District Meet

As quickly as Cross Country came, it's now gone just as fast. This past week was the district meet. When Ethan gets to high school, depending on how he places, he will continue onto regionals and state. This year, being in middle school, his adventure ended at district. He still did awesome and we are still so proud. He's a trooper. From what the coaches and some other students were saying, this course was the toughest they ran this year. There were a bunch of hills, up and down and it was down right chilly!

 

That didn't stop him though! He placed 29th out of 45!!!

Warming up.

Words of encouragement...

From uncle Brian.

Almost finished!

Love this picture <3 p="">

Blessed...

Beyond...

Words.

My loves (minus two)

I'm so proud of this boy. I love him to the moon and back.

*** I heard this song the other morning and couldn't stop thinking about all three of my babes the entire time. Each of them inspire me in different ways everyday. They all have different strengths that make me want to be better. They truly do make me want to be Brave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUQsqBqxoR4

Fall Fun

I love, love, LOVE the fall. It's honestly my favorite time of year. The weather, all the activities and the smell in the air (I'm promise, I'm not crazy...there is a smell of the fall.) just makes me happy and my heart warm. 

There's a really neat Christmas tree farm (Wintergreen Farm)  out here, about 10 minutes from our house. Last year we went out and cut down our Christmas tree there. With a real saw and all :) During the fall they have a pumpkin fest complete with a maze, train ride and hayride. There's also a decent size play area for the kids and a little gift shop for the kids at heart. Of course, with any pumpkin fest there's gonna be a plethora of pumpkins too! Yes...we bought four. For only $25 :)

 They're growing up super fast :-/

 Look at her face-Priceless!

 I love his smile : )

 There's Corbin!

 This one's for good measure. She melts my heart.

I saw this today and had to share. So very true. It's because of him and the sacrifice he made that I get to enjoy times like this and everyday with my kids. I can't express my love for them and their daddy. They make my world go round. And bring me peace in every way. 

Cross Country: Race Two and Three

Cross country is going strong and it's almost over! There weren't but three races this year. I've never had an interest in this sport, but after my baby being in it, I am loving it! 

Two Saturday's ago was Ethan's second race. It was a crazy experience. It was rainy and windy. Not only that, but the temperature from the time we left the house to the time we arrived(a whopping hour!)dropped drastically. We(I) was NOT prepared. Corbin had on a short sleeve shirt and shorts, Taya was wearing jeans and a short sleeve shirt and I was also was wearing jeans and a short sleeve shirt. In BLIZZARD weather! Well, minus the snow! 

This race was a two mile race. The first one was 3.1 miles. Ethan's time the first race was 27 minutes(3.1 miles). He surprised us all this race. He finished in 15.42 minutes. That was amazing. Especially in that weather! There were 98 kids running in that race. We aren't for sure what he placed but he says it was between 20th and 30th place! That's awesome for almost 100 runners!

 I can't look at this picture enough. Every time I do, I tear up.

This past Thursday was race three. I'm still in awe of what this boy can do. He was pumped and ready to run after a long day of school. There were 18 boys running this race. Middle school-ages 12 to 14. There were two boys from Tom Bean. Ethan(7th grade) and Andy(8th grade). Andy has been running for a few years and is a whole foot taller than Ethan. Going into this race Andy was the front runner and was expected to win. He did. First place! I was sure Ethan would do great but NEVER expected what happened next. They took off and Ethan was hanging with Andy...the ENTIRE time. That is until another boy purposely through his foot in front of Ethan and tripped him near the end of the course. There were spectators throughout the course watching every move. There was no good reason for the boys actions other than the fact that he wanted in second. YES, at this point Ethan was in SECOND place! Well, then he tripped and fell to the ground. BUT, he got up and finished the race! Not only did he finish the race, but he came in FOURTH place! Four(4) out of eighteen(18). The kid that tripped him...yeah, he came in second. But he did it in an ugly way. The amazing thing to me is that he stayed with an older boy who has more experience and that everyone expected to win. Andy's time(1st place) was 13.10 minutes. Ethan's time...14.13 minutes. He came in a mere minute and 3 seconds after first place EVEN after he got tripped up.  I can't express the amount of proudness I have for him. I will never be able to explain it but this feeling will always be there and it will never go away.

 ~Stretching before the race~

 ~Hmmm~

 Love him!

 Almost time...

 ~Look at him! The SMALLEST kid...

 But, has the BIGGEST heart!

 You can't see him here(look real close, he's in front!). That's because he's already gone!

 Look at him go!

 First and fourth place!

My boy with his FIRST(but not last)medal!!!

District meet is next Monday, the 21st. Stay tuned!!!