Yes, it was extremely muddy. Yes, it was extremely cold. Yes, it was extremely windy. But the rain held and the girls were better prepared with long sleeve running shirts. (I don't know why it took me so long to get them some!) The last race of the season was an exciting one!
Mud and ponytails flying right and left
15:07 - 49th place
15:36 - 63rd place
And when it was all over, we were the champions for the second year in a row!!! I am not sure that the girls were expecting it this year and it was so awesome to see their faces as the third and second place teams were called out...and it wasn't ours! A huge cheer arose when they named Westlake as the champs!
My two very own winners...who battled the elements all season long and came out victors!! They have put up with a lot and I am very proud of their determination.
Can't wait to see what next year's 5k races will bring...but for now, we are calling this season GOOD!
I don't know if you've heard, but there's a Mormon running for president of the United States. And he may be considered by some (or many) to be a front runner for the Republican Party. So it was just a matter of time before somebody said something about his religion.
The latest buzz is surrounding a comment made by a Southern Baptist reverend who supports another candidate that Mormons aren't Christians. Hmm. It's nothing new. I don't know if there is a Mormon out there who hasn't heard that.
My question is, however, whether this particular reverend or anyone else who holds this viewpoint of Mormons has ever asked one personally about what exactly they believe. And so, since I am a Mormon, I thought I would share exactly what I believe.
I looked up what the definition of "Christian" is, since I thought that maybe I was missing something. As a Mormon, I would define myself as a Christian. But just in case, I wanted to see how I measure up. Here is how dictionary.com defines "Christian:"
The actual name of my church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I have never in all my 30-something years ever been to an LDS church service where we do not "talk of Christ,...rejoice in Christ...[or] preach of Christ." I believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost and that they are three separate and distinct personages. I believe that Jesus Christ is God's Only Begotten Son, that He was born of Mary, that He lived a perfect life here on earth. I believe that while on the earth He established a church, the organization of which the LDS church is patterned after. I believe in everything He taught in the Sermon on the Mount. I believe He raised the dead and healed the sick. I believe He atoned for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. I believe He died on the cross. I believe He was resurrected on the third day. I believe that through Him, and only through Him we can be saved. I believe that if I keep the commandments and try to live my life as He lived His and put my faith in Him that I can someday return to God and live with them in Heaven.
Is the Mormon Church a part of "any of certain Protestant churches?" No. So if you would like to focus on that one last definition, then well, I guess I am indeed not a Christian. But if you would like to look at the other eight, I think our religion measures up pretty well.
In the eternal scheme of things, I am not going to get too worked up over what people think of me. Everyone is certainly entitled to believe what they would like, since this is ultimately what I myself want from everyone else. My only problem comes when 1) a person making those statements doesn't go right to the source to find out the truth (I mean, if you wanted to learn about American Greetings, would you ask an employee of Hallmark? The information you get might be slightly skewed.) and 2) a person making those statements is trying to be inflammatory.
Actually, I am kind of glad that this comment was made, because I think it is empowering a lot of Mormons to speak up and speak out, to clear the air, to teach and to inform. But in the end, what is most important to me is my unwavering testimony:
I love my Savior, Jesus Christ with all of my heart. I know that He lives, I know that He is the Son of God, and I know that without Him I would be nothing.
To me, it doesn't get any more Christian than that.
Finally. We had a week+ run of beautiful sunny fall weather.
We had a Fun Run at the rec center which was great because local family could easily attend.
The sun continued on through the weekend, and even though there was still mud on the course, the penultimate race was back on our home turf. And no one was shivering.
Emma crossed the finish line in 14:49.
Leah was not far behind at 15:09.
Yes, that would be an improvement of over a minute in their best times this year. I think the good weather caused a real pep in their step.
The last meet is conference champs on Saturday, and while I am not sure we will have 70 degree weather, or sun, I am hoping with all my fingers crossed that the weather holds at least until about 2:30pm.
