his story.....

We all know how well teenage boys plan, right?

If you happen to be in the dark let me enlighten you. 

Plan in any shape or form is not in their vocabulary.  You can search high and low and you will not find it. 

plan [plan]

noun (plural plans)
1. system for achieving objective: a method of doing something that is worked out in advance
2. intention: something that somebody intends or has arranged to do (often used in the plural)
ie:  What are your plans for Saturday?

Now you may occasionaly stumble across the verb form of planning in their thoughts, and then only when  they are planning to eat.  

 
planning
verb (past and past participle planned, present participle plan·ning, 3rd person present singular plans)

1. transitive and intransitive verb work out how to do something: to work out in advance how something is to be done or organized
2. transitive verb intend to do something: to intend to do something, or make arrangements to do something

Because we are all pretty darn sure they wouldn't want to:

plan ahead

intransitive verb

make preparations or arrangements: to make preparations or arrangements for the future

Yep, this is the boat I found myself floating in last week. 

Now don't get me wrong.  I love my son.  However, there are days when I wonder if he has any of my DNA.  I love to plan.  His sister loves to plan.  We write things in colored pencil on the calendar.  We anticipate, count-down.

We PLAN.  pure and simple.

Matthew is a last minute lets figure it out, do I have any clean clothes, gas in the car, have to work kinda kid.  Makes me crazy.

So for months MONTHS we have known that his waterpolo team was going to the National Junior Olympics.  Something you might plan for right?  For weeks I had been running the commentary...."are you going?"......"do you have the time off work?"......"how are we going to work it out?"...."who will you stay with in the hotel?"  And the only feedback I got was....."I think I am going to work, so I can make more money". 

So being the kind of person I am....I made other plans!  Then 24 hours before it all goes down....Matthew plans on participating.  The darn kid is lucky he's still alive.

Plan or no plan it all worked out in the end.  

They came in 19th place in the Gold Division for the Nation.

do you hear what I hear?

Like most years, this Christmas was a busy day.  Parents arriving, kids coming and going, Mike working (yuk), cooking, present opening....you name it.  A busy day!

Before the chaos began, Matthew had opened a couple little gifts from the neighbors while half lying down in the cozy living room chair.  Michael, Katie and I went into the kitchen to finish getting dinner ready, when Katie said "do you hear that leaf blower?"  I thought yea, I hear that.  Michael heard it too.  Then I thought again and wondered what kind of crazy do you have to be to blow your leaves on Christmas day?  Michael then throws in his 2cents......."is that Matthew snoring?"

yep......you just gotta love tired teenage boys!

2009 Body Surfing......

It's that time of year again - end of August (i know i am late posting this, but better late, then never), the annual bodysurfing competition. Two fun filled days of sun, sand, surf, and friends.

This year we were greated with rain on Saturday morning. It was so cold, at least for August, and stormy I didn't even wear or take my bathing suit. Just packed up extra towels and a sweat-shirt! Of course by 10 am the sun was out and it was blazing hot. We were searching for shade!

There was definitely a big storm somewhere off Mexico - the surf was crazy storm surf, all choppy with a crazy rip current (notice the concerned looks in the above picture). The boys started off on the south side, with the rip being so strong they entered the water about 300 yards down the beach and drifted to the pier by the time they'd swum out.....

(you really can't even see Matthew in this picture)

Matthew's first heat he place 2nd....so on to another round

that's Katie in the tourquoise cap....not even out and already fighting the current

For the girls heat there were hardly any waves, and the current was so strong they were drifting north about the distance of two lifeguard towers. Katie wound up 5th in her heat, so she didn't advance to the semi-finals. The girls that did advance would catch a wave, ride it in to the shore, then run back down the beach and do it over and over. Later for the girls semi-final we would learn one of the girls dropped out because the surf was so rough. Katie was pretty dissapointed because that would have been her spot. There is always next year.....

what are friends for?

Matthew's second heat (green cap) he placed first.....so on to the semi-finals!

the six semi-finalists ready to go.....

Matthew is in the orange cap 2nd from left

cool shirt this year!

over all Matthew gets a 5th place finish! great job!!!

