Rain, Go Away

It's raining. It's been raining for DAYS. At first, I LOVED it because it was a welcomed change and it cooled the temperature from 100 to high 70's. Who could complain about that?

Things that LOVE the rain...

Marin and Santi have been on a mission to save any bug that might fall into the abyss of rain puddles in the backyard. They've even saved fire ants to fight another day. I believe they'll regret it later. Just shy of offering CPR, they house the bugs in the "bug saver" container, offer them crushed graham crackers, and then release them into the herb garden. When they feel so accomplished, how can I point out that the bugs will be feasting on our seasonings?

Mud Puppies. This is what it's all about. They insisted that Marin's croc fell into this puddle (which is still controversially debated as quicksand or just a puddle of old fashioned mud) and that it most certainly HAD to be retrieved. How? It's quite obvious that one would be required to remove the baby's diaper and plop him into the potential quicksand to fetch one's favorite shoe. Right? He really didn't mind. But seeing as how he wasn't lost to the quicksand, the girls decided to throw in a couple of toys to keep him happy. Where was I while all this was happening? Blogging.

A texas orange previously scorched by the hot sun gets a much needed drink (because we don't water it much).

Things that DON'T love the rain...

Abram's toys have been left to fend for themselves and have all but disappeared in the murky mess.

While the puddle fills, the pool reaches maximum levels. We've drained the pool twice since it started raining which seems like it will become a daily chore.

One of our recently transplanted palms is leaning toward giving up under such rainy and windy conditions.

This one already did. I called the landscaper last week to come back and stake it again since it was leaning and Bri was too busy. But in true Rio Grande Valley fashion, he never showed up to finish the job. How does anyone stay in business down here? Sad.

While the kids were playing on Saturday, I got this strong feeling to bring them inside. And I'm so grateful I did. The palm fell Sunday afternoon. The experience became a handy lesson in obeying Mom's instructions. I'll be using this one for years.

There's still a very slight chance to save the poor palm and I hope so. It's such a lovely creation and would be a terrible waste.

Independence

I won't go into what that word really means here in the Hulse house. Suffice it to say it is a misnomer for all things curiously mischevious. It's what we politely call our children in mixed company when their ideas don't exactly match up with ours. "He's a very independent little boy" or "She likes to express her independence quite often."

But to celebrate the holiday, we started off with our traditional Red, White and Blue Pancackes this morning. The girls LOVE them. Abram was napping during breakfast and missed out. How sad? Well, not really since he woke up at about 6:30 am. Considering Bri had the day off, we had planned on sleeping in, at least longer than 6:30 am. Abram apparently was not on board with this plan. And I had no plans of making pancakes that early. So he skipped out.

The best part of the day was having a very, very quiet day at home with Brian. Remarkably, he hasn't received any calls from either work or church. We just might squeak by today. We watched a little bit of fireworks on TV and then had Friday Family Movie Night. Bri thought it would be a special treat to get TV dinners and picnic on the floor. Very fun.

Staying inside is the key to celebrating the Fourth down here. Any holiday is a great excuse to fire off guns into the air. I would say you might feel like you were in a bad TV Western or The Three Amigos when people carelessly fire into the air, but unfortuantely, these are semi-auto guns. But to end on a happy note, the photo below is our picture perfect pancakes.

And in honor of Marin learning the preamble this year, with a little help from School House Rock:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

FLIP IT

Saturday, we celebrated the flip turn (or tumble turn as the girls like to correct me). Whatever you call it, they nailed it. I still attest that it is one of the cutest things I've ever seen them do. When you see the video of Marin you might think to yourself, "What was she so nervous about? She did great!" Exactly. But sometimes a nervous mind takes a little convincing. Her friend Sienna stayed after practice one day last week to help Marin with her turn and it did wonders for her confidence. Thanks Sienna!

Santi's starts were wonderful and she didn't drop her knee once! Even off the blocks! She's improved so much, we hardly recognize her (except for her peculiar blonde hair and her signature pink goggles). She moved up in placement and tightened her times once again. She also made the B Relay in the 100 Free. Not too shabby rookie. Good for you sweet thing!

