Scenes from 2009 Cross Country season

The Runnin' Colenels

The boys starting line

The girls' team pre-race ritual

Tyler, my superstar!


Ra-ra, my bulldog!

Tyler, always ready to run!

Rachel, always ready for fun!

Tattoos before the race....

Hanging with her girls after the race!

This girl gives her ALL every time!

Probably the most exciting finish of the season!
Tyler and one of his good friends, Holden battle it out for 5th place.
There was a ONE SECOND difference between them!

Washing off in a puddle! This was the muddiest season we have ever endured. Every race was muddy. This one was especially dirty and the coach asked them all to wash off before boarding the bus.
G-R-O-S-S!!!

Time...

flies when...well, when you're having fun, when you're sad, when you're sick, When you're well, when you're bored, when you're busy. Time just flies! I can't believe it is mid-November already!

So much has been going on in our lives this past six weeks (that's how long it's been since I've truly blogged!) I'm not sure any better way to put it than as a "Random Thoughts" post!

• My son is a Cross Country super star! He was consistently the #1 runner on his team this season. He was named Athlete of the Week in our local county newspaper. (I bought 9 copies at Walmart that week!) He placed 2nd...SECOND!...in the regional race on October 24. And he placed 21st in the Kentucky State Cross Country Meet! He set a PR (personal record) in the 4k (about 2.5 miles) of 14 minutes and 56 seconds. It was an amazing season! We are all so proud of him!

• Rachel and Mallory turned 13 on October 8. I am officially the mother of 4 teenagers! They had a few friends over for a trip to Mr. Gatti's and a slumber party. They got 4-wheelers from us for their gift. I was very hesitant about them and they got quite a safety lecture from me. Mallory tumbled off the first day (don't worry, she wasn't injured) I think that scared them both straight and I haven't had many concerns since then.

• My friend, Becky, gave birth to her third beautiful daughter, Madelyn, on October 16. I just received her birth announcement (hand-made by her super-creative mama!) and she is so beautiful! I can't wait to meet her and snuggle her close!

• Speaking of babies and snuggling, I have been babysitting my perfect little nieces, Jozie and Kealie twice a week. Whew! Those girls wear me out! I guess that's why I am the mother of teenagers at 32 and not toddlers! I don't think I could handle it full time! Regardless, they are beautiful and amazing. I love that they are smiling and trying to laugh! They've got such big personalities already. Oh and Little Miss Kealie stole something from me! What, you ask? My husband's heart! He is in love with that girl and she with him!
  

• Tyler turned 14 on October 30. We got him a new Mac Book. That was the only thing he asked for. Yes it was expensive and No he did not expect that he was going to get it. That made for an awesome gift presentation on the night before his birthday! He was so surprised. It was an avalanche of emotions and made the cost well worth it! He had another boy-girl party the week before his birthday. It was pretty much a replay of last year's party.
  

• Halloween was uneventful. The kids all went to parties or trick-or-treating with their friends. It was a quite night for us at home. We only had about 10 trick-or-treaters. I felt bad for Jim. He loves Halloween. He decorated the yard as a cemetery and was dressed up very scary and then didn't have many kids come by. Michelle and Josh brought the babies over though. I made a big chili supper and we all filled all bellies with chili and all the candy we didn't pass out. It was a nice evening.

• We've had a few illnesses throughout the house. Rachel, especially, has been struggling to stay well. She has missed eight days of school in the past three weeks. She is having a lot of sore throats, so a tonsillectomy just might be in that's girl's future! Tyler and Jimmy have both missed some days for general "not feeling good-ness"...is that a legitimate phrase? Oh well, I just created it. They both ran a fever but it only lasted 24 hours, so I wasn't too worried. Mallory has managed to stay well and we, as a family, seem to have avoided the H1N1 that seems to be making it's way through our town. We've even had some local schools closed because of it.

• I am addicted to Facebook. If you want to know the real reason I have not been blogging, I think you can blame FB. Whenever I have a free moment, I seem to be checking out every one's status. Most of them are people I haven't seen or talked to in over 10 years, but now I MUST know what they had for lunch or where they spent the weekend. Honestly, it can be a little overwhelming, but it has been a nice way to reconnect with lots of people. Hey! I just had a thought...if any of you are on Facebook and we're not already friends...look me up!

