The one with, admittedly, a ridiculous number of photos. And they're all about swimming.

One of the fun things that's happened around here over the past few months is that Liam has joined the local swim team, the Pool Sharks. This makes my greedy little triathlon-lovin' heart ever so happy. I'm picturing the two of us doing kick sets together for years to come and having him give me pointers to hone my technique.

Today was Liam's first meet. There was actually a meet last month that we didn't make it to, so most of the kids have been in this environment before, but not us. As luck would have it, this meet is hosted by our swim club, so at least we had the familiarity of being at our own pool. The day started at 7 a.m. when Liam had to be on deck for a 45 minute warm-up swim.

The only way you can tell which kid is yours when they are in the pool is to get to know their goggles (since their team caps and suits are all identical). Thank goodness for that big of neon green on the edge of Liam's goggles!

Team meeting with Coach Heather before the warm-up ends.

Mallory did an amazing job of being patient through about 6.5 hours of swimming, of which Liam spent less than 5 minutes in the water after the warm-up.

The warm-up concluded with a few last-minute pointers. Liam's learning how to be more effective in his push-off for the backstroke.

And then, it was meet time. The first event was the 100m IM - one length each of butterfly/back/breast/freestyle. Liam looked a little bit like he wanted to throw up while they were marshalling the kids into their events and lanes.

Out on the pool deck now, one step closer. Looking even closer to vomiting.

About to get on the block.

And they're off! ...launching perfectly into the butterfly. This race had about a 40% disqualification rate - it's so easy for the little kids to forget which stroke to do or make a technical error like only touching with one hand - but Liam managed to stay in the race.

Finishing up his length of backstroke.

Off on the breaststroke.

I didn't get a good shot of the freestyle. Our pool is a lovely pool but it has a pitifully small viewing area for something like a swim meet, with crowds of people all trying to watch their swimmers, and then you're shooting through glass, too. Phooey. Anyway, after his swim he checked in with his coach for feedback, and then came off the deck and back into the gym to await marshalling for the next event.

Mallory with her signage and her iPod playing Monster High movies on repeat.

Next event - butterfly.

Good dive!

And then one more event before lunch, backstroke.

Liam's age group was 8 and 9 year olds (he's at the younger end of the spectrum) and there were a few swimmers with considerably more experience. He placed 12/13 in several events so I was happy to see him hanging in there and getting through his events, but he was not really a contender in the races.

After lunch his first race got off to a bad start. It was the breaststroke and he hesitated on the block and looked to the other guys in the race before diving in. As you can see, they were in the water before he was off the block.

Part of being a swim team parent (we found out after joining swim team) is volunteering in a myriad of different ways to help the meets run smoothly. Chad was an official timer today and took his job (and the dress code) quite seriously.

Last event of the day, and it was Liam's favourite - the freestyle. He started off with a great dive off the block...

...and at the end of the race, there was one yellow cap at the finish line, waiting for the other swimmers to come in. Who was it with a lead like that?

It was Liam!

Again, checking with his coach for some feedback (and a high five) before leaving the pool deck.

Here he comes to see us...

...ribbon in hand!

He was supposed to swim the relay leg too, but one of the other kids on his team was sick today so the whole team had to forfeit because they didn't have the numbers they needed. Ah well... next meet is only 3 weeks away, so he'll have the opportunity then. We were out of the building by about 1:30 since we didn't have to stick around for the last event.

Great swimming today, Liam!