100 Free B Relay: (L to R) Georgia, Carolly, Gabriella, and Santi

Marin had an amazing meet. She placed first in all three again. She got a lesson from the school of hard knocks though. She got her first DQ of the season on her Back. On her last stroke, she rolled over too much onto her side to touch the time pad. It was a great lesson for her going into regionals. She doesn't want to do that again. This was a good reminder that she's not quite invincible. She was getting pretty cozy there for a while.
Our head coach wanted to move her up to practice with Blue team, which consists primarily of Junior/High School kids so he could work with her a little more. I was floored. I think she's fabulous, but keeping up with kids who are swimming 100 fly with ease, I wasn't so sure. She's just a wee girl. We agreed that she'll stay put for now and we'll think about joining USA Swim this fall. Steady as she goes.

100 Free A Relay: (clockwise) Marin, Annautica, Sienna, and Lauren

Gal Pals: Amy, Marin, Chelsea, Sienna, and Santi (AKA The Mormon Battalion. I love that there are so many church friends on the team and I can't help cheering for them. Yes, loudly. It's a curse.)

The photo above is Marin's time in the 50 Free. It's the only time I got of the whole meet. They were so slow in posting the times, I couldn't wait around. With Bri out of town for a Youth Temple trip, I was not up to sticking around. We left right after the girls' relay. It was so fun to see them swim relays at the same time. And a little confusing. I'm not so sure they will be swimming on the same relay this season. It would take a miracle for little Santi to move up so quickly. But who knows, stranger things have happened. We Hulses have learned not to discount anything.




Marin's 50 Free, complete with awesome start and tumble turn. LOVE it. Sorry for the shaky video, I got pushed aside as swimmers made their way to the ready bench. I was a little ticked, but Marin's fan base (grandparents) will still appreciate this. Marin's in lane 4. The swimmer (to her left) who looks almost identical to her is her pal Sienna.

Let's Go Bowling

Emily Chandler is a genius. Emily is a good friend here who has enough foresight to know we would need activities to keep the kids busy over the summer. So she designated every Wednesday as "fun day." We all meet up and do something fun. It's a great chance for us to see our swim friends outside of the pool and friends we wouldn't normally see otherwise.

The first week we saw Kung Fu Panda. Hilarious. Like 30 kids showed up, we looked like a summer school field trip. Another week we went to Emily's house for a potluck playgroup. I never miss a potluck. Yesterday, we all tried our hand at bowling. Funky communal shoes, junky sanck bar food, oh and 80's rock ballads in sync with the flashing decorations = one wholesome activity.

We pretty much had the place to ourselves and thank goodness. Abram didn't like the concept of bowling. He adamantly diagreed with sending the bowling balls away down the lane. He wanted them for himself. He had a hard time compromising.

The girls had a great time with their friends. They had a "girls lane" just for them and I didn't really hear much from them the whole time we were there. I got to hang out and talk with my friends, in between chasing Abram.
We LOVE Wednesdays and look forward to them all week. We've already made so many fun memories this summer, how can I ever convince the girls to go back to school? Or myself to send them? We'll just table that discussion until the last moment. As in, "Oh yes, didn't I tell you? You're starting school tomorrow. TTFN!"

MoMak's Y'all

Bri's work partners had a meeting in San Antonio and decided to reward themselves by inviting their families to come along. I really love Bri's company and his colleagues are some of the greatest people. I felt that we made instant friends and hope this meeting becomes a regular thing. We can't wait to see them all again. Although I have to admit that I'm pulling for South Padre as our next destination so we'll have an hour to drive instead of four. Can you blame me?

We went to the coolest family restaurant called MoMak's (Thanks Forest). If you're traveling to San Antonio with your family, I highly reccommend it. It's just a burger and malt place, but they have this huge fenced in "backyard" with a soccer field, playscape, and tons of balls and toys to keep the kids happy. And it's in this wooded nature setting with huge oak trees (seriously, we saw deer at dusk). It really did feel like we were at a backyard BBQ. It was the perfect place for a large group of kiddos. They just played together for hours and we ended up closing the place down. We'll definitely go again.



All backed up on the slide. Girls everywhere. Out of the 15 or so kids in our group that night, there were only 3 boys. But as Marin likes to say, "Girls rule, Boys drool." Which in our case is very literal.


In a place like this, Abram was nothing else but on the move. I love how he just keeps going and going. Except when I don't. But it was great to watch in this context. Church is another story.

I wish we had more time with our new pals, but we were able to go to Sea World with them the next day. It made our trip to Sea World so much more fun and adventurous with so many kids. Can you imagine anything better for a kid than tons of playmates at such a great place? So much so that I didn't even get any pictures at Sea World with the whole group. Too bad.

