Full Swing into Summer!!!

Memorial Day weekend was spent on our annual trip to visit the Somerset's in Tallahassee. The trip almost did not happen this year because they had relatives staying with them for the first part of the summer. Once we convinced them to give Josh's brother and sister the boot, our visit was back on!

Our kids love the Somerset kids and always look forward to the trip. Naomi described their friendship the best when trying to explain who we were to a friend. She said... "I think they are our cousins or something."

The kids loved the fact that they have a pool in their backyard. Here we caught Catie in the beginning stages of the belly flop.


Jackson enjoyed running on the treadmill in the workout room. I hope he is ready for the Possum Trot 1 mile fun run next week!

Usually Abster is not this cheerful in the morning. But, she is ready for a fun day at the park.

Jackson was engaged with the giant "Simon" light game. It looks easier than you think!

Naomi did a great job keeping the Schwartz kids balanced.

The week after Memorial Day was the annual Macon Rock and Roll triathlon. Stiv and Ann have not had much time to train, so decided on the sprint triathlon. John and Ann H. did the half-ironman race. As in previous years, it was about the hottest day of the summer so far... 96 degrees!!


Ann coming in on her sweet ride, looking excited to see the family cheering for her.


Stiv is looking strong heading out onto the run. Notice the high shoulders, a sure sign of someone about to struggle...

The two lion cubs waiting for John and Ann to finish the Half. The kids did fantastic waiting out in the sun for hours and hours.

We found a nice spot to watch the race in the shade. Once again, Grandma and Grandpa braved the heat and watched the kids during the race. Jackson took control of Stiv's new finisher's hat.

Here comes Uncle John ready to dismount his bike...

We are all patiently waiting for Ann H to come down the home stretch in the last leg of the race, a 13.1 mile run. Finishing was an accomplishment on a day like this one; the heat was stifling and most people ended up walking a portion of the run. Both John and Ann had great finishes.

And here she comes, looking strong with her signature wave. Only four more months to train before her first full Ironman!!!

Ann finished 2nd overall in the Master's Division and showing off her hardware.

After the race, we enjoyed a dip in the lake to cool off.

Sometimes miracles do happen!! Jackson has been hanging onto his training wheels like they were his last friend in the world. A new bike and some patience finally worked!

People always say not to put a pool in as you never get your money out of it when selling. But, we decided to go for it anyway... life is too short! And here it is... our new pool, $7.99 at Toys 'R Us. The kids loved hanging out in our new addition and the neighbors are very jealous! This is sure to improve our resale value.

No idea what this face is all about our or why it made its way onto the blog...


Swimming and silly karate could only happen at our house.


Abster and Jax have always had a special bond that is fun to watch.

Graduation Day

After years of intense study, Catherine Cooper Schwartz finally graduated from Oak Grove preschool today! She is excited to begin the next chapter of her life in Kindergarten at Midvale Elementary with her brother Jackson. Keep your fingers crossed for Ms. Aycock!

The 2010 graduating class! The future is so bright!!!

Someone stands out in their striped dress....

Catie walked up so fast to accept her diploma that the camera could not keep up. She sure seems proud of herself.

The quiet before the storm! Once the ceremony was over, the line for the cake formed quickly. Of course, the Schwartzes were near the front of the line.

Catie and our neighbor Harrison are proud of each other and ready to move on up to bigger things!

Season Opener

The swim season is here again! Practice or lessons almost everyday, with a meet each Tuesday night for the next six weeks. If you are looking at it from Ann's perspective... what fun! If you are looking at it from Stiv's perspective... what a drag! And if you are looking at it from the kid's perspective... we get to stay up until 10pm on Tuesdays!

Catie improved her swimming over the winter to the point that she has graduated from the Jr. Penguins to the regular swim team. She is the only 5 year old on the team and did a great job swimming freestyle and backstroke in the meet. She even scored a point for the team and earned the coveted Penguin of the Week Award! Above, Catie and the girls getting a pre-heat pep talk from Coach Steve.

Catie making a big splash as she "dives" in for the start of her 25yd freestyle.

Catie showed great determination in her quest to reach the wall.

After a hotly contested race, Catie shows her sportsmanship by congratulating the winner.

Coach Joel is obviously excited for Catie after her first event.

Let us not forget Jackson. He had probably his best meet yet, taking 2 seconds off of his 25 yd breaststroke PR and hitting for the cycle. He earned a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place ribbon for the meet.

The BIG Sleepover!

Before we get to the big sleepover, the prior week was the annual Tucker Days with a parade down Main Street. The kids love to go watch the parade and chase down all the candy from the floats.

Later in the day, Jackson and Catie decided to break out the Halloween costumes and play superheroes. Abby felt strongly that the Cat in the Hat qualified as a superhero... who are we to argue.

Jackson's last day of 2nd grade was Friday, and we took our annual picture in front of the house to compare with the one we always take on the first day. Unfortunately, we can't find the first day of school picture??? To celebrate the end of the school year, we agreed to have a sleepover for two of Jackson's friends and Catie's friend Bella. It was quite a night!

The boys had a great time playing the Wii and PS3 before settling in for a Lego movie.

As usual, we put food out for the animals and they showed up at their normal 8:30pm time. The kids were excited to see a giant raccoon and opossum, side by side, eating our leftovers. Several hours later and countless trips upstairs to settle them down, everyone finally fell asleep around 11:30pm.

Of course, the natives were up and ready to play at 6am. Stiv treated them to delicious warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

The sleepover finished up with a good run through the sprinkler as the temp rose quickly and everyone was ready to cool off. By this time, Catie's friend Bella had gone home, so we imported another friend (Issac) to fill in.

Shake your booty!

Settling into Spring...

We have started our summer season early with family events seemingly scheduled every weekend with no end in sight... what fun! The last two weekends we had our first triathlons of the year. The first was a nice local sprint called John Tanner that in spite of the rain, was a fun course and a good way to start the season. Ann, Steve and Donovan represented the Stien Mountain Triathlon team. Ann had another good race finishing 3rd overall masters, beating Donovan by 3 seconds and Steve by 15 seconds! Then we spent the last weekend in Hiawassee with the McGee's and did a team triathlon due to lack of a sitter to watch the kids. Ann swam, Donovan biked and Steve ran. Team Stien Mountain is now 6 for 7 in team triathlons as we took first again. This one was kind of a hollow victory as we were the only team!!!

Ann before her big swim. She was the first swimmer out of the water!

It was tough racing against no one, but we managed to pull it off. Team Stien Mountain proudly accepting our awards.

Jackson was excited to have a sleepover at the cabin with his buddy Matthew and brother Connor. He and Catie loved showing their friends the triple bunk beds, the creek and especially FUN WORLD! They had the "best" time riding the go carts, putt putt golf, video games, skeet ball and ice cream... does it get any better?

Abby loves her PJs, so we let her enjoy them all day, even at the beach.

After the "race", we took everyone out on Lake Chatuge for the afternoon. Even though the sun only showed up for about 10 minutes, everyone had a blast goofing around on the boat. Everyone even got a turn driving the vessel.

Catie happy to receive her $1 bribe for getting into the cool spring waters of lake Chatuge.


Abster and mom munching goldfish...

The boys went on a nice hike through the deep forest and thick brush near the cabin. Look closely, Jackson is wearing a cool hunting hat complete with a camouflage veil.

Everyone loves the stuffed bear.


Oak Grove CDC had their annual ballet recital this week. The girls spent the better part of the winter practicing for the big day.

Catie really hammed it up for the big show and loved being on stage.