Chlorine-scented Crawfords

There is just something fantastic about the summer rec league swim team. Though in general I'm a big fan of the kids' growing up, there are a handful of kids' activities I always want to be required to attend: Disney movies, library story time, school music concerts and swim meets.
Shane's aged up to the Boys' 8 and under, technically dealing him a disadvantage, but he's a good, strong, fast swimmer who manages to win most of his heats. Our favorite moment is when he emerges from the pool dripping wet, head back in mock exhaustion: "I can't believe I was first AGAIN!" It's a burden.
Freestyle and backstroke remain his strengths...he particularly enjoys the handy feature of putting his head under water when you are inconveniently lecturing him on any subject.
Evie continues to swim year-round with Rock, and summertime always brings the long course portion of the season. The weekend of June 19th Eve had a killer meet - over 8 events, she dropped a combined 50 seconds (averaging 7 seconds per event) off of her best times, which is astounding.

She earned silver state time standards in three events during that meet (would've earned a fourth if not for a disqualification that her coach roundly dismissed as nit-picky) and missed one state time by .08 of a second.

Eve's commitment to swim is just a joy to watch - she gives up a great deal of free time to swim five days a week as well as in weekend meets all over the Denver area. More impressive to me and her father is her bravery - many of the other kids have earned more state times due to their participation in Sunday meets - more time in the water under a stop watch gives them more opportunities. In the face of that, our girl has never once questioned her availability for a Sunday meet, and I know that she is richly blessed in return - amazingly healthy, bright, funny, friendly, with high achievements in school, sports and all other extra-curricular activities. 'Cause the truth of the matter is that we're not raising a swimmer, we're raising a child of God.

So Let's Root-Root-Root for the Grasshoppers...

Summer '10 brings Shane to coach-pitch baseball with the Grasshoppers - outstanding coaches, and not one of them named Crawford. Go figure.
At the risk of sounding, well, obnoxious, Shane's a natural - this kid can run, slide, throw and hit like gangbusters, seemingly without effort. The flip side is, of course, that when challenged, high levels of frustration emerge, but he's come hard-wired, and the fun is watching him succeed and help others do so as well.

The gloves, not coincidentally, are a big part of the equation.

Some poor runner's about to take a seat...

and another one bites the dust.

No Peanuts, No Cracker Jack

The greatest thing in the world are free tickets.

Because sometimes, when you head with your crew to a Rockies game against the Blue Jays, you blow a wad at the Rodizio Grill in LoDo, dining on exotically-prepared chicken, lamb, pork and steak brought to your table on skewers which are then expertly cut onto your plate in an all-you-can-eat-fashion...
and the heavens unleash an hour and-a-half torrent of precipitation. Which isn't bad. Except that you've got four kids in tow and you want to watch a ballgame. Which you rode the Light Rail into Denver expressly to see. And like I said, you just blew a wad at Rodizio's. And you'd rather sit and let your food digest rather than huddle in the stadium, trying to stay dry and keep the children from injuring other wet bystanders.

Which they do anyway.

And at 9 p.m. you get to see one inning of Ubaldo Jimenez (yowzah!), until the heavens unleash again. And you have to get one child to sleep in preparation for his crack-of-dawn swim meet, his brother's baseball game and his sister's swim practice. Then you factor in the light rail ride home, which will be glutted with passengers once that ball game is called, which it soon will be, and you'll NEVER get home. Not ever.

So, like I said, free tickets are a great thing. 'Cause paying full price for a game at which you only sat down long enough to snap this picture would just be bad.

And I Said: "What about 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'?"

Gracie's first and last recital at Little Stars Dance, taught by good family friend Miss Jennifer...although Gracie's as girlie as they come, this was as glammed up as she would allow, which, of course, met with Daddy's overwhelming approval. Grace and the ladies lit up the room with "Mr. Yunioshi" from the 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' soundtrack...my pictures aren't stellar, 'cause, dangit, they keep moving. But the video's awesome!

The finale: all the gals gettin' down to "Dancing Queen" by ABBA...which, if you must know, is the ultimate guilty pleasure song. You know you break out in goosebumps everytime you hear it. No sense in denying it.

Gracie and Shaney. Breaking hearts nationwide.

We Don't Need No Education, for two months or so

As the Crawfords kiss the '09-'10 school year goodbye, we reminisce our on golden last week...

