Girls (and a mom) on the Run

Carli joined a club at school called "Girls on the Run". It is a running club geared to young girls from 3rd-5th grade. They promote self confidence and positive attiitudes. At the end of the semester they have the girls participate in a 5K. They encourage any moms, aunts, big sisters, etc. to run with them and be there for support. This past Saturday was the big race! I told Carli when she first started that I would run the 5K with her, but secretly I didn't really want too! As I've mentioned before, Carli LIKES to run and is pretty fast for an 8 yr old so as the race got closer, I got more and more nervous! PLUS, I'm not a runner (I would rather mountain bike!) About 3 weeks prior to the race, I figured I had better start training so I could keep up with her :)

I asked Carli if she was going to "stay" with me when we were running and her response was, "Well....I kinda wanna WIN Mom!" I just laughed and told her I would try to keep up with her, but to just do her best (with OR without me!) We got to the race and it was total chaos! There were over 3000 runners! The race started and Carli just took off like a flash! I kept my slow and steady pace and was determined to run the whole thing without walking. Around mile 2 I caught Carli (who was very tired!). We kept each other motivated and long story short....Finished in the top 30! Our time was 30 min 46 seconds!!!! She did absolutely amazing! We found out later, she finished first from her school too! I'm feeling inspired too...I just might keep up running!

Rimrock Elementary Runners

Before the race:After the race:

Overall, it was a great experience and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to run with my girl! We got a bunch of free goodies from the various sponsors (including the "crazy hair" stuff donated by GOODY for all the runners) It's sure fun being the mom of girls!! :)

Another Haircut

After Mollie's haircut, Carli wanted hers cut short too! Hers isn't quite as dramatic, but it is perfect for summer. It looks great and is SSOOO much easier to do! I've always cut her hair but not this time....too much pressure to get it right now that she's getting older :) Pretty cute haircut!

Accomplishments

It has been a great end to Carli's 3rd grade year! To start, she was awarded "Student of the Month" in April for demonstrating great behavior at school and was excited because she could eat lunch in her classroom if she wanted (with 2 friends) AND her teacher bought her a soda pop :) Simple pleasures!

At her Parent-Teacher Conferences we got a great surprise....She scored "Advanced" on her CSAP (Colorado Student Assessment Program) for Reading!! Her teacher said the percentage of 3rd graders that score as high as she did is so small that she was speechless! She told us we needed to REALLY celebrate! Carli is a great student, but this was totally unexpected :) We are looking forward to getting the rest of her scores! Wow!

To top it all off, Carli also got a "Golden Roar." I'm not exactly sure just what this is to be honest, but we got a letter inviting us to eat a "special" lunch with her in the lunchroom at a reserved table with an actual plastic tablecloth :) There was even music playing!

Our little overachiever! Way to go Carli!! We are so proud of EVERYTHING you do!! Sure love this girl!!! What a year!

Another Season

Another soccer season has come and gone. Our "crazy 8's" work so hard and love soccer so much! This season was the best so far! Mollie has turned into an amazing soccer player, which is a nice change from the fall! She is so aggressive and comes out like a bullet to score the first goal of every game! Even though Mollie is the littlest player on the field, she isn't afraid of anything....she gets right in the middle of it to take control of the ball. She has great footwork for a 4 year old and is the best dribbler on her team. Love watching this girl play!!

(Mollie always does silly things after she scores a goal....this was her "crazy hands" goal!)

Regan is a natural athlete. She can literally score goal after goal after goal....IF she chooses to. It can be really frustrating to watch her play when she isn't trying because we know she isn't applying herself! Chad finally had enough and told her that if she didn't want to play we would take her out of soccer completely. That did something to her because the next game she scored 6 goals!! Regan also has great ball handling skills and control of the ball. Unlike the rest of her team, she insists on keeping the ball close to her and "making moves" on other girls! She is one talented kid!!

(Regan's team has gotten into the habit of cheering for their team on the sideline...so cute!)

(Regan "making a move" on a girl!)

What can I say about my Carli....she LOVES soccer! Not only does she love it, she is GREAT at it! Carli is the hardest working 8 year old I've ever seen (she gets that from her father). She never gives up and always wants to do her best, so she always gives 100%. Carli's footwork, dribbling, and ballhandling skills are amazing! I've seen her face to face with an opponent and literally tap the ball with her pinky toe, twist around in a full circle, grab the ball with her other foot and take it down the field! She usually plays forward or mid because she likes to run and she is FAST. The opposing coaches are constantly making comments about how fast she is and what good handling skills she has :) She will be trying out for the academy team next season and if she makes it, I have a feeling we will be watching her play soccer for a long time!!

(Carli making a pass over to a teammate in the middle. She is left footed so she plays really well on the left side!)

A Couple of Snapshots

I always include a picture of the girls on Easter morning with their baskets, so this year will be no exception! They got some major "loot" this year from the Easter Bunny! It is so fun to see them so excited (it is just as good as Christmas!) Carli even woke us up at 6AM to ask if she could see if the Easter Bunny came...we told her to go take a peek and then go back to bed :)

After church my friend took a quick snapshot of our family in our Easter clothes. I tried to match the girls this year which was really fun. I was having a hard time with the pink belt, but luckily I found one on the floor at ROSS for only $4!! Later in the day, we had a wonderful dinner with friends and talked to our families on the phone. I didn't take many pictures this year, but it was a very Happy Easter!!