Pumpkin Carving

Our week has been a little all over the place. The first half was super rainy, cold and bleak. Teddy has been enjoying his blanket time for sure! Apparently, Anna enjoys afternoon naps now, but I want to know where this was when she was 4 years old?! 

As of Tuesday morning, we were still a go to have the Region cross country race at West Florence that afternoon. Patrick and the girls had packed all their rain gear the night before and I loaded the car with everything we would need to endure a rainy meet. Well, they rescheduled it around lunch time. I was glad for the fact we would hopefully avoid injuries on a wet slippery course, but then we had to undo all the work we did just to get ready. It was rescheduled for Saturday and that also caused a couple of problems. One of our top 10 runners will be at a funeral so that's a bummer and it's the day after Halloween which meant Patrick had to give a talk on sacrifice at practice this week. The girls won't stay out as late as they would have. They won't eat the candy or our traditional Halloween night chili (I now have to make more pasta.) Some were going to attend parties and that was strongly discouraged. It is what it is and at last it will be sunny for the race. 

There have bene a couple of other dress up occasions this week. When the meet was on for Tuesday, the girls did a rhyme without reason practice on Monday. Paige went as Boo while Maddie went as Moo. They will also dress up for Halloween themed practice today. Goofballs!

We had a chance to carve our pumpkins on a lowkey night yesterday. Anna chose her inspiration from Teddy and found a drawing online that I hand drew on the pumpkin. We think it turned out pretty good! Paige went artistic this year, punching a variety of holes in different patterns. Very cute!

Anna and I also worked a bit on Teddy's costume that goes with our family theme. I'll give you a sneak peek to see if you can guess. Stay tuned for more Halloween and Region updates this weekend!

XC Movie Night and Youth Halloween Party

The fun continued this weekend. We hosted the girls XC team for an outdoor movie night. It was chilly, but they bundled up with blankets and cozy pajamas around the firepit. The movie of choice was The Princess Diaries and they enjoyed lots of snacks, including a candy salad. Everyone brings their own candy and they dump it in a large bowl to share together. They all had a great time and it was a relatively easy set up with a borrowed projector and blow-up screen. 

On Sunday, the BPC Youth had their annual Halloween Party where everybody dresses up. Look, I asked a week ago if the girls needed help with any costume stuff and they said NO! Well, Sunday rolled around and all of a sudden nobody knew what they were going to be and all suggestions were promptly shot down. Ugh. Anna ended up asking Caroline what she was doing and then matched her. They were Cruella Deville and a Dalmatian. Anna's last minute dog costume ended up winning her the grand prize with Caroline. Paige decided to resurface the cowgirl costume and even threw in a hobby horse I made for her birthday years ago. She looked cute and tall! 

Anna also had some XC leaders over to make the Paper Plate Awards which will go out at practice as a fun way to celebrate the girls. Championship season is coming up and the JV team will run their last race this week at Region. It's been sweet to see Anna and the other leaders really make it a fun team this year. 

And I am trying to squeeze the other festive things in when I can. I made our jack-o-lantern stuffed peppers for dinner over the weekend. Always a hit!

Orchestra and Aiken

By the time we get to the end of a week, I feel like the beginning of the week was a month ago! We're packing them full these days. The Halloween decorations are up, plans for chili gathering are coming together, treats for Halloween parties have been purchased....and that's just trying to make sure I'm ready for this Friday. (Insert chicken with their head cut off.)

This week I hit resumes with my students, so I've been busy grading those. I actually had to have a little serious convo with all of them because they were taking the class and assignments to lightly. It's a recipe for disaster if not solved quickly. Let's hope that gets them back on track. I've had a few Park and Garden developments, namely we have an awesome new Social Media Marketing Manager. Yay! She's a student at the high school and we have some past connections which are really cool. I'm excited to have her. 

