Happy Halloween

Best Breakfast

Buttermilk pancakes from Cafe Nomad...you can see I ripped half of one off in the car before I got to work! So, so good.

'Mike's Murals'

Wow. Mike deserves some credit. Wow.

Late Afternoon Light

No lines; no waiting!

Amber's Treat

After the kiddos raced Saturday morning, I treated Amber to a visit to the local dog park She had a blast!

Dryland Biathlon

The biathlon season has begun! This morning we ran/biked our first biathlon at Roberts Farm. Younger brother won overall - he's a sharp shooter and a fast runner! It was awesome to watch him excel - he LOVES these races!! I had fun and got in a great workout, although I was extremely disappointed in my shooting - more practice is needed. Big brother took it easy and enjoyed his ride through the woods - he was determined not to dump on the slippery trails because he has a BIG race coming up!

He's going to 'States'!

Last Saturday they ran hard to earn a spot on the team competing today at the Regional Championships. Today they ran the hardest that they have all season, in the hopes of qualifying for the State Championships. And, he did it!

She was pleased to have made it into Regionals during her Freshman season, and ran the race this morning with a smile on her face. It was her last race this year, and she had fun with it!

Shhh...he doesn't like to celebrate it.

But, it's his birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Cleaning Committee

Andy Valley Middle School Cross-Country Championships

47 girls competed in a 3000 meter cross-country race this afternoon in beautiful, downtown Turner, Maine.

Our girls ran hard and came in 10th and 15th place!

We are so proud of their efforts during their first cross-country running season.

How to shrink a Suburban...

Triple bullseye!

3rd Annual West Paris Pumpkin Run 5k

This has definitely become one of our favorite races! 4 of the kiddos and I ran in it, but our oldest daughter sat out and was our official photographer, As you'll see, she did a fantastic job with the camera. It's so much fun to run a race with so many of our friends, and this year Amber ran with me too!

Can you tell how excited she was to run?! We ran that first mile faster than I have ever run a mile before. The next 2 were much slower...maybe someday I'll be able to teach her about pacing herself? She made everyone smile on the course, which is the best part. She loves racing so much!

Big brother didn't let his hometown fans down...he won it again! (2nd year in a row!) We are all so proud of him for excelling at something he loves so much. His time was 18:18.9.

Younger brother wasn't far behind...he has gotten much faster this year. He came in 5th place with a time of 21:31.7!

That young man beside our daughter thought he could beat her to the finish line. He started his run for it back at the corner, but he underestimated how much of a fierce competitor THIS girl is! Sorry, buddy. Not this time. Her time of 25:00.4, which put her in 11th place!

Her sister wasn't really sure that she wanted to race this morning, but don't we all have those days? She decided that since so many friends were here, it would be more fun to complete the course, rather than just standing there in the cold wind watching. She ended up feeling great about her finish - 19th place 26.47. I love to watch them succeed like this and to see them smiling at the finish line!

KVAC Cross-Country Championships

She got to race first, in this huge field of girls. She was the most nervous of my kiddos, so it was just as well to get it over with quickly! 

Big brother's race was next. It was an awesome race to watch - so fast! The winner broke the course record by so much that the second place finisher broke the record too, and all he was trying to do throughout the whole race was to keep the front runner in his sights. It was incredible!

Younger brother took it easy and had a fun race. This was his last race of the season, on a tough course, and his only goal was to complete it well, which he did.

These kiddos are all so tough and such great runners!

"Hey there! Me too!!"

Oh, what he'll do for food...

He was hungry. She told him she would make him 2 omelets if he would let her paint his toenails. They look so pretty!

Seeking Peace

Time for a trim...

He was kinda grumpy about it, but she has plenty of patience, thank goodness!

Fall Foliage Hike

The weather was perfect today for a picnic up on Hawk Mountain in Waterford. The foliage is nearing peak and the view was just incredible.

Family Portrait

Celebrating 3 today!

Mount Blue Relays

Cross-country runners are the toughest runners that I know! Rain or shine, they get it done!!

Today they raced through a cold, cold rain. They ran hard, despite the weather. 

3 of these excited girls are going to a dance tonight...

And the other will be anxiously awaiting their return!

Ready to race again!

Grocery-getter; Take II

You might remember this car from a previous post? Well, it was parked at the curb again this afternoon when we stepped out of the grocery store! The kiddos & I stopped to admire it. "Mom. That car is EPIC." The driver heard us, and came right over to tell us all about it. He also shared some of the adventures he has had getting it customized to his liking. It was fascinating. I just had to get a picture of the proud owner of this vehicle. He was more than happy to comply!

Middle School Cross-country Home Meet

She ran wicked hard, and WON! She even beat the boys too!!

Her sister was just a few runners back, pushing herself to finish well despite racing hard and achieving a Personal Best at a local 5k the previous evening!  These girls are tough competitors!!

"Where there's a will, there's a way!"

Here we are, waiting for the start of our latest challenge - completing a half marathon! Yup, 13.1 miles of torture for those of us who are unprepared. That would be me. I signed up last spring when I had high hopes of many hours and miles of running throughout the summer. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. But, I felt like I had made a commitment, so here I am, hoping that I have the mental fortitude to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, for the next few hours...my friends were ready, and they were a very encouraging that I could do this!

There is the map of my efforts throughout the course. It was an absolutely gorgeous fall morning for a run/walk along the coast. So, I focused on how happy I was to be there! I saw some friends along the way, and lots of friendly strangers who provided so much support. You can see that mile 8 was when I really started to slow down. It was during that mile that I struggled to remove all my rings because my hands were terribly swollen and the jewelry was starting to cut off the circulation in my fingers! I've never had that happen before. That was scary, although not as scary as when I stepped wrong on my formerly broken ankle and it gave out on me. I thought I was done at that point. Fortunately, it was fine.

It was shortly before mile 10 when my biggest help arrived in the form of the 3 hour pacer. She was running her 268th half-marathon (WHAT?!) and extremely determined to maintain her pace group! She had factored in walking up the last hill of the course, a bathroom break before mile 12, and calculated in other factors, such as fatigue during the final stretch, for her group. She was such a fantastic push to the end that I hunted her down after I crossed the finish line to give her a big hug and a great big 'thank you'.

Knowing that my friends (Who rocked this race!) and my family were all waiting for me to finish are what inspired me to keep moving forward even when it really hurt. Also, that bling around my neck was a pretty good incentive for someone as 'loony' as I am!

Festival of Champions

Today they raced in their biggest challenge of the season - the Festival of Champions in Belfast, Maine. Over 1400 cross-country runners from as far away as Rhode Island, Vermont, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and everywhere in between showed up this morning to compete in 6 divisions. 

Both boys bettered their times on this course from last year: 18:47.45 and 21:58.97 consecutively. This was her first year racing here. She posted a strong time of 23:42.18 in the Freshman Girls' race.

Enjoy!

Muddy Bloody

Photo credit: Coach Roy; Thank you!

I'm so glad that my kiddos are on this team! They do such crazy things together and love every minute of it. Today was their annual trip to the swamp (the location is top secret!) where they swim through the mud and run through the pucker brush. All 3 of them came home covered in mud, scratches, prickers & thorns, ruined clothing, and huge grins on their faces. Let the tall tales commence!