Also having a great day on Saturday was Andrew in his fall baseball league. This league has been a struggle for him, from having lots of coaches and parents who smoke around him ("Mom, I didn't know that women were allowed to smoke!"), from being one of the youngest on a team with kids who were almost 12 years old, to hearing coaches use swear words during the post-game pep talks, to being benched for most of the games, to striking out most of his times at bat. He struggled, but he stayed strong, was a good example, showed good sportsmanship, and learned a lot.
And finally, after two weeks of cancelled games (all of which were made up on Sundays - boo.), he did this:
Out at home, but love how he tries to slam the catcher!
I agree with the dad in the background...smart baserunning!
Unfortunately, just as he's hitting his stride, this is his last game. Other commitments this Saturday, and the rest of the make up games are on Sundays. But he ended on a good note and came out still loving the game of baseball.
For today's meet in Vermillion I broke out the the huge eskimo coat. Very windy, very cold, and very wet. You can hear the wind in this video of the start of the race...
You can also hear 150 girls squealing as they splash through the mud.
Freezing girls wishing they would shoot the gun already!
Here's Emma's finish at 16:09. 11th overall!
And here's Leah a few seconds later at 16:51. 27th place!
Here are the girls in the chute. Emma got her ribbon here. Love the sportsmanship!
And here is the muddy aftermath. Not only did Emma get mud on her glasses, she also got it on the side of her nose behind her glasses.
Will we catch a break next week? We've been here long enough to not expect much and to not count anything out.
And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go put some running shoes in the dryer for the third week in a row...
The last two cross country meets have been pretty ooey and gooey.
Two weeks ago the girls ran down in Brecksville/Broadview Heights. I was running getting drenched in Race for the Cure with Melissa and Jill, so I didn't get to see the girls race. Yay for Glenn for snapping some pics of the damage.
Two good sports waiting for the race to start.
Leah at the finish line. The times are all off because of the course conditions. Leah finished at 19:09. But that was still 60th place out of 227 girls!
Emma finishing. Look at that stride! Her time was 17:55, which was 32nd place. She was supposed to run in the team race (top 7 girls from each team) rather than the open race (all the rest) but the coach made a controversial call (in my opinion) to sub in a girl who hadn't even run in race all year. It really bugs, but Emma is still continuing to show how valuable she is to the team.
Got mud?
Today's meet was down in Lodi. It wasn't raining, but it was cold and foggy, and since we've had a lot of rain this week...yep, you guessed it. Mud and muck, and not just on the course!
My shoes looked as bad as the girls'! Almost.
Again we had the two separate races, open and team. Again, I think it is slightly controversial (and again in my own head) that Emma doesn't get to run in the team race, but she totally proved a little sumpin supmin in the open race. I have a feeling that in two weeks when she gets back to our familiar home course, she is going to blow 'em all away.
Emma at the beginning of the race. She was at the head of the pack the whole time! She put in a great time, considering the conditions--finishing first for Westlake and 12th overall! Her time was 15:41.
Leah at the beginning. She put in a sweet performance today, finishing 3rd for Westlake and 30th overall at 16:26.
Emma at the end of the race. She is about to run down a short but steep little hill. I am so surprised more people don't just trip and roll down it. And she ends up beating that girl in black!
Here's Leah at the hill, elbows out for balance! Who was the brains behind this course, anyways?
Good thing I had blankets in the car...it kept the seats clean and helped warm up two cold and muddy runners. We have been keeping our washer and dryer in business today for sure.
The true star of the Cleveland Air Show last weekend was the wind! It was in rare form near the lake and made things just a little chilly. But it also made for a much smaller crowd than usual, thus resulting in prime viewing spots and lots of space to play in.
Under these blankets are several children trying to stay warm.
Jenna keeping Leah warm
Front row seats!
This year we saw the Blue Angels. They were ok. Not as long of a show as last year, but I don't think anyone was complaining that we got to head for the warmth of the car sooner.
Classic picture of Brooke with her fingers in her ears.
Jenna looking through the "astronauts."
Tyler's exclusive fan club has a new member.
Despite the fact that the wind stole the show, we were glad we got to keep the Labor Day tradition alive.
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