Happy Birthday to ME!

 So this is 47...Well, the actual birthday was fun.  I taught, went to practice and then we went to dinner--finally using the Ohana gift card we got last year from the Booster Auction.  They had karaoke! We all got up on the mic! (We stopped on the way to see Grandpa at the hospital in Bellevue.  Poor Grandpa's health should get its own post.)

Anyway, it has been a year.  Just before my birthday last year we found out Rachel's cancer was terminal.  So 46 was hard.  Libby struggled with her mental health.  But I feel like I've been so blessed this year.

Turning 47 I have a lot to be thankful/proud of.

I love teaching seminary.

I love coaching wrestling (even though it is STRESSFUL at times.)

I love that I've turned a corner with my hip (I really think I have) with the help of great doctors and PTs.) 

I love that I started watching my food and I've lost 25 lbs that I never thought I would lose again (they just crept up through all the hard things in the last 10 years.)

I love my class this year, teaching 5th grade is fun.

I love that coaching my daughters has been a good fit (most of the time.) 

I love that I can help D through a rough year.

I'm so glad I found a therapist that I like and has helped me a lot. 

I just feel very blessed.

Maybe 47 will go gentler on me than 46? 

Sarah's Regular Season

 Sarah was so unsure if she wanted to wrestle.  Actually, she was sure she didn't want to.  But--she's a Norton.  And from the beginning of the season, she's been having fun.  At first, she wasn't winning.  She was being very timid and ending up on her back in a lot of first round pins.  But at the Marysville Premier Dual--she turned it ON!  She won 2 of her 3 that night, helping the team take 2nd.  Then the next day at the North Creek Tournament she won 3 of 5--and ALMOST won the last one.  Because they combined the weight classes at that tournament, she weighed in at 158 and had to wrestle a girl that weighed 187.  Yeah.  Wow!  She brought home 3rd place.  

She took a pivotal forfeit in our Edway match and beat both of the Shorecrest girls in her weight class between the Thursday and Friday duals. 

She's lost a lot of weight over the season (partly due to finally finding the right med cocktail for her insulin resistance) and is going to wrestle in the 155 lb. weight class for post season.  I'm so proud of her.  It's been fun to coach her.  She won't let me BS...on Saturday I told her she did a good job after a match and she got so mad at me because she said she hadn't done anything good in the match.  (She wasn't totally wrong---she didn't get much of a chance.) 

It's been fun to see her enjoy it so much.  She'll be back next year.  And the team needs her! 

Winning @ Shorecrest

Boss Girl! 

Beating the Shorecrest girl at the Team Championship

This is the 189 lb. girl.  Go Sarah! 

She's exhausted, but she did it! 

Libby is SO proud! 

Sarah presenting her health advocacy project to my class.  She did a great job! 

The glow of first wins. 

I'm so proud of her!  Also, proud of me because I made a coaching call (optional start) that led to a pin against Lake Stevens! 

Libby Nominated for Athlete of the Week!

 So I've been blogging more than once a week---just not here.  Only for the Shoreline Area News, writing up some of the awesome wrestling that's been going on.  (If you're watching the schedule, you'll note that there were a few boys matches that I didn't blog about.  Yikes.)  Anyway--It's been INSANE.  So here's my plan.  (I've done this before and it has worked.) I'm writing a list of all the posts I should write for this last month.  I'll write one a day on the evenings I'm home (should be a few this week.)  

I'll be up to date before you know it.  Right?

But I wanted to put this link in here before I closed it for good to remember that time that Libby was nominated for athlete of the week and she got hundreds of votes.  Hundreds.  Because she's awesome.  It wasn't enough to beat Archbishop Murphy. But that's okay.  They have one girls wrestler and we beat her.  And our boys beat their boys.  So where it counts, we did great.

And the girls are both the athletes of the week in my life.  Every week.  (And Ben too.) 

https://www.heraldnet.com/sports/vote-for-the-heralds-prep-athlete-of-the-week-for-jan-8-14-2/

It's very cool just to be nominated.