the ever popular Aunt Nan with Glenn, which is where I lost the camera, filled my plate with two bites each of about six or seven different selections and enjoyed the meal and conversation.  Might get some more photos later in the weekend. 

       

Weekend Updates of Threesomes

      The three amigos at the meet this weekend:  Daniel, Mike, and Matt.  Three nicer guys you will never meet.  Seriously. 

      We are thinking that perhaps three concerts, three rehearsals, a three-day swim meet, and three days of finals (last Friday, this Monday and Tuesday) all sort of collided in a Bermuda Triangle of Disappointing Swim Times over the weekend.   

      I am just saying...there was way too much going on for one single sixteen year old this weekend.   

   

      The Boy swam the 200 Butterfly at the meet...not the ideal swim for someone with rotator cuff problems at the moment, but he gave it a try...said it was a big mistake, that the shoulders just gave out before the first hundred. 

      The concerts were great.  (Photo is of Matt at the last of the three...the Brahms' Requiem with the GCHS choir.) 

      The finals we don't know about yet, but we will assume those are going fine as he is doing well in school. 

      The swimming times...let's just say there was a lot of room for improvement over the weekend.  A. Lot. Of. Room.

      Here are some fun photos from the meet...not too many, just a few of some of the guys enjoying their chances to compete at the first meet of the season.  The middle photo is of Matt and Mike getting ready to swim the 200 Backstroke.  They don't often swim side-by-side, so it was nice to get this photo of the two of them. 

Up on the Rooftops at the New Mall

      Matt and Ali at the IYC concert on Friday...no, not dating, just very good friends. 

      Friday night was a lot of fun.  I was at the mall.  Bet you never thought you would see those two sentences side by side, did you? 

      Actually, I was sort of tricked into the venue location.  Matt's IYC choir was performing an early Christmas concert.   Since the weekend was busy, i.e. filled with swim meet, choir concerts, etc., I didn't pay close attention to the "who, what, where, and whys" of any of it beyond where and when, figuring I would just show up and go with the flow of whatever it was I was supposed to be doing. 

      So, Friday Matt had indicated there was an IYC concert and Mark and I decided we would include that in date night. 

      Off we went, Mark instructing me to just "take 146th Street east until you can't go anymore."  I knew what was out there...cows and fields, or at least I had known for the past 33 years what was out there.  "Where are they performing?"  Mark:  "Oh, a mall."  Me:  "A MALL???  We are going to a mall?"      (Photo:  About three-fourths of Matt's IYC choir turned up to sing for the Grand Opening.  Matt is still the tallest one in the choir, so he is easy to spot in the back row, green sweater, white shirt, red tie, right arm in the air.) 

      Turns out, not only were we going to a mall, we were going to the Grand Opening of a MAJOR mall with approximately 5,000 other people.   

      As we came over the little rise in the road and I saw hundreds and hundreds of lights...I said, "WHAT IS THAT???"  Mark just grinned and said, "Why, I think it must be the mall!"   Good golly...no parking, I kid you not. 

      Word had circled quickly:  "Grand Opening and Santa!"  OMW...I should have gotten way more information about this gig beforehand.

      As luck would have it, we had gotten the time wrong by an hour, and when we arrived, there was a nice empty park bench right beside the big stage they had erected for the choir and Santa...so, I sat happily chatting with various choir moms, etc.  It was rather enjoyable.  And, I didn't have to shop.  As matter of fact, I did no shopping whatsoever.  The choir was really good, singing Christmas carols, having fun together, and gearing up the little ones for Santa's arrival.   

      Santa arrived to streamers, some lightening bolts, fireworks, and what was supposed to be a gentle puff of smoke...as you can see from the photo, that part didn't go off quite as expected as there was a whole lotta smoke, but the choir kids rolled with it and the choir director danced with Santa (this last photo) to the cheers of everyone...a fun time.   

      It was great...I had a wonderful time at the mall...who knew? 

      (Oh, and for those of you trying to find Ali in the photo:  she is behind Santa, so not visible in either of these shots.)

Re-hearsals

        The gaathering of the guys as Mr. D gives them a pep talk about tackling the difficult choir piece last evening.  The Boy is easy to spot as he is still the tallest one around.

      When Matt returned from the retreat on Sunday, I picked him up as we didn't want to leave his car unattended up at OLMC for the weekend.  After he hopped in the car, his first words were, "Mom, can you drive me down to Butler as I can make the last hour of IYC rehearsal if we leave right now?"  I have grown very accustomed to Matt driving himself everywhere...he tends to go from one activity to the next with not much time between...I am getting way too old for that sort of schedule on a regular full-time basis, but this was an exception, so off we went for rehearsal.   

