5 out of 6

It was another full-to-bursting week, with events on 5 out of 6 nights: 

Monday, May 13th was the last middle school track meet of the season. Jeff hosted and timed the meet at the high school track. I coached during the meet and was a "ghost announcer" on the side, which meant I told the teenager with the microphone what to say and when to say it so kids knew when to report to the starting line for their races. During the meet I also ran interference between the teenage volunteers working at the meet and Jeff, who was busy doing battle with the automatic timing system. The timing system glitched several times and that along with inexperienced teenage helpers caused the meet schedule to bog down. The meet ended 90 minutes after we wanted it to, and Jeff and I didn't get home until 9pm. Our kids got rides home with kind friends earlier in the evening. 

At the middle school meet, Rose ran the 1600 meter race. The timing system malfunctioned during her race, but the girls ran an entire lap of the track before Jeff realized there was no clock going. He pulled the girls off the track and had them rest while another event was run, then got them back onto the track to re-start the mile race. I joked with Rose "you ran a 5 lap mile!" Rose said the extra lap made her feel extra tired, but there were only 3 girls in the whole race and Rose ended up winning! She ran a 6:48, so not a PR, but her first WIN! She also got a PR in the discus: 49'8'', and ran the 400 in 1:26. It was a great season finale for Rose's first year of track.

Tuesday afternoon, May 14th was our last middle school track practice of the season. The kids turned in their uniforms, had popsicles and pizza, and had a water fight. I organized the gear and lugged storage bins and water jugs all over campus. Tuesday 

Tuesday evening, May 14th from 6-8pm we hosted the high school track team awards potluck in our backyard. Around 80 people attended, and we were very grateful for our large yard because everyone fit very comfortably (even more comfortably once the hot sun sank lower on the horizon and it cooled off a bit). We had cars park in our side yard along the canal. Jeff marked the sprinkler heads with stakes, and long rows of cars parked relatively easily. The last few kids left at 9pm after some very intense barn basketball.

Wednesday, May 15th was our only non-scheduled night of the week so we stayed home, even from youth church activities. Jay spent 3 hours mowing the lawn since it was his only chance to mow all week. Jeff was fighting a head cold and we were all feeling quite tired. 

Thursday, May 16th was day one of the high school district track meet--the big state qualifying meet. It was in Wenatchee, which is a 2.5 hour bus ride from Sunnyside. Jay didn't have a race on day one, but he went to support the team. Jeff and Jay didn't get home until after 10pm. While the boys were gone, Rose, Amber, and I had a girls art night. Rose chose a theme and we all drew flowers while listening to Piano Guys music for an hour after dinner.

Friday, May 17th we had no track obligations (besides a short high school track practice for Jeff and Jay), but Friday evening was a wedding open house that we couldn't miss. It was for Peter Cook from our former ward. Jeff was Peter's home teaching companion for Peter's entire young men's experience, from age 12-18. We couldn't miss his reception! Even though it is incredibly hard for Jeff and I to go out to social events at night (especially during busy track season), it was worthwhile to see Peter and meet his wife. We used Venmo to send them a wedding gift. Jeff and I were home by 7:30pm.

Saturday, May 18th was the second and final day of the high school district track meet, back in Wenatchee. Jeff and Jay left home at 7:30am, and the girls and I left at 10:30am. The two hour drive was not easy--there is no interstate running between Sunnyside and Wenatchee, so most of the drive was on curvy minor state highways. Amber got carsick but managed to hang on and not puke. We arrived in time to watch all of the Sunnyside runners compete. Jay had qualified to run the 3200 meter race at the district meet, and going into the race he was seeded 23rd out of 24 runners. He went out at his goal pace but ended up fading a bit and finished 24th place in 11:27, which was 17 seconds slower than his PR. He had a really strong freshman track season. He worked so hard and made massive improvements, and Jeff and I feel very proud of our boy. Jeff will be going to the state meet next weekend with the two Sunnyside kids who qualified.

Sunday, May 19th Jeff finally succumbed to his head cold and stayed home from church to sleep it off. Dayquil only goes so far!

Rose at her track meet!

Rose, racing to the finish!

Rose and her coach.

Two Sunnyside High School legends met at the middle school track meet: Reid Weaver (SHS class of 2021) met current11th grader Andrew Garcia. Andrew broke Reid's school records in the 1600 and 3200, and he's on his way to breaking Reid's 5k record in cross country. (Reid was home from college watching his 7th grade brother run at the meet.) I took this picture 5 seconds after they met, haha. I couldn't resist!

Dragging the last of the equipment back to the track shed at 9pm on Monday night! Track season is so intense! The high school soccer team had to delay their practice by half an hour so we could finish our middle school meet, so they were kicking balls around in the background while Jeff and I packed up the timing system.

On Tuesday morning, I ran on my first trail in what feels like forever! My physical therapist's new clinic in the tri cities is at the base of this small but steep hill: this sandy trail is a quarter of a mile long, with 300 feet of elevation gain over that short distance. Before my early morning shoulder PT appointment, I ran/walked/clawed my way up this hill in the deep sand and was rewarded with a sweeping valley view.

It may not be the highest point in the state, county, or city, but who said every high point has to be the highest point? This little jaunt made me hungry to hit some longer trails this summer.

View! You can barely see the glimmer of the Columbia River near the horizon.

My phone-balancing self-photography skills are a tad rusty, haha.

Tuesday evening in our backyard with the high school track team: I still can't get over how we turned our side yard into an actual parking lot for this gathering.

The high school coaches, shuffling certificates before handing them out.

Jay received a varsity letter! Kids who qualify for the district meet got a letter. Through sheer grit and hard work, Jay earned three varsity letters at our 4A high school this school year! And three scholar athlete awards-- one for each sport: cross country, swim, and track.

The head coach gave Jay a hug along with the certificates.

I went to the back fence and took a zoomed out picture of the yard during the awards night.

Jay's awards. Next year he'll get a letterman jacket for all of his pins and prizes. Time is sifting away rapidly.

The sports photographer who took the high school track team pictures loved that Jay's dad and grandpa were coaches, so he took these three pictures and gave them to us for free. How sweet is that? I love that Jay gets to have his family closely supporting him, and I love that he is an awesome guy who doesn't get embarrassed by having his dad and grandpa as coaches. I risked plagiarism by taking a picture of these pictures, haha. This also might be the last picture of Jeff and Jay where Jeff is still slightly taller than Jay. As of Friday this week, Jay is officially taller than Jeff! Jay is 6'1'' and Jeff is 6'3/4''. 

Sisters reading on the couch. Every time I notice that I don't have many pictures in a week, I grab my phone and snag a picture of whatever's happening right then. Usually that's couch-reading. 

Girls art night! We drew and colored flowers at the counter for nearly an hour. I drew a dahlia, a sunflower, some wisteria, daisies, foxgloves, and a daffodil, plus one or two other flowers that I don't know the name of.

Rose drew and carefully shaded a rose.

Amber painted a rose.

Saturday afternoon 3200 race at the district track meet: go Jay!

Father & son // coach & athlete.