​Abby was so excited when her New York tote bag arrived. Tote bags seem to be all the rage with girls her age. | Having electric cars has been so great. Even traveling and having to charge hasn’t really caused a ton of inconvenience. | We always find the craziest things at Walmart when we are traveling. Mike found a really colorful cowboy hat and Emma found blue milk. | Abby had a great time at FSY with some of her friends from church. We were fortunate enough to do FSY right in town at UCCS. | The primary had a missionary activity, and all of the kids got missionary name tags. Madeline was assigned in one of the German missions. She had such a great time at this activity. | Sunsets in Colorado are pretty spectacular, especially during the summer months. | Madeline has loved re-discovering how much fun some of the older toys like blocks can be. She was so proud of the tower that we built together. | After a rather tough week I prayed that God would send someone or something to help remind me that I was loved. The next morning, I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise, complete with a double rainbow. It definitely was a gift from God. | We got a free trial to try out the self drive mode on the Tesla. We loved how it turned the road into a rainbow road to tell us it was on self drive. | Madeline has loved spending so much time swimming at Flying Horse. She especially loved it when she got to bring Belle to play with her for the day. Those girls went down that waterslide so many times and had such a great time. | It’s not uncommon to see rainbows in Colorado but double rainbows are rare, and we were fortunate enough to see our second double rainbow this month. | The older girls and I loved watching a movie in my bed on Abby’s birthday. It’s a rare treat when mom stays up late, so this was fun for them and for me.  

​We love spending a few days in the mountains biking and hiking during the summer months. Mike and I got away for a few days to do the things that we love the most together. We stopped first at Breckenridge to bike from Breckenridge to Vail Pass and back. It was a great training ride for our upcoming Triple Bypass bike event in July. Then we drove up to the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek (one of our favorite places) to stay for the night. It was so nice to have chocolates waiting for us in our room when we arrived. We quickly showered and headed over to our massage appointments at the spa and then enjoyed some time afterwards in the hot tub section of the spa. It was the perfect way to soothe our legs after our 50-mile bike ride.
 
After an incredible ride the day before and an evening of pampering we enjoyed a wonderful hike in the early hours while it was still cool and peaceful on the trail. We took the Beaver Creek Trail up to the pond and then took the trail back down but meandered to the Alleys way trail. At one point we came to the Overlook junction and should’ve taken that down. But we didn’t so we ended up going straight down the mountain at the end because we needed to get back for breakfast. We love this place so much. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been here and every time we come we are renewed!

​After a good night’s sleep, we got up and headed out to the coolest park in Omaha. Before playing at the park, we walked across the bridge to stand foot in both Iowa and Nebraska! That was wild. Then we headed into the coolest park we have been to in a long time. There were rocket slides where you had to climb up a bunch of winding ropes to get to the top. There were zip lines, crazy swings, tunnels and water ducts. We had such a great time, and it was good to get our legs moving before getting in the car for the long-haul home! 

​I woke up early and got ready for my big race. I carefully placed my numbers on my arms and legs and braided my hair. Then Mike drove me to the race venue and dropped me off with my bike so I could get everything set up in the transition area. He then headed back to the hotel and grabbed the girls. I was fairly nervous for this race as I had never done this race format before and I just wanted to do well and qualify for the World Championships. Right before the race started I tried to stay cool and stood and stretched in the only shade I could find. The challenge for me today would be to not get overheated. I was amazed at how well the race went. I finished my first road duathlon at USA Multisport Nationals and placed 3rd in my age group and qualified for the World Championships in Spaid next year! It was so hot which posed some challenges I wasn’t expecting like cramping on the first run and calf cramps on the first 3 miles of the bike. Still, my first 10K run I averaged 7:24/mile for the 10K with my first 1.6 miles being a 6:24/mile avg pace. I just tried to hold something in the 7s after the cramping started. The 40K bike was my favorite part after I got over the initial shock of calf cramps that I had never before experienced. It was good I packed electrolyte tabs in my back pocket because those were a lifesaver. The second 5K run I averaged 7:09/mile with my first 1.5 miles being a 6:52/mile avg pace. I learned a lot from this race like what I am capable of with more targeted training with my running and biking. I think I may have found my new favorite race format! It was fun to be at Nationals with my family! It is not often that the kids get to watch me race. That was such a treat! I’m so grateful for Mike and the girls and my mom who cheered for me, my dad, brother and sister-in-law who all raced this week as well! We headed back to the hotel after the race and spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool eating hamburgers and enjoying some relaxation time!

