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!!!

Ethan and Cross Country

Our Ethan is growing up. Growing up fast. Way too fast it seems. I want to keep him a little boy forever but have decided to embrace all that him turning into a young man has to offer.

This year, Ethan is in 7th grade and it's the first year where he is able to be in athletics for school. He's totally pumped about this. First stop on the athletics train, Cross Country. For those of you that know Ethan well, you know he is as quick as a jack rabbit. His first "meet" was this past Saturday at the Celebrate Fun Run. This was a 5K event. For those that don't know that is 3.1 miles. He had been talking about this since the day school started. Ethan had told me that he needed to be at the school at 6:30 the morning of the meet. I wanted to confirm this so I emailed his coach and she said he needed to be there in time to get on the bus and that the bus leaving at 7:50am. In my head, there is no reason for him to be there at 6:30 and wait for over an hour. Still, Ethan insisted he need to be there at 6:30am. So, again, I emailed the coach and told her Ethan is still saying 6:30 and asked her if this was true. She again, for a second time told me the bus was leaving at 7:50. Okay, fine, he'll be there at 7:40 in time for the bus to leave at 7:50.

We wake up, run through the house getting ready and leave and are at the school by 7:40. No one is around. No students, no teachers, no coaches, no school buses. The place was empty. So after waiting for 10 minutes, we headed off to where the meet was supposed to be. The race was to start in ten minutes at 8:00am. We get to the meet, Ethan and I jump out of the car while my mom, Corbin, Taya and my brother find a place to park. Ethan and I hustled to registration and the lady told us the race had already started but that Ethan could still participate. Ethan, being the kid that he is was horrified. He didn't want to run the race alone and start all by himself with numerous people watching, wondering why he was starting so late. The registration lady gave him his number bib and shoe tag and told him he could still win this thing. In the meantime, my mom had found the coach then found us. Coach could tell we were ticked. I asked her why she told me 7:50 TWO times. Only answer she had was that she MEANT 6:50. I was fuming(not to mention I had just come down with sinus/allergy crap and I felt like total poo)! I will forever listen to my kids over anyone else from now on. I felt horrible. I should have listened to him.

We got Ethan all suited up, walked him over to the starting line and sent him on his way. The whole time, him saying he didn't want to do it now, he was going to loose and that he was just plain mad. After a couple minutes, they sounded the start horn just for him and off he went. He started the race THIRTEEN minutes late.

We stood at the finish line(there was no way I was missing him cross that line) and after about 7 minutes the first runners started coming in. These were GROWN men who finished in 20 minutes. We stood there longer as more runners came in. Taya and I decided we wanted a better view so we went to the side a bit. One of my friends happened to be running the race(35 yr old female). As she ran by, I hollered to her "good job, Casi!". She said thanks then said "I saw your son, he was running really fast!". See, not only had Ethan started 13 minutes late, he CAUGHT up to a full grown lady and lapped other people. I remember looking at the clock when Casi came in, the race had been started for 33 minutes and Ethan had been gone for 20. At that point, something inside me told me to go back to the finish line and watch for my boy. I no longer got back to the finish line, told my mom what Casi said and turned to look down the road. In the distance, I saw a bunch of people coming in. One looked like Ethan. As he got closer, I was still unsure...his LONG hair flapping in the wind. It wasn't until I looked at the bib on his shirt that I realized it was him. He was hauling ass. Running as fast as he could. A look of determination on his face that I had never seen before. I was trying to get my stupid iPhone to unlock so I could get a picture of him crossing that finish line, but the phone didn't cooperate. And to be quite honest, I was so wrapped up in seeing him that the picture really didn't matter. He crossed the finish line and landed straight in arms! I was shocked, he actually let me sit there and hold and hug him in front of everyone for a  good few minutes. Tears streaming down my face(yes, I know, when it comes to my kids and all their awesome achievements I become a three year old)!

The best part was that even though he started 13 minutes late, down on himself....he ran that race...a 5K....3.1 miles...in 27 minutes! Only 7 minutes longer than grown men and women. I am one proud momma. His next meet is October 5th. He WILL be there on time and I am SO excited to see how far and how fast he goes.

I'm a little bummed out that I didn't get the picture of him crossing the finish line for Matt to see, but the memory and picture I have in my head will last forever. It was truly a moment I will never forget.

Catchin' Up

Hello!

I'll admit, I have totally neglected my little blog over the past couple months. Life has been crazy! Summer for the kids is all a HUGE blur. Running here and there and everywhere! We didn't do anything as far vacationing. In July we celebrated Taya's SIXTH birthday. She had a sleepover with a few friends and the next day we spent the day at the water park, Splash.

At the end of June the kids attended Vacation Bible School at our church. They say that was one of the best weeks. They had a blast. They learned some uplifting songs and dances to go with each. This year the "theme" was "Gotta Move". If you haven't heard of it and you have small kids, you really need to Google it. It's awesome. To see my kids(and all the others) sing and dance in the name of God and all his glory is absolutely priceless. I've already decided next year I will be volunteering, singing and dancing right alongside the kiddos.

The closest thing any of us had to a vacation was when my 7 year old niece, Nikki came in town for 11 days. It's always fun to see my kiddos interact with her since we don't see her that often. Honestly, Ethan and Nikki were attached at the hip. Two peas in a pod. While she was here we went to Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine, and the Splash water park. We enjoyed a HOT afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum followed by a yummy dinner at El Fenix. We got to spend an evening out at Lake Texoma. One of the perks of Matt working at the marina/resort is that we get free use of the pontoon boats. We took the boat out one day after I got off work and played at the beach for hours. So much fun. The kids took turns driving the boat and even I was captain at one point. It was a really relaxing evening. My brother took the kids to Jump N Land a couple times and my mom and I made hand print cookies with them. One of the funnest things was going to Hawaiian Falls. Nikki says it's her favorite thing to do when she comes to town(second in line is baking cookies my mom). While Matt and I had a much needed morning/day to ourselves, my folks and my brother took all 4 kids to Strikz in Frisco for some bowling and to get miss Nikki's ears pierced. It was sad to say goodbye as always, but we had a blast and have a ton of memories and pictures to last until next time.

One Monday night it was going to be slow out at the marina so Matt thought he'd treat the boys and took them to work with him. All night. For twelve hours. Matt said they made it until 1AM and then crashed. While there, they fished and just took it all in. Corbin caught a few fish. They had a great time and can't wait to go back.

This past weekend the kids, my mom and I went to my dads first home football game in Lake Worth. They won 42-20(Don't quote me on that, may have been 42-21-same difference, still won!)! After the game we all crashed at my dad's apartment. Saturday we got up, grabbed lunch, went to the park and headed back to the apartment to swim while we waited on my dad to get done coaching! Then, we headed home.

This is the kids third week of school and we officially have a seventh grader, a fifth grader and a first grader! This year is bitter sweet. It's Corbin's last year in elementary school! Next year he will be joining Ethan in the middle school. Where did all my babies go?!?!? I'm a terrible mom. After you have so many first days of school, they all start to run together. That being said, I only got two pictures as we literally ran out the door. One of Taya and one of Corbin and Taya together. Ethan was so excited he was already out the door and in the car!

Here's a picture for good measure, cause he's such a cool kid/brother.

All in all, it's been pretty crazy/busy/normal around the Ramey household, but we wouldn't have it any other way!