Girl(s) on the Run

We signed Reina up for Girls on the Run at her school earlier in the summer.  She wasn't too exited about that decision but I'd heard great things about the program and not-so-secretly, I think Reina could really enjoy running in the future and I think she's a natural!  She's tired of hearing me say that but her stride is so natural and it looks effortless. So anyway.  She started the 12-week Girls on the Run program in September and ran her final 5k race this morning.  She finished in under 45 minutes and I'm so proud of her!  The path was icy and it was a really chilly morning but she kept putting one foot in front of the other and crossed the finish line.  I hope there are a lot more family 5k's in our future.  

Before the race - Reina and her official running buddy - our friend Shelby.  

Race pics thanks to Shelby's mom!  Here's Glenn and Trigger.  Reina and I aren't too far behind and Will is w

Reina and I starting heading towards Mile 2.  

Will racing towards the finish line.  He ran by himself for most of the race because our pace well.... was not his.  There wasn't an official race clock but I'm pretty sure he beat my dream time for a 5k.  

Reina making the turn towards the finish line.  Once she saw the flags, she wanted to get that race over with and left me in the dust.

Officially done!  

Reina and Shelby post-race.  Look at those pink cheeks!  

Veteran's Day Concert or A Series of Pictures of Will Looking Uncomfortable

The fifth-grade classes at Will's school performed in a Veteran's Day concert last night.  The students were instructed to dress nicely and Will agreed to wear his suit jacket "one last time" because it's getting a little too short in the arms.  I bought that jacket in late January and he has grown like a weed.  He wouldn't agree to a tie, just a button-down shirt.  Also, a little gel in the hair completed the look. 

It's a well-known fact on this blog that Will is not a fan of singing, singing in public, being on a stage, smiling while on a stage, or any of the rest of it.  He told us about the concert a few weeks ago and when I asked him Monday night what songs they would be singing, he replied with "songs about American, Mom."  Duh right?  The kids sang The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, Amazing Grace and My Country Tis o' Thee.  A few of the kids recited some lines about the branches of military service (Will opted out of that project).  It was very patriotic and a good reminder of what Veteran's Day is all about.  

I had my zoom lens on my camera but the light was a little low so these pictures are blurry.  But I think they appropriately chronicle Will's experience.  

Glenn and I started giggling right away. Will was in the back row, smack dab in the center and looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.... 

He did sing, or at least mouth the words.  

Is there an escape hatch on the stage floor?  

Wait, I believe that's somebody singing!  

Oh buddy. 

The students were given battery operated candles for "Amazing Grace" (tangent - mom crying alert) and Will's flickered on and off which led to him shaking it aggressively whilst not singing.  Good stuff.  

Let's go ahead and file this one under "things that will make him angry at me in the future" but oh Will, we love watching you sing, even if you are hating every minute of it.  You look so grown-up up there and I appreciate you participating in something because it's the right thing to do, even if it's way outside of your comfort zone.  And thanks for helping us remember what Veteran's Day is all about. 

Turkey Trot

Today we all four of us ran a local race benefiting the homeless shelter.  Reina ran a 2k and the rest of us ran a 5k.  It was Will's first 5k try and spoiler alert, he did great.  Everyone did great!  Glenn won second place in his age group, Reina ran further than she has before, Will beat me by about 2 minutes and I finished the race faster than I thought I would.  Winners all around!  The only losers were Trigger and Tootsie who didn't get to run this one.  Next year, dogs.    

Reina pink cheeked after her speedy 2k.  I planned to jog along with her but she started off so fast, I didn't catch her until she was almost halfway done.  She's a natural.  

Will and I post-run.  I was so impressed with this kid.  He found a friend and they ran most of the race together.  I thought I might need to help encourage him at the end but I didn't see him until I crossed the finish line.  

And then there's this guy.  He hadn't run a 5k in a little while and he wasn't sure how he'd do.  I think second in his age group is a pretty respectable showing.  

Baseball and a really fun weekend

Before I finish writing about the Fourth of July weekend, which is now a week and a half ago, I have to jot down all of the funny little moments from the past weekend.  First up, baseball.  As I've mentioned like a million times on this blog, this was Will's first year playing baseball and it was a great experience.  All of us have enjoyed going out to his games and watching a group of 7 and 8 years olds (sometimes) hit the ball, (sometimes) field the ball and (most of the time) have a really fun time.  Last week was the end of the season tournament.  Will's team won their first game but then lost the second.  On Saturday, they won two games to move to Monday night, where they won again and played in the championship last night.  They lost the championship, but it was such a fun season. 

