My Niece's Birthday!!!

Last night I was making a graduation cake for one of my Young Women from church and I had some extra cake and fondant.. So I decided to make Sariah, my niece, a birthday cake. Happy Birthday, Sariah! I Love you! I will meet your mom when she comes in to town today and give her the cake!

Matt is famous!

So this article was on Ironman .com. Pretty cool that M was in it. Thought I'd share it with you all. I highlighted his part..
Kona Bound: Men's Qualifiers from Ford Ironman Florida

Kona Bound: Men's Qualifiers from Ford Ironman Florida
Gaylia Osterlund catches up with some of the age group men we'll see in Kona in October.
Published Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Panama City Beach has long been the course many athletes seek out to set a personal best Ironman time. It is flat, fast and fiercely competitive.

Germany’s Michael Wetzel (M18-24) will be racing in the next division in October and is definitely someone to keep an eye on. My research shows this will be his first trip to the World Championships but his 8:57:37 in Florida shows he can play with the big boys. Trevor Delsaut (9:08:16) did his best to make a charge on the bike, clocking a 4:44:56, the fastest split of this division, but ultimately it would not be enough to catch Wetzel.
For the men 25-29, Pablo Ureta (9:02:12) and Adam Brown (9:07:41) were within minutes of each other the entire day. Ureta, who ages up before Kona, has set his goal to break nine hours in Brazil before heading to Hawaii. With such amazing splits across the board, my guess is he will work to chip away a bit at all three sports. Brown says he is honored to have another chance to compete among the best in the world, with a modest goal of showing he belongs. Having toed the line at the World Championships in 2007, Brown knows he will need to work on his bike/run combination to improve on his 44th place finish. Also qualifying in this division is Marcus Buechler (9:19:48).
Twin brothers Stijn Veldeman (9:01:27) and Stefaan Veldeman (9:05:33) used their superior running skills to finish one/two in the M30-34. These two work together, train together and race together, even waiting for each other in transition or out on the course. This connection could prove to be very beneficial in Kona because once they hit the run, they are able to work together to keep each other focused. After a bit of a slow start on the swim, Mathew Napier (9:12:26) used a solid bike/run to pull himself into third place. He trains only 12 hours per week, yet has managed to grab a slot to Kona in two out of two attempts. Charles McCarroll of San Jose, California (9:17:42) overcame a slower than expected swim and a drafting penalty to move from 44th place to 5th. Dan Arlandson (9:13:42) and Morten Peterson (9:19:53) round out the qualifiers for this group.
Looking at the next division, M35-39, it is interesting to note the top five men came out of the water well under the one hour mark. With the exception of Jerome Becht (8:53:30) who crossed the line about 10 minutes ahead of his next competitor, these men needed those precious minutes from the swim because their final times were all less than five minutes apart. Canadian David Matheson (9:07:34) had a breakthrough race in Florida, bettering his Ironman time by 23 minutes. Matheson is a familiar face on the podium and the risks he took in Florida will serve him well in October. The other men heading to Kona with Becht and Metheson are: Marco Schreck (9:09:56), Pablo Erat (9:12:05), Dominik Spycher (9:12:44), Markus Bielen (9:21:54), Daniel Henggeler (9:26:41) and Ole Jacobsen (9:27:24).
Bruno Givanoli (M40-44) is on my list of serious contenders in Kona. Although he has never come close to performing his best on the Big Island, he now has a nine hour Ironman in Florida to remind him of what he is capable of doing. Frenchman Emmanuel Augher (9:12:57) improved his time on this course by about 30 minutes, earning him his first podium spot and a second trip to the big dance. Florida’s Shawn Burke (9:23:59) spent the day before the race in bed with fever and chills. Race morning he felt a little better and decided to go ahead and start. The end result would be a personal best time by more than 46 minutes and a ticket back to Kona. Joining the men are: Richard Nixon (9:16:56), Greg Sheehan (9:17:33), Ulrich Heydemann (9:18:22), Andre Berker (9:23:21), Joerg Panter (9:29:42) and Andrea Toscani (9:31:13).
Steve Kester (M45-49) is another athlete who is exceptional in all three sports, crossing the line in 9:14:38. Kester struggled a bit on the last half of the marathon so his 3:22:57 run split is not indicative of his ability. Chris Daniel (9:34:51) turned to triathlon after retiring from competitive soccer. He raced Canada and Hawaii back in 1991 and then took a break to focus on his family. At age 48, he lead amateur for a portion of the swim and posted his best overall time. Finishing only eight seconds behind Daniel was John Trible (9:34:59). On paper, Trible had the perfect day, improving his position on each leg, ultimately posting the fastest run split in this division. Dirk Wolk (9:39:33) is a well known veteran in our sport. His resume dates back to 1983, with top 20 overall finishes at Roth and Wisconsin.
In the M50-54 we have the amazing Joe Bonness (9:12:41). Once again, Joe came to Florida after racing in Kona, only to win his age group and earn his slot right back to the World Championships this year. Bonness exited the water in 10th but quickly assumed the top spot for the bike and run. The next person to finish in this division was Laurent Cali (9:36:53) nearly 24 minutes back. Allan Richardson (9:58:17) recovered from a slower swim to hammer out the second fastest run split of the M50-54.
Ken Partel (10:56:42) celebrated his 60th birthday out on the race course in Florida but he had to earn his gift to Kona! He lost some valuable time in transition and was six minutes in arrears at the turn around on the run. With just six km to go, Partel made his pass and finished over a minute ahead of second place.
76-year old Neal Henderson (15:44:29) will be competing in his first World Championships in 2009 after 20 years in our sport. If experience on racing and standing on the podium is any indicator, Neal should have a brilliant day.

