School's out for summer!

I think because we basically skipped spring around here and went straight from winter to summer, I am struggling to realize the school year is over!

Kaiya had her end of school choir concert (for which she auditioned and sang a brief solo), Cooper received his academic letter at the end of school awards ceremony (one of very few freshman to receive this award--he is in the top 5 in his class of 350) and Kinley enjoyed Field Day and a last day of school picnic.  Coop was a stinker and wouldn't let me take his picture holding his academic and his golf letter--not too shabby for a freshman!

In just a few short months, I will have a 4th grader, 7th grader and a sophomore in high school.  What???

This is a terrible picture, but I had to laugh because Kaiya literally glows like a ghost.  Front row, 4th from the left. 

Goodbye, Mrs. Hamblin (taught all 3 of my kids)

I just felt like running

Ok, so I don't always feel like running, but somehow, I keep doing it anyway.  It's an easy way to stay in shape and by signing up for a few races each year, it keeps me working toward something.

I ran in a nighttime fun run with three of my best friends and it was a kick.  We all wore glow bracelets and most important, we got time on the way to Denver and back to finally catch up.  The end of the school year about kills us all and two of these gals were in the process of moving, but we had signed up a long time ago and we needed a little girl time.

Then, my girls and I participated in the inaugural Carbon Valley Half Marathon and Fun Run.  Kaiya and Kinley both ran in the one mile fun run, which started a half hour after the half marathon, so I didn't get to see them but Doug was their cheerleader.

The girls both kicked some serious butt.  There were about 200 kids in the fun run and Kaiya was 7th and Kinley 11th.  Both finished just over a 7:00 mile pace.  So proud of them!

I had a bit of a hard time paying to run this half marathon because it literally started near my house, went around my neighborhood and stayed in Firestone--the same routes I can run for free every day!  But, it was a benefit run for Children's Hospital and my dear friend and workout buddy and I decided to give it a go.  It was a pretty tough course, but I hit my goal time and survived (and then had to go to work that afternoon--ouch!).

I hope I can keep running at least one half marathon a year until my legs just won't do it anymore.

Box top bliss

Kinley's school takes their box tops seriously.  Very seriously.  This year, they had a contest to see which class could bring the most box tops.  The prize?  A limo ride around the block complete with a red carpet and paparazzi to greet them.  Oh yeah, baby!

Thanks to my good friend, Tirsa, who just so happened to have a baggie of 200 box tops that Kinley spotted at her house and whose own daughter didn't really need them for her school, Kinley's class won!

Kinley got up early to get ready and let's just say, she clearly enjoyed herself . . . it was worth showing up to snap a few photos.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to camp we go . . .

Kinley has been in Girl Scouts now for four years--two years as a Daisy and the last two as a Brownie. She's sold Girl Scout cookies, made crafts, ridden a horse for the first time, and made life-long friends.  She has had some really great leaders and we are so grateful for their time and efforts.

The last hurrah for her troop was a reward for selling tons of cookies--a two night camp-out near Red Feathers in a cabin with her troop and lots of mommy helpers.  It snowed right before we got there, which made for a sloppy mess, but the girls didn't seem to care.  We had some good laughs (for example, our toothless 'cabin mom' was quite a piece of work and none of us are sure what her purpose was) and survived bunk beds with mattresses as thin as pancakes.

I loved having some good bonding time with just Kinley and I'm proud of her for sticking with it for four years.

In addition to camp, Kinley has been busy with spring volleyball.  She is really loving it and is excited to keep playing in some camps this summer.  She says basketball is still her favorite but volleyball is a close second.  She really did well this spring--one of very few that has a solid, consistent serve and can really keep a rally going (even if it means calling for a ball across the court. . . ha).