Hall Of Fame

We happily attended Mike’s induction ceremony into his High School’s Hall Of Fame Today.

Each inductee was introduced by someone that knew them well and touted their accomplishments.  Then the inductees offered a few remarks.  

We are very proud of Mike and his wrestling achievements, culminating in winning the State Championship his senior year.

Mike showed us the trophy hall.

And I know his mother is very proud.

Afterwards, we were all treated to a nice lunch.  Sadie and Allie had fun playing with their cousin.

They even had a game of Candy Land.

It was a very memorable day.  Congratulations Mike!

 

More Of Emily’s Visit

Sunday, before they left, Keiran and Emily did a little more archery.

Emily decided to pull out her bow she got when she was about 8.  It was much easier to use but not nearly as powerful as the one Keiran had made.

Joe practiced with Keiran’s some more but had to put on some leather gloves to protect his hands.  The bow string is pretty tough on fingertips. 

Allie even made an appearance.  Emily gave her some out door time on the porch which I think they both enjoyed.

Then it was down to the barn.  Keiran gave Otoelene a try and then it was Sadies turn.

I told Emily to pick whatever she wanted from the garden.  I think she got a nice selection.  It is always special to have my girls back home.
 

Emily’s Home

Emily came home today with her friend Keiran for the weekend. 

Keiran has made a bow out of hickory.  He did some target practicing and showed Joe a little bit about it.

Joe got the hang of it and hit the target several times.  Keiran was more of a pro.  I managed to eventually hit the bank somewhere near the target.  But I gave up before I hurt myself or anyone else.

We all enjoyed the fire pit this evening and everyone except Joe enjoyed some s’mores.  
 

2018 Hokie 1/2 Marathon

Our youngest daughter E has now completed the Hokie 1/2 Marathon.  Her goal was to beat her sister's time from 2014.  

I almost missed her going across the finish line, you really have to be quick with the camera. 

 The weather was nice, a little mist and upper 60's.  She finished in very good spirits.

 She was able to get her own refreshments, unlike V in 2014.  You can read about her race HERE.

 And she wanted a picture with her medal and shirt.

V, M and J were all on hand to celebrate her accomplishment.  But I'm not sure she was able to beat V's time.  E said she ran it in 2:20 and going back to check V's time, it looks like...2:20.  Guess we will just call it a draw.
Uh Oh, E has corrected me.  She looked up the official times.  E 2:21, V 2:24.

Hokie 1/2 Marathon, Year 2

This year's Hokie 1/2 Marathon was totally different from last year's. (see here).  First off, it was a month earlier, not 45 degrees or pouring down rain.  

 I did have a similar camera malfunction.  As soon as I saw V coming toward the finish line, I turned on my camera only to be greeted with the dreaded words "Change Batteries". (I have to get a new camera)  By the time I got it turned off and back on V was past and almost done.  That's her in the orange shorts and white shirt getting ready to cross the finish line.

 Despite the better weather, she was 10 minutes slower than last year but in much better spirits and condition.  She also had not been training as long or hard as last year.  

 Uncle M also ran and crossed the finish line just 10 minutes after V.  He is only 1/2 way through his training program for a run in South Carolina in November.

 Happy smiling faces after 13.1 miles!

 Then it was rest and refueling before heading back to the house.

We were glad to see Mike, V's boyfriend there to support her too.  And aunts L and A both did the 5 K and crossed the finish line together for a tie.  Way to go runners!

Good Fences #60

It's hard to play tennis without a good fence.

 There would be entirely too much ball chasing. 

 E handily won this match the other day.  Yesterday was Senior Day and she was presented with a gift and flowers, which I missed because I was at work.  J made it though so that was nice. 

One or two more matches then our high school career is over.

For more Good Fences click HERE.

Hokie 1/2 Marathon

Last year V heard about the first annual Hokie 1/2 Marathon a week before the event.  She decided to start training for the next year's run because it was too close to try for that one.  She started a training program in June running up to 30 miles a week until her knees started hurting and she cut back.  Well, the run was yesterday and you could not have asked for worse weather, pouring rain and 50 degrees. 

 But lucky for us the run went right in front of my mother's house.  J and mama watched from the porch but I stood under an umbrella at the end of the sidewalk so I wouldn't miss her.  There were at least 1400 signed up for the race.  You would think that it would be pretty easy to pick out your daughter but in the rain with everyone soaked and not knowing what she was wearing, she was right on top of me before I saw her.