One of my favorite things of ALL time is to watch my children play with each other. I feel in some ways that I know each of them so well, I can almost anticipate how they may react to each other. Then there are times when I am completey surprised. Watching the girls take care of their brother during this trip was one of these sweet surprises.
Abram wanted to play ball with the big boys and if anyone had a problem with that, they could talk to his big sister. You can barely tell from this video, but Santi wasn't about to let any bigger boys take off with Abram's ball. My money's on her every time. There'll be bodies all over the place.

Sea World

Last week we went to Sea World San Antonio (finally). It was so much fun to go on a trip together. Sometimes you wonder if all the preparation and packing is worth it, but it was, without doubt. We spent all of our time in the water park since it was like 100 degrees. Despite the heat, the children did extrememly well and were uncomplaining. It was a very quiet ride home, they were all knocked out. Abram was so tired, he did that head-back-mouth-wide-open sleep. Poor guy.
And I'm happy to report that not one of my fair babes was sunburned. Not even Brian, the fairest of them all. But because I was concerned about everyone else, I completely forgot to reapply block to myself and burned my shoulders. Holy Cow! I feel so bad for Bri, I had no idea it can be so painful.


The girls LOVE room service. Girls after my own heart. I love it too. It's so fun to watch them get so giddy when they hear the knock on the door knowing that good eats are to follow. I have to say that it really is the easiest way to get all the kids fed before heading out to an all day event. Or maybe I'm just lazy enough to like eating in bed. Why not when you're unconcerned about crumbs in the bed? Maybe that's the real luxury.


And this is what Abram was doing while the girls enjoyed room service. He had the bed all to himself and was sleeping so peacefully. Then very suddenly, he opened his little browns, yawned while raising his arms and then announced, "AH-Dun." We all burst out laughing which of course prompted more antics from our little clown. He's getting such a personality.

I love how having a little brother allows the girls to see all things anew through his eyes. They want to show him everything, and protect him from everything else. I adore them.






As a side note: This family picture is dated June 19, 2008 which Bri thought important to remind the children is also the date I was baptized as a Latter-day Saint 14 years ago. He's so thoughtful to kind of make it a family holiday. He likes to tell them some pretty sweet stories about me and prompts them to be grateful to me for my decision. I love that.
On our way to Sea World he asked, "Does anyone know why today, June 19th, is important? BESIDES going to Sea World?"
It was quiet for a minute and then Marin said, "I know, I know! Today is Juneteenth, the day we celebrate the end of slavery in the United States."
Bri and I were grasping at dates learned in our undergrad. It turns out she's right. Our own little random fact Hulsipedia. But Brian steered them back to the point and made sure we didn't forget what's become a little family tradition. Thanks Bri.

Moving on Up

Marin and Santi with teamers Autumn and Sienna in their new team suits

Santi is moving on up through the ranks and shaving full seconds off of her times. And she has yet to understand the power of her kick. She pretty much just pulls. This was confirmed on Friday when we went to a Stroke Clinic (not the medical kind) by the local USA Swim Club. They took underwater video of the girls to critique their strokes. The coach couldn't believe that such a tiny girl could rely so heavily on her little arms when she's got these superhuman strength Hulse legs. I agreed that when she finally kicks it, she'll be ferocious.
Lucky for Marin, she'll move up to the next age bracket and won't be chased down by her little sister. Santi liked that idea and is currently considering using her kick. "I'll think about it." That's so cute. Oh, and when Santi passed by the underwater camera, she made sure to slow down, look straight into the lens, and smile. Then she picked up her pace to finish up. Our Santi.

Marin's start has improved by leaps and bounds (pun intended). She's quick off the block and we can see her trying to extend herself. She'll be working more on her tumble turn this week. She has this strong aversion to it but knows that eventually, she'll have to do it in a race. She's been sitting pretty in lane 4 and doesn't want to blow it. We explained that it's worth the risk of coming in second or third or tenth, if she can get comfortable with doing it. Her competition tumble turns and has closed the gap a little which has given Marin more motivation.

It is seriously between Marin and Esmer (from Edinburg) every time. At first, Marin finished long before her. But you can tell that Esmer is on a mission, boy. Esmer has a team shirt that says, "Get out of Lane 4." Marin made the connection yesterday and was like, "Hey, that's my lane. She wants to beat me." Pretty much. But every time, Marin is there to give her a high five. And that beats everything in my book.

