Ragnar Luckenbach 2018

I was so excited to compete with my Flower Power Ragnar Team again this year! It was a beautiful weekend for a 200 ish mile relay. We headed off on Thursday morning and after a few pictures as a team (I could not find that picture) we headed south towards San Marcos. 

We stopped in Waxahachie for lunch and it was so delicious and the town was so quaint. 

 We enjoyed a lovely evening and dinner then we rested up for our early morning start. 

 Van 1 was up and at 'em and ready to run! 

 L to R: Mary Johnson, Corrine Nelson, Me, Renata Parker, Chantelle Voutilainen, Lauren Reber.

 Some great exchanges and beautiful scenery! 

 I found this girl just before my first leg and we had twin socks! It turns out she is LDS too! Small world! 

 My first leg was only 2.7 miles but this awesome barn was along the way! 

 Corrine is seriously the BEST captain! She gave us these great gift bags full of fun things- 2 t shirts, a cowbell, water bottle, and some goodies! 

 The team minus Rhonda who had taken off after I came in. 

 Rhonda and I did not have a smooth transition, I dropped the slap bracelet that we are supposed to pass from runner to runner. It was awesome and in front of a bunch of people. 

 We then took some time to get cleaned up and head to The GristMill for a delicious lunch! 

 The onion rings were huge! 

 During our second leg we found this lovely bit of yard decoration! 

And this awesome display of the American flag!  

 There were so many campsites along this road but when we saw this one we had to stop and take a quick picture! 

 Sandy was on our team until a family emergency took her away and so we ran for her! 

My second leg (5.9 miles) was interesting because we were told we had to stop and wait. If we passed the exchange before 9 pm we would be penalized. So my van came to where I was and stopped. I climbed in and we waited for about 40 minutes. 

The sun was up on a new day and I was feeling ready and excited for my last leg- 11.1 miles!  

 There were hills, long hills, short hills, curved hills, and beautiful hills. I had set a personal goal for myself and hoped to exceed it but was so pleased with myself that I finished in the time I wanted to. It was a good run and I felt good about how well I did.  

There were the funniest signs along the way that were motivational but I found this one to be the most inspiring! 

 This was what they call the Ragnar leg and so I won an extra medal! 

 After my team picked me up we were making a U Turn on a road and had to back up a bit to make the full turn. Well, there was a tree stump that we could not see and BAM! But then, Renata used her amazing kick and popped it back into place.  

 We showered and enjoyed some of the added comforts at the end of the race. These compression wraps are wonderful! I tried them after Niagara Ragnar and I will wait in line to use them if there are ever there to try. 

 Check out these trees! 

 Van 1 done! 

Our team finish! Bless Sundra, it was so hot and humid by the time she finished but she finished strong! 

 Our hard earned medals! 

After the results were in, we placed first in the women only team category! Go us!  

Peter ordered this awesomely large cowbell for me for my birthday and my Ragnar shenanigans! 

 This lady is amazing, inspiring, generous, thoughtful, and a true friend! I am so thankful that Peter's job led me to meet Corrine (she is his boss' wife). She is my Ragnar friend and I hope to be able to have many more Ragnar adventures with her - possibly all over the country! 

February 2018 Part 3 "The Craziest Day of the Year so Far"

Saturday, February 24th was the day of Jon's District Choir auditions, Joseph and Jon had a second day of merit badge college, Arabella and Lily had their Destination Imagination competition, and I had my Stake RS Conference. Peter and Samantha played chauffeur and navigator for the day. 

This year Arabella and Lily have participated in Destination Imagination. They both worked hard with their individual groups and came up with some great props, costumes, and story lines for their plays/presentations. They were the only 2 kids from Valley Ridge Elementary to participate and so they were placed on teams from 2 different elementary schools (Lily was with Degan and Arabella with Timber Creek). They both had such a fantastic experience. 

 Lily's team compared and contrasted Greece and Mexico. They worked so well together. When faced with a decision they would discuss ideas briefly and then quickly make a decision and move on or start to work on their solution. It was a delight to see them work. 

 Arabella's group was a bit bigger and had more obstacles in the challenge they chose. They did a change of tune which was basically writing and performing an 8 minute musical. They chose to do a TV talent show. They had some great set designs and some clever humor. Arabella was so enthusiastic.  One night just before the competition one of the parents mentioned to me how they loved that Arabella would listen to the critiques and advice and internalize it and do all she could to improve her performance. That is my girl! 

 There is a preliminary posting of some of the scores so that teams can know if they need to return for the awards ceremony. Well, Arabella's team did well and so we returned that evening. 

 They did it! They placed 2nd and so their team is going on to state on April 6-7th. We have been working on a few improvements based on the comments from the judges. These kids are so creative and so full of energy! I hope they do fantastic at state.

 Jon really wanted to try-out for the District Choir but it was the same day as merit badge college which we had already signed him up for. He agreed to doing the additional work that would be required due to missing some of the merit badge college so that he could try out for the choir. I am so grateful for his teacher Mr. Peeples who was so encouraging. With him cheering Jon on, he was willing to practice his audition pieces before and after school for the 2 weeks leading up to the tryouts and it paid off! He made it. His performance with this choir will be on Friday March 23rd. 

Joseph did a great job at his merit badge college. One of the merit badges he completed and absolutely loved was Railroading. He had to make a model engine as part of the requirement. We ordered this model from Amazon and it was so tiny when it came but he persevered and finished it. It is the Hogwarts Express. 

We have the most amazing kids.

It was my Stake RS Conference on this same day. I spent a good part of Friday preparing and decorating for it. In the past we have assigned out different aspects and we have just overseen the preparations but this year we had a bit more active role as a presidency. I was definitely the head of the decorations committee but the women I worked with were fantastic! They brought so many great skills, talents, visions, and resources to our team.
Saturday, I was at the church by 8 am and did not get home until 3:30 pm. It was such a wonderful day though! Our four classes were wonderful! Every person I spoke to that attended had a revelatory experience at some point during the day.

 Our theme was What Think Ye of Christ? and that is what is cut out of the reflective paper on the one side of the frame and a picture of Christ is on the other.

 We invited the sisters of the stake to help us create a display of Christ. There were so many wonderful items brought. So many talented women and touching stories or testimonies behind the different pieces.

 Food Committee: Caryn Beck, ?, Reghan LeBarbara

 My decorating committee: Me, Jenny Law, Suzanne Hendrix, and Mae Mitchell is missing.

 The women loved visiting while waiting in line to get their salads and while eating. I loved hearing the sound of laughter, fellowshipping, counseling, confiding, testifying, and sisterhood.

I love the women of this stake and I adore these women that I get to serve with. (L to R Heather Wade 2nd counselor, Suzanne Watson President, me, Chris Boyce Secretary).