After a very windy track meet down in Pueblo where Emma ran the 3200m with no competition whatsoever and still managed to PR by over 30 sec, we quickly rushed home so that she could shower and get all ready for her church spring formal. Somehow she managed to be all ready in less than an hour. By some miracle I was able to do the updo that she wanted in 15-20 min, and I am very proud of how it turned out. She and her good friend Collin are headed to the dance together and I couldn't be happier for them. There is nothing better than going with a good friend!

We celebrated Emma’s birthday as a family one week late since some of her gifts were still en route. This year she got some winter running gear from Lululemon; specifically, a nice running jacket and a new long sleeve running top. She also got the Align leggings from Lululemon that she had been eyeing in my closet. It was time for her to have her own really nice leggings. She also got a coat and a shacket from Francesca’s and a necklace from Albion that matches the one Abby and I have. Her final gift was a 5-time punch card that she can use to go climbing with her friends at the rock-climbing gym. She received lots of nice gifts that should last her through her college years. She also got a generous gift card from Buckle from her grandparents. She is officially set up with some new clothes and something fun that will help her adventurous spirit. 

We are so lucky to have Emma in our family and can't believe that she is only one year away from being an official adult and leaving the nest. She is such a joy and blessing to have in our lives and we are constantly in awe of her kindness and many, many talents. 

*Emma had a big friend party later in the month and had loads of fun with her friends eating snacks, playing games and closing the night with everyone singing happy birthday to her while eating an amazing chocolate cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes!

​It’s officially still the off season for Emma with her running but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t working hard and pushing herself towards some amazing goals for her upcoming races. Her first indoor race of the season was at AFA where she ran the one-mile race. Her performance was phenomenal even though this race was only intended to be a kick start race to get her leg turnover figured out before the next race. She ended up placing 5th and got a PR of 5:31.77 (the top 5 were all within 3 sec of each other) even though she died a bit on the last lap and lost two places. Her upper body and arms were severely tired which meant that she will need to focus more on upper body strength throughout her upcoming HS track season. Still, she learned that she has to stay mentally strong even when her body isn’t feeling it. It was a great reminder for her as she focuses her mind on track running. At the end of the day, you only become a better runner by learning from each race. 

​Emma’s Advanced Jazz Band was nominated by the CMEA (Colorado Music Educators Association) as one of the top 2 best jazz bands in Colorado, along with Montrose HS. It was a huge honor to be selected. They were invited to play during the CMEA weekend at the Broadmoor and had an hour-long concert where they played seven songs. It was the best high school jazz concert I had ever been to, and this was the best I had ever heard this band play. They sounded amazing and so professional. The ballroom where they performed was so beautiful and the perfect location for a classy jazz concert. I was so moved by how amazingly talented Emma and the other musicians were in this select group. 

PERSEVERANCE is the word I would use to describe Emma’s race at Garmin Running Lane XC Championships in Huntsville, Alabama. She came into the race sick. She was coughing, had a sore throat, and was very congested. It was already not an ideal situation, but she was still positive about being able to push herself despite that deficit. We picked up her race day kit (which included a cool hat, sunglasses, and backpack), bought a few fun things at the Expo, and then she did her shakeout run with some of her club-mates that were also there to run in the Gold Division. Coach Lisa was there and gave the girls a great pep talk about the course and strategy for the race. After their shakeout run, Emma and I headed back to the hotel for a relaxing day of rest and stretching. We headed out later that night to eat at an Italian restaurant called Mazzara’s to carbo load before race day. It was already slightly raining but what we weren't expecting was the overnight downpour. The course that is normally a fast course where most girls get their PRs, was a hot mess with mud and lots of water. The girls had to tape their spikes so they wouldn’t come off in the mud. And yet, she went to the starting line without one complaint. Since she was running unattached from a team or club, she just did her strides and warm up drills on her own. Never wavering. She knew what to do. She started and finished that race with her head held high. She didn’t PR, nor did she get close to what she is used to getting, but she came away with the knowledge that she can do hard things and what a character-building moment that was for her. I am prouder of her for what she did in this race than I have been for any other race she has competed in. It takes real guts to run a race like that feeling the way she did. When the race was over, we just looked at each other and smiled even though we were both covered in mud…her more than me. What a crazy experience this race was for the both of us and a memory we will never forget.