Evie's 5th grade party was a joy - as a room mom, you love the grades that decide to combine their parties, make it free play at the park, and assign your class paper goods. You absolutely freaking love it. Here, Fashion Princess Evie and BFF Emily...
Ty's year-end project was the Mini Society, wherein each student earned money and created a budget to put into play the business plan that would introduce them to the market economy. Despite my misgivings, Ty's investment of both time and capital paid off handsomely: $8.00 worth of baseball cards and all of five minutes for poster production time netted him around $70 in profit - he never had to lower the price to move merchandise, and sold out within the first hour. Capitalism is alive and well, despite the government's efforts to abolish it. Ahem.

Admit it: if you were in the room, you would've bought a TON of these.

Shane's year-end project: handmade book about...well, you can read, I trust.

The first grade party also marked another facet of my ever-growing love for the educators of Clear Sky Elementary: the kiddos presented their projects, the room mom (me!) lined the kids up with standard zoo fare: popcorn, cotton candy and juice boxes, and we all went home. You've got to absolutely freaking love it. Again.

That's predictable, right?

Oh, and someone bought some of those plastic-chocolate-coated donuts. And there was much rejoicing.

Clear Sky's year-end tradition: as Jack Johnson's little Curious George song is pumped through the speakers, each class is led out though a tunnel of cheering parents. Shane's now a second-grader.

Ty's heading to fourth...

and Evie's my 6th grader, or, as I prefer to call it, my one-year-until-her-mind-is-blown-by-middle-school-and-I-spend-all-my-time-in-prayers-of-protection.

Goin' Private, with regret

How I hate, hate, hate to do this...what with the unknown visitors posting on the blog, I'm regretfully going private...please let me know if you're interested in an invitation, and we'll take care of all the details!

Movin' on Up

Our youngest has graduated from Pre-K, and though I had a bittersweet moment or two as I considered the end of yet another mini-era, I'm just flat-out excited for her and for me - how great is two full days of kindie per week, plus a few Fridays thrown in for good measure? No more days divided into two-hour segments - I'll either have her with me, or away from me. The possibilities are staggering.
She's been going to her preschool, all the whole year long. She's been going to her preschool, and she's learned lots of songs. Think "I've Been Working on the Railroad." There. It all comes together nicely, doesn't it?

The Graduate, flanked by Grandma K, Grandpa Paul and Grandma Norma, who staked out their seats 45 minutes early, I'll have you know. You have to play hard ball with these yuppie parents and their camcorders.

Mama-san and her gal. Grace gave me a profound thought, in song, of course: at her age, every day is Graduation Day. Now that'll get me teary-eyed.

The Town of Castle Rock's Adventure Club Preschool has been a fantastic experience for the two youngest Crawfords, who were more than prepped for the whole kindie experience thanks to Ms. Kendall, whom both of my kids loved and cherished wholeheartedly. Still not sorry to leave paid education behind, but all the same, truly grateful for this program, these people, and this opportunity.

C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G Song! And if you think we can't sing it faster then you're wrong...

With the end of May comes Pack 780's last meeting of the year at Chatfield Reservoir: a great afternoon of games, potluck/BBQ dinner, closing ceremony, campfire and campout. We went through this with Ty, and come October, when Shane turns 8 and joins the church pack, we will heave a sigh of regret to leave this particular group behind. They run such a solid program and offer the boys so much, we hate to leave.
Postcard perfect.

It's like clockwork, the agenda: old-school awesome activities like gunny sack races, balloon tosses, tag, kickball, and as the photo above illustrates with Shane, Eve, neighbor Colton and Ty, the ever-popular three-legged-race, promptly followed by...

canoeing! All the fellas...

and the portion of the ladies who possess swimming skills (ahem!).

The three Crawfords who remained dry throughout the festivities...if you're completely honest with yourself, you knew what would happen: at least one would fall into the reservoir before the evening was out, and the smart money was on Shane.

You can protect your children from a great many things in this world, but wet denim is not one of them.

That's one proud former Tiger cub receiving his new Bear neckerchief and handmade slide from the hand of a newly-advanced Wolf cub...

and as the sun set, wind enhancing the entire experience, Shane gives that inevitable expression. We get the best photographs and stories courtesy of our third child, but here's the thing: I've got nothing but admiration for this kid who just absorbs life and turns down very little it has to offer, and if more of us were like him, we'd be...wetter. Funnier. Happier. Better.