DONE!

WOO HOO! We are done with soccer and we are done with track! We are all tired and are very happy for this break! Great job , kiddos! We are so proud of you and the great seasons you had!

All City Qualifier!

Monday was District championship for track. Our two older A's qualified. It was a long day! We were there from 1:30- 6:30. Big A did great in his race (1600) but the race was very fast! The qualifiers for All City ran it in 5:10. Crazy Fast! Then Double A ran in the 1600 as well. She ran her best yet, 6:30. And she qualified for all City! The 800 went much faster but she still had a PR and ran it in 3:07. But not fast enough to make it to All city in that event. She also qualified for district in the long jump but didn't quite jump long enough to qualify for all City.
Great job, Cute kids! It was a great season! And we are so proud of you!
All City is Monday! Be thinking of our Double A!

You GO, Big A!

Woo Hoo! Big A ran his personal best 6:10 in the mile yeterday! Great job, kiddo!

Taking Up Golf?

So maybe she will have a future here... Maybe not, but she was sure having fun!

Easter Family Pictures..

Since we were already dressed up after church we decided to take a shot at some family pictures... But kids were hungry , tired and excited for an easter egg hunt... So this is what we got.....

Easter in Socorro....

On Saturday afternoon we headed in to Socorro...

We dyed eggs...

celebrated Josh's birthday...

and of course, had another Easter egg hunt....

Looking for an egg in the rosebush isn't a good idea. OUCH! But luckily Daddy was there to make it all better..

Tiny A...

Little A...

Big A watching on as Triple A hunts the eggs down...

Mommy, Tiny A and Double A....

Mommy and Tiny A...

Josh hunting them down...

Roland was sick and we missed him for the hunt....

Easter weekend starting at the ranch...

We had a great Easter weekend with all of our family... We started down at the ranch and had a wonderful time.... The kids went and did various things with Grandad and Grandma...

Big A, Double A and Grand-daddy in the grasshopper. The kids absolutely love driving this thing...

Off they Go...

Triple A closing a gate after we went through it..

Enjoying the ride...

Laughing with Grandma...

Antelope... They were everywhere....

Playing with their cousin's new baby goats...

Little A...

Jorianne with the baby..

Joren.....

Easter Egg Hunt at The Ranch

Heading out to find eggs...

Big A too cool to find the eggs... He hides them now... ( Ohhh,, it makes me sad..)

Jorianne...

Triple A, Joren, Jorrell, and Jaxson

Double A with the little girls..

Little A

Cousins after the hunt was over...

True meaning of Easter....

Track Meet...

Okay, so I know I am bragging but I am really trying hard not to, I just like having these as a journal and history for my kiddos to look at some day..... Plus they did do really good and I am proud of them! :) And I finally have pictures of Big A at the meet....

So they both ran the mile and 800 again.. They even tried the long jump...

I can't remember times for this race, but Double A beat her mile and 800 time... She rocked!

Her school has the top 3 6th grade runners in the mile and 8oo, at least in the races we have been at... We will see how she does in District... She was 2nd in both races yesterday... She seemed to pull everyone around until the last few feet and then they out kicked her... But you know Double A, "It won't happen again!"

Big A cramped on the mile but still pulled out a 6:30, but he wasn't pleased... And he came back to redeem himself and rolled on the 800. He had his best yet..... WOO HOO! Check out the side view picture of him... He is flying... both feet are off the ground...!

What can I say I am a proud mommy.... And even though the meets last 3 hours, it is all worth it...

Elementary Jog-a-thon...

Getting ready for the jog-a-thon....

Every Spring our elementary school has a jog-a-thon. The kids have to run as many laps as they can in 20 minutes.. The track is 7 laps to the mile.. It use to be a contest and the fastest boy and girl from each grade would get a prize... For some reason they changed it this year... And now it is just for fun... Well, my kiddos are extremely competitive...(Hmmm. I wonder where they get that from..:) ) and have always won their grade level.. So our little A was very nervous, this being her first year and all, and was being told by her older siblings that she had to keep the tradition going... The parents are encouraged to come and run with their kiddos... And the kids pretty much beg their daddy to come and run with them.... It really is a lot of fun... So I become the photographer for the day.... I Love this picture of Little A.. Both of her feet are off the ground. It looks as if she is flying!

Little A ran 14 laps... That is 10 minute miles and for a 6 year old I think that is fantastic... ( And yes, she had the most laps... :) )

Triple A and his good friend ran together the whole time with M pulling them along.... They were determined to run together and both win, so if one got stuck in the marking lanes then the other would wait for him. It was great to see. They did pull out the most laps, to their relief. They had 17 laps which is around 8:30 minute miles....They ran so hard on the last lap that Triple A lost his lunch on the track and his friend was bent over heaving as well. And there was even one of those "Tender Mommy Moments". A little boy tripped and fell and both Triple A and his friend immediately stopped, helped him up and made sure he was okay and then were on their way... You know it isn't the winning, but it's the helping others that really makes you proud as a mommy.

I Love this picture... It is right at the start and most of the kids take off as fast as they can go.. And this is M telling Aidan, " Hold on we'll take it easy at first.."

Another favorite picture... M, Triple A and his friend all side by side.... So cute!

Great job Kiddos!