The Montoya's

2011-06-29T06:57:00.001-06:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

2011-06-11T22:18:00.001-06:00

The 2011 Stingrays Summer Swim Season Has Arrived!

2011-06-09T14:49:00.003-06:00

Deuces Wild Triathlon/Duathlon

Show Low, Arizona

2011

This year in Show Low, Emma was the only one from this household to race! She left early with her Uncle Mike, Auntie Marlene, Monique, and Levi to camp at the Lake in Show Low before the race. Steven, Grace, and I joined them later but stayed at a hotel. We did camp one night, and what excitement that was for Grace who has never slept outside before! Emma said that she wanted to win this time; and that is what she did. She won her age group and placed second overall, boys and girls. Way to go Emma!

2011-05-28T13:52:00.002-06:00

I came in from fixing the AC and this is what greeted me! Super Girl! Grace is growing up quickly and playing make believe is one of those things that starts :) I love it! I still sometimes think and laugh at how good and how into I've gotten at painting nails. Emma called me Mr. Gotta Be Perfect Nails last night because I wouldn't let her get up and walk on the toenails I had just painted. The things that having 2 little girls in the house does to a Dad... But I wouldn't trade it for anything.

2011-05-27T19:45:00.003-06:00

Summer here we come!!

We were all home from school early today as it was the last day for the 2010 - 2011 school year. We tried going to the pool but it was closed and was being cleaned from all the recent school rentals. So we made the best of it and played in the backyard and got in the kid pool and jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath.

Having a family and having a job where mom and dad are "off" for 10 weeks is great :)

2011-05-22T19:55:00.004-06:00

Summer is just a week away! 5 more school days and this becomes our lifestyle for 10 weeks. Life is good.

Today we stopped at Wal Mart for some fruit and drinks to bring along with us to the pool. While Lindsey was attending to that I walked over to the cameras and I found an Olympus waterproof camera for a very good price! We had an Olympus waterproof camera for the last 2 summers but I left it in a taxi when we were in Vegas for Lindsey's marathon in December. I was super bummed losing such a nice and expensive camera. Well I found this one which has a higher megapixel than our previous one and it was on clearance for $50 when the original price was $150! Bam! I love a good deal.

So the Montoya's are back to taking pictures again. As I uploaded these I realized that the last pictures we took were in March?! We have 2 growing girls and we failed to take a picture for nearly 2 months! Time flies. Well hopefully this blog will be updated more often with stories and pictures of our summertime adventures.

Steven

2011-05-17T16:46:00.002-06:00

After finishing in the top 12 at her school spelling bee, Emma moved on to the district spelling bee which was held at my school. This spelling bee was made up of the top 30 spellers for the district, with a little bit harder words. Emma make it through more than 10 rounds before misspelling the word "eight". She was so nervous as soon as she got the word. She was able to come up with "ei" but could not remember the rest. Her leg was tapping and she was trying so hard to come up with the correct spelling...she looked so cute down there on a stage in a big auditorium in front of a ton of people she did not know. She placed 7th overall. You are an amazing girl, Emma. I am really proud of you!

2011-04-21T21:08:00.004-06:00

Emma is our Queen Bee....

Today Emma participated in the Kindergarten Spelling Bee. There was over 60 participants and she finished in the top 12!! All of the kids were asked to spell 3-letter words, except for Emma. Her last word for the day was Zero, which she spelled correctly! I am not sure who was more nervous, me or her! It was really cute watching the kids come up to the microphone and spell words. A friend of mine's son was really funny...he would cover his mouth before saying a letter because he did not want the audience to hear him sounding out the words. Emma, however, spoke so clear and only hestiated on one word. I am really proud of her for wanting to participate. It takes a lot of courage to get up in front of about one hundred other people and speak a loud with the chance of making a mistake. I sent her flowers and a panda bear to her class, which she did not put down until we got home. She was really proud of herself and wanted to be able to tell people why she had her gift! She will participate again May 5 at the middle school with a harder word list! Way to go Emma:)

2011-04-14T11:04:00.004-06:00

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional....

