Cross country state championships

before the race

you can't see avery in this one, but i just wanted to show how crazy it was!

after the race. he doesn't even look like he just ran two miles!

A few weeks ago Avery qualified for the state championships in cross country. He was very excited to do this in his first year running. So, last weekend we went to Knoxville. There were four runners from his school, one other boy, and two girls. There were nearly 300 boys running in the varsity race. He's only ever run with about 150, so that was a big change. This was only the second two mile race he's done all year. The course was pretty challenging as well. It was a great experience for him, and he's already thinking about next year. He really misses practicing with everyone at school, but he seems pretty determined to continue running on his own, which is really cool. I can tell he really loves it. He's currently training for a race at one of the state parks around here. It's a six mile race, and it's only a little over a month away! Keith's going to train with him, but it falls on a guard weekend, so he'll have to run on his own. I'll be there cheering him on the whole way! Anyone want to join him?!?
A big thanks to Mom and Dad for keeping Brady and Chloe for the weekend. It was fun to have time with just Avery. We're so proud of him!! It was a great weekend!

Bad weather

A couple of nights ago we had some bad weather heading our way, so we had to wake the kids and bring them downstairs. We were trying to decide, but when we could pick out our street on the map, and it was in the path of a possible tornado, the decision was pretty easy. All three kids are pretty heavy sleepers, so it took a little longer than I thought to get them downstairs. Except for Chloe. Keith just picked her up, and brought her down. She never even woke up! The boys were awake, but only barely. By the time we got everyone down, the worst was almost past. We waited a few minutes, but thankfully there was no tornado or anything really severe.

Cross country

The county championship was yesterday afternoon. I thought it was the last meet, but we still have one to go, and it's the biggest yet, because they learn if anyone qualifies for the state meet in Knoxville. Avery had his best meet yet, I think, and he earned a medal. He finished 25th out of seventy something. I'm not sure exactly how long it was, but it's usually 1.25-1.5 miles. He finished in 10 minutes. It's so fun watching him compete, but I get so emotional that I can't yell or cheer for him! I don't know why I get that way, but I do it every time.
I was very excited to get a picture of him running this time!!