California Fun

Last weekend was CRAZY! All three girls had meets in California which sounds great except that Kacey and Kami had to be in Bakersfield for three days while Kennadi's meet was in Universal City--way too far apart to get one hotel to accommodate both meets. So...Jason took the simmers to Bakersfield while I took Kennadi to Universal City. We all met up on Valentine's Day before Jason had to drive all the way back home by himself. The girls and I stayed over an extra day for some girl fun!

Kacey's and Kami's meet was a JO (junior olympic) meet which means swimmers need qulifying times in order to swim. This was Kami's first opportunity to swim out of town, so she was thrilled! She dropped two seconds in each of her backstroke events (50m and 100m). Way to go Kami! Kacey is already so fast, it's hard to drop too much time in her events. She was happy to keep her existing times. Grandma Gypsy, Grandpa and Grandma Smith all came to watch the girls swim.

Kennadi had an interesting meet. She fell on beam for the first time this season! She was disappointed, but she got right back up and finished a great routine. I was especially proud of her for brushing it off and moving on. She managed to get 2nd place on beam which tells what a great athlete she is. Bars also proved challenging this meet, and Kennadi placed 6th. Kennadi got first with a spectacular vault, and 3rd with an awesome floor routine.

Perhaps the best part of the weekend was the fun day the girls and I spent at Universal Studios City Walk.

Champions

We got a cool treat the other when when two Olympic swimmers, Brendan Hansen and Eric Shanteau, visited Desert Breeze (the pool where Kacey and Kami train). They spent an hour telling motivational and funny stories like the time Brendan swam his first IM and accidentally flip-turned into another kid's lane without realizing it. He came out of his turn and noticed a swimmer in front of him, so he swam up to the kid and pushed him out of the way. When he finished the race, his dad said, "You're the only kid I know that could turn swimming into a full-contact sport!"

For those of you who watched the Summer Olympics this year, you may remember that Eric was diagnosed with cancer one week before the Olympic trials. Despite the diagnosis, he went on to make the Olympic team. He had surgery a month ago and is doing very well.

Both guys are down to earth, funny, and inspirational. What a great experience!