• My blog (and Facebook!) friend, Renee, just returned from Eastern Europe. Her husband stayed behind to bring home the newest addition to their family, Kellsey. She was officially adopted on November 10! I can't wait to see their whole family together. It has been an honor to share this journey with them!

• Another blog friend of mine, Raine, has been feeling down lately. I truly hope that you are feeling better this week. I worry about you, girl! Let me know if there's anything I can do to lift your spirits! {{{hugs}}}

• I am soooo looking forward to the holidays this year! I have already done some gift shopping and I just can't wait to get out the Christmas decorations. I will follow the old family rule though. Nothing Christmas until Thanksgiving dinner has been consumed!
  

I'm sure there are things that I forgot. I really want to get back on the blogging wagon. I love my bloggy friends so much and I will not lose touch with you guys! Don't forget that I am reading every post (thanks Google Reader!) on each of your blogs, even when I don't comment or blog myself!

Happy Thanksgiving! I just can't help wishing a happy holiday of some sort!



P.S. Still no pictures. Actually, I was able to upload pictures when I started this post, but I had to save and restart my computer and now I can't upload again. I just can't figure it out. I can upload to Facebook though, so if we're friends you can see a few new pics there.

Weekend Update

The weekend started with an AWESOME cross country meet! This week's meet was held about 10 miles from home and was a 3k (1.86 miles).

Rachel ran her race first and beat 40 other girls with a time of 17:08. This was a 10 second improvement over last week. Way to go Rachel!

Tyler's race was second and he placed NINTH out of 229 boys!!! We were so excited! Top 10 is a place we were always wishing for, but not sure when we would see it! AMAZING!!! Tyler came in with a time of 11:21.

Both the girls' and the boys' teams place 5th overall. A great Saturday to say the least! NO pictures. I didn't take my camera. I probably wouldn't have taken many pictures anyway. They were both just too fast for me this week!

After the meet and lunch, Tyler and I headed into town to do a little celebratory shopping. We picked up some video games and candy and had Taco Bell for dinner! The rest of the night was laid back and quiet.

Sunday was more relaxing. Pajamas, video games, movies and naps. Ahhh...refreshed for the week ahead!

I just watched my DVR'd episode of Project Runway.

The challenge for this episode was to design an eye-catching look for and industry event based on their models' ideas. It didn't seem like that should be a hard challenge. I agree designers have their own ideas, but they should also be able to put other people's ideas into their work.

This week's winner was Althea.

I like her a lot, but I was not a huge fan of the design. I see why she won though. Here is her design.

She had to create 3 pieces in the same time most of the designers made only one. I can also see how "Hollywood" would accept this design.

This week's loser was Qristyl.

She was one of Michelle's favorites. I wasn't sure about her either way.
Her design:

There was nothing wrong with this dress, but it did not live up to the challenge which was an eye-catching look. I can agree with the judges on this one.

If I had to pick a winner this week. I would have chose this design by Epperson. He is becoming one of my favorites!


You can't really tell how amazing the detail was in this picture, but this was a great dress! I would totally wear it! At the end of the episode, we got a clue to next week's challenge. Black and White!

Random Thoughts

Today is Patriot Day. I'll admit that I am not a huge patriot, but I will acknowledge and honor the 2,974 lives we lost 8 years ago today in the worst act of terrorism on US soil. It is the moment in my life that everyone will ask "Do you remember where you were when?"

Speaking more lightly of days to remember, wasn't Wednesday a cool date? 09/09/09

I forgot to post about last week's Cross Country meet. Tyler and Rachel both did great! The race was a 3k (approx 1.8 miles) Rachel finished with a time of 17:17. She placed ahead of 50 other girls in the race! Tyler finished with a time of 11:25 and placed 15th out of 196 boys! He received an individual medal! As a team, the girls finished in 5th and the boys placed 4th! We were all very excited! T and R have another meet tomorrow. Here's hoping for another great day!

