Another hike and another XC meet

 I wasn't planning on a hike, but luckily some friends were and invited me along. Fall hiking is so lovely. Cooler weather and beautiful colors. I love wildflowers, but I also love the changing of colors. I had not hiked this one - Hope Lake, near Telluride. Compared to my last hike, this one felt so short - just under 6 miles. It was a lovely day.

Myself, Jaymie, and Heather (Brittany took the picture).

Yummy fall.

Just pretty.

Hope Lake - this time with Brittany! It actually looked way prettier than the picture shows. :)

Then today was another XC meet - and tears again. :) Tears of pain. But it was worth it - Emmy placed 6th out of 64 girls. The top 10 received medals and so that was exciting. 8 of the top 10 were from the Montrose team - they are one strong, fast bunch of girls. Both the girls and boys teams took first place. One of Emmy's best-friends (on the team, but goes to the other middle school) is always a few seconds in front of her - which she was until just 50 yards from the finish where she (Millie) ended up barfing. It slowed her down, but luckily Millie still placed in the top 10 as well! Go girls!

Definitely not a team to be messed with!

Emmy crossing the finish line.

Millie (8th, but only because barfing got in the way . . . :) ) and Emmy (6th).

Millie and Emmy holding up Katie. Katie has won every race (she's so fast and usually it's her and Jaden - and by a good 45 seconds) - except this one! Jaden, who's about a foot shorter (no exaggeration) and usually literally 1-2 seconds behind, pulled out the win. Cute, fun girls. 

XC - Cross-Country

Wow, I had no idea Emmy running cross-country would be so hard emotionally! I knew physically it would be a good challenge, but it sure has proved to be quite the emotional challenge, too.

I really encouraged Emmy to try cross-country. She was a little hesitant because of it being every single day after school. So she agreed that if her coaches would let her not attend practice on her gym days (Tuesdays and Thursdays) then she would do it. Her coach agreed and so she signed up. One of her best friends, Millie (who goes to the other middle school in town), also signed up. The only problem was that Millie wanted to take off Mondays and Wednesdays because of soccer. So they would only end up running once a week on Fridays. Emmy was bummed about that. But she's actually done quite a few Tuesdays and Thursdays just so she can be there with Millie. She's tired for gym, but not too bad.

Another "bummer" was that volleyball is actually happening at the same time. And ALL (well, almost all) of her friends in 8th grade are doing volleyball. So she was kind of/really bummed about that, too. Then, a third bummer, was that she had to miss out on the first two meets (the first because it was the Saturday of Labor Day weekend and the second because she was quarantined).

So we had already had a few bumps in the road when it came to XC. Then came Emmy's first meet this past Friday. She was excited and nervous! It was on a Friday afternoon and Ben was able to get off work early and come with me to watch Emmy. It was a tough course, but Emmy did great. She's on the A-team and ended up placing 10th. They only place the top-10 and so she just barely made it! She was crying hard at the end. Because it was so painful! She had exerted herself to the limit and was feeling it. (Ben remarked that he wished our boys would do something that physically exhausted them to the point of tears.) She also cried out, "I am never doing that again! I am not going to Gunnison!" (She had another meet the next day in Gunnison.) Whoa. There were others there who weren't feeling great, the winner was puking, etc. But Emmy was the only one I saw crying. But one of my best-friends shared with me later that she had cried after every one of her XC meets her freshman year. So I shared that with Emmy and that made us both feel better. :)

Emmy went up to Junction that night (Millie invited her and their friend Holly to Bananas Fun Park for Millie's b-day) and got home at 11:00pm. Then she was up with me at 5:30 to go to the meet at Gunnison. She was all excited. What?! I thought she would be so mad and not wanting to go . . . but, nope, she was happy. Emmy has to take the bus to the meets, so I drove up later and met her there about 20 minutes before the race. She was, again, nervous. It was a fast race, though, compared to the hilly Ridgway one the day before. Emmy did well - but didn't place this time. When I met up with her after her finish, she was once again crying. But not because of the pain and exertion. She was crying because of her pride and that she was mad. She was mad that other girls on her team who don't ever beat her, beat her. She felt she could have/should have pushed it more, but it sounds like she gave up mentally during the race. She didn't push it at the end - which isn't like her. She looked defeated and mad as she came across the finish line. Sheesh. This girl is hard to handle. 