The meet was great and although the girls were a little tired from a trip to Sea World San Antonio 2 days before (I'll blog about that later), they did fantastic. It was crazy hot and humid, which Abram could not fully appreciate (nor being denied access to the pool) so we left before the 50 free times were posted. I'll insert those later. And I'll have to wait for Brian to get back to upload the video. Actually, the girls swam in the same heat for every race (which shows Santi's improvement that she moved into the last heat, at least for this meet), so the videos are wide angle again. We'll see what we can do.

25 Free
1) Marin (MISS) 19.15 [+.07]
2) Esmer (EDIN) 19.34
3) Lilly (MISS) 25.
4) Madison (MCAL) 25.50
5) Lauren (MISS)
6) Monica (EDIN) 25.87
7) Annautica (MISS) 28.
8) Santi (MISS) 28.47 [-3.91]
9) Jocelyne (MISS) 29.18
10) Gabriella (MISS) 31.12
11) Falon (MCAL) 31.88
12) Caroly (MISS) 34.50

25 Back
1) Marin (MISS) 24.88 [-3.15]
2) Falon (MCAL) 28.21
3) Lilly (MISS) 29.12
4) Sienna (MISS) 33.53
5) Monica (EDIN) 34.95
6) Santi (MISS) 35.50 [-2.12]
7) Madison (MCAL) 39.66
8)
9)
10)
11)

50 Free
1)

Note to self: Edinburg has a meter pool. Cimarron has a short yard pool. Mission and McAllen have regulation yard pools. Remember that in time conversions.

I Scream, You Scream, Abram Screams...

The other day before we even finished dinner, Brian jumped up from the table and ran outside. I figured he was getting another call that he needed to take outside. But then the girls heard the faint sound that is magic to every child's ear. And they couldn't wait to introduce their baby brother to his first ice cream truck experience. When I went outside, I realized why Bri had burst out of the house. He had already waved down the ice cream truck and was waiting for his girls (who were sure to follow). I love that Brian did this. It was the perfect ending to a stressful day of running around in hot weather.

Time, is on our side...

Yes it is.
Both Marin and Santi improved their times dramatically. (And honestly, we're pretty sure this pool was short of 25 yards. I guess we'll see how the times jive with the next meet. They'll probably go up. But the girls are pleased that they improved nevertheless.) They each swam the same events as last week: 25 Free, 25 Back, 50 Free.

We had so much fun. Which speaks volumes considering we have to be there at 7 am for the girls to warm up. Bri was out of town this morning for an early morning Bishops Devotional for Girls Camp (church stuff). But because the swim meet started an entire hour late (thanks Cimarron), he was able to make it. He walked in just as Marin started her first race. He didn't miss a thing. Thank goodness.

Bri totally earned the Father's Day appreciation he'll receive tomorrow. He was so awesome to watch Abram the whole time. And I mean "watch" in the most active sense. Abram tried jumping into the pool and would've made it if not for Bri's quick reflexes. He's the most daring water baby we've ever had. He thinks he can swim and flails his little arms and froggy kicks his little legs. It's too funny. But not in the middle of a race. Can you imagine having to call those swimmers back because of us? I guess it's just a matter of time, really. When it happens, I'm just going to point to Bri and say, "Isn't that YOUR baby?" This is where the children's sole resemblence of their father will work in my favor. At last!

The heats are usually organized by ascending times, but this meet was a little chaotic. Lucky for us, the girls were in different heats so we were able to focus on one at a time.

The video below is Santi in the 25 Free. She's done so well and we keep reminding her that this is her rookie season and she's swimming against girls about 2 years older. That tends to put a smile on her face. We're also so happy for her that she did a tumble turn for the first time on her 50 free! It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. If I can trim the video, I'll post it soon. Adorable.



Below is Marin's 50 Free. She's in the closest lane. They only swam four lanes per heat (taking forever, forever, forever) and since the heats weren't organized by times, Marin didn't swim with the girls who finished closest to her time. So we weren't sure how well she did until they posted the results.


And again, I'm sorry about the loud mouth. I asked the girls if they want me to cheer even if they can't hear me. They said yes. And I do, just in case they can. It's crazy, I seriously get so excited. When we watched the video of Santi's 25 Free, she was like, "Mom, how come you weren't cheering?" Because Dad was filming it and he happens to be a little more considerate of other people. But if you listen hard enough, you can still hear me. Far away. On the other side of the pool. Out of context and on the video, I sound hysterical. Oops. Bri said who cares. I really should get over myself.