Traveling and being able to hang out in the Centurion Lounge is pretty awesome. They still were making Thanksgiving type sides which we loved!

This race had awesome swag...especially for those running in the highest Gold Division which Emma was entered into. The backpack was especially cool and also the winter running hat! 

Coach Lisa from Emma's club team was there with the Coronado boys team but she took the time to talk with Emma and some of the other club girls from Palmer HS. She gave them a great pep talk and talked about strategy and told me to grab 3/4 inch spikes which I did immediately at the Expo. 

Carbo loading at Marazzas

One of my favorite all time photos of Emma running

When the weather is warm on the weekends during the winter, we try to take advantage of it by being outside doing something fun. Since it was a rather warm Sunday, we got the itch to go hiking. Abby and Madeline didn’t feel like going for a hike, so Mike and I took Emma and headed to Spruce Mountain Open Space for a jolly good time. We hit some snowy sections on the way up which wasn’t all that surprising since it was technically still the winter. We ended up hiking the big loop all the way around the plateau and back. The views were incredible, and it was so enjoyable to be hiking at a rather brisk pace. Sometimes it is fun to have an adventure with one kid at a time. We loved being with Emma and listening to her talk on our hike. She is such a great girl!

​We had a nice quiet birthday celebration for Emma for her 16th birthday. Her letter jacket was her main gift but there was a delay with that being finished so she opened the rest of her gifts from us. Her favorite gift that she opened was her Japanese learning books. Emma is all about learning Japanese these days. Emma loves pretty much anything about Japan, the language, the culture, and the anime. Since I was still sick Mike took care of getting a chocolate cake and he made a traditional Japanese dinner of katsu over rice with cabbage, gyoza, sushi and Ramune to drink. It was the perfect little birthday celebration for our sweet 16th year old Emma! 

MEET #1
AUGUST 28, 2021
CHERRY CREEK LOHMAN INVITATIONAL
CHERRY CREEK HS
5K - 20:30.20

The first meet of the season was up in Denver at Cherry Creek HS. Emma was a little nervous to run the course since it was all pavement, and she prefers to run on the dirt trail. I'm afraid she got in her head a little bit about the course but still was able to run a good race despite the weather being a little too hot and her calves being a little too tight. She wasn't too thrilled with her time as she wanted to be under 20 minutes. The first meet is not always going to be the best meet, but it is a good time to work out the kinks. Emma's motto after this race was to shake it off and move on.

MEET #2
SEPTEMBER 3, 2021
WIDEFIELD INVITATIONAL
WIDEFIELD HS
5K - 19:17.42 (PR)

Emma went into this meet with nerves as always and a stomach that wasn't feeling quite right. At the beginning of the race, she was in the front pack with five other girls. I yelled at her to stay with the pack. I was really hoping she would be able to do it. As I waited on the trail for the girls to do their out and back, I was floored when I saw the lead bike and the first-place girl come down the trail with Emma right behind. She was in 2nd place!!! She was only a few steps in front of her teammate, but she was able to maintain her position. As she ran up the last hill, Mike was there to encourage her and to tell her how far the girl behind her was. Emma took off like a bullet, running into the track at a 5:30 pace and rounded the last corner to the finish line at a 5:05 pace. She finished the race in an all-time PR of 19:17. She was beyond excited and surprised by her performance. This was a really good meet for Emma. After this meet Emma was ranked #8 in CO for the sophomore girls. 