Love you Steven...Have a good day!

2011-04-05T23:20:00.002-06:00

These are Grace's dance moves. Lindsey is trying to teach her the sprinkler but she hasn't gotten it down just yet. This is more of a fist pumpin' and booty shakin' get down.

Sorry it's sideways, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it??

2011-04-03T18:01:00.002-06:00

This was picture from St. Patrick's Day so it's a little old but it's new to you!

Notice that there is actually grass in our backyard this year! Since we moved in to this house in 2007 the backyard has been an eyesore, full of weeds and goathead stickers. This summer we are putting some effort into stopping that and getting some more use out of our backyard. It's huge so we may as well get the most out of it.

2011-03-20T16:49:00.003-06:00

Spring Break is soon to be a memory. It's late Sunday afternoon and back to work starts tomorrow. I look forward to it though, it's not a bad thing. The school year is 3/4 behind us and this is the quarter that always seems to speed right by. We have already had 2 track meets but we still have 8 to go and I have also volunteered to drive the Youth in Government group to santa Fe sometime next month. It will be a busy nine weeks and busy always means that time will fly. Summer is around the corner!

The Montoya's had a simple Spring Break. We were home for most but did travel to Alamogordo to visit Grandma Burns and help with the Tom Burns Memorial Mile as part of the Alamogordo High School track meet. It has become a thing that a lot of people look forward to although I don't think it is highly advertised. The kids that have run the event multiple times have been very grateful for their prizes and it's always nice to hear a genuine "thank you" from these kids. I am sure the event means something a little different to everyone but I got to thinking that we are not far from having my niece and nephew, Sydney and Thomas, compete in it. Sydney is a freshman at LCHS but wasn't too excited about the direction of the T&F team there and Thomas is a sixth grader. That is really going to be fun when they are racing in it!

During the break I was able to have a pretty good running week during the 9 days off. I ran 8 of those days, the only one I missed was the day of a track meet. I totaled a little over 60 miles for 8 days and lost about 4 pounds from the beginning to the end of the break. I am pretty happy with it especially since todays 10 miler felt so good from start to finish. I think I want to continue to strive for similar results for a couple more weeks and also start to add in some biking and swimming before I go full on triathlon mode. I guess I just figure that running is the most bang for your buck and with coaching and family that's what I can do right now. My first triathlons are in May so I still have some time plus they are both sprints races. My training doesn't usually get going until after the track season anyway.

On the kid front, Emma lost 2 teeth over the break and is becoming very good on her skates. She is reading and spelling and counting more and more all the time. She surprises me when I ask her questions just to see what she knows. And Grace, aka the Gracenator, is doing alright also. We definitely have 2 different girls each with their own unique qualities :)

2011-03-06T16:08:00.003-07:00

I'm having a difficult time doing anything this afternoon. I'm just sitting on the couch and I can hear the wind through the fireplace insert. Spring temperatures tease us for a few days but it seems that winter isn't ready to let go just yet.

This morning I ran the farthest I have since October when I did Ironman. I just thought about it and holy moly... that was nearly 5 months ago! Where does time go?

So I met 3 kids this morning and we set out on our long run. Instead of running the "10 mile loop" we had been consistently finishing we decided to make up a new loop to the southsteast of Socorro. I had an idea of where we should go but I had't run out there in more than 9 years. I didn't have my GPS but one of the kids had a Nike+ which reported the loop as 12.5 miles and I felt great the entire way.

This one boy in particular has been doing a great job this school year as far as working hard and getting better. Yesterday, at the first meet of the year he ran a 12 second PR in the mile and is oh so close to breaking 5 minutes, a goal he has had now for a while. It's great to be a part of it all and I am looking forward to him breaking it just as much as he is. Running is such a tough sport and not many young kids are willing to accept the work required to be a successful distance runner.

