From the Stands of a Swim Meet

I'm sitting in the stands of a swim meet in Garland, Texas waiting for Landon to swim his second event in finals tonight. I spent last night on a freezing cold soccer field watching Cora's first game of a 5-game tournament in Allen, Texas, and while she played great and there's something magical about a night game, it is a bit less sparkly and magical when it's 40 degrees out, very windy, and you spent your week not sleeping in DC and very much wanted a Friday night on the couch and/or in bed.

But, such is the world of youth sports! We've actually been pretty measured in our approach. Landon didn't start club swimming until 7th grade, which is considered quite late (James and I have a different opinion than most on how early you should do club). Cora still hasn't started club soccer and instead has a great rec team that costs $150 and has one practice a week (compared to $4,000 and 3+ practices/week). Claire is just swimming with her high school right now and her only extracurricular is math tutoring.

And yet, there have been zero minutes spent in front of a Christmas movie with a fire roaring in the fireplace on this freezing rainy weekend, so somehow, we're still not exactly winning.

But the kids are!

Cora's team won their game last night, tied their game this morning, and won their game tonight that was played in freezing rain. The girls had a blast; James's one and only text report to me was "Miserable.". Not sad this is the first session of Landon's meet I switched out with James to attend.

Landon is going all best times so far at this meet, which is GREAT given that college swim recruiting has already started. He's talked to a few coaches, but he's not quite fast enough to catch the eye of the schools he really wants (all NCAA Division 1 Top 8, which would be, in order: Texas, Arizona State, Indiana, Florida, California, NC State, Georgia, Stanford, etc.). Being recruited by one of them is a tough but realistic goal for him and he's getting closer every meet!

Claire spent last night babysitting, all day today with a friend (they walked to get their nails done at a salon near our house, and so the babysitting money is already gone), and is babysitting much of the day tomorrow. Really a perfect weekend for her.

The cell service at this natatorium doesn't like me, so we'll see what my hotspot lets me upload... I have 8 more events before Landon swims his 100 back.

10 days ago we were driving to Boulder, Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family and my parents. We arrived late Wednesday night and Thursday morning found my sister and me at a HIIT class that nearly killed me. The altitude combined with a solid week away from the gym (life has been crazy; my workout streak is long gone) was ROUGH, but it felt great, especially after 13 hours in the car and before the amazing meal we were about to prepare.

We started the day with a charcuterie that the kids ate as fast as I could cut things to arrange on the board I got my sister for an early Christmas present.

The kids (her girls are ages 3, 5, and 8) had a blast together as always. Mine adore having their young cousins to play with and the little cousins love their bigs. I'd gotten the girls art stuff for Christmas so MUCH art-making was done, along with snow ball fights, an attempt at a snow man, a game called lava that I never fully understood in the basement, and more. It was so great.

Cooking for our crew required the recruitment of a bucket for the mixing of the stuffing, which is totally normal and not at all weird.

My brother in law smoked one turkey and deep fried another and they were so perfect. Oh, he and Landon also ran to the store for more butter and accidentally came home with a honey-baked ham, so we had that too.

I contributed a butter turkey all the way from Dallas. I worked very hard on (buying) him.

I also helped with all our sides. I am an excellent chopper and find uniform cuts very soothing.

The meal was absolutely delicious. Kids and adults agreed!

The rest of the weekend was more kids playing, a great hike, my sister, mom and I working out EVERY DAY (two pilates reformer classes in a row was like an early Christmas present for me; LOVE THEM), playing cards, more basement lava game for the kids, and more cooking and eating.

Oh we also played cards and for the first time in my LIFE I got beat at multiple rounds of Blitz, which was horrifying. I blame the Altitude. I did win a round by the end, so I don't have to hang up my blitz pile forever.

Also, my sister adopted a feral cat named Simon from their local TNR program. Simon was supposed to be too feral to come indoors, so he was going to help keep mice out of their barn in exchange for food and a safe and cozy indoor space (in the barn) for him to use when the weather got too rough. But a few months into his apprenticeship, Simon decided he wanted to be an indoor cat after all. And here he is, purring up a storm with Landon, who was talking to him about important cat things I'm sure.

On the last night we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens for their holiday lights exhibit and it was absolutely wonderful.

A crisp cold night, beautiful lights, and 6 happy cousins.

It was a perfect finale.

Claire's face in the picture I got of James and I kissing under the mistletoe is just the cherry on top.

We drove home Sunday and dove into work/school/life Monday morning. The reentry was a little rough but everyone got to school on time, in clean clothes, and with a packed lunch.

I flew to DC on Tuesday for work and came back Thursday night. It was a VERY busy 3 days, I had one client event (that I was hosting) that started at 9 pm and that is past the time I'm supposed to be in pajamas. I rallied, but y'all, I am tired.

I did enjoy my outfits, all of which involved items I've owned for at least a year, and mostly more, but which I hadn't paired this way. Reason one million Bonnie has changed my life, she works magic with what I own:

Tuesday: WWCDA Annual Awards Gala, pre-parties and after-parties with vendors and clients. (Those are my Grandma Mary's shoe clips! Love them for some added sparkle on my Rothy's.)

Wednesday: Video calls, working from the DC office, lunch with a contact, the DC office litigation group holiday party, and a V&E client/contact party for after the ACI FCPA conference.

Thursday: More calls and working from the DC office, a breakfast/coffee trip with some junior associates, a DC office partner lunch, and the flight back home which I had to do in my boots because I couldn't finangle them back into my little suitcase. I'd worn the cap off the heels, so they're being fixed at the cobbler as I type.

And that's it! Here's my ensemble today - it's soccer/swim meet cozy chic.

And they're announcing Landon's heat! Go Lanman! Swim fast! And not just because I want to go home and put on pjs and sit by the fire!