Wellesley Whitecaps and the Almost-Mohawk

We have spent a lot of our summer at the pool. Sam and Grace both swam on our neighborhood swim team, The Wellesley Whitecaps, this year. They worked hard, and played hard. Their coach told them that if they went undefeated he would shave his hair into a mohawk at the end of the season. It wasn't too risky for him since they were 0-6 last year, I think.

Some swimmers on the team were motivated by the promise of going to Champs at the end of the season to compete against the best; some were motivated by ribbons; others by breaking records. The Payne kids were mostly motivated by the promise of donuts at fun practice after the meet, pushing the coach into the pool after a win, and that promised mohawk.

The coach was probably getting a little nervous as the team was undefeated going into the last meet. The Whitecaps had won 5-0, but it wasn't meant to be. We lost our last meet against a great team. It was a great season, but alas... no mohawk.

Sam and Grace both had a good season, shaving time and hanging out with great friends. I tried to capture a few images.

Grace gets ready with her relay team

Nerves...

Now it's Sam's turn

Their coaches were awesome... even without the mohawk

For them to be on the swim team means that their parents have to volunteer. Gary took one for the team (and Team Payne) and did all the volunteering for us. He rocks! I wanted to make sure he got his due. He had to do a training course and pass a test to be the assistant clerk of the course this season. You can see it's not an easy job to keep all those swimmers organized, checked in, and swimming in the right lanes, and heats. Even after his concussion he went back to work...

Gary's home away from home this summer. Checking kids in... trying to find the kids to check in...

If the swimmers win their heat they get a Tootsie-Pop. Grace enjoyed several of them this year, but the Tootsie-Pop proved to be elusive for Sam. He met with the coach twice a week for extra lessons on top of the daily practice they were already doing. At the last meet of the year he finally earned his.

the best tasting lollypops ever!

We are so proud of both kids and all the hard work they did this year in the pool. Way to swim, guys!

Kayaks

We rented some kayaks for a trip on the James River and then decided to buy them. We've gone out a few times since then. We took our cousins to the little neighborhood lake to test drive them one night. We've done two trips on the James. It's hard to take pics while on the water, but here are a few shots.

I've wanted to go to this little island in our neighborhood lake since we moved here 9 years ago.

Cousins go for a test drive

This little cousin was pretty bummed that his mom wanted to go for a ride and he didn't get the boat to himself. Funny.

W and his dad. No, not that "W"

Unloading on the James

Near the State Park. Where the water seemed to stop moving at all! We took on a little more than we should have in the time we had. It was getting dark and no one was around. Normally a great thing, but a little unnerving as the sun set and we were alone on the water.


Swim break. We told the kids if they paddled for a while they could get out at one of the islands and swim.

Cheese!

We made it back just before it was totally dark. It was a long day, but a fun one.

School's Out!

School's Out! Sam & Grace celebrated and then we took off for our camping trip...

Where we saw our first bear after many trips to Shennandoah National Park (trust me, it's a bear. I didn't want to get closer for a better shot)

We met up with some cousins, some were on their maiden camping voyage.

Gary loves the view from A10-A. After years of booking the site and then having to cancel, we finally got to use it. Cell phone cameras don't do justice to the view off the campsite from the A.T. Hikers gather here to watch the sun set over the valley.

First ones up...

Breakfast - more s'mores?

Speaking of the A.T....

We took a hike to a double falls we like and the cousins went nuts.

This is the top falls and the swimming hole we climbed up to.

Rusty warned everyone to be careful not to fall and then...

Our family

The after-hike nap and the view from the tent window

Reading in the tent

I'm not sure whether our cousins would ever attempt another trip like this, but we had a great time. They went home after one night and we stayed another night. We got to enjoy the ranger's presentation on "Fun Fungi". Grace was mad about false advertising, as not a lot of fun was incorporated...

We also discovered another great use for the bear boxes at the campsite...

Happy Halloween

Grandma's Ghosts Queen of the Nile

She loved the lip gloss Beware the Ides of October!

3 cheers for Gary who took over pumpkin duty and let me sit it out!

While Gary and I vacationed in Catalina my mom braved the craft store with the kids and then oversaw the production of about a million fabric ghosts that were supposed to hang from a tree in the front yard. Instead, Sam and Grace tied them to everything in sight. They were in the bushes, on the railings, in the yard, everywhere. The end result was satisfyingly spooky to them and thrilling for me to know that I didn't have to be involved in the making of them. Grandmas rock!

Sam and Grace went with the classics this Halloween. Grace was Cleopatra and Sam was Julius Caesar. The outfits were ordered over the internet, causing much reflection over why I normally drag the kids to the costume shop and spend hours debating the merits of every sword/shield in the joint. Shipping fees are such a small price to pay for the hours of my life I got back!

They enjoyed the trunk-or-treat at the church on Friday night and managed to keep some of the candy we were handing out to trick-or-treaters on Sunday night, so they didn't miss out on too much loot... even with Halloween on a Sunday this year. Costumes for next year are already being discussed. It's never too early for them to start planning...