Happy Girl Run 2019

Here we go again!  This race is a favorite of mine.  I like the trails better than the asphalt. The scenery is better.  More challenging for sure.  Peggy, Bonnie, Melissa, Jackie and Sheila! 

We grabbed Bonnie on the way to the restroom to get a picture.  

My traditional picture with Aaron!  I met Aaron at the first Happy Girl.  He works for Happy Girl and was nice enough to search for a sweatshirt in a certain size for me.  He had to come find me to give it to me.  Or should I say sell it to me.

 Representing Team Gleason!

So good to hang out with Peggy again!!!  I missed her!  What a beautiful person. 

 Off we go!

 The scenery was great!!!

 The Spokane River!!!

 Peggy's sister and brother in law joined us.  Sheila and Peggy's brother in law became fast friends!!!

I asked this small child if there were tacos at the water stop.  He said no!  Is that false advertising?  I think so, although the sign didn't say when you could eat more tacos.

 Oh yes, there was evidence of horses all along the course!

 Peggy and her sister!

We are finally on an actual road.  There wasn't much of that but it was nice not to have to dodge rocks and slip on gravel.  That's part of the fun though as long as no one gets hurt.

We "ran"into a couple of half marathon runners that were tired enough to use me taking a picture to stop and walk a little. Freida and Mandi!

 We did not follow the yellow brick road, we followed the blue one!

 Ahhhh, the finish!  Another Happy Girl in the books!

I tried to be a great picture of Peggy crossing the finish line.  A person named Sheila kept waving her hands in front of my camera.  I think she was enthusiastically cheering Peggy on but she was cramping my picture taking.

 Peggy's sister and brother in law.

 The finishers.

We had a great time and it was great to see my friends.  Friends are a gift, a precious gift from God.  Thanks for sharing my life with me and being my friends!!!

Cross Country and Softball all in One Weekend

Layne decided she wanted to try out for cross country at Deer Park High School.  She is a freshman.  She made the varsity team.  She practiced diligently over the summer.  Her commitment and determination was impressive.  She ran at home with her mom following on a bicycle until she decided to join the team to practice.  After tryouts she was part of the team.  This cross country meet was in Hayden, Idaho.  Her first meet.  Not a league one yet.  She placed 6th among over 70 girls.  She is a freshman!!!  So proud of her.  

The Deer Park Varsity girls.

And here they go.  The strategy was to stick together as a team in the beginning.  

First time we got to see her (because they are in the forest) and she is toward the front of the pack!

Here she come to the finish line.  It was so exciting to watch.

She had no idea she was in the top 10 and was she pretty excited about it.

Both Layne and Lucy had softball tournaments on this weekend.  Layne didn't play on Saturday.  Lucy did though.  She played catcher for the first time.  Layne played softball on Sunday.

Our catcher super star!  Proud of both these girls.  Not just because they are great at sports but because who they are as people!  Great kids!  Respectful, kind, determined, persistent, loving and more!

The End, Glacier National Park Vacation

The last day and rain was invited to join us.  Not sure who invited it but it came. We hung around the trailer for awhile and then decided to go see the goats at the goat lick.

This is it, the goat lick.  The goats like the salt and other minerals in the rocks.  There were no goats. We missed the goat lick season.  Who knew there was a goat lick season!  The goats are there in July and early August. I might as well practice with my new camera lens!

 Mike hoping to see some wildlife through his binoculars. No wildlife found!

 This train track was pretty far away.  Lens practice.

 Not bad!

There are no goats.  Sorry visitors!  The scenery is great, take a look! 

We did a little shopping and then headed back to make a fire in the rain.  Well, the rain temporarily stopped!  Mike got it going but we were not able to use the presto logs we brought.

 All the rain and moisture we had during the week had an effect on the presto logs.  Mike discovered if he put them in the fire they emitted a lot of smoke. No fire for the presto logs.  We just had to clean it up and put the remnants in Mike's truck.

The fire continued with wood Mike brought from home.  Nothing better on a cool evening to have a fire to enjoy.

Time to head home.  We had a great time.  It was very relaxing and we had the best experiences ever!  We prayed for a safe trip driving and safety and relaxation while we were in Glacier.  God is good.  He is always with us and taking care of us.  No problems at all.  At the end of some vacations you are ready to get home.  Not this one.  We could have stayed longer easily.  It's Good to be Alive!