But now she's fine and over it and ready for the next XC meet this Friday. :) Who knew that this would be such an emotional roller-coaster for Emmy - and for me, as I have to bear the brunt of it all and don't always bear it well. Aiyiyi. A few more weeks to go . . . Then maybe again in high school!? We'll see and assess our emotions about that next year . . .

Friday's meet at Ridgway:

Before, Millie and Emmy all smiles. :)

And they're off!

Almost done! The race was 3K - about 1.8 miles.

Emmy actually got a little behind #204 and then pushed it at the end. Luckily she did or she would have been 11th and not gotten a ribbon or "placed." 

Yeah, she was hurting and not happy!

But a little time, Millie, and a popsicle helped her forget her pain a bit. :)

Saturday's meet in Gunnison:

Emmy and her team warming-up. The two middle schools in town combine to form the "Montrose team." It's a fast team! 5 out of the 10 top finishers at Ridgway were all from Montrose. So awesome. The two girls on the left of the picture are usually the 1st and 2nd-place finishers. They are so fast.

Emmy out on the trail. This little girl ended up beating Emmy!

Emmy coming in at the finish line. It wasn't her best, but she's still fast - especially compared to me!

 

10 of the 11 girls who went to Gunnison. Only the top-12 were invited to attend this one (Millie wouldhave been there, but she had a soccer tournament that day.). These girls are tough and strong!

Busy Bees for sure!

Well the first full week of September was super-crazy and super-busy for me (which makes it that way for Ben, too, ha). We got back Monday night, I worked Tuesday night, attended a mountain bike meeting that evening, left on a ladie's trip to Crested Butte Wednesday morning and got back from that Thursday night, then unpacked/repacked for Friday, left Friday morning (after mowing lawns) to Nathrop (we had to take the longer 4-hour drive due to expected road closures), camped that night, on Saturday watched the boys at their high school mountain bike race, and then drove the shorter 2 1/2 hours home that evening. It was crazy. I was and am still exhausted. But it was all good stuff. I just wish it wasn't all the same week! Ben thought he had to leave Friday evening for his Army drill weekend, but found out he was supposed to be there on Friday at 6:45am. So, while I was away in Crested Butte, he had to arrange his schedule, the girls' schedule, etc. and head out a day early. So it was a bit wild for him, too. But all went well and it was pretty darn enjoyable - just a bit too much all crammed in, but that's just how it had to be!

The girls ended up being quarantined the whole week. :( Boohoo. Both due to possible exposures. We actually got a home rapid test for Emmy and it was negative (so she was able to participate in, at least, her extracurriculars that week). So at least the girls had each other to be bored with all day?! They are excited to go back tomorrow (Monday). I was glad, in some ways, that Emmy was home all week because I was gone every day and it would have been a bit hard on Lucy, I think. So it all worked out, but was still a bummer. 

Lucy is loving middle school and her friends there! It's been really great and definitely feels right to have her there. Emmy is dealing with friend-stuff and it's been a little rough, but it's part of life - especially for middle school girls - and hopefully all will work out and she'll be happy with her school (she does really like her teachers) and her friends! Jonas is liking school. Especially the social part of it. :) I just found out camping with them and their mountain biking friends on Friday, that Jonas tried to take our rooster, on a leash at least, into school on Friday morning. There's so much to this story (like how I saw them driving to seminary on Friday morning in the truck - I was out on my run . . .  and they were acting a bit weird. Turns out they had the rooster with them . . . Jonas can literally hypnotize our chickens and so was showing this off at seminary I guess . . . Jonas actually bought a leash for our rooster . . . While outside at the high school, after seminary, a counselor came out and asked Jonas if he was planning on taking the rooster inside the school . . . Which, this is THE BEST PART, Jonas put his finger to his mouth and went "Shhhhh." To the high school counselor!!!! Hahaha. His friend, who ratted him out on Friday night, could not understand why Jonas just didn't answer "no." Hahaha. Then security or somebody was called . . . They asked for Jonas' name and when there was a slight hesitation, they reminded Jonas that there are cameras all around . . . Jonas said his name and the security person apparently heard "Otis." Jonas didn't correct him. Oh man. While I do not endorse this behavior, I am glad it was just a stupid prank and not something really bad or dangerous or illegal. Okay, now you got most of the story. Oh, the security person just asked Jonas to take the rooster home and he did and I don't think anything else was done because I received no call from the school. Even if they tried to find out who this "Otis" kid was, the camera would have showed Jonas and the principal, who knows and actually likes Jonas, would have figured out the right name. I have no doubt Jonas and Miles - who was his side-kick - will have fun telling their kids this story one day. It totally makes me laugh.)

