Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving Day 2011

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Brunners. Betsy and her family showed up late Tuesday night, they just couldn't keep away from Texas.
Over a month ago, Betsy talked me into doing the 5-mile Turkey Trot with her. I also convinced my friend, Mandy to join, which wasn't hard. She is a great runner! So, a month ago, I was running 20+ miles a week and was all for running it. And then November hit and we had school plays, rehearsals, running meets, and more visitors (more in posts to come.) I think I had only made it running 3 times before this morning. But, it was exactly what I needed. I hated mile one and two but by mile three, I was ready to go. I can't wait to do it again and better next year! Another insane thing was, there were 20,000 people running this race. It was interesting and fun. They had even shut off part of the Interstate 1 (Mopac) for the runners.
And then it was home to cook. We went all out again. Turkey, mashed potatoes, salad with fruit, homemade rolls, veggies, stuffing, italian soda.....and plenty of pies. (14 to be exact).
I have so many things to be grateful for. My family is at the top of the list. Along with, the gospel, shelter, food, great friends, health, vehicles, and technology to name a few. I hope everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving too!

(Pictures were courtesy of Betsy too! She is a great sister-in-law!)

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

A big Feast!

(I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving time. I really need to catch up with my header!)

Happy Thanksgiving - Kindergarten Style
I helped Katanya's class today get ready for their Thanksgiving Feast. Each class did their own food preparation and then they lined the Kindergarten hallway with brown paper and the kids lined up for their food. Above is all of the Kindergarten classes. Katanya's teacher (once again) went above and beyond. That morning they made their own cornbread, shucked the corn, and snapped the beans. Then with the fruit salad, it was a lesson of having different fruits but that they can go together as we can as people. We are all different and we can all be friends. The kids loved it and were adorable! Now it's on to prepare for the real feast!

Saturday, November 05, 2011

"go, go, go"

A week after we moved to Texas, I met a new friend at church. She and her family had just moved to Texas as well. We had kids around the same age and we started running together during the early summer mornings. Mandy was the one to kick start me into running and actually got me to not just run but to enjoy the run and love it.

As the school year started, she and her brother started a cross country run club. Kirsten asked if she could do this. Of course it was a no brainer because as parents, who wouldn't want their kids out running and exercising? So twice a week she was doing her "run team."
Today we drove to Marble Falls for the Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships. It's was only Kirsten's second race but she has improved over the weeks.
It was a 3k race (1.86 miles) and I believe it was her best time yet. She finished strong and it was fun to cheer on as well as her friends during their races. I'm so proud of how far she has come.
This is Kirsten and some of her "Cougar Cross Country" friends. They all qualified to go onto Regions in two weeks so it will give Kirsten some more experience. So when my mom comes down to visit in less than 2 weeks, not only will she see McKay's school play but she can help cheer Kirsten on as well. What great planning!