Tuesday evening was Beta Club induction. We didn't have any inductees this year, but seeing as the President lives in our house, there was at least one person committed to being there. A couple of years ago, Anna didn't say anything about her Beta Club induction to us because she was trying to spare us from another school event. So, we missed it and there was a whole family discussion about it later which turned out rather hilarious. Since I knew Anna would be at this one, I decided to show up and support her. I even managed to get a pic of all the runners who were inducted for social media. Anna did a great job and I am proud of her leadership. 

On Thursday, Anna was off for most of the day due to the SAT being done at her school. So, she and I hit up some stores together and had fun. There were a couple of mandatory stops and a few fun ones. Poor Paige meanwhile was stuck at school doing the PSAT which she said was "loads of fun" (sarcastically) and she was pretty exhausted when she got home. 

The big highlights for this week included attending Paige's first high school orchestra concert and heading to Aiken with the varsity team to check out the state course. First up, Paige's concert was on Thursday night. I had great anticipation for this because I knew it would be 1000x better than the middle school concerts we had to sit through for three years. It did not disappoint! They sounded amazing and it was so fun to see her confidence as well as hear her play with a group that could actually play. Our high school orchestra program is one of the best in the state, so I enjoyed hearing all three groups play. Plus, we could sit in the auditorium and not bleachers! My parents came in to visit a couple hours before the performance and then stayed to watch Paige.  

On Friday, we had the opportunity to see the state cross country course in Aiken. This is a brand new course that nobody has run on before and isn't being used for a race this season. Due to some protests by coaches, they decided to open it up for two preview days which allowed teams to come and do a light practice on it. The top 8 girls got to sign out of school early and Patrick and I loaded them into our cars to drive the hour plus to Aiken. I think the girls had a great time in the cars just chatting and hanging out. 

When we arrived at the course, we saw the boys there and they had already run it, discovering that it was .12 miles long. Look, I am over having a long course. 3.1 miles is not that hard people. So I saw a high school league person there and asked them about it. Turns out they had gotten feedback from other teams just like this and had changed the course prior to our arrival. At least it was shorter and more accurate now. Of course, we had to figure out what the new course would be. Overall, the course is two large loops, very flat and goes around the outside of a horse racing track. I was pleasantly surprised and thought it could have been much worse. 

After the team workout, we took the girls to Mellow Mushroom in downtown Aiken. It was super cute as we sat outside on the patio with beautiful weather and lots of fun atmosphere. The girls had a blast and we even got a chance to celebrate a birthday on the team. Overall, it was a fun outing and a great chance for team bonding. 

As if that wasn't enough team bonding, the entire team will be at our house tonight for a movie night!! Yep, we're tired. Ha!

Starlight

We ended this awesome week with another highlight. The Starlight race got rescheduled for October 18th after some weather issues earlier in the season. It's always a favorite race for the girls because it's a fast course and they run at night in a fun environment. The girls like to bring neon paint so they can paint up and this year we got some light up scrunchies too. With the pink and sparkly hair spray, they were all decked out. At one point, Patrick had to remind the girls they were there to run and needed to warm up. It was hilarious! But in the end, they all had a great time with the decorations. 

Our JV team ran at 5:50 and we were there plenty early so I was able to claim a box and help some volunteers on the infield with the crazy race. There were multiple laps on the track so it meant some kids were being lapped and needed to be moved and then they cut in the infield. All that to say, it was a hot mess. But it nice being able to help.

The Varsity girls didn't run until 9pm in the elite meet and I got to hang out with a couple of friends to catch up. Finally, it was time for our race and both my girls had ambitious goals. Anna definitely wanted to PR and even try for sub-18. Paige was excited to try for a sub-20 and remained positive all week about it. What we didn't know is that the changed course actually turned out slower than in past years and they made the race too long by about 160 meters. Ugh. 

In any event, Anna got out with a front pack and made a smart move within the first 400 meters to position herself with the top 5 girls. Three of them have run much faster times than her this year, but she hung with them for a while and then pulled back into a group of two others. The two girls she essentially races against for most of the race have beaten her and she's actually never beaten one of them ever. Every time she came around, she was hanging with them and looked strong. On her last entrance to the track which required two laps around, she passed them in the last 600 meters and then didn't let up. Anna finished 4th overall with a time of 18:19, which unfortunately, was two seconds off her PR and not close to sub-18. She was very disappointed even though tactically it was an amazing race. We didn't know at that point that the race was long and had it been accurate she may have achieved her goals. 