​We drove to Omaha for my race at Multisport Nationals. This was the first time we took Mike’s F-150 Lightening, and the charging worked out perfectly along the way. When we got to Omaha we stopped at the temple before heading to our hotel. The visitor’s center was pretty spectacular. Then we headed to our hotel which was a fun kitschy hotel but after getting to our room we realized it would be super crowded, so Mike booked another hotel room down the road and took Emma (and her germs since she was sick) to sleep there. We ate dinner that night at a fun pizza place and met my parents and John and Amy for dinner. For dessert the girls had smores.

​The next morning Mike and I took our bikes out to a paved trail so that I could get in a shakeout ride before we headed to the Omaha Zoo with the girls. This zoo did not disappoint. It was actually quite amazing. You are never too old to enjoy a good zoo adventure. We stayed through lunch and then headed over to the race venue to watch Amy race. Afterwards Mike took me back to the hotel to rest my legs and then he took the girls back to the zoo for some more fun. 

​Since Emma graduated this year we decided it would be fun to do a girl’s trip with all the girls before she headed off to college. Mike surprised us with a fun weekend in Las Vegas to see Adele in concert. The girls were beyond excited and all we did for the few weeks before was listen to Adele on the turntable. We stayed at the Four Seasons hotel which was not only a really nice hotel but also a hotel without a casino. We flew in on Friday in the early afternoon and after getting all checked into our hotel we got ready in our little black dresses and headed on over to the Ceasar Hotel and ate dinner at Amalfi. The food was incredible, and everyone was full and happy before we walked right over to the concert that was also at the Ceasar. We were smart and took photos in front before dinner before the crowds of people were there. We right in and found our seats and took a few more photos before the concert started. Even though I had already seen this concert with Mike the November before, it was still incredible and fun. The girls were in heaven, and it was fun watching them singing along. The set was amazing, and Adele’s entertainment factor was top notch. Again, I was so impressed with how well she connected with the audience and how funny she is in person. This concert was something the girls and I will never forget. After the concert we were planning on taking an Uber back to the hotel, but Uber was so backed up, so we ended up paying for a limo ride in a swanky black SUV. It was not a bad way to end our night. The next morning, we had breakfast outside and then spent the rest of the morning at the pool. They kept bringing us small little treats poolside which was fun. After eating lunch, we headed back inside to shower and get ready to catch our evening flight back home. Our first girls’ trip was so much fun, and it will be hard to top this one!

