Celebrating Brad & Amanda

 I was so thankful to be a part of Brad and Amanda's wedding.  It was a really fun event that had lots of their personality shining through.  The science center was an awesome venue! 

I didn't take a ton of pictures, but I'm so happy that Devin and Davy have sweet Amanda in their lives. 

It was also so fun to spend time with my parents.  My favorite moment was when we were stuck in traffic and my dad was ranting that google hadn't given the best route.  The phone (as if on cue) said, "you are in a 5 minute slowdown, you are still on the fastest route." 

I have the best family. 

Ben in the hurricane booth. 

Boys in character for their role in the wedding (Devin ring bearer & Davey--flower boy)

We were reminded why Ben still needs to sit in the middle. 

Lego time! 

Then Monday morning we hopped a plane back to Seattle. Whew.  What a weekend! 

Junior College Nationals 2026

 I'm putting a date on this post because we want to go back for sure!  Junior College Nationals was so fun.  (Okay, also stressful), but really really awesome.  

We bought our plane tickets before we knew if Libby would get to compete.  She's on the team that was the returning National Champs, and she wasn't varsity for the season.  But her coach got to take 15 girls for the 10 weight classes.  After taking 3rd at her District tournament, she qualified!  So we were so excited to get to watch Hunter, Izzy and Libby compete.  (Mak just missed qualifying!)

In search up info on the tournament, I found the media pass application.  I figured, why not!  So I sent it to the Shoreline Area News editor and she applied for me to get a pass.  They denied at first, but I looked at what she sent them, and she didn't say which schools I would be there to cover.  So I replied to the email about how Shoreline had 3 athletes competing, so I'd be there for 2 Big Bend athletes and 1 Indian Hills athlete.  They APPROVED!  So I got to be on the floor with my camera.  I'm not an amazing photographer, but I did get some good shots and got to be mat side with my favorite wrestlers. 

I already wrote about this in the article, and on FB, but Libby won her first match.  She unfortunately injured her shoulder in the process.  That made the rest of the tournament tough.  She was winning her 2nd match, but it got away from her.  That girl ended up taking 6th.  So if Libby had stayed healthy, she would have made the podium for sure.  Next year. 

Izzy won 2 matches, getting as far as Libby in the tournament (since Libby had a first round bye).  

And Hunter placed 8th, Shoreline's first All American (that we know of) in wrestling.

So proud!

It was also just SO FUN to have all my kids together.  

It was SO FUN to stay with my cousin Stephanie and her family.  Part of the reason we were so tired after the weekend was staying up late hanging out with them.  But we had to!  They are awesome.

Libby is excited to get back to Nationals next year.  On the podium for sure.

Ben is also feeling more interested in wrestling in college. That was an unexpected outcome of the weekend.  We'll see where life takes him.  

My cousin's husband is a doctor, so we asked about the quickest ER.  Got in so fast for a quick check on her shoulder.  Partially separated AC joint. So she should be back in action pretty quickly.  They do have off season practices.  

Then, Derek and Sarah flew home and Ben and I flew to Orlando for Brad and Amanda's wedding.  Let me tell you, a 5 am flight (central time) on daylight savings morning...not my best move.  But we made it for the wedding no problem.  

Shorewood Banquet 2026

I decided to just go ahead and do the banquet decor plan myself, after realizing that it would take an extra meeting (or more) to get parents to help.  I had a great crew of parents (and grandparents) come out to help me set up.  It turned out great. It all looked really good.  

The one thing I forgot was to remind families that we are feeding many hungry wrestlers and they should all bring a main dish.  So the food was a little lighter than it has been in the past.  But overall, it was a fun night.  We had lots to celebrate! 

2nd year letter winners

1st year letter winners

Derek getting ready to do the awards/speeches

Tough Ben :)

 

Sarah signing some of the many cards

Sarah won the Coaches Award for her persistence through her struggles this season.  It was a rough go.  But she made it! She's determined to get stronger for next season.  Ben is also excited to keep working and get stronger.  He's going to compete at High School Nationals at the end of March.  So he's got to stay on weight and keep workng this month for sure!  

State--Mat Classic XXXVII

 We had a really good state tournament.  It was really LONG and really LATE for me.  But we did well, learned a lot and feel confident about moving into the future.

Sarah won her first match, then had to wrestle the returning state champ, no. 1 seed.  So she went to 1-1.  Then she got a another win.  Her last match was probably winnable, but in a season where just being able to wrestle at all was the bar, she didn't quite have enough strength and skill to get that 3rd win.  Still, she improved her state record over last year.  We're working on a strength training plan (where is the time!?)

Ben got quickly pinned in his first match--an unexpected outcome.  He rallied and won 2 straight.  Then in his 4th match he had a bit of a heartbreaker loss.  It was tough all the way through, but tied in the last few seconds, he thought he heard the whistle and let go, giving his opponent an escape.  Bummer.  His next match would have been our other 106 pounder, Emi, so it was close to the end for Ben either way (Emi placed 8th).  But still, it was a rough way to go out. 

I'm super proud of both of them, and of Derek.  It was fun spending time with my family in Tacoma.  We didn't get as many pictures as we usually do, especially after the finals.  We had another State Champ in Finley and a finalist in Lukas.  I wrote about it on the Shoreline Area News Site.  

The next day I went to the Olympus Spa to recover.  Whew.  I was pretty exhausted all week.  But I'm not an official Einstein coach this year, so I've got more time to get things done at school (and to work on wrapping up SW) which is nice.

The SW banquet is tomorrow night, and girls camp planning starts today.  Never a dull moment.

Since I write a lot for the Shoreline Area News, they sponsored press photographers on the floor for us.  We got some GREAT photos.  Here are my favorites of Sarah and Ben.

Ben is stoked that he's ranked #16

I got to sit in the corner for Finley's finals match again this year.  Such a privledge!

This was a WIAA phtographer, they posted this on FB.  Sarah getting taken down by the eventual State Champ (and I think returning State Champ as well.) 

Ben with his club coach Kenny Courts.  He was like, "Ben--you've got muscles!" 

After Sarah's last loss.  Some loving feedback from Dad. 

They seriously used another of Libby's pictures for WIAA promo.  For real! 

At the Tacoma Dome! 

Ben v.  Liberty (I think) 

Proud Sarah with a win! 

The whole state team minus Kai who was getting his ankle taped.  There were a few less placers than we hoped for--but it was a good tournament.  Derek was all smiles after. 

Also the picture I posted last week was EVERYWHERE on the screens in the Tacoma dome. Everyone was sending them to Libby all day, haha. 

Coaching in the finals