Ella Bean, Swimming Machine

That is my nickname for Ella--Bean. Ella Bonzer Bean, if you want the full name. She's actually had many nicknames over the years--I'm full of them. "Bean" has stood the test of time, however, while many other lesser nicknames have fallen. Natalie is currently "Nattle", "Beetle", and "Beets". Actually, a lot of the time she is "Trouble", but that is a post for another day.

Ella (The Bean) had an amazing swim team season this year. She consistently came in 1st and 2nd in freestyle and backstroke at her swim meets, and it was so much fun to watch her. In one relay event she swam freestyle in the last leg of the race. When she left the wall she was in 2nd place, but as she swam her 25 meters, she caught up with and then overtook her opponent to win the race for her team. (I was the jumping, shrieking maniac on the side of the pool, in case you were wondering.) Oh, and it should be mentioned that while she was not always in the lead in her races, she never once was disqualified from a race, which is quite a feat for an 8-year-old.

Here she is with some of her scads of ribbons:
 
And here she is in action--go, Bean, go!!!