Flying in Van Wert

 Drake has been putting in a ton of time and practice on the water the fall. He’s going to practice at least twice a week and his hard work is paying off.

Each week, he has had a personal best which is proof that hard work pays off. He was vying for a spot at regionals during the conference tourney this weekend against four other teammates for three final spots on the team. 

Last week, he had a personal best of 59 feet. This weekend, he was able to jump 70 feet!!! This placed him squarely on the team for regionals as the 3rd best jumper on the team. The team placed first again this weekend and Drake placed 11th overall for jumps! So proud of him and that his hard work and dedication paid off. 

Here are some pictures from past week when Marshall (so awesome he could be there!) was able to see him jump as well as videos from last week…. And the new PB jump from this week. 

Jump 1

Jump 2

Two successful jumps

Jump 3

The PB Tackle

Conference jump - 70’

Conference Champs! 

The Miami contingent 

The jump 

The lake 

Surprise Visit

Drake made a surprise trip back to Colorado, but our schedules didn’t work out much unfortunately. We did get to catch up with him for about an hour on Friday night and during the drive to the airport this morning. Funny that Shutterfly reminded me of Drake seeing Nana and Pop 19 years ago this week. 

He had to leave Saturday morning so he can be back to jump on Sunday with the waterskiing team. 

Grand Lake Getaway

 I was able to take Mom and Dad up to Grand Lake for a little get a way. We left around lunch and I finished up my day at the lake. We enjoyed happy hour on the deck before heading downtown for dinner. We picked up some chocolate and took a drive before heading back. We made a loop by the lake, stopped by the Grand Lake Lodge and then headed back. Mom and I caught a sunset, and we played a bit of cribbage before we hit the hay early

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It was a relaxing morning with coffee, cribbage and time on the deck. We then enjoyed a nice breakfast at the bakery with a view of the lake. Mom and I walked down by the lake before we headed home around 12:30. 

The leaves were changing a bit and it we had crisp, fall weather. What special time to have with them. Both of them commented how it was nice to have time alone with me and that they would like to do it with Jaima and Jacki too. 

Breakfast with a view 

Dad’s Weekend

 After horrible traffic to Oxford (8 hour delay anyone?) Marshall made the most of his time with Drake. They enjoyed meals from a few different places, went on a hike, checked out some Oxford institutions, hung out at the house with some dads and Sigma Chi brothers and watched Miami beat Cincinnati in overtime from the house. Marshall even got to see Drake jump at the ski tournament (another post to come on that) - bonus! 

They squeezed a lot in and had a pretty great time from the sounds of it. 

Living My Best Life

 I got motivated (with some support from Tanner) to go on a hike today. It was a gorgeous day and well worth getting out to enjoy it. 

I listened to a bit of the Bronco game, listened to some music and took in the view. When I was walking to the car, - song came on that seemed to be just right. 

“But, I’ve been getting my steps in. And I sleep with my best friend. It’s the best I’ve that it has been in a long time. I’m living my best life.”

Love where you Live

 Today was a day filled with simple, surprising pleasures that make me so thankful for our community.

While I’m not a CU fan, they have a beautiful campus and it was fun to watch College Game Day from Boulder for the first time in 27 years. 

Our neighbor let us know about a vintage baseball game so I bribed Tanner with bagels. We enjoyed a couple innings of the game and Tanner tried crackerjack. We then walked over the the Farmer’s Market for peaches and some vegetables. We checked out the library and then walked around a bit more. 

Tanner recognized his friend from Ultimate Frisbee playing music so we stopped and listened a bit. What a great surprise! 

I decided to go enjoy the last weekend of the pool on this sunny day. A couple of friends were there and we chatted the afternoon away. What a nice day of happy little moments. 

Chatting with his friend

Farmer’s Market 

Sixth Place!

 Drake has been working out at the lake to improve his jumping since getting back to Oxford. He jumped for the the “A” team last weekend and had a personal best. His 52 foot jump earned him 6th place. It’s so great to see his hard work pay off! 

We didn’t get a video, but here is the personal best tackle! 😀

Sectionals

 Tanner played in the ultimate frisbee sectionals for the weekend. He played well, the team had fun and there were some exciting games. The team ended up fifth out of sixth which was to be expected given they were playing grown men on competitive teams. It was warm on Saturday and chilly and wet on Sunday. Welcome to Colorado!