Ski Trip

Ashley and Bode took their annual ski trip to Breckenridge this past week. Sadly, my spring break doesn't coincide with Bode's, so I am not able to go (and, as many of you know, I'm no longer a big fan of the cold :-) They spent a week in Breckenridge and had a wonderful time. Since I wasn't there, I can't really do a good summary of each day's activities. I can post some pictures and relay to you what Ashley told me. The first night in town, they stayed with Uncle Dave. The three cousins sat still long enough for Ashley to snap a picture.

Ashley and Bode stayed at a condo in Breckenridge and skied for four days. Ashley said the conditions were excellent and the crowds were minimal. Here are some pictures. First, we have Bode getting ready after going up Falcon Lift.

I think someone must have been nice enough to snap this picture of the two of them.

Another day, another run from Falcon. Ashley said Bode is getting pretty good and she has a hard time keeping up with him.

The scenic mountains; I must admit, I do miss these views (but not the sub-freezing weather :-)

Bode was intent on skiing the dreaded double-black diamonds. He took a picture of one before he headed down; it looks fairly steep to me.

On Thursday, the Tobiks called Ashley and offered to meet them for lunch at Breckenridge. Tim and Carter live in Destin, but I suppose great minds think alike. Last year, they also were in Breckenridge for spring break. Sadly, they couldn't ski because Carter recently had shoulder surgery.

Bode and Ashley skied a significant number of vertical feet. On good days, we would get 12,000 feet or so when we lived there. Here is a shot of Bode after Day 1. They did 18,000 vertical feet that first day, and I think did close to 70,000 for the week.

David, Teddy, and Charlie came up for a couple nights. All of them did an Escape Room, and they set the best time for the month. In the picture you can see Bode is slightly taller than Teddy.

Here is a shot of their time--note they are the team at the very bottom of the list--I have no idea why they decided on Stinky Cheese Men as their team name.

That's all the photos I have. I think Bode has a ton on his phone, and if I find any that are worth posting, I'll do it. I know they had a great time, but I also know Ashley is worn out. It is a challenge for her to keep up with a teenage boy :-) The dogs were thrilled when they got home, but at some point, they wore themselves out and fell asleep :-)

Bode will have to remember how to swim come Monday. After the Region IV championships, Coach Brad sent out a meet-recap. Below is part of it.

Bode has Monday off, but he returns to school on Tuesday for the final two months of his freshman year. It is crazy how quickly this year has went. Pleasant week to all.

Regional Champs Day 3

Bode had one more day of racing. We were worried he might be tired from the last two days, but he proved us wrong. His first event was the fifty freestyle. He qualified seeded 11th, meaning he wasn't in the fast heat. He won his heat (below) and swam a 24.07, which was good enough for 4th overall!

After the race, Bode always talks to Coach Brad (the Papa-Smurf looking fellow).

He was also nice enough to stop for a picture with his old man.

Bode had about an hour's rest before his next event, the 100-freestyle. He came in swimming in lane 10, seeded 10th. Little man was like a torpedo, finishing in 52.67 and 5th place overall. I took a decent picture of Bode on the blocks.

Below is the movie of the whole swim.

Bode didn't realize he was also swimming the butterfly leg of the 4 x 100 medley relay. He had about seven minutes rest, and he thought he was going to drown :-) However, like a trooper, he swam an amazing 56.88 leg (even faster than his PR in the 100-fly yesterday!), and the team won the event. I tried to take some pictures of him in action, but I only got one semi-decent shot.

Below is the movie of Bode's leg of the race.

We are very proud of all that Bode accomplished this weekend. He had six individual races; in each event, he swam a personal best. I asked him if he was going to take tomorrow off from practice; he said he won't get any better if he did that :-) Gotta admire his dedication. Pleasant week to all!

Regional Champs Day 2

After finishing up at the band MPA, we sprinted to the car and made the hour-long drive to Pensacola. We arrived at 1:30, giving Bode just under an hour before his first event, the 200-freestyle. His best time coming in was 1:58. However, in the 500 freestyle the previous night, he did the first 200 in 1:57, so he knew he could go low. Ashley filmed and we both cheered.

Bode had an incredible swim and finished in 1:55.85, a personal best and third overall. He had about thirty minutes to rest before he swam the 100-back. Sadly, Ashley and I were a little late getting to his lane and only captured part of the swim. He had another great swim and finished in 59.7 seconds and placed sixth. Thirty minutes later, he was again on the blocks for the 100 butterfly.

He finished in 57.13, another personal best and good enough for third place at the meet. Finally, Bode swam the second leg of the 4 x 100 relay. The team won the event, and Bode swam an amazing 52.28 split.

Note the team was trailing after the first leg (Jai swam the opening leg, but he was swimming on maybe five minutes rest after swimming a 200-IM). Bode chased down his opponent and gave Coast the lead they never relinquished. 

We are very proud of the little man. He even posed for a picture with Ashley; note there is little-to-no fat on Bode's body :-)

Three more events to go on the final day of the meet. Stay tuned :-)

Regional Champs Day 1

Bode had a big swim meet this past weekend. Friday night, Bode and I went to Pensacola. Bode was swimming the 500-freestyle. His best time coming in was 5:19. His goal time before the race was 5:15. Here is Bode and Coach Jackie talking strategy before the race.

In case you can't tell, Bode has really slimmed down these past two months. Next is a picture of Bode on the blocks (not my best effort).

I did not film the 500-free, as that might get a little boring. However, it was actually pretty exciting. Bode finished the first 100 in 55 seconds, which seemed a bit fast based on his goal time. We thought he would die, but the little man pushed on and finished in 5:14!

Note he was seeded 9th coming in and finished 5th. The person that won was 21 years old :-) Friday night was the first night of the meet. Two more days to go :-) Stay tuned. 

Spring MPA

The Choctaw band had their spring Music Performance Assessment (MPA) today. The band had a few months to rehearse some pieces, which they then perform in front of some judges. We arrived early at Fort Walton Beach High School. The band members had to get in uniform, and then they headed to the performance area. Below are Bode, Brad (the big guy) and Brendan.

The band had to play three songs. Bode is at the very front left of the band; I apologize for the bad video.  They played three pieces, and I recorded them all.

You can really hear Bode on the trumpet in the third piece. I believe all the judges except one gave them a Superior; this other judge gave them an Excellent. After playing, the band had to do a sight-reading evaluation where they are given two new pieces, and then they have only a couple minutes to study the pieces before performing them. They were the first school to get a Superior in sight-reading.

We had to sprint from the MPA to get to Pensacola for a big swim meet. Stay tuned :-)