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| Wherever Katrina chooses to go to College, she'll be ready! |
Katrina is taking Speech/Debate again this year. The team travels to other campuses to compete. In September she had a meet in Utah County. She reminded me the day before that she would be home late the next day. In my mind that meant 6 or 7 pm. I saved her a dinner plate that she could heat up. As the hours ticked away I started worrying. By 10:30 pm that night I asked Matt if he thought the hour was unusually late for her to still be gone. I mean, the tournament was at like 2 pm. It is funny quickly your mind can start messing with you and all of a sudden both of us were worried. We tried texting her but she had no service on her Itouch. I tried emailing her teacher to see if it went to his phone. We left messages on her friends phones. And then started calling friend's parents. We realized we don't even know some of their first names (there are just that many ;) Finally the last parent we called answered and said he was planning on picking up the girls and bringing them home around 11 pm. I guess "late" means something different to everyone and I should have asked. Needless to say we were relieved to see Katrina when she walked in .We almost forgot to ask how she did, however, the large trophy she was holding gave it away; first place!
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Mallerie's following in her papa's footsteps and running Cross Country. I couldn't have been more impressed with the program. It started back in the summer with organized practices that slowly built up her endurance. The coach is the sweetest gal you'd ever want to meet. She is also Graham's Kindergarten teacher. Her coach said, (referring to Mallerie) "Love her! Love him!" (referring to Graham).
I watched for this girl during the race and figured with all the runners I must have missed her come across the finish line. After the awards had been handed out we were making our way to the car when I saw this girl come across the line. A few minutes later the last girl crossed the line. This girl ran and gave her a hug. This sport seems too good to be true!
It was such a gorgeous day in an even more gorgeous setting. Matt and I had to arrive before everyone else because I volunteered us to be parking attendants. We were put in charge of parking the buses. The good thing about our assignment was that we were done before the first race even started.
Big cheers as Mallerie nears the finish line. This was the only local meet and therefore the only one Matt and I were able to go and support. Hopefully she sticks with it so we have three more years to watch. For this race she ran Varsity. She consistently shaved two minutes off her time each race.
This earned her the "Most Improved" award at the big-fancy-parent banquet last week. There are 75 runners on Cross Country and the awards were voted on by each other. It meant a lot for her to be recognized by her peers.
The boys: I made a mental note one day that before either one opens their mouth to speak I know exactly what they are going to say. If it is Graham's yapper opening then he will be talking about Indian Jones. He talks about his gun holder and the way he wears his satchel. Sometimes he talks about Star Wars too. It's been ages since I've seen the movie and none of it stuck with me. He will ask, "You know that part where Luke..." I never know what he is talking about so my standard answer is, "If you say so..."
If it is Grayson's yapper opening then you can bet your bottom dollar he will be talking about sports sports sports. He gives you replays and spouts off scores and stats. Again, I find myself repeating, "If you say so..."
I guess Matt and I shouldn't complain about these one-track minds. When Katrina or Mallerie talk to us it is filled with a lot of irrelevant details followed by, "I need money." Every time. "Yada yada yada...I need money." Every. Time.
Life Lessons: Grayson has learned that sometimes his friends ideas aren't necessarily the best ideas for him. One morning I was barely getting myself together when I heard, "Bye Mom!" as the front door slammed. I thought Ava was leaving early for the bus stop but came out to see it was Grayson who had left. Ava said his friend called and said he wanted Grayson to walk to school, and just like that Gray left. I asked if he had eaten. Nope. I asked if he was wearing a coat. Nope. It was a freezing cold morning. After school when I picked him up I asked how it went walking with his friend, "That was the worst decision I made today," he told me. "I was cold, hungry, and it took forever," he said. I asked him why he did it. He said because his friend asked him to but he didn't want to do that ever again, "What will I say next time though?" He wondered. "That you don't want to" I told him. If he gives his friend an excuse he will find himself in the same boat, "I was cold" would warrant, "Wear a coat." "I was late" would warrant, "We'll leave earlier." "I was hungry" would warrant, "I'll wait for you to eat." But if you tell him you just don't want to then it's the end of the story.
I love the sweet relationship these two have. Ava picks up Callie at night and carries her to their room and helps her get ready for bed. Ava even lets Callie sleep in her bed. Callie is another tough one to say no to. I hope Callie always stays this close with Ava. Ava is a good girl for her to look up to. Ava has started playing the flute this year. In 5th grade for music class they have to choose either the violin, the flute, or theory. My mom had two flutes in storage so I strongly persuaded Ava to play the flute. She is really struggling with it. She was squeaking out some tunes the other day on the couch. It was pretty squeaky and I could barely make out the tune Mary Had a Little Lamb. After a while Callie came out of the bedroom with a concerned look, "Ava, I think your whistle is broken."
