Swim, Swim, Swim......Is that all we do!

 I am always amazed at how fast time goes by and how busy we are. You would think I would somehow be used to it by now, but I am not. Keith had his Power Summit week at work and then we had a two day swim meet in Hollister that ended up being the longest meets ever!!! They were from 7:30 am until 4:30pm Saturday and until 3:30pm on Sunday! I unfortunately had a severe stomach flare and migraine that set in towards the end of the meet on Saturday. I think our stop at In-N-out, put me over the edge into my flare. I ended up being in bed from Saturday early evening until Tuesday morning when I went to work. I managed to start eating a little on Monday, but I wasn't fully better until my birthday on Wednesday, praise the Lord!

Keith took a lot of pictures of the kiddos on Sunday, because he was at the swim meet solo and I was missing Phoenix and the boys racing. Phoenix had an amazing day on Saturday and managed to get her J.O. time cuts for the 200 meter IM and the 400 meter Free, although she didn't get the Far Western time cut she wanted for the 50 back. On Sunday she got her J.O. time cuts for long course in the 200 meter free and the 50 fly. She had J.O.s for these events in short course, but getting times in Long course allowed her to have better seed times during the J.O. or Age group champs meet that would be at Hollister 2 weeks later. 

Phoenix ran into two of her old teammates from Los Gatos on Sunday at the swim meet. Kaila and Greta! Kaila had come down to check out the long course pool in order to get ready for her 100 meter freestyle event she had qualified for and Greta was there to get her 50 fly J.O. time cut which she was able to achieve! The girls had fun hanging out!

Rubix got to hang out with his teammate Ethan and his older brother. 

Phoenix and Greta!

Axel getting in for a picture too! He went into the meet tired from a huge training block, so he was pretty disappointed to not have the big time drops he was hoping for, but was happy he managed to keep the same times from the last meet, despite being tired. 

Here is Axel's teammate, Allison, who wanted to get a picture with Rubix, "So he remembers me when he goes to the Olympics!" Ha! She is so funny!

Keith bought sushi for me for my birthday, but the day was busy with swim practice, school and work. On Sunday we went over to my friend Tiffany's house. We were able to hang out with her family and another high school friend, Kasia's family! It was so nice to chat and see each other. The kids had fun playing in the pool and making/ eating cotton candy. 

Avery, Charlotte, Oliver, Rubix and Phoenix watching Axel enjoy his creation!

On the 4th of July, Keith and I were able to enjoy our first long bike ride of the year and then the kids enjoyed playing in the pool while I caught up on cooking and cleaning. We had a big weekend with 3 days of all day Age group championships last weekend. We were not sure if Phoenix would make finals, but we were pleasantly surprised on Friday that Phoenix really swam outside of herself and made huge improvements in her times. She got 6th in the prelims with over a 9 second improvement in the 200 IM. She was only 2 seconds off the Far Western time cut. She surprisingly got 7th in the 100 backstroke where she has a AAA time. We thought she would be even higher on the leaderboard, but there are some amazing 10 year olds right now who are extremely fast. Phoenix also improved her 400 free by nearly 7 seconds and was just out of the top 8 and hence did not make Finals. This was a blessing because she has never raced in the morning and then raced 3 more events in the evening. She was pretty tired and added time in the 200 IM, but did manage to shave off some time in the 100 back. 

Here Phoenix is in her new tech suit with Helen and Melissa. 

On Saturday, I took the boys to cross country practice and then swim practice while Keith took Phoenix to the swim meet. We were expecting her to make finals in the 50 back for sure, but her Far Western time cut that she earned wasn't fast enough! She dropped almost 8 seconds in her 200 meter free style and managed to swim her 50 fly, although she hated every moment of it. Phoenix was scheduled to be the lead in the 200 meter medley relay Saturday night, so she had to stay for finals. The boys were hoping to cheer on Phoenix so we headed down to Hollister and I brought our bikes and a giant heart cookie for Keith's birthday. Keith and I were able to manage a short ride before finals started. We rode around a quiet reservoir. It wasn't the typical birthday ride, but it was better than nothing!

Our tent was a happening place, because most of the girls did not make finals, but were in the relay. The kids played cards for hours! 

Phoenix started the medley relay with backstroke then Helen did breast, Annabelle did fly and Melissa was our anchor with freestyle. The girls all PR'd except Helen, which helped them win the relay!!! It was pretty exciting to walk away with a first place metal! They had won the 200 free relay the night before, although Phoenix was not on the A or B relay. 

Coach Victory with his A and most of B team for the medley relay.

