Monumentour

A heck of a good show! 

 

He finally convinced her to try!

Wow. Just wow.

Today the high school Nordic team held a fundraising car wash.  What a great team!  They worked hard, made some money, and had fun at the same time.  As soon as this car pulled in, we could tell there was something different about it.  Turns out, it was a Maserati!  I've never even seen one before; they're just way too expensive for anyone who lives around here to be able to afford.  The driver was very polite, very appreciative of the care that they took with his car, and even gave them a bonus tip before he drove away.  I kinda wish that I could have touched it too.  They're pretty lucky!

Proud to be Panthers!

Today was the first meet of the season.  They were all happy with their performances in each of their events, although they have decided to try some different events at the next meet.  It's all part of the learning process; learning what they prefer to do, and learning where their strengths lie.  They're very content to be a part of this great team and we're looking forward to the rest of the season!

Nomad Trail Race #2

This evening I ran my first trail race.  I completely underestimated how hard it would be!

The course was 5 miles long, and as you can see from the elevations, it was extremely hilly...

It was held at Roberts Farm, where the cross-country running and skiing teams hold their practices.

I have a whole new respect for those kiddos!

Bacon Bourbon Cupcake

My friend knows that I'm always willing to try unusual food, so she brought me one of these cupcakes to try, promising that I wouldn't believe how good they were until I tried one.  I was a bit skeptical, but she was so right!  Unbelievably delicious. The flavors meld together perfectly, and you can't even taste the bacon.  She bought them from our favorite bakery, Rising Sun, and told me that they were sold out within minutes.  If you ever see these at your local bakery, you have to try one!

Our runs together just got awesome!

I took her to Nooksack Racing Supply for a custom made racing harness, bungee lead, and waist-belt for me to wear.  Now, she can pull to her heart's content and never hurt herself, and I can run hands free!  I have seen such an improvement in her behavior, that I know she loves running with us.  She's also happy to be able to spend so much more time with us.  That makes us happy too.

Almost Perfect Grades

This kid continues to amaze us!  He had such an incredible Freshman year.

We can't wait to see what new challenges he tackles as he continues his high school career.

Where's Amber?

Oh, there she is!

Rancourt's Run 5k for Special Olympics

We ran our first race with Amber this morning.  She loved it!  A big crowd full of 'friends that she hasn't met yet' was so exciting, and then actually getting to run with all of them?!  Well, "Hang on, Mom!  We've got to catch those guys up front!!"  I've never run so fast in my life, trying to keep up with her for that first mile...

Our youngest daughter was running with us and she couldn't believe the pace.  Unfortunately, she developed a stitch in her side, so needed to walk for a while.  Amber and I slowed down to keep her company.  Once she felt better, she took Amber from me and ran ahead...I caught up with her sister, who was walking because she had 3 stitches under her ribs and in her belly!  Ouch.  I didn't mind walking with her at all, because that meant I could take my phone out of my armband and snap photos of our family running past us at the turnaround point.

One of the reasons that we were looking forward to this race was it was going to be the first time that big brother would compete against our very athletic, competitive neighbor.  He rides miles and miles on his bike and competes in those race, not often in running races.  But, when he does run, he's fast.  So, we were all anxious to see how they would fare...and here they are leading the race, even after missing the turnaround point, and pushing to get back in front of the pack!  The guys that had stolen the lead from them were laughing as they watched them push really hard to get by them again...

About a dozen runners later we spotted her running along behind the eventual female winner.  She told her father later, "You told me to kick butt.  So I did!"  Gotta love that confidence.

Leading Amber had given her quite a boost and she had opened up a long lead in front of us, but she was all done once Amber saw me...she just had to go to Mom!  So, the sisters traded and another girl took off running with the dog...

Family Fitness

Just as soon as I got home from work, we grabbed bikes or running sneakers and hit the road.  Boy. The hills around here are tough! But, it doesn't feel like work when it's so much fun exercising together!

Pickin' Wildflowers

An Unwelcome Reminder

Last archery lesson for the season...

