Football!

 Tis the season to pass the pigskin. Daryl is playing for his middle school again this year and he and Alex "run plays" almost every day in the yard. We have also been fortunate enough to see two KU Football victories! (In the same season ;-) 

Last Saturday was so fun to see the Jayhawks take on Duke. It was sunny and warm, but worth the sunburn because they held on and got the win. I hope they keep on winning, this has already been such a fun season! 

Of the four games Daryl has played I have made it to three. They won the only game I didn't see. Maybe I need to stay away? Daryl gets pretty discouraged because last year they were undefeated. I told him there is usually more to learn in the losses than in the wins. I know that is true, but it's still not what he wants to hear! He is playing a lot and that was something he really wanted last year, so he has that to be proud of. 

It feels like fall right now, let's hope it stays that way for awhile. 🏈

It's hard to get a good picture facing the sun after
you have just lost. (Thanks a lot mom!)

Game Day! (I stole his 7th grade shirt for this
year's games!)

#11 is mine

This is just WOW!

We had excellent seats at the KU/Duke game. 

I took a good "sports ball" picture!

 

Indy Races 10K Recap

 I have great news. At the inaugural Indy Races 10K on Sept. 17th, I placed 2nd! This new race raises money for childhood cancer research and for families affected by childhood cancer. There was a lot of heart and soul at this race and running around Lake Shawnee offered beautiful views and a closed course! 

I beat my South Dakota 10K time by about 3 minutes, my hip is almost 100%. My time was 1:03:47. This race was double fun because the Genesis morning weights class came out to run! Some did the 5K, I did the 10K and couple of crazy people did the 6.8 mile loop around the lake. 

After the race I owed the boys lunch on Mass Street for being so good for grandma. The only problem with that is they don't like the same food. So Daryl and I went to Jefferson's (he wanted to try oysters) and Al and grandma went to Ramen Bowls! It worked out great and it was a good Saturday all the way around! 

Me and the only other 10K runner!

His first raw oysters!

Then he had to try them fried, he liked raw better!

Alex know he likes beef ramen, don't mess

with success!

Pretty Stress free race when you are on the 
podium from the start!

Final NELD Session- Washington DC

I got home Friday from my Extension Leadership conference that involved many central states. I still struggle to find the words to wrap up my experience. It was way more than I expected and the colleagues I met from across extension were outstanding. The other members of my NELD co-hort will be a valuable resource to me as I try to do the very best I can for Shawnee County and Kansas. I hope I can be the same help to them. And if board games are being played in this group, count me in! I haven't laughed that much in years! 

Does research change, yes. Does science change, yes. Will our work be constantly changing so we can inform our communities with the best information, yes. This is great news and exhausting all at the same time. 

The backdrop of Washington DC to discovering leadership all around us was perfect. Most leaders are not in front of the microphones, and I ascribe to the KLC motto, "Anyone can lead, anytime, and anywhere." 

Now the bigger challenge, taking the time to incorporate what I have learned into my position. I have a self addressed letter coming to me in one year to see how I'm doing, I won't let future me down by not doing the work now. 

This last week was hard because for the first time in three sessions I was missing stuff at home. Daryl had a doctor appointment with an allergist. Many thanks to his dad for the detailed notes on that. Alex got his school trumpet. He did blow into it for me when I got home. And Daryl had his 2nd 8th grade football game. Most thanks to Alex who stopped playing under the bleachers and went to tell me the score when I called him. Alex also asked and found out if they were home or away so the score would mean something to me. They won! 

The MVP of the week was Grandma Rosie, who stood in for me and mostly cooked the food I bought and didn't take them out to eat every night for a week! Love you Mom! 

OMG they let the KSU folks graduate!

Did the first lady wave at us while we were waiting for our dinner reservation?
Yes, she did!!! 

Am I an extension geek and took a picture of the arch as well, yes I am. 

Look at Jessica and I riding the metro like big kids!

Did I cry at the Holocaust museum, yes. Did I 
cry at the African American History and Culture museum, yes.
Do I think these two museums are must sees for every human, yes!

Labor Day Weekend

 We are a couple days away from the holiday weekend but I definitely want to document the fun days we had at the Manor. We started strong on Friday, Alex had his first non family sleepover with buddies from school and Daryl and I went to the KU football game. I kept my phone close in case Alex wanted to come home, but by all accounts the moment we dropped him off he didn't think about us until we picked him up! The mom that hosted the group of boys did a great job keeping them all busy and when he got home he was so happy and tired! 

Daryl and I were also happy to see a KU win and he got to meet some KU famous people. He got to shake hands with KU basketball coach Kurtis Townsend and as we were leaving he spotted his favorite KU basketball player, Mitch Lightfoot. I hope all college athletes aspire to be as gracious and kind as Mitch. He was with a couple of friends and noticed Daryl looking at him and trying to get the courage to talk to him. (Loose Transcript below)

Mitch-Hey Buddy, want a picture

Daryl-(Nods head and goes in for a hug!) 

Mitch-(Hugging Daryl), Nice to Meet You!

Daryl-You are great!

Me taking picture-This is one of your biggest fans

Mitch-Thanks bud! 

As Daryl and I walked away he asked me why he couldn't say anything else and he was beaming from ear to ear. Mitch, you are a stand up guy! 

It's hard to beat the start of a holiday weekend like that! Saturday, we mostly ran errands and cleaned. Alex begged to do "something fun" on Sunday, so we went skating! I didn't fall once! The boys can't say the same. 

We have never waved the wheat so much!

Meeting his basketball hero!

Let's skate!

So blurry....

Race Recap, Sioux Falls 10K

 On August 28th I ran in the Sioux Falls 10k. I had originally signed up for the half marathon but had to scale back my distance due to injury. I am determined to run this half marathon because it goes through Falls Park and the 10K didn't, so I it's still on my list! 

The weather was great and it was a very scenic route, after the race we explored downtown Sioux Falls for almost an entire day. They have an old theatre that plays old movies, the marquee showed "Drop Dead Gorgeous", that just so happens to be one of my favorite movies. So of course had to watch that on the big screen for the first time. 

It was a great trip and on a whim stopped by the Hard Rock Casino in Sioux City, Iowa and came home with an extra $100. Yay! 

My official 10K time was 1:06:33, I was 136/235 overall and 14/22 in the F 30-39 age group. My big win was I didn't have any walk breaks! There is a local 10K at the lake this month. I need to see about getting signed up for that. 

My official finish photo! 

Celebratory beer and knitting!

Kinda hard to see but the firefighters came out to 
cheer on the runners!