2011 Track Season, Regional Meet

The Region 10 Meet (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and El Paso make up Region 10) was held in Albuquerque this year. Andrew finished 6th in the long jump. I wish I had a picture of Bobby holding his flags in his lime green shirt. He volunteered to be trained as a USA Track and Field official for this occasion.



Austin and his relay team made it to the podium. We were so proud of them for finishing sixth, especially with one kiddo that had not run with them before. This picture makes me giggle every time I see it. Can you find Austin?






This was Andrew's heat of the 100 m dash in the regional meet. Is it just me, or do those other boys seem older than 12? : ) I hope Andrew is that big by next year! We saw that the guy in blue got third at nationals. We need to GROW some before next year!




I didn't really appreciate their aptitude for running when they were little, but now it's very fun to watch them run.

2011 Track Season, State Meet

The boys ran track again this year. They had a great season and loved it, as always. They have always loved to run.

Andrew was able to compete in Long Jump this year. I love this picture of him preparing to jump. He ended up as the New Mexico State Champ in his age division with a jump of 4.6 meters (like that means anything to any of us!)





Austin loves to run track but, as with most things, it's really all about the social time for him. Here he is with his best buddy Issac (center) and J. They are three of the four boys that ran the 4 X 100 relay together all year. Austin ran the anchor leg. They finished first in their age division at the state meet allowing them to qualify for the regional meet.



This picture is Austin qualifying for the finals in the 200. He finished third in both the 100 m dash and 200 m dash.







Andrew finished third in the 100 and 200 events as well. On to Regionals . . .

Birthday Weekend

Happy Birthday Andrew!

My side of the family was all gathered together on the night before Andrew's birthday so he was able to celebrate with lots of people who love him.

Sweet Celebration

Andrew gave his heart to God a long time ago, but I'm so glad that he waited until now to be baptized. He told me right before that he felt that God wanted him to be baptized now and that it felt like the right time. Is there anything more precious than watching your children hear from the Lord on their own and feel led by Him? I'm so grateful for what God is doing in Andrew's heart and how He is drawing him into a relationship with Himself.

Andrew was baptized on Wednesday night after a church meeting. Nana was able to come from Tucson and Grandma and Papa were also able to come. We asked several important people in Andrew's life to speak to him on this special day. Kyle and Paul have known Andrew since they were college students at NMSU. Uncle Todd read a letter that he had written to Andrew and presented him with a new journal. Papa talked to him about obedience and identifying with Christ and he and Grandma presented him with a devotional book. Bobby and I gave him a new Bible with his name on it and Bobby spoke to him about putting on the whole armor of God with a necklace to help him remember each part.

It was a special, wonderful night.

12 Days of Christmas Tragedy

My boys and Uncle Todd have been working on a skit for the Christmas Celebration at our church. The three of them acted out a very active and sometimes slightly dangerous version of the 12 Days of Christmas. It was a total hit and was fall out of your seat HILARIOUS! (The picture is during the rehearsal . . . the partridge in a pear tree.)

The tragedy was that it was not recorded for your viewing pleasure! We will all be together this weekend and I'm hoping to have them do an encore performance. And my camera will be ready!

Hunter's Safety

This semester we were a part of a homeschooling co-op on Fridays. We went to classes in the morning and then had lunch at a huge park. We often stayed for most of the afternoon to play. It is one of our favorite parts of homeschooling.

Andrew was given the opportunity to take a Hunter's safety course during the co-op time. He was nervous about the class since he wasn't quite old enough to enroll but his interest in the topic was a huge bonus. We are so proud of how hard he worked in this class. The book he was studying was not easy, I tried to help him some!

We found out last Friday that he passed both the written and observation parts of the exam and can now legally register for hunts and carry a firearm. (Should any mother really feel happy about writing that last sentence? : ) I come from a long line of serious hunters that take the responsibility very seriously.

To further celebrate, Andrew was invited to go Elk hunting with his Papa and Uncle Todd this week. What a perfectly timed reward!

Monarchs

Andrew played his first year of tackle as well. In Yafl football they base the teams on the High School district that you live in. So Andrew was also a Monarch, but he was on a 5th grade team. His team has played together for three years now, so he was a little behind when the season started. Bobby ended up helping coach his team and that allowed him to help Andrew study the plays at home after practice. He had a great season and learned a lot.

He still loves most anything that involves running but he also got the chance to learn some new positions and even try out playing quarterback. I worry a little about his tender heart playing such a tough sport but that's just a mom talking. :)

Inventing

One of the things I love about Andrew is his constant desire to create or "invent" things. Sometime last year we had Andrew start an "Invention Notebook" of all of his ideas. This notebook of blank paper allows him a place to draw, design, and express himself without driving his family crazy with all of his ideas!

One of my favorite things that he made this fall was a lego replica of his grandparent's motorhome. The slides moved in and out perfectly. The pictures don't do it justice. It was very cool.
































After the balloon fiesta, he remembered he had seen instructions in one of our science books about making a hot air balloon out of tissue paper. Fun!