Okay, back to my post . . . Miles is taking two classes at the high school (project unify and english) and is trying to finish up his junior classes. :( It's such a bummer that he's so behind, but I don't know what to do at this point really, except to concede that he will not be done with school in May nor even August . . . I think we're looking at the end of 2022.

Okay, so I don't even know where I am going with this post. But on Wednesday I headed out to Crested Butte with some friends (after heading out for a road-bike ride and getting a flat tire . . . long story, but I ended up running 3 miles to Ben's work and borrowing a co-worker's car to go and get my bike. I got back home at 8:45 and we were meeting at 9:00 at my house. I made it on time but it was a crazy, crazy morning!) We had this tripped planned a month ago and it went great! We drove up to Lake Irwin on Wednesday and enjoyed the day paddle boarding and chatting. Then we went to the Oh Be Joyful campground where I had made reservations at the exact site I had gone the month before with my girls and their friends. We set up camp and then went to town for dinner. Dinner was a slight disaster as it took forever (short-staff as is everywhere around here) and one gal's dinner was totally forgotten, etc. But we had fun anyways. We had a nice evening around the campfire and slept well that night. We got up on Thursday and headed out by about 8:30 on our long hike - the Oh Be Joyful trail. I had done a little bit of it with Emmy and her friends, but I wanted to do the whole thing. So we hiked 13.5 miles that day, round-trip, and made it to the lake and back. It was a beautiful hike and fairly flat - until the last two miles. It was great weather, albeit a bit too warm. We got back to our campsite and packed up and headed home. It was a great time with great gals.

At the beginning of the trail . . . we literally walk right out of our campsite onto the trail. It's awesome. Me, Sarah, Jody, Heather, and Sherri.

A lady running with a burro met us on the trail. Yes, apparently it's a thing and there are all sorts of burro races (humans running with them). This lady just retired from running in races, but was training this wild burro, Guapo. He was very sweet. :)

 

Then Friday, after the boys' rooster escapade and me taking Jonas mowing, we packed up the car and headed out for the boys' high school mountain bike race. We got up to the race venue and the boys and their team went out for a pre-ride. This is where they scope out the trail and learn about it so they can make the most of their race-ride. After that, the team all came to the campground - which was literally right across the highway from the racing venue. Police were there to stop traffic to allow the racers and family to cross back and forth between the campground and venue area. It was super convenient. We had a delicious and fun pasta dinner. That evening I chilled with a few other families and kids around the fire and had a fun evening. This is when I found out about the rooster thing. :) I slept with the boys in our big tent and had a great night's sleep (probably thanks to being so exhausted and to Benadryl!).

On Saturday Miles raced at 8:30 and Jonas raced at 12:30. The teammates were pretty close to those times - they let about 4 kids go every minute. Both boys did well. I think Miles did as he expected and was happy with his race. It looks like Miles was 52nd out of 102 boys (with a time of about 1:06). Pretty good - especially since it's only his 2nd race ever. Jonas seemed to struggle a bit more. I think he was a little surprised at how hard it was. He thought he maybe went too fast on the first lap and slowed down on his second lap quite a bit. I don't think he performed as well as he wanted to, but it was his first race and hopefully he'll do better next time! He placed 40th out of 60, so pretty good (with a time of about 1:14). We waited for everyone to finish and then headed home. It was a good time, but it would have been nice to have Ben there, too! Next time maybe!

Here are a bunch of photos taken mainly by other coaches and parents. Miles, for some reason, isn't in a ton of them. Bummer, but at least we have some! They are completely out of order.

Jonas on the left starting out on his race.

Miles finishing his race!

Jonas out on the trail somewhere.

Jonas in the "staging" area, waiting with some of his teammates to start. Jack, Jonas, I don't know, and I don't know. Stupid masks.

Still in line waiting . . . 

Jonas again.

This area was called the feed zone. The riders could ride up next to volunteers and attempt to grab their second water bottle. Most kids were able to successfully grab it, but many dropped it. I was glad my boys didn't do it, ha. This was after lap 1 - with just 1 more to go.

Jonas and Miles at the dinner. Javi and Connor are in the bottom of the picture. I am in the top with my back to the photo. :)

Jonas and Quinn, now I can tell who that is.

I love this - Jonas, since a little boy, always sticks his tongue out while doing sports, etc. It's so great.

Jonas finishing.

I just got this photo from online. Miles racing on the course.

Another one of Miles finishing.

