No. 21

No. 21 was Sue Henry's Dead North, borrowed from my dad:

I'm loving these books! Henry weaves a great tale - really keeping me guessing and wanting more. 

:)

CE2 Adopt-a-Highway

A week ago I was walking Highway 99 with my CE2 kiddos.

Several years ago, our class adopted the section in Tigard from McDonald to Highway 217, and we clean it twice a year. The students earn volunteer hours and also (hopefully) learn something about giving back and taking care of our world a bit.

We split into two groups, and my kiddos cleaned both sides from McDonald to Main Street.

I walked the bike lane and picked up cigarette butt after cigarette butt. Yuck! 

Next time you drive past the signs, think of us :)

Guess what I did for Global Running Day?

My plan was to get up really early Wednesday and hit the pavement for 4ish miles to celebrate Global Running Day. BUT... our contract negotiations session didn't adjourn until almost 9:30 the night before, and by the time I was actually asleep, there was no way I was getting up before 5 a.m.

So I slept in a little and then hit the treadmill for a quick 1.5 miles. Despite exhaustion, there's no way I'm missing that holiday!

We also made it to kickboxing in the evening for more sweating!

Happy June!!

:)

Adventure Thursday: DOUBLE winner!

Adventure Thursday was the monthly Discovery Run at Road Runner Sports. Dad, Brad and I ran around Tualatin, collecting raffle tickets, hoping for prizes.

This month's route was really short. There's usually a couple spots to the east near Brown's Ferry and a couple spots way to the north by Bridgeport Village. This time Brad and I ran extra just to hit the 3-mile mark! (Usually we get at least 4 miles)

Running done, tickets ready, waiting for the raffle:

I won a three-pack of Drymax socks!! WOOHOO!

AND THEN... I won a pair of Adidas shoes! Worth $160!!!!! 

That's the third pair of shoes Brad and I have won at these things :) 

Dad quote of the night: "This SUCKS!" after his 0-fer streak continued :)

Someday, Dad's number will come up! At least he still gets the free root beer float and workout :)

CE2 grads... so far

I've been lax in my graduation announcements this year! We've had nine CE2 graduates so far - with more coming in the next few weeks. Because our students do independent study, they graduate as they complete their credit requirements. So we have graduation celebrations throughout the year!

I'd like to introduce you to our grads so far...

Sean:

Omar:

Sabrina:

Abdul:

Adonis:

David:

Mahdi:

Adrian:

Nick:

Stay tuned for more very soon!!! :)

Girls on the Run 5K (5/21/16)

Saturday was the culmination of weeks and weeks of work for about 600 local girls. They spent the spring doing Girls on the Run, an amazing self-esteem program for third through fifth graders.

A portion of the program involves running (or walking or skipping!). And then each girl is paired with an adult running buddy who comes along for the Practice 5K and then the final 5K. 

My Cooper Mountain Elementary School team's Practice 5K was May 5 in the neighborhood around the school. Then the final "race" was May 21 on the University of Portland campus.

The 5K started in waves, with Cooper Mountain in the very last group. What especially touched me was watching our girls spend their extra time cheering their hearts out for teams who started before us:

Miriam had a plan to run 3-minute intervals with 1-minute walks in between. (In the practice run we did 1-minute run intervals!) When it was finally our turn to run, we walked to the start, got in line and then took off down the sidewalk. The course was a triple loop. We were asked to stay on the sidewalks, which proved very difficult, especially since we started in the back of the pack.

I have a great respect for this program! But a couple things could have been better at the 5K. If the race had been done on the streets, these girls could have really shown their stuff. Miriam was itching to go, but it was just so very crowded. Also, there was a water station we were supposed to hit three times as we ran around UP. They were almost out of water when we arrived the first time and totally out after that. I felt bad for Miriam and others who didn't have water! I'm just glad it wasn't a hot day.

Other than that, it was great! Families lined the course to cheer and snap photos. The atmosphere was amazing with everyone cheering for everyone. And Miriam did so well! Her mental game was strong, and her running was great, too! As the finish line came into view, Miriam took off, sprinting to the end! I had to really work to catch her :)

Finisher medals for everyone:

The Cooper Mountain team and coaches:

Everyone had a wonderful time and felt so accomplished! What a great experience :)