Will started off the season just knowing the basics about baseball.  He's played t-ball so he understood you hit the ball and run to the base but beyond that, he was a total newbie.  For the first few weeks of the season, he struck out at bat almost every time and started to get pretty frustrated.  This league uses a pitching machine and that ball is coming in at you pretty fast.  But he kept going to practice and asking us to play catch with him in the front yard and hitting wild pitches that Glenn was throwing and this kid never EVER gave up.  I get a little teary when I think about it because I am just so proud of him.  In the second half of the season, something just clicked. Will started hitting the ball and grabbing ground balls and throwing them to the right place and having some fun out there. You could see his confidence growing each time he came up to bat.  He's speedy so most of the time when he hit the ball, he'd get on base.  When he'd get hit home, he'd gleefully leap over home plate like he was in the long jump, but we're working on that.  Baseball's more than just about the hitting and on defense, he'd scoop up the ball and heave it to the right base and quietly shout "YES!" when he got someone out.  It was a joy to watch.  I read somewhere that one of the best things you can say to your kid in sports (or other performance type activities) is "I love to watch you play." Man if that wasn't the truth.  There were games where I felt more nervous than the Broncos AFC Championship and Glenn and I yelled and cheered louder than is probably necessary (or appropriate?) for a 7-8 yr old sporting event, but we sure loved to watch Will play baseball.

A true Reds fan, I'm just glad he wasn't on the Yankees.  Or the Dodgers.  Or the Giants.  Or the....

A pretty happy bunch of runners-up! 

Besides lots and lots of baseball, we also fit in a local race to benefit the hospital's foundation and all of the good work they do.  First up, was a kids' 1K.  I signed both kids up and they were pretty excited to run in their first race.  We didn't get a chance to practice very much but there are both enthusiastic runners and gave it their all. 


Will, in the blue, racing to the finish line.  He was bummed that he finished fourth, medals were given to the top 3.  He did get a ribbon and a goody bag for his fine effort. 

Reina had a great pacesetter and a little help.  I love this picture so much. She earned a ribbon too and carried it around all weekend. 

After the kids' race, Trigger and I ran the 10k.  After the race in Yellowstone last month, I had pretty low expectations - hoped to finish before noon and not injure myself.  The weather was crisp, we had a big rainstorm go through the night before.  The course was in a part of town that I don't often run in so there were lots of new things to look at (a baby donkey!) and I had a great cheering section.  So long, boring story short, I won silver medal in my age group!  Granted, there were only three of us but I took second.  All of the glory goes to Trigger who paced me pretty well, until he stopped to go potty for third time about 20 yards from the finish line.  I had my fastest time (PR in running lingo) and nothing hurt too badly afterwards. 

Me, some of the other runners in my certain age group and Trigger's behind. I did let him wear the medal. 

 

And where was Tootsie, my faithful readers will ask? Well Tootsie split a nail early last week and I thought we cleaned up it alright until Thursday, when I noticed that she'd licked all of the fur off of her toes on that foot. So off to the vet we went. She had to be sedated so that they could cut the nail all the way back (OUCH) and she spent the day at the vet's office. Reina and I picked her up after work and I snapped this picture. Tootsie was a little, well, altered. This is a family blog after all. But if she could talk, I think it would've been along the lines of David After The Dentist (google it). Reina was truly concerned and spent most of the weekend worrying about Tootsie and her giant bandage.  Just say no to drugs, Tootsie! 

 



Fight for Air Climb

Glenn and I and Aunt Vicky and Uncle Matt are participating in the Fight for Air Climb in Denver next month. We will be climbing up 55 flights of stairs to raise awareness and money for the American Lung Association.

As you've seen on this blog, Will has had a few respiratory issues over the years and while everything is under control right now, asthma and other lung concerns are never far from my mind.

If you are interested in supporting this cause, you can find out more information on the website at:
http://action.lungusa.org/site/TR/Climb/ALASW_Southwest?px=4421728&pg=personal&fr_id=3950

You can also donate on Glenn's website at http://action.lungusa.org/site/TR/Climb/ALASW_Southwest?px=4744957&pg=personal&fr_id=3950.

We appreciate the support. This was actually kind of fun last year. I didn't realize it would be so hard to climb 55 flights! I'm actually doing a little bit more training this year. Thanks again!

What Will wants for his birthday

His own 5-way mirror! We did some shopping on Saturday and while Glenn was trying on pants, Will and Reina discovered the magic of mirrors. We had to drag Will kicking and screaming (really!) away from when it was time to leave. He sang, he danced, he did karate chops. He was very enthralled by the charming character on the other side of the mirror. "Look mom! There's so many of me!" We had a busy weekend! Both kids attended a birthday party on Saturday morning and Will made friends with this chap: On Sunday, we all piled into the car for a trip to Denver. "I AM smiling!"The kids were dropped off in Brighton to spend a few hours with Pop-pop and Grandma Pop-pop. Glenn and I headed into Denver to participate in the American Lung Association's "Fight for Air Climb." We climbed 56 floors to raise money and awareness for lung disease and asthma. It was fun... well as much fun as gasping for air every few flights can be. It definitely made me appreciate the feeling of breathing normally.

It's now Wednesday and I home this afternoon with both kiddos. Will has another one of his weird rashes and as I was leaving the doctor's office to bring him home, Montessori called and Reina had a 100 degree fever. So I'm feverishly (ha ha) pumping the kids full of fluid and multi-tasking. Here's hoping tomorrow is rash and fever-free.