Emma got the coolest Promposal poster from Riah. All any girl wants is to be asked to Prom. | Abby had a great performance for her Theatre class where she dressed up as Chuck, the D&D master. | I treated Abby to a fun Japanese ramen lunch after she took her AP test. She was so thrilled. | Emma received an Academic Award in Orchestra during the Soaring Eagles Senior Celebration. She was the first of our kids to get an academic award given by one of the departments at her school. | I have been catching up with Peter’s mission album and finally printed out all the pages I had finished. | At the senior awards assembly, Emma received her Magna Cum Laude medal. | Madeline loves to play with Belle and both of the girls had fun going back and forth between the houses. We don’t let her wander in the neighborhood without one of us, so Mike just followed them as they ran to Belle’s house. | Madeline loves her foxes and brings at least one of them when we travel. Even though we were only staying in Denver one night in preparation for Emma’s state meet, she still brought her favorite fox. | I ordered specialty BYU cupcakes for Emma’s senior group celebration. They turned out amazing. The girls displayed photos, awards and anything else that meant something to them during their high school years. They had a big turnout and even Michelle and her family were able to stop by for a little bit. | We always love stopping in at the Tesla store up in Denver when we are at the mall. This was the first time we were able to see the Cybertruck and the Tesla robot in person. I did get in the Cybertruck to see what it was like. It was definitely too big of a car for me. | Mike is always taking random photos of me. This time we were just standing in line at Panera waiting to get our food. | Madeline joined the Kokopelli run club for their summer program, and it was so cute to see her warming up with Emma for a little bit. I made sure to get a photo of them after practice. | May is so fun because we get warm, sunny days and everything is turning green again. In the mountains we still get snow. Pikes Peak looked amazing after a snow storm up on the mountains. | Madeline met her first friend named Charlotte at Kokopelli. | Abby has been having fun painting again. Her latest creation was painting a mountain scape on a lid. It was pretty incredible. | Mike and I finally got new bedding, and Madeline has loved hanging out on our bed more before bedtime. | Madeline was awarded the Panda award in her classroom for having a positive attitude in class all year. | Mike bought a Blackstone grill to replace our old grill and has been having so much fun cooking on it. His latest creation is making friend rice on there. | Abby got a new little black dress, and it looked absolutely stunning on her. | We got to see the Thunderbirds out practicing in the skies before the Air Force Academy graduation. | Mike’s surgery center finally had their open house and we each got to try out the Davinci robot. 

There was a lot of running in the garden this month. I ran the typical workouts in the garden such as the garden tempo loop (clockwise and counter clockwise), Strausenback hill repeats, track like workouts in the lower dirt “track” and on the paved inner garden walking loop, and intervals on the paved section next to the ranch. I love running in the garden and never get tired of the amazing views. The workouts are usually pretty challenging and yet, I still get excited when our running group moves our location to the garden for the spring. I was a still able to get some biking in up in Denver and was able to ride with Mike on our normal route towards Garden of the Gods. I also put in a few runs off the bike workouts to get used to running after biking in preparation for my race next month. The new Tri suit and the vapor flies were key in feeling like I could fly!  

Since we weren’t going anywhere for the Memorial Day weekend we decided to head up to the mountains and hike the Crags with Abby and Madeline while Emma was gone racing at the Garmin Running Lane track meet in Alabama. The Crags has been one of our favorite shorter hikes closer to home. It takes a little less an hour to get to the trailhead. We knew there was a possibility of snow still lingering on the trails so we made sure to bring our hiking poles with us. It was a good thing too because as we got further along the trail there were a few sections of snow and ice mounds and using our poles was extremely helpful. This hike was the first time for Madeline and the second time for Abby. Abby has really become such a great hiker. We loved being together today and enjoyed our time at the top soaking in the views. We ate our light lunch consisting of sandwiches, cheese, crackers, and grapes. Then we made a quick video to send to Peter on his mission before making our way back down the mountain. I love that our kids love the outdoors. My favorite moments usually involve doing something outside with the people I love the most. It is during these times that I feel so lucky to live in such a wonderful place. 

Emma’s senior year track season was a roller coaster of emotions filled with some challenges and some very exciting accomplishments. She started out her season in peak shape, having run over the winter with Kokopelli and raced in the UW Indoor track meet. The season started out a little slow but she overcame some obstacles and had her best track season ever. She had lots of PR's as well as some 1st and 2nd place finishes. She broke her high school record twice in the 3200m and qualified for both the 3200m and the 1600m in the State Track and Field Championship races. 

MEET #1  - LEGEND TITAN TRACK CLASH
APRIL 5, 2024
1600M - 5:20.36 (1st place)

The first race of the season is always a tough one because the racing legs are not quite there yet. Emma showed up for her first race of the season all ready to rock. A few other fast runners were at the meet from Niwot and Cherry Creek. Emma was seeded 4th and placed 1st place, passing the girl from Niwot on the last 100m of the race. Even though her time wasn’t as fast as she would’ve liked, it was a good start to the beginning of the season.

