Still On CLOUD 9!

Saturday morning, we woke up to cloudy skies and rain in the forecast. Just what we needed for the day of Brittany's cross country meet...the Region 7 AAAAA Championships! It's the meet that qualifies individual runners/teams for the STATE XC Championships on Nov. 7th. So, it was very important that the girls do well. Adrenalin was pumping through their veins!

Here's the girls on the starting line for a quick team pose. I can't help but LOVE their crazy socks!

The gun sounded and away they went! They were on a mission!
Here's Brittany coming into her second turn around the course. As you can see, the conditions of the course weren't the greatest. It was very muddy in several spots and it got much worse once the rain began to pour. However, the girls stayed with it and placed 4th overall! Brittany finished in 13th place and medaled...her best buddy, Alicia, was 14th and medaled, too! The best news is that the girls and boys varsity teams both qualified to go to STATE on Saturday! I am so thrilled! What a perfect way to finish out Brittany's last high school cross country season! The course they'll run is one of Brittany's favorites with several hills. She always does extremely well on it and great weather is predicted! I can't wait!
Now, with Regions being on Halloween, the girls went home, rested awhile and cleaned up, then got ready for trick-or-treating fun. Here's Brittany and Alicia about to head out the door to a Halloween party. I have no idea what my daughter was thinking when she picked out a baby costume! I about died from laughter when she waddled out in that huge diaper! Let me assure you that she had a pair of shorts on underneath it...though it sure doesn't look like it! Oh, the reactions she got!

Here's Abby who was getting ready to go out with a group of her friends. It was the first year I didn't tag along...sniff, sniff! She had a great time and everyone wanted to "honk" her nose!

Brittany and Abby both had their friends over to spend this night, afterwards.

So, Saturday was a day full of excitement, fun memories, and exhaustion! I wouldn't have traded it for ANYTHING!

P.S. Go over and pay a visit to my bloggy friend, Amy...she's having a fantastic giveaway!

Halloween Fun...And Some BIG News!

We had a fun Halloween last night! Hope all of you did, as well! Abby, in particular, underwent quite a "transformation". She'd decided that she wanted to be a mad scientist, so I said, "No problem!" I went out and bought a can of purple hair color spray and a Halloween makeup kit. I teased her hair and sprayed it with the color. Wow! I knew we were headed in the right direction. Then, I began putting on her white makeup and made her eyebrows very dark and hairy-looking. Abby walked over to the mirror to make an inspection of my work. Her remark was, "Mom, I look just like Beetlejuice!!" You know, she was right! Here's the beginning...

And this is the end...Has anyone seen my sweet little daughter???


Here's the gang! Don't you just love Andrew's costume? We had to call it a night by 8:30 PM because Brittany had a cross country meet that she had to be at this morning at 6:45 AM. The race was at 8:00 AM.

We made it to the meet before the sun was even shining and, boy, was it ever cold and miserable!! Abby and I couldn't even feel our toes or our fingers!! I really felt for all the athletes who had to run in those conditions! It was the 7-AAAAA region championships, so it was a very important race.

Brittany did so well, finishing 18th overall, with a time of 19:37. She placed first on her team and has done so at every meet this season! Her teammates, the #2 and #3 runners, finished in 19th and 20th places, about 20-30 seconds behind Brittany! So, all three of them medaled! The whole team did incredible! They placed 4th in the region! In fact, they qualified to compete to the GA. State Cross Country Championships next weekend!!! We are so excited, I can't even tell you!! This will be their second time in two years to run at state! We couldn't be more proud!!

Here's Brittany...notice how everyone around her is dressed...so COLD!!!

Here's the top 7 varsity girls after learning they're headed to STATE!! Woo Hoo!! Brittany is wrapped up in the blanket trying hard to stay warm! What an awesome group of girls!!

Today was one of the highlights of the entire XC season. It makes all their hard work, dedication, and determination so worth it! Way to go, girls!!! Knock 'em dead at STATE!!