On Sunday Phoenix managed to get the Far Western cut for the 100 meter breast stroke which means she walked away from J.O.'s with 3 additional Far Western cuts and 11 year old J.O. cuts for the other events that she did not quite make the Far Western time cuts for. She achieved every goal she came out for. Keith and I are so proud of her,as she finally had a switch turn on and she is learning to race! At the Hollister meet 2 weeks before J.O.'s, she said, "Mommy, I told myself I wouldn't let Ally beat me, and I didn't let her!" She took off 20 seconds in 2 weeks for her 400 free and equivalent percentages in her other events! Instead of seeing her swimming scared and holding back, we saw her go for it and dig deep to pass the girls next to her or not let the girls get too far ahead. She got out of the water tired, knowing she did her best, rather than mad or upset like she has in the past. This is a huge step in her career as an athlete!

Axel started cross country practice a couple of weeks ago and has been joining his team when he can. They are currently meeting 3 times per week and he is making it a couple of times per week. This week his coach is out of town. We tried to go for a run after swim, but he was cramping bad enough he couldn't push through or work it out. He got so upset and then passed out on the couch. This is the 2nd time in 2 weeks where he has fallen asleep like this on the couch. He has been swimming about 12 hours a week and running about 12+ miles over the course of 3 runs. He is also working really hard in computer science and math most of the day and doing Japanese lessons on Monday night. I am proud of him for letting his body rest, but this primarily comes because he can't seem to get himself to bed at a reasonable time!

In the next two weeks we have more fun adventures. We pick up Takuto, our Japanese exchange student, on Friday and he will be with us until the end of the month. We have an action packed 3 weekends with him, including Phoenix's 4 day Far Western meet. I hope to write all about our adventures with 4 children in early August, since I have a few days off of work. Until then happy summer!

End of School Year, Axel's Promotion, Phoenix gets Far Western time and much more!

 I cannot believe how every time I think life is busy, it just gets more busy. The kids schedule, plus work and other commitments is so tight that I am squeezing in grocery shopping, cooking dinner for the next day and laundry/cleaning after 9 pm at night. I am so incredibly exhausted. I haven't even been at my computer more than a few minutes at a time every few days because I am running around with my head cut off. We are not here to hear my turmoils or complaints, but to hear of the the fun adventures in the life of the Szolushas. 

If we begin after the last blog, Keith traveled to North Carolina to visit his new employee and their new design center and we have had THREE, 3 day swim meets! I went to Angel's camp, on our no weekend swim meet and I taught 2 weekend courses for the Orthopedic Kaiser Residency program in Oakland. We went to multiple Harker events including Axel's promotion ceremony, sports award ceremony, and special award ceremony and welcome dinners for new families at the different campuses. We have had gatherings at our house and have been to other's house for dinner. The list goes on and on.

We had our first long course swim meet of the season at Gunderson high school, hosted by Quicksilver. I am normally not good at taking photos, but some how with the help of Keith I was able to get a picture of Axel and his teammate Allison. Allison, is the most positive swimmer and friend Axel could have. She is always at the pool side cheering for Axel and other teammates. 

Phoenix is often a funny goof. Here she is in one of her fun, goofy moments. 

She is with Anna, Helen and Cielo is in the background giving a piece sign. It was really warm and the girls were real troopers. They had the afternoon session and the older kids had the morning sessions all weekend. 

It took a lot of coordination and help of other parents to get the kids to the swim meet. Keith was with Rubix at a soccer tournament on Saturday and I was in Oakland teaching on Sunday. Here is a rare picture of me teaching!

We are really lucky to have met a couple of parents that are able to help us out when we need. 

The last week before the holiday Axel had multiple award ceremonies. He was invited to a special award ceremony that invited middle school students who were nominated by multiple teachers for one of three different recognitions. Axel's was for the love of learning. 

His best buddy, Haofang received the same award!!! There were only about 50 students out of the entire middle school who were invited and awarded. It was a nice honor. 

On Friday morning Axel had his sports award ceremony. Keith and I were able to go to this event together, which was very nice. Axel was the most valuable player for the cross country team and was given the Eagle award for track. Here is Coach Brighid, the assistant athletic director and Coach Pina, who was the track coach. 

The cross country team being recognized for being league champs!

They had a really nice powerpoint. I know that the picture quality is not great, but I was proud seeing my boy on the big screen. 

Axel also had pictures posted of him running in cross country and track, which I took pictures of. 

On the Friday before Memorial day we had another 3 day swim meet in Clovis, but decided to only participate on Saturday and Sunday. We picked up the kids early from school and headed to Clovis for the weekend. 

It took us 4 hours, (hungry kiddos in car) but we made it in time for warm-ups at Clovis high school and were able to say hello to an old friend Ashley and her husband who was the meet director! When I read Scott's name on the meet sheet, I immediately contacted Ashley and asked if that was really the same Scott. I couldn't believe that this is what he decided to do in his retirement. She has one daughter who is going into 7th grade next year who is a swimmer as well! We had fun catching up and met up for dinner on Saturday night. 

The weekend was long because the younger kids were in the morning session and Axel was in the afternoon session which meant that one of us had to be at the swim meet at all times. Good thing is Axel had the mornings to study for finals in the hotel room. Phoenix and Rubix were able to get out of the heat for a little bit in the afternoon as well. 

Phoenix and Rubix chilling during Axel's afternoon session!