MEET #2 - POMONA INVITATIONAL
APRIL 12-13, 2024
1600M - 5:23.69
3200M - 11:07.05 (2nd place)

Two-day meets are tough, especially when you are traveling to Denver both days to race. Emma ran in the 3200m on Friday evening around 7:30pm and crushed this race. She is definitely a stronger runner in the 3200m. She was seeded 4th and turned in a 2nd place finish, tying her time from the State race the previous year. I think even she surprised herself with how well she ran that race. 
 
The following day we headed back up to Jeffco Stadium in Denver so she could run in the 1600m. A combination of nerves and fatigue set in and she wasn’t able to perform the way she wanted to in that race. She was a few seconds slower than the week before and that was hard to swallow. Still, on tired legs she ran the best she could for that race.

MEET #3 - LIBERTY BELL INVITATIONAL
APRIL 26, 2024
3200M - 11:05.92 (1st place)

This was such an interesting race up at Echo Park Stadium. The weather was already starting to turn colder, and the rain made for a slick track. Mike volunteered and was one of the ones pushing as much water off the inside lane of the track as possible. Even though it was cold and rainy, Emma ran such an amazing race. She and the 1st seeded girl from Heritage HS were neck and neck the entire race. By lap 6 Emma realized that their pace was not fast enough, so she picked up the pace for the last 2 laps and tied her previous PR and placed 1st. It was a remarkable race to watch and one that I will never forget. 
​

​MEET #4 - CHERRY CREEK INVITATIONAL
MAY 4, 2024
1600M - 5:07.16 (2nd place)

With the state meet on the horizon a good qualifying time was on everyone’s mind for the 1600m. Emma choose to run just the 1600m this weekend so that she could focus on getting a good enough time to qualify for the State Championships. There were a few other girls from Cherry Creek HS who were doing the same thing. Emma was able to go from a 5th seeded place to finishing in 2nd place with a new PR of 5:07. 

​MEET #5 - JOHN TATE ELITE
MAY 11, 2024
3200M - 10:54.98 (1st place)

It’s been an interesting several weeks of cancelled meets on Friday nights due to weather, only to turn around the next day and drive to a different meet. Fortunately, her last couple of meets have been her best. Today we witnessed the most incredible race Emma has ever run. She came into the 3200m today knowing that she needed to break 11 min in order to qualify for the State Championships next week. This race was not a competitive meet at all and there were no girls anywhere close to her pace. The competitive meet happened last night north of Denver and her coaches decided not to sign up for that meet this year. She had lots of support today, which was awesome. Her HS coaches and her club coach were all out there doing what they could to keep her on pace. It was fantastic to watch! Emma finished in 10:54.98, broke her school record by 6 sec and is now seeded 15th for state and will be running next Thursday in that race. What was so impressive about this race was the sheer grit and determination Emma had to run this race fast all on her own. Way to go Emma.

Lapping all of the other girls

Emma and coach Lisa Rainsburger

​MEET #6 - CO STATE TRACK MEET
MAY 16-17, 2024
3200M - 10:51.23 (9th place)
1600M - 5:04.36 (14th place)

The celebrations continue as we watched Emma run in the Colorado State Track and Field Championships this morning for the 3200m. She was seeded 14th and came in 9th for a podium finish in 10:51. This is a new PR for her just 5 days after her last PR. Just to put this race in perspective, the top 18 girls in CO for 5A all had sub 11 times coming into this race today. The race was held at Jeffco stadium which sits at 5,551 ft. Needless to say, making the state meet in CO for the 5A division is tough. Emma ran another excellent race. The start was crazy with many girls almost flinching over the line before the gun went off because the starter took forever. Then right after the gun went off a girl next to Emma spiked Emma’s shin on accident and a few seconds later that girl lost her shoe. That girl ran the entire race with only one shoe. The front pack took the pace out way faster than most of those girls probably wanted. First lap was around a 74. By the first mile Emma was sitting in the middle of the pack and had well under a sub 11 time in her pocket. She kept clipping away to grab that 9th place finish after passing a girl on the last lap. It was amazing to watch her strength and grit. This girl knows how to get it done and I’m so proud of her for running such a strong race. It was so fun to have the grandparents in town to watch her run today!