 I yelled some encouragement and snapped a picture....

 and she was gone.  J and mama didn't even see her.  I thought it might be nice to get to the finish line but we hadn't made plans on how to get there.  We drove to the drop off parking but the shuttle had quit running so we walked up a hill to where the runners were crossing the road.  None of the ones I saw looked familiar and I found out we could drive to the finish area so J went back and got the car.  We parked about 50 yards from the finish line, I got out and ran up there just to see V finish.

 She was soaking wet, frozen and couldn't even talk.

 She was clutching her medal and water bottle they handed her at the finish line.  (I'm not sure she needed any more water at this point)

 I managed to get her steered toward the car, got her wet shirt off and gave her my sweatshirt, put her in the front seat and J blasted the heater on her.  I went back and found her backpack at the drop off tent, picked up her Finisher tee shirt and got her some hot chili from the food tent.  She finally revived enough to be driven home.

Her rendition of the event can be read HERE.
Great job V for having a goal, making a plan and sticking to it no matter what.  We are very proud of you. I think her time was around 2:20 but she didn't manage to stop her watch at the finish to know for sure.  Eleven minutes faster than the only 1/2 marathon I ever did.  

Virginia Highlands Endurance Challenge 2013

I won't keep you in suspense, WE DID IT!  Thumper finished his first Limited Distance Endurance ride and Jessica finished her 6th.  Thumper is now the 3rd horse I've trained and conditioned for this ride and finished.

 We hauled in on Friday afternoon, after it had finished raining, again.  I think we are the only ones that tie our horses to the trailer.  Everyone else uses portable corrals of one kind or another.

 Jessica weighed in at 1060.

 Thumper was a whopping 1115.  He is getting his number AL painted on his hip after he passed the vet check in.

 After a most uneventful night, we were up and ready for an 8 AM ride start time.  Notice the contrast between Jessica getting ready and the Arabians getting ready.

 This is Thumper getting ready.

 J and I are also the only ones to ride in western saddles and blue jeans.  The saddles are synthetic and only weigh 18 pounds.  I had the only Da Brim helmet brim too.  There was a woman selling tack that took my picture in it because she sells them too.  Cantle bag with spare shoe, duct tape, twine and water bottle, check.  Fanny pack with camera, horse cookies and granola bar, check.  Sponge, Check.  Looks like we are ready to go.

 We took off at just the right time, just behind the fast horses that were really racing but right before everyone else.  That left us pretty much by ourselves for the first 2-3 miles.  We were in and out of this creek for about a mile.

 Occasionally, we would catch up and pass a pair or someone would pass us.  At first Thumper was pretty jumpy about the horses coming up behind but he soon got use to it.

 The weather couldn't have been better.  The humidity finally dropped and the temperature was comfortable in the 70's.  The horses never lost any go, even in the steep climbs.   In fact, we did much more holding back than we did having to push on.

 The view was beautiful coming into the vet check.

 This is the picture I bought from the professional photographer.  I think Thumper really looks pretty.

 It was great for E to meet us at the vet check.  It is so nice to have someone hold your horse so you can get a bite to eat.  The hold is for 1 hour but that hour really flies by.

 The trail back is just the reverse 15 miles up and 15 miles back.

 This is probably one of the worst parts of the trail, very narrow and steep with 180 degree switch backs.

 We passed the final vet check with mostly all A's (B+ for gut sounds and B+ for overall impression). Do we look 75 pounds lighter?

Jessica got all A's.  Does that look like an A for overall impression?  I think J was trying to get her at a bad angle, he succeeded.  Jessica dropped 55 pounds.  They both drank well and ate at every opportunity.
Final placing......Jessica and J 20th   Thumper and K 21st out of 40 starting.  We had a ride time of  5 hour 33 min. pulsing down and finishing with 45 minutes to spare.  (Jessica's first ride that I did with her 4 years ago, we only had 4 minutes to spare.)  We might have been the highest placing non arabian horses there.
I've been having Thmper advertised for sale but since he had done so well I am having second thoughts.  But in the last 24 hours I've had 2 people call very interested in him.  More tough decisions to make.