      Yesterday he went from school, to swim practice, to another rehearsal for his school choir, and since it was located down in Indy after dark, I figured I would drive him there as he was getting out of swimming too late to make the bus and then he could just ride the bus back with his friends if he wanted, I would pick him up at school, drive him over to CHS to get his car, and head home at that point.  Am I ever happy that The Boy has his driver's license...it was close to ten before the dust settled! 

      While I was down at the rehearsal location, I decided to just sit in on the rehearsal as it was Brahms' Requiem and I knew I would enjoy listening to it...now I am beginning to think I might be missing out on too much with him driving everywhere himself.  Always a tug this way or that on the issue of independence.  I always think I am ready for it, but then I think maybe I miss all that carting about to and fro much more than I realize.

      And, I also miss getting to see all the other kids, like these two in the photo above...two of my favorite pinks...Kristin and Samantha...I had better enjoy times with them now as they are both seniors this year.  Even if their parents don't cry at their graduation, I know I will!

Re-turning from Re-treat

       Matt, Jack, and Stephen at OLMC after the Knights retreat weekend.  Looking tired, but happy.  (Jack swims with Matt at CSC and Stephen goes to Guerin.)

      The young Knights group, about 70 boys from various parishes, had a retreat in southern Indiana (gorgeous this time of year with all those lovely leaves turning all those lovely colors) this past weekend.   

      They had a great time and here are a couple of photos from when they returned...I had intended to get all five of Matt's group of friends in one shot, but Colin headed out before I could round them all up, and I couldn't corner Marshall until the very end (pictured in photo to the right).  Teenage boys are like that...you really need lassos to keep them in one spot. 

      They attended Mass three times over the weekend, and each of the leaders for their parishes got to serve in some capacity, so Matt got to do that as he is the leader at SEAS. 

      He enjoyed meeting Knights from the other parishes and came home with a list of new friends which is always nice.  A lot of them were from a neighboring parish in Zionsville, just miles down the road, so that seems close enough that they will see each other from time to time.  Marshall is a member of that group actually.  He is a friend Matt has known for many years. 

      All in all, Matt was extremely delighted with the entire weekend and said the paintballing was absolute chaos with that many guys!  This, I take it, was a good thing.

Re-viewing the Status of the Guerin High School Swimming Season

      Definitely time to get the corn in...  It's been a lovely autumn here in Indiana.  The leaves have stayed nice for quite awhile, the days have been warm, the evenings have just a little crispness to them...a perfect fall. 

      We've been able to get out and enjoy all the usual fall activities of football games, hayrides, pumpkin patch outings, farm stands, cider drinking, taffy apple eating, squash and Brussels sprouts as fresh as you can get, and of course, my annual autumnal occupation:  Searching for a High School Swimming Coach for Guerin. 

      We are about a week away from the boys high school swimming season, and are still in need of a coach (which is slightly ahead of last year when we were six weeks into the season before we had the coach to-end-all-coaches just land in our laps and facilitate one very fine swimming season for Matt).  Although we have high hopes and our fingers crossed that the current plan of action will be signed, sealed, and delivered, by opening day, if anyone is interested in praying to St. Roch (both the one in heaven and the one on earth now located in Alabama), maybe that would help a little.  :-)  

      We are, once again, a one-man swim team for high school.  The cost of swimming can run quite high with need of pool times, coaches, entry fees, etc., and with Matt's high school not having a pool, it is rather prohibitive to a student who would want to "just swim for the high school season" because basically the swimmer would need to pay for pool and coach out of his/her own pockets which would run over a thousand dollars.  Not many students and parents are willing to do that for just a high school season when there are other less expensive options in sports available and already in place.  Matt swims year around, so he has a swim club that we pay fees for and our expense for high school swimming is just coach and entry fees.  However, since we don't share the cost of the coach, it still runs us about the same, but we are highly motivated as hopefully Matt will have the opportunity to swim in college as well. 

      Maybe someday Guerin will have enough students/parents willing to fund a team, but right now with the size of the school...we are just a one man show again this year.   Providing I can score a coach, that is.  

      How the summer passed so quickly is beyond me.  Seriously, here we are almost in November already.  I am not a lover of winter.  I like the changing of the seasons...I just wish the winter one would change over much quicker than the five-month stint here in the Midwest.  Way too much winter.   If I could dictate such, I would keep November around Thanksgiving time up until New Year's as winter and then segue right into spring for a few weeks, and be basking in the summer sun shortly thereafter.   When I find a place like that, I am moving there.  Anyone want to join me?

     Those of you who are keeping track of my recent negligent ways in the matter of blogging will please note that I have posted four, count them, FOUR entries today.  What is that they say..."Be careful what you wish or you will surely get it...."  Enjoy.