Ephrata Canal Caper 2009

This 10,000 meter (6.2 mile) run is held every March. When Steve was a Freshman ( I think) he mentioned to me a few days before the event that he wanted to participate. It sort of came out of the blue...he hadn't trained or anything, but I knew he had a lot of energy and thought nothing of it.
He did SO well in the race that shortly afterwards the Cross Country Coach called him and asked him to join the team. That was the beginning of his participation in Track and Cross Country. He was awarded the "Most Inspirational" and the "Team Captain" awards twice during his high school years.
This year he wanted to run with his son. I wasn't there for the beginning of the race this year to take pictures, but it's the end that counts, right?!!

This is Jeffrey at the finish..There were 143 participants and he was # 52 at 58.16 minutes. He said he wanted to run it in under an hour and he did!!

Below, the runner in red across the canal is Steven.

This really brought back memories of watching Steve come in at the finish. When he was in high school he usually collapsed after crossing the finish line...which is nerve wracking for a mother.

After one of the meets I noticed his heart was still beating hard nearly thirty minutes after the race. Following many tests it was concluded that, yes, it does take HIS heart longer to slow down than the usual runner. He was advised to keep moving for awhile after crossing the finish, which he does now. (In High School he had a group of teammates who would run/jog with him after a race).
Steven came in # 77 at 70.34 minutes.

I know this was a special time for Steven, but it was also memorable for me . I never considered I would watch two generations run THIS particular race.
I wish I had been in training too, so it could have been three generations, but I haven't run it since 1996.

These two are winners in our family!!!

Joshua and Aleigha

I didn't get a chance to take many pictures last week, but these two caught my eye when my camera was close at hand. I've always thought that this age didn't usually play together well...but apparently I was mistaken! It was heartwarming to see my grandchildren having fun together.

Not sure what happened to the shape of this picture...but the "story" it tells is still intact.

George and Allene

Here is a little story from our history.
When I was dating Phil he had a black, 1954 Ford which he was very proud of...and which had extemely loud, way cool pipes that I could hear coming at least four blocks away. I have no idea why he was never stopped for disturbing the peace; maybe the law liked the sound of them too.
Anyway, he had a small, stuffed bulldog that sat on the dash. It kept falling off, so I told him if he got a magnet I would sew it on the feet. This he did and, after sewing on the magnet, it stayed put quite nicely. We decide to name him George because it was Phil's first name and he has never been at all fond of it.
When we were on our honeymoon we stopped in a small town and had breakfast. There we saw a little dog that looked like a good mate for George. We named her Allene, because it was my middle name. They are still together...after all these years.

Jacob's Family Birthday Party

I'm a little late with this but I forgot they were in my camera. Can hardly believe he is five-years old already...five going on fifteen. Kreanna is reading our card to Jacob before he opens our gift. We have enjoyed watching him grow these past five years. What a special child he is. His Grandpa and I both miss not getting to spend much time with him anymore.