The girls should be able to try out for the relays pretty soon since regionals are in 3 weeks. We'll keep you posted.

25 Free
(there were about 18 swimmers, but I only listed a context for both Marin and Santi)
1) 19.08 Marin (Miss) -3.52 from last meet
2) 21.72 Esmer (Edin)
3) 24.40 Lauren (Miss)

9) 31.47 Elizabeth (Miss)
10) 32.38 Santi (Miss) -3.68 from last meet
11) 35.85 Miranda (Miss)

25 Back
1) 28.03 Marin (Miss) -5.95 from last meet
2) 31.75 Sienna (Miss)
3) 33.56 Jocelyn (Miss)
4) 34.46 Annautica (Miss)
5) 36.49 Lauren (Miss)
6) 37.42 Santi (Miss) -17.16 from last meet
7) 39.94 Elizabeth (Miss)
8) 40.00 Sara (Miss)
9) 53.97 Miranda (Miss)

50 Free
1) 45.22 Marin (Miss) -7.05 from last meet
2) 48.69 Esmer (Edin)
3) 51.45 Sienna (Miss)
4) 1:00.54 Victoria (McAl)
5) 1:00.91 Lauren (Miss)
6) 1:07. 60 Annautica (Miss)
7) 1:12.94 Jocelyn (Miss)
8) 1:21.81 Elizabeth (Miss)
9) 1:22.50 Santi (Miss) -13.13 from last meet
10) 1:23.46 Sara (Miss)

Under Pressure

That David Bowie song was stuck in my head for weeks, which is how long it took us to pressure wash the fence and deck and then finally stain it. Just in time for the Luau. An undertaking of dramatic proportions. Bri went through 3 pressure washers until this one did it. Boys and their toys.
It was love at first sight for Abram. I'm telling you that it was plain criminal to tear him from his beloved shiney, red, machine (well at least according to him). But Marin was Queen Under Pressure. Unlike Abram, she was lucky enough to get her hands on it. It was so cute to see her wield all that force; her little frame pinned to the side of the house while washing the fence. She and Santi also helped stain and did a pretty good job. Total team players. Even Elders Talbot and Tyler helped out a little. Here is Abram longing to be near the pressure washer. He stood whining at the gate for a solid 15 minutes. I don't think I've seen Abram do any ONE thing for so long. I guess we can safely say his attention span is increasing. ...and Bri wondered if we would find other uses for the pressure washer. I think the photo above clearly illustrates that we did.

Luau 2008

The Saturday before school was out, we had a luau with the kids from both Marin's and Santi's classes. So that added up to quite a few kiddos running around the backyard. Fortunately, the backyard is where they stayed. Thank goodness. The day itself was really fun, but I can't say as much for the preparation. I spent most of my time staining the deck and the rest of the fence since Bri left town without getting to finish it. Poor guy had to do little by little until time just plum ran out. He came home the night before the luau. So this year, our luau was bereft of decorations. Which is a shame because we'd saved some great ones from last year and had recently picked up a few new ones. Oh well, there's always next year.

We're so happy Santi's teacher, Mrs. Castillo, came with her 3 kids. Solei and Darci above bumped heads on the tramp and were none too happy for a while. Sad friends. They got over it shortly. The Rubios came which meant our Abram got to play with their Abram. He is such a doll! And the popsicles were the kids' fav. Aio had two or three! I got the tropical creamsicles and made sure I stored away a package just for Bri.

Both of Marin's teachers, Mrs. Guzman and Mrs. Gutierrez, came with their families and so did the vice principal, Mrs. Reyes (her son was in Santi's class this year). It cracks me up how 8 and 9-year-olds crammed into the kiddie pool. I guess the water was really warm, so that's where they chose to eat their popsicles after swimming. It just occurred to me that there's only two reasons why a kiddie pool is warm. One is because it's small and the water heats quickly and the other... gross!

And there's a picture of Abram who was slightly furious to not be swimming at his leisure. We didn't want him lost in the commotion, but he still didn't appreciate being cooped up.

We hired a lifeguard (who is also Santi's coach for team) and I'm so glad we did. We ended up having quite a few little ones with floaties. We had lots of food and lots of fun getting to know the kids and their families a little better. The girls are already looking forward to next year. What? Luckily, we have all year to recover.

