Trail Race and More

Lucky

Lucky us....Aunt Laura and Gma D made a visit this weekend.  Aunt Laura and  I signed up for a race in Colorado Springs this past weekend so Gma D made the trek with her.

Dane and Ben thought Aunt Laura's boots and hat looked better on them.

This is Friday night before the race at the cabin.  We got lucky and saw a bear and a fox.
The next morning there was so much snow that the van couldn't make it back up the hill after going out to breakfast.  It was a complete whiteout. 

Lucky for us, the race only had a little snow......

 This is us after the race.  See the fog and snow in the background....there is actually a mountain back there.  We made it....that is all I can say.  Well, my sister was much more capable but luckily she stuck with me.  It was so cold standing in line to check in that we really almost wimped out.  They had moved check-in into the only indoor building there - the bathroom and the line wound around outside.  Everyone was shivering and wondering what we were all doing there.  Rain, wind, snow and mud were our future for the next several hours.  I was not sure that I was prepared - clothing or otherwise.  A cup of hot chocolate and some fuzzy blankets sounded much more inviting, but I was reminded of something that I had read a while ago in Kristen Armstrong's book Mile Markers.  Here's the quote:  "It really makes me feel alive to feel this bad."  Click here for the whole story that goes with the quote.

Once I thought of that quote, I really wanted to give it a try.  And the rest is history. 

 Thanks Laura for being with me on this one.  It was one of the best adventures of my life!  I feel lucky to have done it with you.

I am also lucky to have a husband who actually is a runner....a really good runner.

He supports me running even though I am not very good.  

Happy 40th Today Brett - I got Lucky in love.

Great Aunt Helen

This is Brett's Great Aunt Helen.  

Isn't she beautiful.

She was a sister, a teacher, a great baker, a friend, a loved one, an integral part of our family and a wise, wise woman.

She passed away a month ago.  As I was going through some pictures, I decided I should post some. She always followed our family blogs and emailed us about them faithfully.  So here's to Aunt Helen.

Aunt Helen was a wonderful teacher.  She had perfect penmanship and grammar.  We knew this because she would send cards often or write us notes.  She was succinct - never minced words and yet her notes were thoughtful and heartfelt.

Darling.

Here's Aunt Helen with Dane.  She loved to canning and baking.  We all enjoyed the fruits of her labor and of course, I always appreciated her goodies.  At Christmas we received frozen Peaches and Corn.  It has not been until late - when I have finally started to preserve food for our family that I realized how tedious it can be and how much she must of loved us.  Whenever I freeze peaches or other things, I think of her.

Just a week ago, Brett and Dane made a trip out to Minden to put Aunt Helen's ashes next to her mother and father - David and Eva Larsen.  It was a short trip, but so much of his family's history is there in Nebraska.  Helen's mother and father lived on the Elmdale farm, which her grandfather owned when he received a homestead in about 1878.  Her grandfather was a first generation Dane.  She said that you knew she was a true Dane because she always ate her sandwiches open faced.  Plus she made great abelskiver.

This is the original schoolhouse where Aunt Helen and her brothers and sisters went to school.  Her mother was a teacher there.  We have a picture of her and her brother and sister in this schoolhouse where Dane is standing.  (I don't have it, but others do).  We also have two of the original desks that they used there. (again - I don't have them, but some of the family does). All these things are preserved in Pioneer Village in Minden, NE.

Here is Dane on one of the tractors at Pioneer Village (there are MANY).  That place was as good as Legoland for him and much cheaper.

Aunt Helen was a special lady.  I will miss her.

Picture Perfect...

We are never picture perfect.....at least not at our house.

But sometimes pictures capture a moment that isn't so bad.  In fact, often they are good.

Here are a few good ones from late....

Cody and Kai on Picture Day.  We missed First Day of school, so I thought this was a good substitute.
Doesn't it seem as though everyone is groomed, organized and ready to go - on time even?  

Dane gives us away when he enters the photo.  The rooster tails tell the real story.  At least 2 of the 5 were looking like they had it together.

This was one of the best days ever.  Kai and I got to go to a Rockies Game by ourselves.  Its true.  Brett stayed home and watched all the other kids.  What a man.

It was tough for her to sit the whole game, but we did it and even got slurpees after.

I don't know if she'll remember it, but I always will.


Preschool Pictures

The twins are doing a preschool where we rotate going to each kids house once a week.
This week we learned the letter "C"so we made some cameras from check boxes and they took pictures of "C" animals that we put in our green space.  Brett even drilled a hole in them so they could see through.  It was so funny to watch them.  They still walk around with them around their necks from time to time.

Classic.

That's pretty much it from our end.  We are doing the same stuff and I am trying to keep it all together. Lainey is getting some teeth and they make her pretty grumpy, but mostly the boys go full throttle all day and Lainey tries her best to keep up.  That's our schedule.
Oh yeah....next Saturday, Laura and I will be running a Trail Half Marathon in Colorado Springs.  We'll see if I can keep up.  Doubt it.  Should be fun.