Phoenix, Helen, Sarah and Anna showing off their Santa Clara "Bells" on their backs. The girls had so much fun using sun screen to make pictures on their backs. 

Phoenix and Anna being silly!

We got home pretty late on Sunday, but were glad to have Monday to get some running at the track in, a bike ride and the little ones some fun play at the pool and diving board. I was able to get some household chores done while they were at the pool and prepare for the work week. 

On Thursday June 1st the kids had their last day of school. Here is Rubix with Ms. Proctor before he left as a first grader! I was so glad he got to experience a year with one of the best teachers I have ever known!

After some lunch we headed to the upper school where we were meeting Axel for his 8th grade promotion ceremony. 

Axel getting a much needed hair cut before his last week of school. 

Rubix tired and over heated waiting for the promotion ceremony to be over!

Axel waiving hello!

The Szolusha 5 with our soon to be high schooler!

After Axel's promotion ceremony we went to swim practice and then home for some yummy Mongolian beef I prepared. I then set off to Angel's camp to spend 2 days with my mom and sister. We enjoyed exploring Murphy's and hiking in Big Trees.  

On Saturday afternoon before heading home, Grandma and I watched Phoenix's piano recital online.

It was a nice weekend despite it being cut a day short to get home for all of our obligations. My mom had a craft show, Shannon had kid stuff and we had a little party for Axel's promotion planned for Sunday. Axel had invited a few other boys, but his other friends were already travelling to China or India, so Nirav and Haofang came over and hung out and then Haofang's parents came over for a nice dinner. On a side note, Haofang left the next day for China for a month.

Our first week off of school consisted of dentist appointments, wellness checkups and orthodontic appointments. Here are my two book worms reading while waiting for Axel and I to finish getting our teeth cleaned. 

Besides catching up on appointments, the family worked on purging un-needed items from school, the house and our garage. I did two trips to Goodwill and another trip to toxic waste drop off. It felt so good to get rid of old paint cans/materials and light bulbs. The rest of the time was filled with work and swim. The kids love going to Peterson Middle School for swim practice because there are basketball hoops. They have been practicing their shots for 30-60 minutes before their 90 minute swim practice!

There is often a whole crew of kids who join in to play. I am amazed at how much Phoenix has improved and just about everyone who witnesses them playing is impressed with Rubix's ability to make shot after shot. 

Starting on Friday the kids had a 3 day swim meet that was an "intrasquad meet". This means only Santa Clara swimmers were there. They squeezed the meet between preliminary and finals of the big International Swim meet that they were hosting. I had to rush over from work on Friday and marshal during the meet. On Saturday I timed during the meet. Here is Phoenix with Sarah and Annabelle. Annabelle is a very talented 9 year old swimmer who is one of the fastest on the team and in the area. Friday and Saturday were a little disappointing for Phoenix and her times, but Sunday I missed her amazing 100 meter back that crushed the Far Western time standard by 5 seconds. She was less than a second off the AAA time standard which would have qualified her for a "Western" meet in Idaho. She has a few teammates who qualified and are going, but I am a little relieved that she is not flying alone with the team. Axel had a pretty good meet overall and chipped away at his personal bests on many events, but his big victory was getting his first A time standard in the 400 meter free. He was so excited. Rubix had a similar meet by improving many of his times by a couple of seconds. The big news for him is that he is down to 2 seconds from J.O. time for the 50 fly. He really wants to get J.O. time, but we are trying to have him focus on just continuing to improve and work on his form. 

On Friday and Saturday night we watched the Finals of the International meet and saw several Olympic Trial qualifying times which was exciting. On Sunday I got home from teaching in Oakland just when Keith was getting home from the swim meet. Axel and I went for a quick jog. Keith rode his bike with Axel because even when Axel is going easy, he is too fast for me. We then went to one of Rubix's friend's house for dinner. Here is Phoenix playing with Adelaide, the younger sister of Reese. 

The kids had so much fun playing together. 

I forgot to mention the Wellness check results from the doctors office. Axel is 5' 6" and weighs 102 lbs. He is at the 62%ile for height and 27th for weight. Phoenix is 5'1.5" (even though I measured her at 5'2" at home) and weighs 85 pounds. She is the 99th %ile for height and 71st for weight. Rubix is 4'4" and weighs 56 lb and is in the 96th %ile for height and 69th for weight. To give you an idea of their size here is a cute picture of Axel and Rubix at breakfast last week. 

This week we have a big gathering and sleep over, lots of swim, track and many work deadlines for Keith and I. Keith has his big Power Sumit next week and I have my case study due for my Orthopedic clinical specialty 3-year check point. We are hoping we can manage fun and work before another busy week. I am hoping to eventually upload some of their videos on YouTube. It would be fun to put Phoenix's piano recital, swim and other sports videos up for family to view. I am hoping I don't take a month to post, but it should be fun with Father's day, Keith and my birthday and the 4th of July coming up in the next few weeks. Until then....