This level of committment has been on my mind a lot lately. Partly because attendance at the Sunday morning long run has been dismal at best and also because of budget cuts and rumors I have heard lately regarding possible cuts to athletics. In the past 3 years that XC has been in existence at SHS we have grown and improved each and every year. Great stuff, I know, but... how good do my kids want to be? Are they satisfied with 7th and 9th at State? I'm not.

It is difficult not to take rumors to heart because I truly love coaching XC. I hate to hear that a kid of mine is considering playing football instead of running or even worse that another coach is trying to sway their choice. I hate when a kid with talent doesn't want to be the best they can be. I can't stand to hear that budget cuts may effect XC which is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard of to save money. WE ONLY COST GAS MONEY AND A BUS DRIVER for 8 trips! This stuff just eats at me. I'm not very good at letting things go either.

I don't know how long I will coach at SHS or how long I intend to coach, period. But I will never turn my back to kids that want to improve and be the best they can be. I had a conversation with Lindsey the other day about how important I think it is for every kid to try something where they give their all, 100% dedication. Sport allows them to do this, to work, to improve, to chase a goal and to achieve and set a higher goal. I see too many kids that only go just enough in every aspect. They do just enough in the classroom, just enough in sport and I assume they will never know how to give their all when it will be required. I teach and I'm a coach and I am not satisfied with that. I want to change lives for the better.

So as long as I have kids that are there eager to meet me, I will be there eager to meet them.

Fortitudine Vincimus

2011-02-14T08:38:00.002-07:00

Steven,

All I need is you....

.......Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-13T20:32:00.004-07:00

We always have fun when Grandma comes to visit....

My mom was not able to make it up for Emma's birthday due to the snow storm, so she came this weekend instead! She brought Emma's birthday present with her and to quote Emma..."Mom, I know this isn't nice, because I like what everyone got me for my birthday, but this is the best birthday present ever!" Grandma Burns got her a pair of Roller Skates. Emma is a very active girl. She loves to run ( a 10 minute mile), swim, bike, scooter, jump on the trampoline....so she is now learning to use a pogo stick a

nd roller skate. This weekend, that is all she did! Good thing the weather was nice because we were outside all day yesterday and today learning how to skate! Needless to say, she picked up pretty quick. She still needs practice, but she is very brave. We couldn't even get them off of her inside the house. She would say, "just because I am taking them off (only to take a bath) does not mean that I am done with them". Watching her brings back memories of when I was younger. I loved to skate and would go to the local skating rink all the time! I think I might have to invest in a pair so I can join her in the fun.

2011-02-13T20:04:00.004-07:00

Happy 6th Birthday Emma!

February 5

For Emma's birthday, we took a drive to Albuquerque to paint and fire pottery, eat lunch at Tomato Cafe, and have cupcakes at Cake Fetish. The kids had fun painting their pottery but the cupcake store was not what I was expecting, quite the let down. As we drove back into Socorro we decided to go sledding. We were not prepared for it, but the kids had a blast despite how cold it was. Monique and Levi stayed the night and stayed up quite late playing Just Dance with the adults!

Emma, you are growing up so fast. You tie your own shoes and are soon to be without your first baby tooth! You are an amazing big sister and such a neat little person. We love you so much...have fun being young, wish you could stay that way forever!

2011-02-03T10:36:00.006-07:00

Snow day! As 75% of the US is currently under a blanket of snow, Socorro joined the rest of the country and was hit with a winter storm that brought plenty of snow and freezing temperatures. As all Socorro does when it snows, we headed to the golf course to go sledding. We had fun but the temperature was in the low single digits and it didn't take long before Emma wanted to leave.

We have had a nice mid week break from school as it has been canceled for the past 2 days. I wonder how many snow days they plan into the calendar? I hope we go back to school tomorrow as I don't want to be making up days in June! The kids here don't need much of an excuse not to come to school so if there were school I doubt we'd be able to get much accomplished... sad. It would be a wasted day but it beats coming in after Memorial Day.