MEET #5
SEPTEMBER 24, 2021
DESERT TWILIGHT
QUEEN CREEK, AZ
5K - 18:08.10 (NEW ALL TIME PR)

Desert Twilight XC Festival 2021 in Arizona was a BLAST! This was the MOST exciting race I’ve ever watched Emma run. It is the most coveted race of the season because it is a place where these kids who train at elevation can PR big time. And that is exactly what happened tonight. This race which is run late at night is so unique and so fun. Emma came in 1st for her team, 27th overall in the elite Sweepstakes race (23 teams from all over the Southwest) crossed the finish line in 18:08.09 (5:50 pace) and took 1 min and 9 sec off her previous best time. I believe her girls team also came in 4th overall. I’m in constant awe at her abilities and her sportsmanship. She is humble and kind to all her teammates. My favorite part of the night was turning around at the finish and watching Peter just hug her and jump up and down with excitement. He flew in just to watch her run. It was so fun to have Peter here to witness such an exciting time in Emma’s running career.

mandatory study time

warming up before the race

MEET #8
OCTOBER 21, 2021
COLORADO 5A REGIONALS 5
NORTH MONUMENT VALLEY PARK
5K - 18:59.30

There was lots of excitement heading into Regionals. Emma seemed excited and a little nervous about an upset tummy she had been having all week, which made me all the more nervous as I watched her get ready to run this race. The beginning of the race was like most races she runs. She was out in the front pack but not out in front. She was sitting nicely in between four of her teammates as they pushed each other along the course. At mile one she was right where she usually is and by mile 2 I was expecting to see her further ahead but she was trailing by almost 10 seconds behind two of her teammates. I cheered her on at this point and told her to go and catch them. When she got to the top of the hill she told me that she just sprinted to catch up. By the last 800m stretch she and Maddie pushed each other to the last stretch of the race. Emma came in 3rd, only 2 seconds behind Maddie for an amazing finish to a somewhat mentally tough race. Emma ended up finishing in about the same time as last meet but was just ever so slightly faster. All the girls on the Pine Creek varsity XC team ran an amazing race and their team came in 1st for Regionals for the 4th year in a row. All 5 of their top scoring girls on the team came in the top 15, each earning an individual spot in the State meet. What an amazing accomplishment for these super talented girls!
​

MEET #9
OCTOBER 30, 2021
COLORADO 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
NORRIS PENROSE EVENTS CENTER
5K - 19:07.80

It is always exciting to make it to the State Championship race and all the more nerve racking to run this race in Colorado. Colorado has some of the best female runners in the nation. In fact, two of the high school teams that are in the 5A category are #3 and #6 in the nation (Cherry Creek and Arapahoe). That being said, the Pine Creek girls team held their own in a competitive field of runners. Emma ran this tough course in 19:07.80 which is a new state course PR for her. She cut over a minute off of her time from last year which is amazing. She tied with her teammate as they crossed the finish line as the first two girls on their team. Emma came in 27th place overall. Even though some of her teammates struggled on the course, their team was still able to take 5th place which is the best their team has ever done at a state meet. This truly was a great season for Emma and one in which she will never forget. 

This month was full of school happenings both with Emma at Pine Creek HS and Madeline at Mountain View ES. At the beginning of the month Emma was inducted into the National English Honors Society. Her English teacher for the second year in a row, Mrs. Gefreh, encouraged her to apply. It was so fun watching her become part of a fun group of kids. 

After a year of no indoor concerts, it was really fun to be able to watch Emma play with the orchestra for their mid-fall concert. Since both Andrew and Peter were visiting during their fall break they came and watched her perform and had so much fun seeing Mrs. Margrave after the concert.

At the end of the month Madeline's class had a Halloween party and I went in to take photos and help with the cookie decorating. It was cute seeing all of the kids dressed up in their costumes. Madeline was dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood this year. Madeline's favorite part of the day was eating her decorated sugar cookie and recording the song, "Five Little Pumpkins" on her iPad.

