"Different" (AKA Myrtle Beach Day 1)

We arrived in Myrtle Beach last night and today was our first full day on the beach. It was an awesome day (Praise God the weatherman was NOT correct in his forecast)!

“Different” is the key word for our trip; different than the other trips we have taken down to the beach because:

• · This time it’s not just the Simon Family, our great friends the Oswalds have joined us for vacation. We met Joel, Shauna, and Kylee almost immediately after arriving in Northern Virginia and we have been friends every sense. It’s always great to spend time with your friends, particularly when it’s fun stuff like: sun, surf, sand, and swimming. But, also, when you go on vacation with friends and you spend 24 hours a day together, you get to know each other on another level. You appreciate even more what you have in each other; already, I have learned more about my friend Shauna. I love how we are the same and I love how we are different.
• · This time the ladies started vacation without the guys. We departed on Sunday with all the kids and the guys will join us on Tuesday night. (A late departure for the guys was the best way to ensure that both families could go on vacation and that we wouldn’t need to bring 3 cars down to the beach.)
• · This time, the drive from DC to Myrtle Beach took about 2 hours longer. We stopped a bit more because of Cooper’s age, the toddler’s potty breaks, and the POURING rain (I could only drive 50mph for quite a while due to visibility---and I am not a slow driver).
• · This time, we are planning to Putt-Putt while we are in town. Myrtle Beach seems to be the Golf Capital of the World. And, I think that they have more miniature golf courses than any other city in America. Anyway, we have never putt-putted while in Myrtle Beach and this time we will hit one of the many, intriguing, creative, “over-the-top” courses. Now we just have to decide if we want to golf among waterfalls, fire-breathing dragons, pirate ships, or dinosaurs.

· I am sure that there will be other parts of this trip that are different than our other adventures in Myrtle Beach but the one thing that will not be different is that we are going to have a good time~

CCH Sharks Swim Team

This year our family joined the local pool; we weren’t able to do this when we lived in Vienna because there was a waiting list for memberships. We joined Country Club Hills Pool. One of the exciting opportunities that comes with being a pool member, is that the kids had the option of joining the swim team. I swam on a team for 2 years when I was a kid and it is an experience I wouldn’t trade. Colin did not want to join the team (I understand, he would have been swimming with kids in their 5th year of competitive swimming) but Connor was interested immediately.
The CCH Sharks is a great team and they have an Awesome coaching staff. Coach Scott is the head coach; he is knowledgeable, has a great manner with the kids and parents, he keeps the focus on team spirit and learning first, and he teaches the kids about how they should conduct themselves while still competing to the best of their ability. Coach Katherine is the assistant coach and does a great job as well.

On June 15th, the CCH Sharks had their First Meet of the season. It was a “Developmental Meet” which gives all of the kids a chance to participate. During regular meets, only the top 3 swimmers get to compete—which will often leave out the new kids. At a developmental meet, each child can compete in 2 events and has the opportunity to swim for improved times, experience, and feedback on their stroke style. Connor swam the backstroke and breaststroke at this meet. He did awesome!
He has a great backstroke and a fast breaststroke (the hardest stroke technically). He will continue to work on form through the season which will invariably increase his speed as well. Above all, he had FUN. One of his good friends Will also swims on the team so they have fun no matter what.