2011 Tunica Swim

This will be my last swim team post for 2011. The boys finished up their swim season this past Sunday with the 2011 Mid-South Swim Conference held in Tunica, MS. We arose early Sunday morning and headed out around 6:30 a.m. Mary Claire spent the might with Mimi and Daddy Nick as I had been told this would probably not be something a just-turned-3-year-old would enjoy. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast which is considered a "treat" at this house, and by the way, if you haven't tried the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal they are offering on the menu now, you should! It was pretty darn good, and healthier than the sausage & egg biscuit I might have ordered. :-)

My mouth dropped, figuratively speaking, when I walked into the Henderson Aquatic Center in Tunica. Wow! What a nice place! I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...I sure wish we had something like this around here! (Casino dollars probably helped fund the center, though. Ever noticed that the highway to the casinos is the nicest highway to drive on? Probably the nicest in Mississippi?! O.K., maybe not THE NICEST in th whole state, but it is really nice.)

The view opposite from the swim race lanes. This was where the Olympic dive platforms were.

The view from the seating above the swim lanes. The coaches are seated along the edge of the pool.

Post-race picture of my swimmers. Jonah with his trophy, making a silly face of course!

A certain 6-year-old got sleepy and took about a 15-20 minute cat nap between races! :-)

That same 6-year-old thinking about jumping from the 2nd tallest diving platform...

The HUGE score board which posted the results of every race. This one shows John Owen's relay team coming in 1st place! Way to go, Covington Swim Club! (CSC)

The full view of the diving platforms

Yes, he jumped! They both did! I imagined Kate and myself, probably about John Owen's age, jumping off the cliffs at Heber Springs...Remember that, Kate?! :-)  I bet the cliffs were at least this high or higher! Maybe it felt higher as a small child, though.

Jonah and one of his coaches, Mrs. Lisa. I think it's funny how she called him "Little Jonah" when she announced his award to the rest of the team because he is the youngest swim team member for the second year in a row! My "Little Jonah" now, but not for long.

The Cheesy Picture!
We were traveling home and passed this statue of Yogi Bear just outside the Jellystone Camping Ground, and we just HAD to stop and take our picture with him!
I encouraged Jan to get in the shot. "That's right, Boo-Boo!" One day, he'll be glad he did. haha

I included this to show everyone what a "typical" picture of my boys looks like these days! You know, the one BEFORE I say, "O.K., now serious smiles and no silly faces, please."

Well, that's it for swim team this year. I wish my boys could swim all year, and I am contemplating and researching some options for them. We'll just have to see what our schedules will allow, though. Or maybe just keep ourselves conditioned with other sports until next May rolls around and swim team cranks back up. It's been a great season, and I am thankful for the coaches and parents and all of the hard work they put into making swim team fun for all its members. We've even done some recent brainstorming on how to increase membership and possibly sponsorship for next year. My ultimate dream is that we could convince the city to build an indoor facility that would allow swim team to continue throughout the year, while at the same time, provide a great recreation for people of all ages in this county! I can dream, right?

Go, Covington Manta Rays!

Just keep swimmin', just keep swimmin'...