The winter weather however has not dampened my training in the least. I am now glad that we bought a treadmill last year as I have been able to keep up with the base training despite the weather. Unfortunately the University has been closed so that means that the pool has been closed too. And I need to get my bike trainer back from a friend I lent it to. But the running has been great and I feel it's the best bang for your time. Plus it goes with my early season training plan as I have 3 running races coming up in the next 3 months.

Thanks for checking in!

2011-01-27T17:48:00.003-07:00

Letting yourself get out of shape is like a credit card... It's lots of fun until you get the bill.

It was fun and I really took advantage of my post Ironman glory. I ate lots of Ben & Jerry ice cream and basically let the cold winter start while I was warm inside. No morning workouts, no evening workouts, no workouts period. Well, the bill came (it's actually been here for a while but I have ignored it as long as I could) and it's time to pay up. I have penciled out a racing season and it's starting up in the not too distant future. The first "race" will be a 10k on February 13th. I do not predict any PR race times for this one but I will strive to finish respectably. For several months all the races I have planned are running races as I feel putting in the running miles will help jump start my biking and swim training. It looks like the first triathlon will be in May and I know it will be competitive and fast so I need to get some consistency back in my training now. Currently my training plan is simply that, "consistency." I will do what I feel like doing but I can't be skipping days because it can get to be a bad habit and get me into that cycle of not feeling like I'm getting anywhere. After a good dose of that I can start to work in some quality workouts with more precise objectives. But for now it's Operation: Get My Ass Out The Door.

2011-01-01T09:21:00.017-07:00

The Christmas Holiday is quickly coming to an end and the busy life of the Montoya Family will soon resume. We started off our two week break with a performance of the Nutcracker, starring our one and only, Emma! A ballet company from San Diego asked for children from the community to be a part of the show, and Emma was excited. She had two performances, one for the school kids in the morning, and one for everyone in the evening at Macy Center. Emma played a BonBon and had a lot fun dancing with Mother Ginger!

We then had a visit from Monique and Levi where it was nonstop food, fun, and dancing!

On Christmas Eve, we went to mass and had Green Chile Stew afterwards at Steven's mom's house. The girls and I played a new game called Headbands...Emma was really good at it all of a sudden. I couldn't figure why, until I realized that I was sitting in front of the refrigerator and she could see her picture in it! Ha! Emma and Grace also enjoyed spreading Reindeer Food outside and getting Santa's cookies ready for him as well before they headed off to sleep . A little Elf got to Santa's cookies before he did though! Unfortunatly with all the excited we had to go for a drive to look at lights at 11:00pm hoping the kids would fall asleep!

Christmas morning came too quick! Steven's grandma was the first awake; ringing the doorbell to find none of us were up yet! Steven started a fire and coffee as we waited for Emma and Grace to wake up. Soon after, the girls were excited to see that Santa had found their house and left lots to be opened! While Emma and Grace were looking through their stockings, Steven started breakfast and CC arrived as well. The girls spent quite the morning opening up gifts. At one point, Emma looked around and said, "Mom, I don't think he got me the dog. Moments later, she picked up a box just the right size and said, I have to open this one! I think this is it! As she began to rip it open, the box barked! She was so excited. At that point Christmas could have been over. Santa brought her the GoGo and me dog! Grace got lots of dolls and was most excited about a bag full of pretend bottles and pacifiers for her babies!

Emma learned how to make empenadas with her grandma and great grandma

This year, we spent our Christmas at home, and so did everyone else. Both of my sister's stayed home and so did Steven's brothers. My mom went to visit my Grandma in Wyoming, and even made the news! Love ya mom! We did however make it down to Las Cruces and stayed with my sister Kelly for two days. We went with Sydney, Thomas, Monique, and Levi to see Tangled in 3D! We even made it to dinner in El Paso at the State Line! I hope everyone had a nice Christmas!

2010-12-11T10:41:00.006-07:00

Vegas Baby!