The first day I got to the camp was a Sunday and we all went out on ran as soon as I got there. It was an easy run through the French Gulch Road trail. We also ran through a suburban neighborhood and kind of got lost. A few girls including Kira and myself accidentally came up through somebody's backyard. We did strides after then went inside. I shared a bed with Kira, and we let the non-natives get their own bed. As we all headed towards the bathroom to take a shower, we soon realized that the water pressure was broken and couldn't be fixed until the next week, so we headed to the recreation center to take showers. On Monday we ran hill repeats in the morning near Rainbow Lake. It was awful. For our afternoon workout we walked around Breckenridge and then did a 3-mile run along the Blue River. Our evening activity was spent playing barefoot soccer. Back at the house there was a pool table and we had fun playing pool at night. On Tuesday, we took the gondola up to the Peak 2 Peak trail and ran 8-9 miles. This was my favorite trail as it ran across Breckenridge. After we ran on that we headed towards a lake where we hung out. We played beach volleyball and then went and got ice-cream. On Wednesday, we did a small run around a lake that was pretty boring. Then we played beach volleyball again despite the lightning that was like 5 miles away. We left pretty soon after that. We were supposed to do the Summit Trail Running Series but because of the rain it was cancelled. We still ran it though but just with our group and I got lost and couldn't breathe due to my asthma, so everyone came looking for me. That sucked. That night we watched Olympic rowing and got cookies from a local bakery. On Thursday and Friday, we did long runs at Leadville Twin Lakes and Horseshoe Gulch. Saturday was our last day and we did a prediction run. I got pretty close to my time and was one of the first ones to choose some swag from the table. I choose a useless headband and I don't know why. Our coaches were Emily, Cal, and Thomas. We also had coach Lisa which is who I rode with the whole time. It was funny because her side door was broken and that became a running joke for the whole camp. We also had a kid from Alabama who couldn't stop falling on the trails and so that was pretty funny as well. It was overall a really fun experience and I'm grateful that I could participate in Kokopelli XC camp this summer.

​(Written by Emma)

​Emma is truly an amazing and gifted runner. She had an incredible season and PRd several times for the 3200m at elevation and finally got a new PR in the 1600m during the last meet. She was told by her coaches that she was the most mature freshman distance runner they have ever had. She ran smart, ran her own race, and was consistent throughout the season. She didn’t let the paces of other girls throw her off her game. It was so fun being able to watch that fire in her eyes during this season. With an extended season into the summer, she started to feel a little burned out and struggled during meets 5 and 6. They were not her best races (although still amazing times) but she showed up to her last meet ready to run hard. She came away with a new PR in the 1600m and ran that in 5:29.37. She beat not only my 3200m time several times during the season but finally beat my 1600m time which was her goal for this season. Her PR in the 3200m at sea level was 11:45.87 (Nike Chandler Invite) and 11:47.02 at elevation (Fountain Fort Carson Invitational). I made it to every meet except for the last one and that one I was able to watch on Livestream. Running in a competitive field and at the 5A level, Emma didn’t qualify for State for any individual events, but she was asked to be an alternate for the 4x800m relay team. She loved being able to attend the state meet with some of her teammates to cheer them on. It won’t be long before she is at the state meet running in the 3200m. 
 
3200m
11:45.87 NIKE Chandler Rotary Invite (PR sea level)
12:18.76 Valor Early Qualifier
11:51.78 Broomfield Shootout
11:47.02 Fountain Fort Carson Invitational (PR elevation)
12:18.41 PPAC League Meet
​11:57.12 Liberty Bell Invitational
11:51.53 St. Vrain Invitational
 
1600m
5:31.34 NIKE Chandler Rotary Invite
5:34.75 Fountain Fort Carson Invitational
5:32.17 Petrelli and Hunt Invitational
5:37.28 PPAC League Meet
5:29.37 St. Vrain Invitational (PR elevation)

This race ended up being Emma's elevation PR for the 3200m. She made her move on lap 7 and passed most of the front pack, including her teammate, to come in 2nd overall for the race.