MEET #7 - RUNNING LANE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS (HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA)
MAY 25, 2024
​1600M - 5:00.74 (12th place)


Emma headed to Running Lane in Huntsville, AL with the Kokopelli team. She was really hoping for a sub 5 min 1600m time and was super close. She finished the race in 5:00.74. She was so devasted at missing it by only 1 second. She did run her little heart out, busting her dragonflies by the end of the race. She even ran into an old friend of ours from our Dupont days who gave her a big hug. Even though she was upset by her performance, she still managed to get a PR and finish out her high school running career with a bang! 

​We were all so excited to see the Piano Guys in concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. We had excellent seats which made it more exciting to watch. However, the weather was not the most cooperative. We knew going into the concert that it would be a little wet. It’s a good thing we brought our rain jackets and two outdoor blankets because it ended up raining quite a bit. The older girls decided to stay back at the hotel since Emma was running in the Track and Field State meet the next day and Abby stayed to keep her company. The concert was so good, and Madeline was so excited by the cello. Stephen Sharp Nelsen even had a segment where he talked to all of the kids that were currently playing string instruments or even just interested in playing a string instrument. I thought it was so good for Madeline to hear what he had to say. Madeline was a good sport through all of the rain but by the end we were all happy to go and get warm and have only a short drive to the hotel instead of heading all the way back to Colorado Springs. This was an experience none of us will forget!

​It was a wonderful day celebrating Emma and her graduation from Pine Creek High School. Emma earned the Magna Cum Laude medal, a department award (National Orchestra Award), and graduated with involvement in the English National Honors Society, German National Honors Society, Tri-M Music Honors Society, and the Seal of Biliteracy. Emma is so well rounded and incredibly talented. She worked so hard during her years in high school and deserved all of her recognitions. The ceremony took place at the Air Force Academy Cadet Fieldhouse which was the same place Andrew graduated. There were almost 400 students in her class, so the proceedings took a little time to get through, but we made the most of it and cheered really loud for her when it was her turn to walk across the stage. After talking with her friends and classmates after the graduation, we all headed home and celebrated with a family party and enjoyed a fantastic dinner put on by Mike who showed off his skills as a master chef. We ate from the amazing charcuterie displayed nicely in a boxed 24, bruschetta with buffalo mozzarella and our home-grown basil, salad, and homemade ravioli and fettuccine. It was perfect!!!

​It was such a wonderful treat to have my own mother in town for Mother’s Day. We all enjoyed a wonderful pancake breakfast that Mike made for everyone. Then we spent time together before heading to church. It was definitely a girl heavy photo shoot today since both of the boys were not here on this mother’s day. I miss my boys, but I am so grateful to have my girls with me on this special day. Being a mother has been one of my greatest joys. Watching my own mother and learning from her has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. She is kind, caring, loving, patient, and so giving. I am always striving to be a little more like her. I hope that I can pass down some good things to my girls and one day maybe they will say the same things about me as a mother! 

​Most people know what an amazing runner Emma is. What some people don't know is that she is also an amazing musician. Emma spent most of her high school career playing violin in the Advanced Orchestra and alto saxophone in the Advanced Jazz Band. During her last orchestra concert, she not only had a beautiful solo during the third movement of St. Paul's Suite, but she was awarded the National School Orchestra Award which is the highest honor you can receive in a high school orchestra and is given to recognize excellence in playing and contributions to the ensemble. This audition orchestra got superior ratings at State this year. They were truly amazing to listen to. Emma is the third of my musical children to have learned from and studied under Kate Margrave! She is so lucky to have had that experience, and I am a little sad that it is over. There is nothing quite like the influence and love of an amazing music teacher!

​Emma's high school days are coming to an end, and nothing tops it off quite like the last Prom. This year her longtime friend, Riah, asked her to prom! Those two are quite cute together even though they are just friends. They have known each other since the awkward days of middle school and have spent several years in band together. They went with a bunch of their music friends and had a great time at Spruce Mountain Ranch where Prom was being held. Afterwards they headed back over to our house where everyone snacked on treats, played games and watched a movie. It was a great ending to a great night!