Firsts

Today was the day of "Firsts"

It was the first swim meet of the season.
Since school let out a little late this year, we weren't sure we would be ready. But everyone was excited and the girls were so giddy. It was fun packing snacks and charging the camera battery. This is the only year Santi and Marin are in the same age bracket until Santi is 13 (and if they're still swimming by then). So we're loving it.

It was Santi's first meet ever.
Although she was slightly nervous, she stuck to it and did extremely well for her first time. Poor thing worried a lot about dropping her knee on her start or slipping off the blocks. Fortunately they won't be using blocks until the third meet. Phew! She was relieved.

Marin swept first in every event she swam.
And by a long shot, full seconds each time. Bri and I were left stunned, looking at each other like, "Oh my gosh! Did you just see that?" It really is evidence that hard work pays off. Last year Marin worked her way up but never finished in the top 5 overall. She went to State with a relay and bought a shirt that says, "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. 24/7." I thought it was so cute that she identified with the shirt. She understood that other girls had natural talent, but she had perserverance. And today, she knocked EVERYONE's socks off!

Marin and Santi swam in the same heat for backstroke and placed one and two.
I thought this was particularly wonderful for Santi since she hasn't really been practicing for backstroke. It was so fun to cheer for both of them in the same heat! It was a little tricky to video, but you can check it out at the bottom!

Marin and Santi after their first race, 25 Free Sprint. Marin was so proud of her little sister and cheered for her louder than anyone else.
Marin in the far lane in the 50 Free. She and this girl were the only ones swimming in their heat. After Marin finished, she waited by the girl's lane and gave her a high five. Pretty good on Marin's part since she's from a rival team. So cute.
Santi just before her very first race, 25 Free. She refused to wear a swim cap today for some reason. I'm not sure if the race seemed less formal and scary without it. Who knows.

The things I enjoyed most were the little things after the races. Santi swam in the first heat of the 25 free and waited on deck until after Marin finished the second heat and gave her a hug. Likewise, in the 25 Back, Marin went to Santi's lane to cheer and congratulate her. Most of all, it was just so much fun for our family to spend time together. I wish we could stay this way forever. But I have a feeling they are going to grow up too fast. Maybe, like me, they'll have these memories to hold on to.

In the video above, Santi is in the closest lane and Marin is in the farthest. And I have absolutely no idea who the loud shrilly woman is. You know that really obnoxious mom who annoyingly hovers around with her video camera? It's me. I keep cheering even though they can't hear me under water. Oh well.

Below are their events and times. This is more for our use to track their times since I have NO hope of saving the heat sheets.

25 Free Sprint
1) 22:60 Marin (Mission)
2) 24:42 Miranda (Edinburg)
3) 25:20 Esmer (Edinburg)
4) 26:23 Sienna (Mission)
5) 26:67 Lauren (Mission)
6) 32:59 Monica (Edinburg)
7) 36:06 Santi (Mission)
8) 37:10 Annautica (Mission)
9) 40:82 Georgia (Mission)
10) DQ

25 Back
1) 33:98 Marin (Mission)
2) 45:88 Santi (Mission)
3) 54:58 Annautica (Mission)

50 Free
1) 52:27 Marin (Mission)
2) 58:27 Esmer (Edinburg)
3) 1.00:23 Sienna (Mission)
4) 1.01:45 Lauren (Mission)
5) 1.03:38 Miranda (Edinburg)
6) 1.25:60 Annautica (Mission)
7) 1.36:59 Santi (Mission)
8) 1.36:59 Georgia (Mission)

Late addition: I was just cleaning out some cabinets since I posted this and found the heat sheet from the same meet last year. The difference in Marin's time really illustrates how much she improved since last year! HOORAY for you Marin!

25 Free: 15th place, 42:95 (about a 20 second improvement)

50 Free: 8th place, 1.29:46 (almost 40 second improvement)

Now that she sees a literal improvement, she's already setting new times to beat. How exciting! We'll post upcoming times to track Marin and Santi's improvement. I love how in swimming, they are able to see clearly how they've improved. Marin's also pumped to race some pretty fast teams who weren't at the last meet. She doesn't seem intimidated at all. Good for her!

Kudos!