Sorry for the lack of pictures from the marathon and Las vegas in general, the camera jumped out of my jacket pocket and stayed in the backseat of a cab the morning of the race so all pictures came from my phone. Oh well, that's not the big news anyway.

Congratulations to my wife who ran her first marathon last weekend and did an amazing job! Her goal when training was to break 4 hours and she did just that and then some, finishing in 3:51. When I asked her afterwards if she'd do another she was pretty enthusiastic and I think she even has some dreams of qualifying for Boston. Looking back on Lindsey's accomplishment I am just so proud of her and I know her Dad would be to. I doubt it would of taken any convincing for him to meet us there but if he hadn't he would have been the first person she called. I know he was watching after you and I know you made him proud too. You did great.

And special thanks to Grandma Burns who graciously came over and stayed the weekend with Emma and Grace. It was great to spend time with my wife and take in Las Vegas. So thank you Sue.

Lindsey really looked good and was ahead of pace every time I saw her.

New York and Paris just a short walk away.

Ironman met the real Ironman... you figure out who's who.

Doing our best self portrait shot in front of the Belagio.

2010-11-29T19:37:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving 2010

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Grandma Burns in Alamogordo. We had a great time visiting family and playing with cousins. The feast did not disappoint and neither did Caliche's on Friday. Saturday we played miniature golf and raced go karts. In just 3 short weeks we will be celebrating Christmas, Lindsey's birthday, and a new year. But first, Lindsey has 26.2 miles to go this weekend in Las Vegas.

2010-11-07T11:19:00.004-07:00

Time for things to slow down (a little).

Today is the day after the cross country season has ended for the 2010 season. We had our state championships yesterday in Rio Rancho and I have to say it was a good day and Socorro XC has lots to be proud of and an even brighter future to look forward to. On the boys side we continued our climb up the XC ladder and placed 7th as a team. We also had the 2nd best pack time (time difference between our first and fifth scoring runners) in the entire field regardless of classification and we avenged our loss to Ruidoso from the week before at the district championships. In 2009 we finished 10th and the year before we weren't able to qualify a team for State so we are improving but like running and endurance sports, it takes consistent work over time.

On the girls side we finished 8th as a team and had the programs first all-state runner as we had the 4th place individual finisher. The great thing about this girl is that she is a freshman and 2 of the 3 girls ahead of her were seniors. I hope she stays motivated about running and she surrounds herself with friends who encourage her to improve. Similar to the boys, the girls improved from the previous year where they finished 9th and from 2008 when we didn't even have enough girls to make a team.

Although I'm already looking forward to next season I am even more looking forward to my family and friends. I want to spend even more time with them and I don't think I've been to Las Cruces or Phoenix for some time. Not to mention Boise to visit my hot mess sister-in-law. Next weekend my nephew will be running in the state championships XC race for NM Junior Olympics and I am looking forward to that as he is a future star of NM XC. This month will also bring Thanksgiving in Alamogordo and I'm looking forward to all that delicious food and taking a turkey overdose induced nap. And in December, Lindsey will run her first marathon and I am so proud of the work she has been putting in. I haven't been to Sin City since I was too young to sin.

Well hopefully you can expect some more posts from now on... Now that I've got some free time ;)

-Steven

2010-10-15T14:48:00.010-06:00

YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!

Congratulations Steven on your Ironman finish! It was awesome

to see you out there among the best! Mike and I had a great time following you on our bikes while you ran:) You accomplished such an amazing goal that you have wanted for so long. You did it with such heart and we are all so proud of you.

2010-10-04T22:03:00.002-06:00

Steven,
You have been preparing for this day for quite some time now. I can't believe we leave tomorrow for Hawaii! I am excited to be there and experience all the events that take place this week in preparation for Ironman on Saturday, even the underwear run! You have been dedicated to your workouts and have pushed yourself to extremes in many ways, physically and emotionally. We will be your number one fans out there just like we were leading up to this. We love you and wish you a safe Ironman race. YOU ROCK!