And, I'm not sure who enjoyed it more - Amber because it was held outdoors so she got to go watch instead of staying home; Li'l Brother because he was allowed up on top; or me, because the weather was just perfect for relaxing and visiting.  We're sad that there won't be any more lessons until fall, but glad that we were able to sneak in just one more last night!

School's OUT!

They only had a half-day today, so I took the afternoon off and we went biking & swimming.  What a fun way to start the summer!

A Happy Father's Day!

It was an absolutely beautiful summer day today!  Mom & Dad came up for lunch and then we wandered around the yard, enjoying the flowers.  Mom snapped this one of my dad & I sharing a laugh.  So glad they came up for a visit!

The girls had a few surprises for their dad, and then they decided to make him a blue cake.  It was a great, very sweet, treat this afternoon!

She got to drive!

What an honor!

Track Accomplishments

Drake went swimming!

It's been so hot & sunny that we knew he needed to cool down.  We carried him down to the pond and let him loose.  He really wasn't quite sure what to do at first, but he figured it out pretty quickly!  Amber thought it was so strange to share 'her' swimming hole with a bird...

Escorting her to safety...

One thing leads to another...

The other day we saw this license plate and the kiddos all told me that I had to take a picture because 'it' was their favorite.  I had no idea what they were talking about, but snapped the picture before the truck turned away, and then asked them what 'The BFG' was.  Apparently, it's the title of a book by Raold Dahl about The Big Friendly Giant (As opposed to all those other evil giants that we should be afraid of!).

So, we visited the library and got some reading material for the weekend... 

You're never too old to read a Children's Classic!  And, it is a really cute story, with lots of silliness that would appeal to children of all ages.  A friend told me she was going to look for it so that she could read it to her babies and I must admit that I'm slightly jealous.  I bet it's going to be super fun to say all those goofy words out loud and listen to them laugh!

YMCA FitFest

This past winter we decided that we wanted to tackle the L.A. Triple Crown 5K Series...today we ran the first of those races.  Boy, was it HOT!  The heat plagued all of us, but regardless we all did our best and had FUN....that's the most important part.  We loved the course because it doubled-back at one point so that we could cheer each other on & give high-fives, and also because it meandered through a beautiful park and along the Androscoggin River.  We reconnected with some old friends, munched on yummy free food, and enjoyed leg massages!  All in all, a great way to spend our morning.

Big brother has developed enough confidence to get himself up in the front of the crowd, lining up with the elites so that he doesn't get caught in 'traffic' like the rest of us.  You can see him in his white t-shirt on the left side in the second row behind the guy with the dark tan and no shirt on. However, he wasn't quite prepared for the heat either, and ran exactly 1 minute slower (19:29) than he did last week.  Still, he finished 16th out of 582 runners in a very competitive race and was 3rd out of 25 boys in his age group.  Well done!

Big sister ran a really good race, with an awesome finish line charge!  Her time was 24:05.  She finished 105th overall and was 4th out of 24 girls in her age group.  And, I have to wonder if that guy in the red shirt saw the message on the back of her shirt as she passed him at the finish line...

Middle sister didn't really feel like running this morning, but she still did great with a time of 25:24.  She finished 140th overall and was 7th out of 24 girls in her age group.  We are so proud of her for running on an 'off' day...we all have those, don't we?!

Little sister thought she was going to run with me, but took off during that first mile because I've always told the kiddos how important it is to 'run their own race'.  I was so happy to see her way ahead of me when we crossed paths - big high five there!  Her time ended up being 29:05.  She finished 278th overall and was 12th out of those 24 girls aged 11-15.  Nice work! 

 My younger son ran with me and during the first mile of the race we ran faster than I have run since I broke my ankle!  Unfortunately, he was wearing the wrong sneakers and hadn't had any water to drink that morning, so he started fading fast after that.  We ended up alternating running & walking, but still finished with respectable times: 35:58 for him & 36.00 for me.  He felt bad about holding me up, but I didn't mind - my kiddos always come first.  Besides which, it's pretty special to finish a race side by side!