Kudos to Marin and Santi for all their hard work this year (pictured above with their teachers). The school hosted an awards assembly this week and each of our girls received plenty of awards in recognition of various efforts and talents. I think what's made us happier than receiving awards is that school ends tomorrow. Hallelujah!!!
The girls deserve a break from the over-obsessed testing regimen (every 6 weeks) this district implements to ensure the kids pass the state test and meet the lovely no child left behind mandate. I can safely, and without regret, say that I hate it. Wait... no, that's right, I hate it. Poor kids. So for that reason, among others, I am so happy to have them home for the summer. I know it may sound crazy, but I really do enjoy their company and I am looking forward to lots of fun activities this summer. Here are pictures from Field Day at the girls' school. The title was Survivor 2008, an appropriate name for such a sweltering day. But not even the heat could damper our day. Bri took the morning off (I love him!), we found a sitter for Abram, and we ran a fun station together. We were charged with running The Spoon and Egg race (which I'm sure you've seen before) and the Chicken Toss. The object of The Chicken Toss is to see which team can toss their rubber squeaky chicken closest to their designated cone.
The kids from each grade level rotated through. It was really fun... until Bri and I got bored of the same games. So the event became more about entertaining ourselves and less about facilitating the scheduled games. We kicked it up a notch and took it upon ourselves to make some changes (without permission of course).
We did some over/under with the rubber chickens. This was particularly humorous with the kinders because when several kids got handed the chicken, they were more enthralled with squeezing the squeaky chicken than with going either over or under. It ended up taking quite a while.
We also had them pass the egg from between their elbows. I thought this was sheer genius until the sixth graders started moaning about not wanting to have to touch each other. Was it really that bad back then? I guess. But the best fun of the day was the Chicken Run where we had the kids put the rubber chickens between their knees and then race around their cones while walking/running like a chicken. I loved it.

Family FUN

Our ward recently hosted a free Family Fun Festival for the community. It took a lot of hard work from some very dedicated people in our ward and stake. And it happened to peak at 108 degrees the day of the festival. Yikes! Fortunately, there were all sorts of water games for people to cool off, including a dunking booth (both Marin and Santi got dunked!).
I didn't include all the photos, but there was a little train and multiple bounce houses/slides, carnival booths, face painting, air rockets, and a cakewalk (which was insanely popular for some reason). The best part of the event was the open house held within the building. The committee set up a "Living Christ" exhibition and displayed different artwork of Christ courtesy of the members. The missionaries gave tours to visitors and answered any questions. We also gave away copies of the Proclamation and various Church materials.
Our ward has been trying to establish a good relationship with the city. Brian has been very supportive of missionary efforts from both the full-time missionaries and the members. Previously, our ward participated in a huge event down here called, "BorderFest" from which the Church received 800+ referrals! Can you believe it!?! Because BorderFest is paid admission, our ward wanted to host a free event. The stake was very supportive and everyone seems excited to do it again next year.
To advertise the event, Bri and Brother Guerra both appeared on a local TV show called "Buenos Dias Frontera." Hilarious. It was so cool that they did it. I watched it live and was dying that on this show is some big white dude who calls himself, "the bishop" and the predominantly Catholic populous knows not what to make of it. Bri was great, and to the surprise of the host, spoke very eloquently in Spanish. Of Course.
I do have to mention that Marin and Santi volunteered at the Fishing Game booth sponsored by the Primary. You know, the game where kids on the outside of the booth cast their line into the booth, Marin and Santi attach a prize, give it a tug, and then tell the kids to reel in their prizes. Well, with the prizes the girls attached Pass Along cards. They were competing with the missionaries inside as to who could pass out more. The kids won of course, and didn't feel the least bit guilty about rubbing it in their faces. Now that's zeal!
Even Abram had a good time playing in the sprinkler, taking a nap, and eating watermelon. He really was the ideal baby that day. And now you all know that miracles are in fact real, however fleeting they may seem.

SMILE

You're on Candid Cameron! We're all so proud of Cam who just opened HULSE Orthodontics. And what a lovely place it is. Our friend Jenny Neuendorf was visiting from Carlsbad and asked if we had seen the new office (which she had noticed just by driving by and wondered if we were related to the famous Dr. Cameron Hulse). Fortunately, we caught wind of the new website and checked out these photos.

So of all us Hulses who like to say, "I'm kind of a big deal," Cameron really is. Good job! And speaking of jobs.... we Hulses tried our hands at dentistry at the San Antonio Children's Museum and if you're in the market for two adorable lab techs, a really hot receptionist to answer phones, and a one-year-old data entry specialist (see below), we can start on Monday. You know, keep it in mind.