SMHS - Go, Fight, SWIM!

"swim said the momma fishy"

I was getting ready to post a swim video/collage I have yet to create and it started me thinking about years ago when I worked at the elementary school in a special ed class.

All the kids were pre-school to first grade age and had severe autism. They were unable to make eye contact, would grind their teeth, would refuse to speak, hit, bite you name it. We used to "teach" them buy offering fruit loops for tasks we would as them to do that they completed well. There was this little girl Ashley. I just loved her. I still remember her, it's hard to imagine she is a 20something young woman now. She was so cute, long curly brown hair and just a doll. During good moments she would sit in my lap and pet my face. During bad moments she made you wish you were somewhere else. She was the one that made me really want a daughter.
She loved this song:

down in the meadow in the itty bitty pool

lived three little fishies and a momma fishy too

swim said the momma fishy fast as you can

and they swam, and they swam, all over the dam.

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

and they swam, and they swam, all over the dam.

STOP! said the momma fishy or you will get lost

but the three little fishies didn't wanna be bossed

so the three little fishies went off on a spree

and they swam, and they swam, right into the sea!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

and they swam, and they swam, right into the sea!

WHEE! yelled the fishies this is lots of fun

we'll swim in the sea 'til the day is done

so they swam, and they swam, and it was a lark

'till all of a sudden here comes a shark!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

all of a sudden here comes a shark!

HELP! cried the fishies, look at the wales

quick as they could they turned on their tails

back to the pool in the meadow they swam

and they swam, and they swam, right back over the dam!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

boop, boop, didm, dadm, watm, choo!

and they swam, and they swam, right back over the dam!

I used to sing this song to Katie when she was little. Maybe it had an influence on her with her love of all things related to water! All the time I have spent at the pool over the years between three kids learning to swim, high school swimming and water polo, watching Michael, Matthew and Katie, how strong and healthy they are made me think of that little girl I knew almost 20 years ago. I am so grateful to have healthy children! Funny how my brain works.

wordless Wednesday.....

Boys 200 Free Relay Team

3rd in heat/9th overall

PR 1:35:10

=

one proud mom

wordless Wednesday.....

2009 D2 CIF Prelims

yeah - lots of kids like to swim

Happy Birthday Matthew!

It's hard for me to believe that Matthew is 16! It doesn't seem that long ago he was just a chunky baby crawling around. Now he is a teenager and will be getting his license in just a few weeks. Time goes by so quickly!

For his special birthday dinner, Matthew didn't want to go out. He requested his, and everyone elses' favorite dinner of carne asada with all the fixings, El Torito sweet corn cake, and his favorite chocolate peanut butter cake for dessert! While Matthew helped finish bar-b-que'ing Katie and Michael had a mini Wii challenge going in the living room.....

then dinner was ready.....and so was Matthew!

Once we managed to eat all that food, it was time for presents. Before he got started Matthew had to check to see if his beard had grown any.....

then it was time to check out the gifts....

He has a favorite web site he likes to "wish/dream shop" on, so we ordered him a couple t-shirts he has been wanting for a while.

looks like it fits!

After all that food we needed to take a walk before cake, so Katie and I got out our bikes, got Sam on the leash, Matthew on his skateboard and headed down to the duck pond to feed the ducks and geese. A lot of the ducks were gone, but the geese had nests and were sitting on their eggs. They ended up eating almost a whole loaf of bread!

mmm....our favorite cake!

make a wish Matthew!

Matthew you are a great son. You are smart, talented, kind and sweet. I love you lots and hope that your 16th birthday was great and all your wishes come true this year!

love~mom

Easter

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Accidents happen.....

Accidents DO happen, and usually when mom is not around!

At yet another swim meet @ the Army/Navy Academy in Carlsbad, Matthew (this is the story, and he's sticking to it) apparently was stepping around the starting block to get into the pool for warmup, tripped, caught his toe in a crack in the cement, didn't feel a thing, fell, happened to look down, noticed gushing blood,

&

realized that his whole toe nail had been ripped off along with a nice chunk of skin!

WARNING -

the following photos are not for the squeamish!

At this point he had had enough of my toe pictures.....