Stanford Invitational

Yesterday, Brooke competed in the Stanford Invitational. Since Brooke took 1st place in Division II last year, the team decided to compete in the seeded race this year and run with some of the elite runners from California.

Brooke ran a very smart race. At the first mile mark, she was in 3rd place, running at a very fast pace of 5:30 mile. She slowed down during the second mile and dropped back to 9th place. Then she dug down deep and started catching and passing the girls ahead of her one at a time. She had a really strong kick the last 800 meters and finished in 4th place with a time of 18:12. Amazing!

Brooke, making it around the first turn, looks focused and determined.
Brooke, crossing the finish line in 4th place.

Dad giving Brooke a hug after her amazing race!
Brooke and her teammates and coaches. The team finished in 15th place.
Ash and Brooke resting in the shade after the race!
Brooke in front of the board where the finishing times are displayed.
Brooke with her #1 fan and sweetest sister, Ashley, who gave up her whole weekend to cheer her on.
We are a happy family!
Brooke, posing in her Stanford T-shirt that she earned for finishing in the top 10, on her favorite course, where she dominates.
We love the Stanford campus. It is beautiful!

Sports-A-Rama

Brooke and the Juniors, ready to go for a 3-peat at Sports-A-Rama!

Craig cheering on his teammates, Spence and Matt, who are doing the 3-legged race!

Brooke cheering on the Juniors! She isn't quite as animated as Craig!

Matt and Spence seem to be doing well in the 3-legged race until...

they take a little tumble, just before the finish line!

Ashley's reaction!

Brooke, "the Bear", played the part of the pig, in the Juniors skit and did a very good job!

Brooke, so just a little excited that she still fits into the really attractive pig costume that I made for her to wear on Halloween when she was in 5th grade! I'm convinced that no matter how old Brooke is, that she will never grow old of wearing that ridiculous pig costume and I love it!

The Junior skit, Toy Story.
Check out the tail on that pig!

Brooke, as they finished their Toy Story skit, knew that they dominated.

The Junior win, with a come-from-behind win with their awesome skit!

Brooke and her friends celebrating.

Ashley and Craig are a little disappointed but still proud to be Sen10rs!

Ash and Brooke, fierce competitors, but still best of friends!

BYU/Florida St. game

"The Thrill of Victory and The Agony of Defeat"

Two weeks ago, we were able to witness the huge BYU upset over Oklahoma! It is hard to describe the excitement that we felt that day for BYU, the team and the fans. It was so amazing to actually be there in the stadium and celebrate with the team and fellow diehard BYU fans. Moments after the stunning BYU win, we cheered with excitement as the entire team stood in front of the crowd, not wanting to leave the field yet and it's fans, they spontaneously begun doing "the haka". It was awesome! As we walked through the stadium to meet up with Tyler, who was coming out from the locker room, we high fived other BYU fans, bought BYU-OU Inaugural game T-shirts along with hundreds of other BYU fans and took numerous pictures to document the epic occasion. We stayed and celebrated until security asked us to leave the stadium. We experienced the "thrill of victory" and didn't want it to end.

Fast forward to last Saturday. We again were able to attend a BYU game and once again it was a huge upset. Unfortunately, it was BYU that was upset by Florida State. It was painful game to watch. The experience was completely opposite of the game two weeks ago and we definitely felt "the agony of defeat."

I've decided that it's a lot more fun to win than lose. But there are a lot more lessons learned when we lose, pick ourselves up and move forward. I have faith that our Cougars will be back and they will have a great season. They won't be playing for the National Title, and a BCS bowl might not be in store for them, but I suspect that we will enjoy the "thrill of victory" once again and it will take away the feeling of pain and "the agony of defeat."
Tyler punting in the pregame. I love to see how his eyes are following the ball.

Another punting picture!
The pregame excitement as the team enters the stadium. Lee Johnson, a former kicker for BYU waved the flag and lead the charge. Sad to say, that was one of the highlights of the day!

Tyler and Riley Stephenson discussing the punting strategy.
Thank goodness for Tyler's cute cousins, who were waiting outside of the locker room, so excited to see Tyler and insisted that Tyler play football with them, right there and then. Tyler took the boys around the corner from the locker room and tossed the football back and forth. They all came back a few minutes later with smiles on their faces. Somehow the loss is a lot less painful when you have entusiastic little fans that help you keep things in perspective!
Family fun. Nothing better than being together.
Okay...I guess, a BYU win would have made it a little better.
But we still had fun!

Sonya, still keeping with the "Cowboy" theme is sporting her BYU plaid shirt! Adorable!

Tyler's other mother, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Kib.

Boys 2 Men

On Friday night, we went to the Boys 2 Men concert at the Utah State Fair with Tyler and Allie and their friends. They put on a great show! Not only can they still sing but boy, can they can dance! It was a fun night hanging with the college kids!

Afterwards, we waited in a loooong line for funnel cakes. All I have to say is...wow! It was well worth the wait! They were incredibly delicious. It was a fun night and a great way to start our weekend in Utah!

Boys 2 Men

Tyler and Eric singing along with the group! It was a little scary. They knew all the lyrics but didn't quite have the dance moves down!

Mom and Dad enjoying the music!

Sonya and Tyler, with Mark and Jessica in the backgound, at the concert.

Allie and her friends ran to the front of the stage, hoping to recieve one of the roses that they were handing out. Allie said that he was holding one out just for her and some girl snagged it from her. Lame.

Sonya, Tyler, Mom and Eric in the background singing and dancing and having a good time!

Dad, Mom, Allie, Tyler and Sonya
Tyler and Sonya

Tyler with his 2 favorite gals!

XC Season has begun

The Bear. Focused and Determined.

*Picture taken by Joe Hartman

Brooke has had two cross country meets this past week and took 1st place at both meets. The first was the Del Oro meet last Thursday night and then this past Friday was the Rocklin Invitational. She's running strong and it looks like she will have another great season! Here are some photos from the meets.

Anne Barton, Brooke and Maddie Lummis after the race at Del Oro.

Mom and Brooke as the sun is setting and Brooke has finished her "cool down", which is running another few miles after her race...just for fun!

Brooke posing with Dad, who looks very official wearing his USA Track & Field shirt.

It was an un"bear"ably (no pun intended) hot and humid day at the Rocklin Invitational. Ashley and I were miserable just watching Brooke run! It was real rough:)! After the race, Ash was going to give Brooke a hug until she realized that she was soaking wet. Brooke tried to convince Ash that it was only a little bit of sweat, but mostly wet from dousing herself with a huge cup of water as soon as she crossed the finish line.

Now that Brooke has "dried out", Mom and Ashley are happy to hug and celebrate!

Dad and Brooke. Absolutely adorable!