Bragging

Our kids don't always get straight A's. In fact, they have to work hard to get them.  They argue with each other and disobey their parents.  They often aren't as responsible as I'd like them to be and they don't always follow the rules of our household.  They don't make their beds, they leave their clothes on the floor and they have to be reminded to do chores.

I just have to put all of that out there lest the bragging that is to follow should make me sound like one of those mothers who thinks her kids can do no wrong.  Trust me, I know how annoying it can be to listen to a mother brag about her children.  (Please don't tell me about how easy your kids are or how their teetering on an A- has given you anxiety because it kind of makes me want to vomit.)  No, my kids aren't perfect.  But they are mine so I do think they are pretty great and I am awfully proud of their achievements.

On Monday, Caleb was awarded Athlete of the Week.

On Tuesday, he had his first high school choir concert.  He looked ever so handsome in his choir uniform and I found it quite adorable that he couldn't quite fully suppress his desire to move to the beat while he was singing.

Here's a short clip:

 

On Thursday, Jon went to the gym to watch the girls and he filmed Alyssa's new trick for me.  The gym is busy and there is a lot going on in the video, but if you look right in the middle of the clip, there's a darling little gymnast in a pink and black swirly leotard.  Keep your eye on her and you'll watch her do a pretty awesome vault called a Yurchenko. (Dad added some fun sound effects, too.)



And for some bonus footage, watch the video again and this time, watch for another darling gymnast, this one wearing turquoise and black, on the set of uneven bars just to the right of the vault runway.  Jon didn't even realize that while he was filming Alyssa's Yurchenko, he also got the second half of Natalie's bar routine.  It's coming along.

Caleb's last 5k race was yesterday.  (He has a 1.8 mile race--his last of the season--on Tuesday.)  His previous PR was 20:06 and he had a goal to come in under 20 minutes.

His race started shortly after a fierce hail storm, making it a very wet, muddy and cold course.  Our finger and toes were frozen but we were there to cheer him on in spite of it all.  And we couldn't possibly have been more cold than those poor runners in their singlets and teeny tiny shorts.

Here he is at the 1 mile mark, looking good and on pace to make his goal:

"Here comes Caleb!" I heard Jon exclaim as we waited for Caleb near the finish.  I looked at the race clock and knew he could make his goal if he finished strong.  

"Go, Caleb! Go!  You're gonna make it!  You're gonna make it! Go, Buddy!  All the way to the finish! Gooo!" I shouted at him.

I didn't have full view of the clock in the distance but I could see that it hadn't yet turned to 20 minutes when he crossed the finish line.  At that point I was jumping up and down with both hands above my head cheering, "He did it!  He did it!"

Official finish time: 19:51.3

Just look at the mud that was kicked up by those fast feet.

Nat wasn't into having her picture taken, but she was into holding that umbrella, which the rest of us found disconcerting due to the spokes protruding from both sides.  Every time she turned around one of us was having to dodge her weapon.

Here's Caleb with teammate, Armando.  Caleb's been trying to chase down Armando all season (it took him several weeks just to get within Armando's pace).  He finished just 3 seconds behind him yesterday and they were the two fastest freshmen on their team.

Grandma was there to support Caleb and she bought him a race shirt.  There were several color options but he chose this ultra-bright orange.

I'm so sad to see this cross country season come to an end.  It's been a wonderful experience and we're sure proud of the progress Caleb's made.

Alright, that is quite enough bragging.  I'll stop for now.