This is where she made her move and passed her teammates and came in 5th overall

Holding her own during a meet where she wasn't feeling great. She managed to stay up with this front pack and even PR'd from the week before. Amazing!

With pretty much all the concerts being canceled this school year due to all the COVID restrictions, I was so excited that the kids high school decided to hold all spring concerts outside. Emma and Peter had their Jazz Concert out on the balcony on the side of the school and it was amazing. Emma played with the beginning Jazz Band and Peter played both trumpet and piano with the Advanced Jazz Band. Both kids did an amazing job. It was fun to be able to sit on the grass outside and enjoy the fruits of their labors from practicing all year both at home on Microsoft Teams and in school when they went back to hybrid learning. 

​Emma and I flew to Phoenix, AZ for a 2-day track meet with her running club. Emma and I flew in late on Thursday night. It seemed like everyone else in the world flew in that night too as the kine for the airport shuttle was at least a 45 min wait. Eventually we made it to the hotel. When we got there, we were kind of disgusted by our room since we were on the cheaper side of the hotel. So, I went down to the front desk to see if we could upgrade rooms. Luckily, they had a room on the nicer side of the hotel with one queen bed. We figured it was better to share a bed in a nicer room. While Emma slept in the next morning, I woke up early and went on a fun trail run with Connilee. Then it was back to the hotel to pamper Emma all day and make sure she stayed rested for her first night meet. Luckily, we met up with Tina Johnson and her daughter Ella. We ended up driving to the meet with them and while the girls warmed up together, Tina and I just chatted. It was super fun to have each other there. Our girls were running in both the 3200m and 1600m at this track meet. The 3200m was on Friday night and it was the most incredible race to watch. Emma was in the 2nd fastest heat. As the gun went off, there was a pack of 9 girls that stayed together for most of the race. Emma stayed in the 4-6 position for the duration of the race. I loved watching her run and I could see her strengthen as she hung close to the front of the pack. She ended up finishing her very first 3200m in 11:45, which was 10 seconds faster than my best time in high school. She was so proud of herself. The next day she ran in the 1600m and also got another PR running that race in 5:31 on tired legs. 

​Emma wanted to do an anime inspired theme for her birthday this year. She choose to base her theme from the movie, “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” We found an awesome cake on Pinterest and went to work gathering all of the supplies to try and replicate it the best we could. It definitely was a team effort to put together this awesome cake and fun Totoro cupcakes. We had fun cutting out the fondant pieces together. We even found the best homemade chocolate cake recipe. Emma was so happy with her awesome cake and fun gifts. Peter bought her an advanced paint by number canvas which she loved, Abby bought her a cute anime cottage craft kit, Madeline gave her a puzzle from the anime called, “Howl’s Moving Castle,” my parents gave her the cutest Totoro mini backpack, and Mike and I gave her some new anime movies and a brand-new laptop computer. Grandpa Al’s gift was some new clothes that she could pick out online. It was kind of the perfect little birthday party for a 15-year-old who loves anime and all things Japanese. 

This is what it looks like when you are hurting so bad but keeping pushing anyways. She is my hero.​

​Since all the celebrations at school had been cancelled due to the COVID crisis, we decided to do a little 8th grade graduation celebration for Emma while grandpa Al was visiting. I ordered a fun yard sign and some yummy customized sugar cookies and cake pops. This lady who makes these delicious treats is such a treasure. She made the most amazing cookies for Emma. The 2020 cookie even had a face mask and a roll of toilet paper on it to commemorate the COVID-19 crazy. One of my favorite cookies was the blonde girl with the cap and gown. She really went above and beyond to make it special for Emma. Emma was an excellent student at Challenger Middle School. She got mostly A's and a few B's throughout the three years she was there. She was able to get straight A's her entire 8th grade year. We couldn't have been prouder of the amazing things she accomplished!