I have discovered an awesome new show. Glee on Fox. It's a musical-dramedy. Here is a clip from the pilot episode...

How great is that?!?! I think there has only been one episode besides the pilot. Let me know if any of you watch it. I love chatting about my favorite shows!

Recap of 09/10/09 episode to come later this weekend...

Wednesday Already?

My internet fast went very well this weekend. I didn't log back on until Monday morning and I have only been on-line twice since then. It really is nice to get rid of that feeling that I must check on this and read that!

Tyler and Rachel's Cross Country team had their first meet this weekend. It was a large meet for the area so only 7 kids from each team were able to run. That meant Rachel sat this meet out, but she is such a great supporter of her friends and her team. I am so proud of her for her team spirit and encouraging nature. She is such a good girl!

Tyler's race was 3000 meters. That's about one and three quarter miles. He did great! His finishing time was 11 minutes and 10 seconds! He placed 27th out of 300 runners! And he came in first for his team! He ran great and was pretty happy with his finish. He was a bit upset that he came in 27th since the Top 25 runner received medals.

The start line. Tyler is in color. All the others are insignificant! ;)

Look at that determination. And this is just a warm-up!

Their next meet is this Saturday. Tyler and Rachel will both run. I have high hopes for both of them!

I am babysitting the twins today! As always, I'm excited! Now I need to run so I can get all my chores done so I can just sit and hold the girls all afternoon!

And just for fun...my twins holding Michelle's twins

MIA, AWOL, whatever...

My loyal readers reader Sister was wondering where I have been this week. Well, just hanging out and being cool!

The kids are on Fall Break this week and we have been enjoying their time off.

Saturday...
CC Meet. No pictures because I took the dog.
He was worn out when we got home!

Red did not run, she wasn't feeling well. T did well and came in first for his team as usual (I wouldn't brag like that!) I did get one pic after the meet. Check out his number from the race...LUCKY?!? His birthday is October 30!


Then Mr. T was off to go camping with my parents.



I spent Saturday afternoon with Sister (my loyal reader!) We went to lunch and did some shopping. It was a fun time!

With no kids in the house, Saturday night was Date Night! We had dinner and drinks and just hung out together. It was so nice!
Having fun...alone!

We even stayed out late! See....


Sunday...
After that late night, Sunday was a very lazy day. We slept in and picked T up in the evening.

Monday...
See Sunday.

Tuesday...
Mr. T and I spent the day at the Pumpkin Patch. Check for a more detailed post on that later!

So, that's been our week! Pretty fun, yet relaxing. Mr. T's birthday party is Saturday, so I need to spend the next few days catching up on chores and getting ready for the party.

Another CC Meet

Last night was yet another CC meet for R and T. They did well. The race was a 4k and they have only run 3k up to this point, so it was a bit of a challenge!

I forgot my camera (as usual), but Big Daddy took some pics at the finish line with his phone.

Red crossed at just over 24 minutes

Mr. T finished first for his team (again!) with a time of 17:17!

We ended the night with a gourmet dinner at the Golden Arches!

Some overdue pics...

of my young athletes!

These are from their meet on 9/13. It was a 3k here in Oldham Co. called
"The Rumble in the Jungle"


Red pushing up a hill!


Looking strong, even at the end of the race!


I love these starting line pics, even though it's hard to see Mr. T.


Determined. The top 50 runners get a medal!


He did it! 46th out of 215 runners! Oh, and #1 for his team!!

Hopping off my soap box!

I was looking over my past few posts and they have not been too personal, have they? I guess I was just stuck up there on my soap box...

Cross Country meets started last Saturday. T came in first for his team at the first meet and took 2nd on the team Saturday! He's doing really great so far this year. His personal goal is to run a 5:45 mile by the end of the season. I definitely think he can do it!

R didn't run the first meet, but she ran on Saturday! She did great and didn't walk at all so that means I have to buy her a new WebKinz! That was our deal. Now she has to set a new goal.

Here are some pics from the first meet.
RED is 4th from the left.
Stretching before the race
Warming up. Mr. T is first from the left.
Here are some race shots. You can see T in the middle of each pic.