Ben's Pictures

I wrote this in early December and then forgot about it.



I've posted before about how Ben enjoys taking pictures. He got a new camera from Grandma not too long ago, and he stays busy taking unique and fun pictures. Here's a recent sampling of his work:

He's not afraid to try new things.

I have no idea how he did this.

Brian's maple creams before being dipped in chocolate.

Clever!

I absolutely LOVE the colors in this picture.

Rotary Club

Ben is wrapping up his elementary school days, so I guess it's not much of a surprise that these last few posts have been about him.  The other day he came home with this letter.

His teacher called me the next day to explain that Ben was a unanimous choice among the 5th grade teachers as their nominee.  She said he is "one of those students" that you'll just never forget.  He's a positive leader and role model, he works hard and does well, he's involved in a variety of activities, he's accepting of others, and he's pleasant to be around.  She asked if Ben had our permission to ride with her to the Rotary luncheon so he could be honored.  Of course we said he could go.

So at noon today, Ben rode with his teacher to a local restaurant to be honored by the Rotary Club!  They had a spaghetti buffet, and he, along with a high school student, were the students of the month.  His teacher said a few things about  him, and then Ben said a few things about himself.  He had his picture taken for the local paper and was given this certificate.

We are so proud of him!!  Way to make the most of your elementary years, Ben!

Baseball Tournament

Ben had his first traveling baseball tournament this weekend.  His first game came just hours after getting home from his 5th grade Camp Pepin trip.  He was beyond exhausted, cried when he found out he had to play (this game was added last minute), and just wanted to go to bed.  He pulled himself together and played a good game, and even hit a homerun.  His team won that game.

Saturday was hot and windy!  Our family stuck it out and watched both games.  The team won one and lost one, but they were still alive.  Ben had some fantastic fielding and hitting, and some decent pitching. Pitching makes me nervous.  I get stressed out watching.  He's not a consistent pitcher, so you never know what could happen.

The team went into Sunday morning knowing they could be playing for anything from 1st place to 4th place.  The weather took a total 180 degree turn, and it was cold, windy and rainy.  We were bundled in coats, blankets, gloves and umbrellas.  Again, our whole family stuck it out for the first game.  Brian and I have a bit of system down.  We alternate who gets to be off kid duty during a game, and this first game on Sunday was mine to enjoy without having to be the chaser.  Ben played well!  He hit a triple and was responsible for making a double play on his own.  The team won the game which put them into the championship.

I took the 3 other boys home because we were all wet, cold and hungry.  Brian was giving me inning by inning updates and I was getting nothing done at home while waiting for his texts.  I'm surprising even myself by how into these games I'm getting...at a 5th grade level!  Ben had another great game!  He hit a 2-run homerun, and had some great pitching that got the team out of some close calls!

I was waiting for the final update, knowing that Ben's team had a 12-6 lead with the opposing team at bat last.  The update from Brian was taking a while and when he finally called me, he said they had all gotten too busy celebrating the 12-7 tournament win!!  How fun to win the hometown tournament!!

Celebrating the win!

11A Champs!

Off to Camp!

Ben left yesterday for the annual 5th grade experience to a YMCA camp.  He'll be gone Wed-Friday, and neither Brian or I are chaperones.  Ben was mostly excited, but a little nervous about how he would sleep (he's very particular about blankets, pillows, temperature, etc...) and the food.  The camp has the kids in jam-packed classes including a large climbing tower, an orienteering class, and various community building type activities.

I've been getting texts from Mali, one of the chaperones on the trip, updating me with how things are going.  The excitement level was very high yesterday, and she said everyone is quite a bit more mellow already today.  I suppose it's the fact that  the boys were up at 5:30 with some crazy bed head to sport throughout the day.  She said everyone is having fun!

Sitting on his gear, ready to go!

We told Ben and Ethan to get together so we could take a picture.  5th grade humor at its finest!

When they finally agreed to face forward, they were standing a few feet apart and we told them to squeeze in closer together so they are touching.  Notice how Ben is "touching" Ethan.

I'm sure he's having a great time.  He'll be exhausted when he gets home Friday afternoon and gets to head into a super busy weekend of baseball.

Lake Minnetonka Half-Marathon

Today I ran my second half-marathon.  My first was 10 months ago and I finished in 2 hours 10 min.  Today I had 2 goals.  1.  I wanted to come in under 2 hours.  2.  I wanted to beat Brian.  I accomplished goal #1 and finished in 1:59:28, but I didn't beat Brian who came in at 1:55:53.  So close...yet so far away!

It was fun to go to this race with Brian, his brother John, John's wife Kate, my sister Holly, and myself.  We girls (and Brian) log all of our workouts on Dailymile.com and the excitement built as we got closer to this race and saw how each of us had been having some good runs.  (The girls ran the half-marathon together last year and we all wanted to improve.)  All 3 of us had personal bests at the race today which is such a great feeling.  

We knew we probably wouldn't be running all of the race together because we all wanted to "do what we needed to do" to have good race.  Unfortunately, Holly and I decided to do a last minute port-a-potty stop which put us several minutes behind when the other 3 started.  We never even saw John, Kate or Brian until the finish line.  Holly and I ran together for the first 4 miles and then separated.

This half-marathon had the potential to be a major disaster.  The weather yesterday and into last night was awful.  In the middle of the night we had 2+ inches of rain, hail, strong wind and our weather sirens went off.  Until early this morning the forecast for today was 80-90% chance of precipitation and thunderstorms.  We left the house at 6:30 and had some light sprinkles on the way, but by the time we parked the car, there was no rain and not one drop fell on us during the race!

The course was one rolling hill after another which made for a tougher than expected route for me.  I started struggling at mile 8 and started really doubting if I'd be able to come in under 2 hours.  Now that it's done, I'm glad I pushed through it, but it was hard.  I haven't had many races where I've felt somewhat disappointed, and that happened to me today.

As I start to look into marathon training, I'm sure there will be plenty of tough days and runs where the mental game is harder than the physical game.  It's a challenge I'm looking forward to (and I'm a bit afraid of!).

These are my only pictures.  None of us brought a camera since we thought we'd be drenched.

I'm a dork and save all of my bibs.  I record my time, who I ran with, weather, etc...

Our finishers' medal!

Marathon

Wow!!!  I just signed up to run 26.2 miles in September.  Yes, I just registered for a full marathon.  My stomach is in knots, but I'm excited.  It's been creeping into my mind more and more lately, and with a little prodding from some pesky friends and SIL, I've decided to go for it!

Pondering the registration page.

It's official!

Wish me luck!