The Accidental Boilermaker

 Today was the Fort4fitness. Nate was in Denver all week, but my parents were able to come over Thursday to help with Evelyn and Jameson. Friday I had to work the expo so it was very helpful to have them be home when the kids got off the bus.  Saturday morning my dad took me to the race. Evelyn and Jameson tagged along. They were promised treats in exchange for good behavior. In my coral before the start. Nate did his own thing and found me at mile 6, 8, 11 and right before the finish. At the end of the race I saw the GOTR board president. She insisted we take a picture together. I tried leaving the ballpark with my beer, so we had to wait for me to drink it before walking back to the car. I had a good run. The weather was overcast and breezy, but warmer than I’d like. I had kinda decided it wasn’t a race to try and set any records. And I didn’t. I finished in 2:06, but my pacing was awesome.  My splits were very consistent and I was extremely happy about that.

  City final qualifiers were tonight. It was so much cooler and cloudy and it even started to drizzle for the last race. Evelyn finished 11th overall and 4th for 5th grade girls. She runs much better when the weather is cooler.  Jameson finished 17th overall and 3rd for 3rd grade boys. Jameson said he doesn’t run any better when it’s hot, he just runs better than most other kids. 

 First official cross country race was yesteday. It was hot but less hot than last week. It was probably good they did a couple practice runs when it was so hot. Evelyn finished 18th out of 3rd-5th grade girls. She placed 6th out of 5th grade girls.  I love this picture because she’s excited to be up there with her friend Daphne who took 7th.  Evelyn and I had to leave for piano but we caught the start of the 3rd-5th grade boys. Jameson also finished 18th and took 2nd for 3rd grade boys. His friend Levi took 1st. Levi is also Daphne’s brother. 

 Friday was picture day.  Evelyn’s umbrella plant and Jameson’s asparagus fern came home from the plant show. They each got second place.  Saturday we attended a funeral at church. The plan was just to go to the visitation but we didn’t get there soon enough and the line was cut off. So we decided to stay for the service and hope we could pay our respects after. It was a very nice service and we were able to speak with the our friend who lost her husband before we left. It was nice that even though the plan changed, we could trust Evelyn and Jameson to understand and behave.  We have discovered so many praying mantises outside. I found 4 in one small area right by our front door. Jameson had soccer in Nappanee on Sunday. It was hot. The first game ended in a tie, 3-3, and second game they won, 6-2.  Jameson got his first goal of the season in the second game. 

 We had a nice weekend.  Saturday some friends hosted a party to celebrate the husband finding a new job.  It was a nice gathering with lots of friends from school for Evelyn and Jameson to play with. In the evening we went to a TinCaps game. It was a little chilly, but dressed for the temps and had a great time.  On Sunday Jameson had his first player development academy game. He looked good out on the field. No goals, but he took a few shots. The first game his team tied 4-4, the second game they lost 1-7. He wanted his picture taken with his eggplant. 

 Last day. We were lucky and reserved one of the biggest campsites, so the kids had lots of room to run around. Our camping corn hole game was a favorite activity.  After packing we climbed the dune one last time and said goodbye to the beach. 

 Sunday was warm but much windier. We already knew it was probably a red flag day. We started with a hike; pretty much the same hike we do every time at the dunes but this time Evelyn asked to not walk along the beach.  So we cut that part out but we did make it down to the water. Very windy and lots of waves.  From the beach we hiked back up towards Mount Randall.  After lunch it was back to the beach. Nate and Evelyn got right in. Jameson didn’t want to swim first; he wanted to climb the dune, get hot, and then get in the water.  I took them up the dune and then we all got in the water and enjoyed the waves. After a bit Nate and I both thought the waves were getting bigger so we took a rest break.  Then Nate took one kid at a time in the water. The water was warm and the waves fun, but I was happy to watch and try to warm up despite the wind.  Back at camp we were all sleepy.  It felt chilly as the evening worn on, so there were lots of requests...

It’s year six of us camping at the Warren Dunes. We left Saturday morning and arrived with plenty of time to hit the beach. We climbed the dune first, then went swimming. The water was warm with just a few waves.  After dinner we went back to the beach to watch the sunset. Evelyn and Jameson were playing this elaborate game of chasing the waves and inevitably, they got soaked. Back at the campsite we enjoyed a campfire before bed.