U of M Swimming

Another weekend. Another meet.

The kids swam at the U of M again last weekend. In the summer, when possible, they swim long-course-meters. So, remember that crazy, big place with 2 pools going the opposite directions, from a few months ago? Well, they just remove the bulk-head in the middle and it becomes...ta-da... an "Olympic" size pool.

Here is Maddie swimming her favorite, the 50 fly. I love to watch her do this. She's a pretty good butterfly-er and I think she makes it look pretty graceful and easy. Kind of makes me think, "hey...maybe I could do that..." But then I think again and come to my senses.



And here is Will swimming "the most fun race of my whole life!". It is his 200 Free and he just missed his state-qualifying time by 0.83 seconds. A fraction of a second is always a heartbreaker in this sport; but when you're looking at a fraction of a second in a long 2 and a half minute race. It bites extra hard.



This great swim kind of surprised both Bill and I. Several of the swimmers in his heat were 2 or 3 years older than him. I love the part near the end when Bill shockingly states, "holy cow!!"

Gecko-sitting

Since I've been slacking on the updates, you likely don't know about the newest addition to our household. It's a 4 inch long eyelash-crested gecko named Blinky. Will used his birthday money to purchase him and his accessories a couple weeks ago.

I know...I can read your mind and I'm guessing you may have a few questions about this new arrangement:

1. It's a lizard because I'm allergic to all animals that have fur, hair, feathers, dander and spit. So, that kinda means that my poor kiddo's (and poor me) are stuck with amphibians.
2. Will named him Blinky because he doesn't have eyelids. Instead of blinking, he just sticks out his long tongue and licks his eyeballs. Ironic, don't you think?
3. Me. I'm the one taking care of him this week while the kids are at camp and Bill is traveling for work. Just me. Me, who nearly pees when that quick little thing moves in my general direction.

Here it is. Accessories and all...



And here is the instruction sheet that Will left for me. Who ever guessed that such a little thing could be so high-maintenance!

My favorite part of this sheet is the smiley face that he drew in the bottom right corner, right after he tells me that I'll need to provide a variety of baby food, crickets, and mealworms. He knows the effect that crickets and worms have on me. Hence the cute little smiley face...


It's not that he isn't a little bit cute, because I guess he is in his own special way. The thing that really bothers me about him is that he is so dang FAST! Seriously, he gets from here to there in the blink of an eye. You don't even know that he's going, then he's just gone. It's creepy.

For example, he moved from Will's hand...


...to nearly up inside his shirt sleeve in a matter of 0.28 seconds.

Good thing that kid has cat-like reflexes!


OK...off I go to mist the habitat, adjust the lighting, and feed him.

I think I'll choose baby food again...

A Full Car and a Quiet House

OK...don't have a heart attack.

I'm back.

Since the thought of trying to get all of you caught up on the past 6 months makes my head spin and my teeth itch, I won't even attempt it. You'll just have to accept the facts that 1) we've been just fine; 2) I've been feeling extremely un-creative; and 3) you really didn't miss too much excitement in the Gallagher house. So, no worries!

You would not believe how quiet my house is right now. Seriously. I think I can hear the clock ticking from downstairs. The kiddos are gone at swim camp at the University of South Dakota for the week. I'm sure they are having a blast, while I'm still trying to recover from the 12.5 hours driving in the car yesterday. I'm amazed at how exhausting sitting can be.

We definitely had a full car-load: 5 kids, 2 moms, 10 bags, 3 sleeping bags, 18 towels, 4 Target bags full of snacks, 2 yearbooks, and a large poster. Thank God they aren't staying longer than a week! I thought for sure we were going to bottom out while backing out of the driveway.

Here are the campers getting ready for the long ride...


Cozy kids!

"OMG!!! This is going to be so much fun!!!" (I'm pretty sure that's what they were saying here. Unless it was, "There is no way for us to get out! We're trapped by Speedo bags! Where is the emergency exit?? What happens if we have to pee?!?!?!")






For being so far away from home, the Sea Devils are represented by a pretty big group at USD this week!

So, you may be wondering what I'm up to all alone this week. I'm not exactly sure. But I do know that I will NOT be washing clothes every day. I will NOT be instructing people to clean their rooms. I will NOT be shuttling kids to practice at 6:15 in the morning. I will NOT be in constant search of the TV remote so I'm not forced to witness another episode of "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody."

I WILL, however, likely be texting my daughter like mad to find out how things are going. Hmmm, speaking of that...it's 10:20. Shouldn't she be calling her mom by now???