Paige's race was also amazing. She worked her way into a good group at the start which was hard because they were all packed together, but she didn't get boxed in and ended up running a sub-6 minute mile for the first mile. As the race continued, she found herself in a no-man's land with no competition with her so every time she came around and I told her to close the gap in front of her. Soon enough she was on her last lap of the track and it was so well timed that Anna was almost finishing while Paige was at the same mark on the track, but beginning. Paige surged in for 18th place and made her goal with a time of 19:55. She was thrilled and so were we! 

The girl's team as a whole was awesome, beating a team they have never beaten before and coming within 10 points of a team that had the top finisher at the race. We cheered for the boys and packed up, leaving after 10pm. We grabbed some Sonic because it was the only thing open and then headed for home. I think everybody was in bed around 1pm. Thankfully, Teddy had a sleepover at the Powells house so he wouldn't be crazy when we got back. Let's just say it's afternoon naps for all! 

Paige's friend Lucas who met his goal of running sub-19. They both subbed!

 

College of Charleston Commit

The cat's out of the bag! Which is actually kinda funny because College of Charleston's mascot is the cougars. Ha! 

Last week Anna received a phone call from the head coach at College of Charleston and he offered Anna a scholarship spot on their Division 1 cross country and track team. It was a great phone call and he let Anna know that he wanted to follow up with her in a week to hear what she thought about it. When we got off the phone, Anna seemed pretty calm and neutral which surprised me. She knew an offer was coming and it was a good offer, but I think the pressure of thinking it through was on her mind. We chatted for a bit and then decided to sleep on it. There were so many positive things on the list that it pointed to "yes" for us, but I think we all just wanted to be sure it was the right choice, especially since we were waiting to hear back from some other schools. Of course, those other schools were still not really reaching out to Anna much and we had already decided that High Point was not a great fit academically for Anna even though they had a recruitment visit scheduled. 

The choice really came down to: did she want to run in college (roster spots were filling fast during this recruitment season)? Was CofC a good fit academically and athletically so she could have a good balance between the two? Were the other options going to come through (not likely and it was a big risk to wait for some programs that she wasn't entirely sold on)? If she didn't run, were the other schools appealing to her? And ultimately money was definitely a factor because we all agreed finishing debt free was a priority. 

In the end, we all decided College of Charleston was a fantastic fit for her! She is excited about their running program because she can make an immediate impact but they value balance between running and academics. The campus was a good size for her. It isn't USC which is in our backyard so this would provide a difference experience. She is able to keep her state lottery money and essentially cut the cost in half to attend. The political scene in Charleston is great for a budding public servant and Patrick has a ton of connections there. It's not too far away from home but just enough. She could see herself with that group of girls running. 

The next day, we decided to rip the band aid off and call Coach Bailey back to accept. She was excited to tell him and afterwards it felt like a relief to have a decision made. I think we all just felt a lot of peace and what I loved was that we had all come to that decision separately so it was a unified choice. The next day I could tell Anna was so excited about it and she's been making plans ever since. 

The next step was how to tell everybody else. With senior night coming up, she knew it would be a great place to tell all of her favorite people at the same time and produce a little fanfare. I was sworn to secrecy and it was so hard! Anna even threatened to escort me out of church so I wouldn't say anything during my post-service chats. I was very good, especially since friends and family had been asking. It turned out so great and I'm glad we could celebrate with everybody together. 

Anna is the first girl in BHS XC program history to sign as a D1 scholarship athlete. Wow!

The braces are off!

As if this week wasn't celebration enough, Paige finally got to have her braces removed today! She has been waiting for a while for this and truth be told, I was over having to go to the orthodontist every 6 weeks. We were there bright and early this morning and it didn't take long before we saw her new smile. She looks great and so grown up! It was definitely a strange sensation for her, but I know it was a relief to have them gone. I can't wait to hear what all of her people thought of her new smile at school! 