GO IRONDADDY!

2010-08-23T21:25:00.004-06:00

The Day has finally arrived....

Since Emma was three she has been going to school. She began at Don's School which is a cooperative nursery school. She loved it very much, but always complained that they did not give her any homework! Then, last year she attended pre-kinder at the elementary school and once again was upset because she never had homework. Well, now she is in Kindergarten and had her first homework assignment! She was so excited and could not wait to get it done. She organized her area and sharpened her pencil and was ready to go. She in

sisted that after I read the directions to her that she would do it by herself unless she absolutely needed help; then she would let me know! Even Grace was excited for her.

2010-08-11T12:10:00.004-06:00

Back to School

School started yesterday for teachers and today for students. Unfortunately I found out very last minute that Grace's daycare could not open yet, so it leaves me starting the school year with a substitute. Of course I am just fine staying home with Grace, but very stressful when you are notified late at night of the situation.

So, this morning Emma was excited for her first day of Kindergarten. She said she wanted to learn how to read and make pottery! How cute. Sadly, her mood changed and both her and I were crying when I dropped her off. I took her in the classroom and there were some familiar faces but lots of new ones. I think she got so nervous because kids were just working on whatever at the time and the girl sitting next to her was already crying that it just came pouring out! I was able to stay with her for about 20 minutes but then had to get my sub plans to my room so I had to leave her crying....poor thing. I was so sad that she was nervous and that I could not just stay...but I knew she would be fine. I made it back in time to eat lunch with her and she was as happy as can be, with her red puffy eyes!

From there, Grace and I went to visit the daycare so she could see her wonderful babysitter, Virginia. I wanted to prepare myself for what it might be like when the daycare does open and we have to drop her off. But, it was great. Grace remembered Virginia and the center and just loved being there again! Thank goodness.

Now, Grace is taking a nap and I can just breathe for a moment before I am on the go again! Welcome back to school girls!

Here are some pictures of last night's back to school swim night that Emma had with her friends...one last hurrah before life gets busy again.

2010-08-10T22:52:00.002-06:00

Happy 1st Birthday Grace!

I can't believe how the time has gone by! Just last summer I was making the lifeguards at the pool very nervous...worried I was going to have a water birth! Ha Ha! Grace, your first real word was da da, which made me very jealous, but proud too, because I know that you have a wonderful daddy! You are taking a few steps at a time by yourself, but really you want to be running! You are beginning to say ma ma, and you also say the words this and that! I rarely do my hair because I am too tired in the morning from being up with you all night...needless to say, you do not sleep well. Your favorite things to eat are mac and cheese with brocolli , watermelon, yogurt, and the whip cream from your daddy's sonic drinks! You like to paint your nails and you loved your birthday cake! We love you Grace, you are a true blessing to our family.

2010-07-22T21:22:00.002-06:00

Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

I miss you Dad.

2010-07-18T12:06:00.010-06:00

Yes it has been a while, almost a month, since the last post. And in summer terms that is a very long time. Let's see, since the last post on our our anniversary, I raced in Lubbock but the family was unable to go as Emma had a special 8 and under only swim meet. We traveled to tucson for a sprint triathlon at the University of Arizona and we stayed 2 nights in a hotel where Emma and Monique and Levi played in the pool for hours at a time. Lindsey stayed a few days in Alamogordo and Las Cruces with her mom and sister and Emma played with her cousins, Sydney and Thomas. In Alamogordo they went to the zoo and the military base swimming pool. Lindsey and I both raced the Kelly Mine Run, a 7k uphill all the way course in Magdalena, NM and I finished my summer job! We also squeezed in a trip to the lake with Mike and Danny and their families. Here are some pics:

2010-06-22T17:36:00.000-06:00

Happy Anniversary Steven....I love you!

2010-06-22T13:49:00.000-06:00

2010-06-22T12:12:00.003-06:00

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-18T14:39:00.003-06:00

Our Little Fish...

