What Else is Happening?

 Okay, so not much besides wrestling is happening in our lives.  Oh yeah, except full time jobs and callings.  Haha.  I also had a killer cold for the first part of the week.  I'm through the worst of it.  Yuck.

Anyway, there are a couple of other fun things that have happened.

I'm still enjoying teaching Seminary.  And of course in this already crazy week I had a fun seminary idea that took way too much prep.  But was worth it.

We did some minute to win it type games to reflect on how opposition actually makes life more fun.  (We ended with a tug of war with no opponent.) 

Tent building like Lehi's family

Hunting "wild beasts" in the forest

And building boats for our Lego families to cross the sea. (We tested them the next class.) 

I also overachieved with my school class this week.  We are doing a food chemistry unit.  So on Monday we discovered the miracle of cream.  We made butter, whip cream and ice cream.  So fun.

On Thursday we made bread--start to finish (including grinding the wheat.)  

The rising dough--The bread turned out really great.  I had 3 parent volunteers who helped.  One who brought in his kitchenaid so we could make 2 batches at once.  Then the others watched over the baking in the two ovens we have at school in 2 different staff kitchens (I know--I'm lucky our school is so big it has 2 staff kitchens.) 

10 out of 10 for awesomeness.  0 out of 10 for a tired busy mama who also ended up with a cold.  But I managed to haul all the stuff needed in and out of school, washed dishes in my tiny school sink (my classroom was originally a lower grade room--so the sink is super short.) and yeah.  It was good but the timing was bad.  

I guess the message of this post is that even at max capacity--I still LOVE teaching and finding ways to make school/seminary fun.

What I need to learn is to look at my overall life and decide to let some of these ideas go...just because you think it's a good idea Trish, doesn't mean it has to happen.  Even if it can--it doesn't have to. (Derek tries to give me this pep talk often.  I should listen.)

This week will feel so easy by comparison!   Just the stress of State coming.  We've got this. 

Districts & Regionals 2024

 I was so proud of the team at Districts--especially Libby & Sarah.

Libby had a good run at Districts, she didn't have a challenging bracket.  So she rocketed through her opponents with quick pins.  She spent a lot of energy supporting and loving on her team.

I was happy for a stress free tournament for her.  (Photo credit to Jeremy Tantrum, one of the dads.  He is amazing.) 

Libby and one of her co-captains Izzy.  They are Chip and Dale apparently?  They had never heard of the Chippendale dancers.  haha. 

Post Covid some of the officials just raise the hand with the color of the winner and make the athlete raise their own hand.  Lame, right? 

It was fun to do the "head coaches award the medals" thing together :)

For Sarah districts was much tougher.  She had a 32 man bracket.  Just the luck of the draw.  Lots more girls at 155 than 105.  If she would have stayed at 170, there were only 7 in the bracket.  Such a bummer.  But I was super proud of her.  She lost 1 (she was in it, but lost her balance), won 1 and just as she was about to win the 3rd, she got rolled and pinned.  She was ahead 9 to 0 I think.  She is so ready to turn the corner.  More time and experience and she'll be winning! 

Jeremy got awesome pictures of her matches--I'm posting a bunch.

She was bummed not to be moving on to Regionals.  But it left her hungry to do better next season.  She's decided not to do the musical so she can come to Einstein and volunteer and learn more, and to do track to get stronger and faster.

And get in more workouts with Dad.  

On to Regionals!  Libby had a great day.  She wrestled 2 solid matches and then it was time for the Serrati rematch.  Libby lost to her 2 weeks ago, in a mom coached match that didn't go well.  (I'm learning to.)  This girl has MAN arms.  So she's intimidating.  But at Regionals, Libby was ready.  

I don't have Jeremy's pics yet, but I'll post more when I do. 2 time Regional champ!

1st place! 

Norton crew cheering her on.  Derek was with the boys. 

Libby's boyfriend came as a "manager" in this homemade shirt.  Adorable. 

This was the photo with the Herald wrestling info article.  Love :)  Last year's win. 

In case you're wondering, yes this mama is exhausted, because we also started the Einstein season this week.  So I've been coordinating that effort for the past couple of weeks. 2 practices after school makes for a long evening.  But just one more week to go and SW is officially done (except the banquet and post-season coaches meeting.) 
  

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.

December Choir Concerts

 Somehow I missed posting about Sarah's choir concerts.  She had a school one and an SCC concert.  One was better than the other, but we've enjoyed the long term sub in school choir. Sarah sang in a small group in the school concert.  It was lovely!