XC Senior Night

I knew it would happen one day and yesterday that was the day. Senior Night. All the emotions! For a few years now, I've been the one hugging the senior parents, helping Anna prep all the gifts and such for the graduating girls and even tearing up as some of Anna's besties graduated. And now, it was finally Anna's turn. For a few weeks now, Paige has been diligently working on helping behind the scenes. It was really sweet to watch her and another runner take the lead to deliver a special night for these girls. She really wanted it to be perfect for her sister. I assisted with anything they needed like making two balloon columns and getting the roses. Patrick spent countless hours on the course and put together all the announcements that would be read for each senior during the event. I sent out details via email to all the Anna fans so they could come and cheer her on. Finally, the day arrived!

I was so glad to have slept well the night before which is not always a given. When I'm tired, the emotions are definitely harder to control so I felt like I had a good handle on it throughout the day. Plus, I had to teach, so there wasn't a whole lot of time to dwell on it. I got to the school early to set up my stuff and meet Paige so she could set up her stuff. They hung handmade signs with the senior's names and got all the gifts together. As friends and family started to arrive, we visited with them and gave lots of hugs. It really meant a lot to us to have so many people there supporting Anna. Soon enough it was time to start, and I heard Paige in her best leader voice tell the entire team they needed to line up and create a tunnel for the seniors. It was cute and scary at the same time! 

We got to escort Anna down the tunnel while Rusty read her stuff. Patrick is usually up in the booth to do the reading, but Rusty graciously agreed to do it for him and I wouldn't have wanted anybody else up there. It was fun to hear all of Anna's accolades over the last 6 years as she has definitely left a mark on this program. What was extra special was Anna's recent announcement that she had committed to the College of Charleston. I'll post more about that later, but this was something she wanted to surprise everybody with on Senior Night. When Rusty read it out, the crowd cheered and Anna had the biggest smile! 

I was doing good on not getting emotional and then Paige handed Anna her gift which she had made for her and I could see Paige lose it as she hugged her sister. She wrapped her up in a sister hug and then they both started crying. Well, that made me lose it, especially as several friends went to Paige to comfort her. These two have been teammates for three years and sisters for 15. Sniff. 

Anna finished up pictures and then we got a chance to greet family and friends as they hugged us and congratulated us for the awesome news about Anna's commitment. It was fun to finally share all the details as I had been sworn to secrecy since the end of last week. All these smiling faces and hugs reminded me of the awesome people we have in our lives-people who have done life with us as we've raised this spunky girl. They've carried us, prayed, cheered us on, stood in the gap when we've needed them, laughed, cried, brought meals....you name it! We are richly blessed by this village of ours. 

The boys ran their race and then the girls were finally up. This was a tempo run for the varsity as Patrick was using it for a workout. So, while Anna was definitely out front, it wasn't her fastest race. Even still, people who don't usually attend were amazed. Paige wasn't that far behind her sister and the Kelly girls finished one and two. Paige was actually just a few seconds off her PR! One of the sweetest moments for me was hustling back to catch Anna towards the end of the race and coming up behind a wall of our people yelling and cheering for her. I just stood there, watched and listened to all the shouts of encouragement. Ok, I might have teared up a bit too. 

We chatted some more, gave hugs and thank you-s, cleaned up and then headed home for some dinner and cake with grandparents. It was sweet to hear Anna explain all the things behind her decision to attend College of Charleston. She's just so excited and we are too!

Special moments: Mal came back to cheer for her, Eva's parents showed up and Facetimed Eva while we were there, Mr. Spencer from our neighborhood came to show his support (he put out water for the girls during summer conditioning), having all of our church family show up, former and current teachers came out to cheer, Coach Shealy rode his bike as the race lead just for Anna, families that Anna babysit for brought their kiddos out, Anna's classmates brought signs they made, both of our pastors were there and all four grandparents came to cheer. My mama heart is full!