XCR 2013

 It's always bittersweet when the cross country running season comes to an end, especially the three seasons I've been pregnant.  We suffered a disappointing third place finish at the district meet, which cost the varsity girls' team bid to the state meet.  However, no one could take away the accomplishment of going undefeated during the regular season for the second year in a row, and that is definitely something to be proud of!  The senior girls will be greatly missed, especially the four that I met as freshman: Maddie, Savannah, Nicole & Irena.   Here are some memories from a wonderful 2013 XCR season.

The season officially began with a girls camping/hiking trip to Mt. St. Helens during July.

During the girls' sleepover in the gym, we made laundry detergent for Love Inc. and tie-dyed t-shirts.

Our first season to do a 60-minute, running fundraiser, where the kids got sponsored per lap on the track.   It was a huge success!

Dadda brought the girls to our three home meets.

The girls at the start line, running against their long-time rival: Forest Grove H.S.

The JV boys always prayed before each race.

At the finish shoot during our home meet vs. Hillsboro H.S.

 Bruce and I round up the team for senior recognitions.

Passing out sunflowers to our seniors with tags attached boasting an awesome Prefontaine quote.

The Varsity girls were Dual-Meet Champions for the second year in a row.

Such classy girls!  Even after losing to Forest Grove at the district meet, they wanted their picture with the opponent, wrapping up four years of being rivals.

Trail Maintenance

As my cross country season is winding down, we spent Saturday morning spreading bark on our home course.  The girls were especially excited to see Bruce (our head coach), but once I began raking bark they wanted to help out too.  After a couple more runners arrived, we left the raking to them and instead, drove Bruce's Ford truck to dump piles of bark on the trail while Bruce manned the tractor.  At one point, McKinley turned to me a said "they are pretty," referring to Savannah and Margaret who were raking bark from the truck bed.  Then when the boys joined in, McKinley wanted the window down so she could say hi.  I think her and Piper waved and said hi to Dan Harper about 20 times.  Silly girls!  They can't wait to run and for people to cheer them on, as they cheered runners during our home meets.

Waiting for the crew to arrive.

Momma's little helpers.

Shakin' their groove-thing on the bark mounds.

They both wanted a rake.

Being silly in Bruce's truck.

Bauman's Farm and Garden

We spent the morning at Bauman Pumpkin Patch, located in Gervais, where this family-owned farm/nursery/produce & bakery host month-long tours to over 8000 school children during the week and family fun on the weekend.  We started our day petting and feeding the farm animals, then took a quick, hot caramel-apple cider break.  Afterwards, the girls had tons of fun exploring the Kidz Maze, sliding down Pumpkin Hill, playing in Frontier Fort, and jumping in the Nut House (hazelnut pit). Even though we had to dodge a bunch of kids on school trips, we had so much fun as a family we're already making plans to return. 

Warming up with homemade, hot, caramel-apple cider and apple cider doughnuts. Yummy!

The girls pose in front of Pumpkin Hill, which happens to be a big slide.

Jumping in the Nut House.

Bauman Farms hosts a giant pumpkin weigh-off.  This beauty tipped the scales at 1278 lbs. 

My Mona Tessa

Some amazing women from my CrossFit gym threw me a quaint little baby shower yesterday.  I'll have more to share in a different post.  But for now I wanted to reveal my belly art.  One of my fellow CrossFitters is a midwife, and at the shower she felt my tummy and drew Tessa's exact position at 33 and 1/2 weeks with washable crayons.  It was quite the masterpiece!

Manicures

McKinley wanted her fingernails painted, so naturally Piper wanted hers painted too. I decided it was time to give it a try....with Piper, that is.  She's so squirrely; I wasn't sure if she'd sit still.  But she did marvelously, and was so proud of her pretty nails afterwards.