Brooklyn's First Time in the Snow

Brooklyn had her first experience with the snow, at the first she can remember! We had a big snow storm this weekend and she really wanted to go outside and play in it. She was so cute...especially when she stepped in the snow barefoot only to find out that snow is cold! Her face was priceless. Shari put some shoes on her and after that she enjoyed it much more. Now we just need to teach her how to make a snowball!

USA Swimming Nationals

I recently returned home from Nationals and I thought you all might like to hear how it went. As most of you know, I haven't really swam since February. I decided that I needed to start doing something again or I was going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe to fit my growing waistline. Swimming seemed like the best option since it's all I have really ever done. I started looking for some meets that I could enter and saw that back in February I had qualified for Nationals. I have always wanted to go and so I decided to go for it. The only problem is that I made this decision about a month before the meet, so time was short to get into shape. I did my best to eat right and exercise as much as I could, and it was fun trying to get myself ready for the meet. I was really blessed to receive a sponsorship check from Audio Enhancement (where I work) that covered all the expenses. I also got a free suit from Speedo that was worth $340! I felt like a pro swimmer getting everything paid for.

Nationals was held in Atlanta at the Georgia Tech pool, which is the same pool that the 1996 Olympics were in. It was so fun to be there! This was by far the biggest meet I have ever been to. Most of the Olympians were there and it was quite an experience to get to swim along side of them. There were two American records that were broken while I was there! I competed in the 50 yard freestyle, my favorite event. My best time is 20.95, which I swam at during my last college meet. I really wanted to beat that time! I swam the 50 three times and my best split was 21.32. I was really excited about that time even though it wasn't my best. It was the best I could do right now and was pretty happy that I could swim that fast after taking 8 months completely off. There are so many things I can still improve on and I hope to be able to continue swimming. Being at this meet helped me realize that swimming is something I really enjoy, and that I still have a lot of potential to get faster. It was motivating to see a 32 year old take 2nd place. I am only 26 so I have plenty more left in me! If I can find a way to fit swimming into my schedule for the next few years then I will definitely do it. Here is a clip of my getting my butt kicked! I am the one wearing the white and red cap. I was just happy to be there :)