Tired feet but a happy heart

Has it really been a week since my last post? Bear with me, but this post is going to be light on Bronco Babies and heavy on the Bronco Babies' mom. Over the weekend, I participated in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and had a really wonderful time. I have about 10 blisters on my feet and sore legs but I feel really good about my participation and contribution to such a good cause. I walked with more than 1200 people who raised $2.6 million for breast cancer research and programs and learned a lot along the way.

We walked 22 miles on Saturday and 13 miles on Sunday for a grand total of 35 miles. I can say that it really is one of the hardest physical feats I've ever attempted. Not quite harder than labor with Will but close. Here I am at mile 20 on Saturday. I'm still smiling but feeling a little delirious at this point, too. We saw a lot of beatiful scenery. The walk started in Keystone, Colorado and continued through Dillon, Frisco and then on to Breckenridge for the finish. The picture below is from Sunday. At this point my feet were really hurting and it was hard to put one foot in front of the other. I had to focus on a sign that I had seen earlier on Saturday - "Blisters are easy. Chemo is hard." More beautiful scenery kept us going. We had great weather for the trip - it was only in the mid-70's the whole weekend. Cheyenne and Denver were in the mid to upper 90's so we picked a great time to spend a weekend in the mountains!I had to take a picture of this young man. There were a lot of people along the route with motivational signs and cheers and great attitudes that kept us going. His sign made me giggle the most. At 12 or 13, I don't know that he really knows how much they matter but I appreciate the sentiment. :) Along the route, and especially on the second day, the Avon Crew had rest stops manned by doctors and nurses who paid great attention to your feet! I had blisters the size of extra appendages by this point but it was so nice to be able to let the experts take care of them and patch me up enough to make it to the next mile.

I walked all weekend with my friend Brittany. Her husband and two girls and Glenn and the kids came up on Saturday to see us and cheer us on along the way. It was so nice to have them there! Seeing my kiddos and their sweet faces (and Glenn's too) at mile 11 on Sunday really helped me finish strong.

I'm still trying to fundraise for the Avon Walk as I have two more months to fulfill my fundraising obligation. If you feel moved to donate, go here - http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk/Denver?px=5395344&pg=personal&fr_id=1940. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Back later in the week with pictures of the stars of this blog.

Poop

Three year old boys. So interesting. So interested in poop. Will loves to sprinkle the word "poop" into ordinary conversation.

Will: Mom, what are you eating?
Me: I'm eating a sandwich.
Will: Is it a poop sandwich?

Any hope that this is a short-lived phase?

The poop excitement continued this afternoon when I came home after picking up the kids, and a mere 3 hours before I leave for a road trip to Minnesota (sans kids!) with Aunt Vicky, to sort of discover and cause a toilet overflow that left little bits of poop and a lot of water all over the bathroor floor. Will was equal parts freaked out/excited. He kept yelling, "It's an emergency! Should I call Fireman Sam?" Yes, please do! If only a fictional fireman tv character could come over and clean up the mess for me.


That golden orb that floats in the sky came out briefly over the weekend and we all went outside to enjoy it.

Here's hoping there's sunny weather where you are. I'll be back next week with tales of our road trip and stories of how the kiddos survived with daddy and grandparents all weekend. Hopefully I will survive without them!

Avon Walk for the Cure

Some of you know and some you don't, but I have accepted the challenge and am participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I'll be walking close to 40 miles in Rocky Mountains over the course of a weekend in June. I am walking to support a friend who lost her mother to breast cancer when she was 9 years old.

I have pledged to raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer as part of my participation in the walk. Your contribution will help to support medical research into the possible causes of and cure for breast cancer, education and early detection programs, and clinical care and support services for women with breast cancer in communities across the country. There is a special focus on helping medically underserved women, the poor, minorities, the elderly, or those with inadequate health insurance. And much of the money granted by the Foundation goes back to the communities where it was raised, supporting everything from local grassroots programs to national organizations.

It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking here: Click here to visit my personal page. If you aren't comfortable donating online, you can send payment to me (checks payable to Avon Walk for the Cure) and I'll get it credited to my account.

Whatever you can give will help! Some of you have already pledged money for the cause and I truly appreciate your support. I will keep you posted on my progress.

It's been another quiet week for us. We haven't been to the doctor in one whole month - whoo-hoo! The weather is warming up so we're spending more time outside.

Driving trucks... Reina's turn to be in the driver's seat. Luckily the battery had died at this point but she had fun anyway. She has some sort of automotive part on her head. Not sure what that's all about .... future Ms. JiffyLube 2027?
When not busy honing her driver's ed skills, Reina loves to reorganize the kitchen. Here she is sorting through a brand-new box of sandwich bags. So helpful!Yup, the Buzz Wings continue to be a dominant force in our household. Every morning, the first thing we hear is "can I put my buzz wings on now?" Reina's anticipating getting whacked in the back of the head... again.

Hope your weekend is free from head-whacking!