This was at our campground before Miles headed out for his morning warm-up before his race.

The next two pics are taken along the race trail. It's so telling on how different my boys are as riders! Miles hardly looks like he's racing at all, ha. Jonas looks more into it. Miles is a very strong uphill racer, but takes his time on the downhill. Jonas is slower on the uphill, but cruises fast on the downhill. 

Cool stuff.

And what did the girls do all weekend?! They had their first sleepover at a friend's house (we don't allow for sleepovers, but this was a special circumstance . . . :) ). They really didn't want to go with me as they wanted to hang out with their friends. So I asked a friend (two of her girls are my girls' best friends) and she agreed to let my girls stay over on Friday. The girls had fun and even came to our house on Saturday to hang out with those same two girls plus another one of Emmy's friends. Emmy was excited to show her friends her room. :) So the girls had a great weekend, too.

Long post. The end.

Swiss Days Weekend!

Well August ended and September is almost already half-way over! Man it's been busy. The kids all started back at school in August and that has been okay so far. Swiss Days happened again and so we went out for that and it was such a great weekend!

We left early Friday morning (too many after-school activities happening on Thursday evening). We dropped the boys off on our way up Provo canyon at Sundance for some mountain biking. Jonas had been dying to go biking at a resort (you know, downhill biking is his favorite) and it just never worked out. So we thought this would be fun for them. And it was. All three boys had a great afternoon and I had a good report from them all when I picked them back up at 5 that evening.

All three boys ready to shred. Or is that only a ski-term? I shouldn't try to talk cool when I'm not cool. :)

That evening, after getting the boys and eating dinner, we made our way over to Swiss Days. It was perfect to go that evening as it was cooler and less-crowded (although plenty of people were still there!). We didn't really buy anything that evening, but just mainly checked out what was there. Even the boys were excited about a few things (oh, maybe they bought a buffalo picture for their room that evening). 

Saturday started off for me with an amazing run up Memorial hill (I love it so much) and then making some coffee cake to celebrate my dad's birthday! Then it was the parade, more Swiss Days (this time purchasing things, yay!), afternoon swimming for the girls, and then back to Swiss Days for dinner and for our volunteer shift. The evening shift was nice as it was not quite as hot nor super-crazy busy. We all had a really great time. Ben actually ran into one of his good friends from Littleton there! They are currently in my parents' ward (as they build their home) and so were just leaving their volunteer shift. Ben and Brandon chatted for quite a while and then made plans for mountain biking on Monday. Perfect. We ended the evening watching BYU's first football game of the season - which they won, yay!

My dad and Ben drove down early and found a perfect spot for the ATV and it was great for watching the parade. The parade is awesome and it gave us copious amounts of candy. :) 

My teens drinking some "juice" that has 5% juice in it. Haha.

Here are some family shots of us working in the hamburger stand. My mom saw President and Sister Uchtdorf the day before.

On Sunday we went to church (except for my dad and Emmy - who was coughing a bit . . . but who didn't cough once while zooming the sacrament meeting, ha). Afterwards, we went on a fun ride on the ATV. Well, it was sort of fun. Jonas drove the way up and Miles drove the way down. I'm just not a fan of driving with my boys, ha. But they do just fine. We had a delicious dinner. Lucy stated, "One of my favorite things about coming here is the dinners." Awesome. My mom does such a great job at feeding us yummy food - and a lot of it. :) It isn't uncommon to see her getting things ready late at night and then starting the prep early in the morning. Lucky us! We played Taboo and the boys, once again, killed the girls. What?! We finished the day by having my parents open up their birthday gifts (licorice for my dad and canned goods for my mom) and watching a movie.

On Monday, I drove my three boys plus Brandon up Pine Canyon (which is basically in my parents' backyard) for their epic downhill ride. This was something Jonas had been hoping to do and he totally loved it - upon coming back he was already saying how he wants to do that every time and wants to bring his friends, too. Ben loved chatting with Brandon and Brandon gave our boys some good advice (money doesn't make you happy, drugs and porn are bad and stay far from it, Maxwell boys have something with getting volleyball girls' attention (Ben's high school GF was a VB player . . . A VB player here in Montrose likes Jonas), and more. It was a 13-mile ride and they ended up right back at my parents' home. While they were out, I took the girls swimming again. They had fun making up a synchronized swimming routine. Fun stuff. :) Then we had to leave (boohoo) and return to Montrose. It was such a great weekend. 

Here's the girls' swim routine.