Emma has been in the water since she was 5 months old. Steven and I would take Emma to the pool and she loved it. Emma never wore "floaties" and was very comfortable. She never made a fuss when we put her under the water or if it was too cold! Emma learned how to swim very early and was diving, and flipping from the side of the pool and the diving board. This summer she said she wanted to be on the swim team. She is the youngest one and by far the best swimmer in her age group. At first she really liked the idea, but she has become very nervous. Some days she does not want to go...and that is fine. At her first meet she was nervous, but did amazing! She was so brave and swam her little heart out! After her first race she told us that it was a lot of fun and that she liked it now. She is so little that she often gets out early, I think it is because she is frozen! I am not sure how many meets we will make, but as long as she wants to continue then we will.

2010-06-15T13:15:00.004-06:00

Good Old Fashion Lemonade Stand

Yesterday, all of the cousins decided to have a lemonade stand! I have not seen kids do something like this is a very long time. They made posters, yelled at all the cars, and were having a great time; it's SUMMERTIME! I had to call in some favors however, so they would have more customers! They did pretty good in the end, each making five dollars.

2010-06-11T22:00:00.005-06:00

YOUTH DEUCEATHLON

0.5 mile run - 3 mile bike - 0.35 mile run

Emma competed in her very first duathlon while camping in Sho Low, Arizona. She was very excited to be a part of all the excitement that Danny and her Daddy were involved in. Danny ran the first leg of the run, Steven biked along side of her, and I finished the run with her. She started her run off a bit conservative, not sure if she should pass people or just stay were she was at. She really took advantage of the transitions and water stations! Emma really kicked butt on the bike, battling two good size hills and then finished really strong, placing 2nd in her age group. She brought home a nice award that she is very proud of.

Emma,

Your dad and I are very proud of you for participating, and just having fun! We want you to know how important it is to be active and healthy. We are your biggest fans in life, we love you!

2010-05-23T21:20:00.002-06:00

Despite the crazy wind this weekend, we were able to sneak in some family time outside. Yesterday we hung out at the pool before going to some graduation parties in the evening. Emma and Grace are our "fish". They both love the water and could stay in it all day. Today, Steven got out the door early for a ride before the wind got too bad, so the girls and I decided to do the same thing. Emma rode her bike and I ran next to her with Grace in the jogging stroller. It was a gorgeous morning. We made our way up to Tech park and played there for a while before heading home. Grace ordered some food from "Emma's Restaurant" and checked out a pretty yellow flower in the grass. If you can imagine how a swing set has three diagonal poles at each side holding it together, Emma loves to climb, rather swing her way up them pretending she is reaching for bananas! She is a fish in the water and a monkey on land. As you can see she is good at the monkey bars as well!

2010-05-11T21:51:00.004-06:00

As time goes by...

Time is really flying by! School is almost out for summer and I am really looking forward to spending my time with my family. I was fortunate enough to get to stay at home with Grace for the first five months of her life, and now the past five months are really passing quick. Grace adjusted wonderfully to daycare, which is a blessing. She has two very loving ladies who spend everyday playing with her. I know they love her and she loves them too. It has been the next best thing to having family watch her. She is an adventurous little girl. She crawls all around with a funny crawl that looks like she is limping, pulls herself up on everything, and is really trying to talk! Grace will always let you know what she wants or doesn't want with a simple grunt, but lately, a scream. She thinks that Emma is the most amazing thing ever and wants to do everything with her; hopefully that doesn't change as they get older! She has two teeth and is sleeping horribly...ha. I am not quite sure what is going on there, I guess payback for Emma always sleeping so well. However, she is such a happy, healthy, beautiful baby...I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you Gracie.

