Community Helper Week

The past two weeks were Community Helper Week at Connell and Clara's school. One day Connell had to dress up in a costume as a Community Helper. Both Connell and Clara liked the police officer costume the best. Unfortunately when Clara wore the costume she resembled another kind of community helper that we are really hoping she doesn't grow up to be.

Beginning of School Days

August 12th marked Connell's first day as a big first grader. He is loving school and really enjoying being a big first grader. Clara started at her new school on August 14th and has adjusted beautifully. She loves her new teachers and makes sure she gives lots of hugs everyday before she leaves for the day. Here are some pics from their first days.

Jamboree Day--September 6th

September 6th marked the kickoff of Connell's CYO football career. Jamboree Day was held at St. Dominic's school and Connell played two practice games. They beat both St. Dominic's and St. Ignatius. Here are some pictures from those games.

Are you ready for some Football?

Connell had his first official game on September 13th against Corpus Christi. They ended up winning 22-18. He is playing offensive line for the most part. He had to go to weigh in the other day and he weighed in at 60.5 lbs. He is playing for the 2nd grade team even though he is a first grader. Let's just say unfortunately for Auburn his game was much more exciting than their "victory" over MS State. Here is the rest of his schedule for those that might want to come watch.
Sept 20th--9:45 AM--McT Front Field vs. St. Dominics
October 4th--11:00AM--McT Front field vs. St. Pius
October 11th--9:45 AM--McT front field vs. St. Ignatius
October 18th--9:45 AM--McT front field vs. Corpus Christi
October 25th--8:30 AM--McT front field vs. St. Dominics
November 8th--9:45 AM--McT front field vs. St. Pius
November 12th--5:45 PM--at the Lip vs. St. Ignatius.

I will keep everyone updated with all the adventures in football. But for now here are some pics from the game.

Swimming Advances 2

Not to be outdone by big brother, Clara made significant strides in the pool this summer as well. In the beginning of the summer she was barely getting off the steps. Then she got brave and began jumping off the side into the shallow end. By the end of the summer she was jumping off the diving board and swimming to the steps and even a few times the length of the pool.

Swim Team 2008

Connell joined the Heron Lakes Swim Team this year and in the beginning he was fairly slow. By the end of the season he was really getting the hang of it. It was amazing how much he had grown and accomplished as a swimmer by the end of the season. These are some of my favorite pictures that I took with my new camera. Notice the form.



This next pose is an Ode to Michael Phelps fans. A lot of people say he has the same physique as Michael.

This is one of my favorite backstroke pics. It was one of his favorite strokes.

At the end of the season we had a Trophy presentation for all members of the team. Connell also got the award for Most Improved Swimmer for his age group. After the Coach's comments I was almost brought to tears. Connell was the first one there everyday ready to swim. And if you would have seen him 2 years ago when he refused to get off the steps you would have known how far he's come.

Beach in July

We went down to the beach the 2nd week of July for a conference. It worked out well though, because Katie and Colby and their kids were vacationing the same time we were down there so we got to spend some time hanging out with them. I was thrilled because there weren't any fights between the kids. Here are a couple of pictures from the vacation.