05 September 2010

Long Course State Swim Meet

The end of August has always been the Long Course State Swimming Championships. For the past two years this has been a big part of our lives. This past August was Brian's second time to compete in the Long Course State Championships. We planned our move to Pittsburgh around the state meet.

Warm-ups can get crowded at the state meet.

This year Brian qualified for the meet in the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, and 200m IM. Although he swam well, finishing third for three of his events, it was bittersweet as he said goodbye to good friends that he had made over the past few years. On Saturday, the final day of the meet, some of his friends bought balloons for him and cookies for everyone. The meet finished with Brian giving goodbye hugs to his friends and teammates.

It is the norm for swimmers to write their event, heat, and lane on their hand so that they will not miss their event.

Mom giving a pep talk.

After each swim Brian talks to the coach for a breakdown of the swim.

One of Brian's favorite things was getting a swim cap with his name on it!

Brian and Mom.

Brian with grandpa and grandma Nordgren.

Brian and some of his teammates.




Getting ready for the team cheer.

Boys relay team with coach Marsing.



Brian and Will.

Swimming is a big part of Brian's life. We look forward to figuring out how that will all work here in Pennsylvania. Hopefully he can find another team and some new great friends.





Breaststroke - Brian's Stroke - 1 of 5

Breaststroke - Brian's Stroke - 2 of 5

Breaststroke - Brian's Stroke - 3 of 5

Breaststroke - Brian's Stroke - 4 of 5

Breaststroke - Brian's Stroke - 5 of 5

Que Jaws music. . .

Home Sweet Home

I just wanted to give you all a glimpse of where we are living. It actually fits our family quite well and the kids are adjusting to sharing rooms and living in smaller spaces. We really were spoiled to have had such a large home before.
It is a three story townhouse with a two car garage, storage room and entry way on the ground level.
Front doorway.
Partially finished storage room.



On the main level we have a kitchen, dining area, and family room. All of them are good size - the kitchen has more cabinet space than our house did. :)  We also have a small bathroom and a laundry room on this level.

Upstairs are two kids bedrooms, a bathroom, HUGE hall closet, a HUGE master bedroom and bath. :)






Brian and Cade share one room and Adra, Jase & Mak share the other. My favorite part of the master bedroom is the his and her walk-in closets. Ryan is jealous of mine because it has a vent so it is air conditioned. :)  Obviously we have no furniture in these pictures. The truck was a few days late and it took a few more days to buy all the furniture we needed to replace what we sold or left behind. I have never been so grateful to sleep in my own bed after spending several nights in mediocre hotel beds and then several more nights on an air mattress on the floor. As soon as we get everything organized and pictures on the walls I will take more pictures of what it looks like now with furniture.

My favorite part of the whole house is the deck off the dining room. I love the view! It is so pretty and green here. I am not sure the pictures do it justice.
It isn't easy being so far away from loved ones, but there are a few perks. The beautiful rolling hills are growing on me. I hear rumor that there are mountains here, but so far I have seen nothing of the sort. We have visited lakes and parks and driven through some gorgeous places. But that will have to wait for another post!

We love and miss all of you!