Now, Emma....wow, talk about growing up too fast! When we moved to Socorro she was only two and now she is five going on 13! She is finishing up Pre Kinder and has learned a lot from that...maybe more than I would want her to! But Emma is the cutest girl I have met. Of course I would say that and she has great role models (cousins), but she has so many wonderful characteristics that really make her shine. She is athletic, kind, funny, caring, smart and reminds me a lot of Steven, which is the best thing about her. She is very organized, which comes from Steven, yet she leaves shoes all over the house just like me! Sorry babe. Emma is also great with Grace. I look forward to when they can really interact and play with each other. But for now Emma enjoys singing with her, playing with all of her toys, and attempting to hold her while standing up. They are really lucky to have each other, and I am very thankful for the two of them. This summer Emma will be on the swim team. This will be her first "real" team sport that has participated in. She played soccer last summer, but that did not really count since they did not have a team name, nor did they play other teams. I can't wait to see her in her team suit, cap, and goggles!

Oh, you girls are just growing up so fast. I love you both more than you know...Emma, I love you to the end of the ocean and back.

This first picture of Grace, for some reason, she thinks is hilarious. I have it framed and hanging in our front room. Any time I show it to her she cracks up. Maybe it is the drool?

2010-05-04T11:09:00.002-06:00

2010 Run for the Zoo

This past weekend we all participated in the Run for the Zoo in Albuquerque. I ran the 10k, Lindsey and Sue both ran the 5k, and Emma ran the 1 mile fun run. Despite the cold and drizzly conditions we enjoyed ourselves and are all looking forward to next year.

2010-04-24T21:33:00.002-06:00

I can't believe my little girl is already off to PROM! Good thing her daddy is her date...Steven had to chaperon the Prom tonight since he is the Junior Class Sponsor. Originally, Steven had asked me to go, it would have been my first prom. Unfortunately, we did not have a babysitter and Grace got sick as well, so Emma took my place. I made her a corsage at the last minute with some flowers from the yard. I did my best, Emma. You look gorgeous love. So do you Steven!

2010-04-24T21:19:00.003-06:00

April has been a month for birthdays! Last weekend we were down in Las Cruces for Monique's birthday. Monique had a great party with good food and lots of friends. The kids had a lot of fun making magnets, playing games, and jumping in the castle, even some of the adults got in! Happy Birthday Monique!

2010-04-20T22:42:00.001-06:00

My Ironman Diary

If you haven't noticed I started a new blog and I have a link for it over on the right there ---->

I decided to do this so I can have a place to share what I'm doing as far as training and prep for Ironman and since the internet is forever, I want a place I can go and look back on things and experiences. I look forward to when Emma and Grace can read through and see what I was this whole thing is all about. This race means so much to me and I'm very grateful to get in and be a part of the Ironman. If you're interested, please follow and leave some feedback from time to time. Thanks.

2010-04-15T10:47:00.002-06:00

WOW! I just got a late birthday present from the Ironman Hawaii Lottery... I won a coveted entry spot for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in October 2010! I have been a triathlete for 15 years and Hawaii has been a dream of mine the whole time. When I was in college I tried to qualify but it just always eluded me. Once at a qualifying race in hawaii I placed 2nd in the 20-24 age group but there was only one slot up for grabs in that age group so I didn't get in. I have been to the race twice to watch my big brother, Mike, race it. Since marriage and family, triathlon has remained a part of my life but the focus of qualifying has kind of faded. Well, now I'm going! I can't wait for everything, even the training! Maybe the six-pack will come back! I look forward to involving my kids at school somehow and being an inspiration to some of them, who knows? Emma is going to have a blast! Lindsey and I are going to have a blast! So if want an excuse to go to Hawaii let's go!

More info can be found here: http://www.ironman.com/

And here is my name on the list: lottery results

And last but not least, I have created an Ironman Diary

2010-04-14T11:05:00.003-06:00

It is very hard to surprise someone who checks our bank statement about ten times every day! So besides getting Steven a "Swimman", waterproof IPod, I planned to make him breakfast this morning. Steven loves french toast, but I wanted it to be special. So, I went to the store to buy Texas Toast but was told to come back after school and they would have a delivery. I went to Smith's but it did not come in, so at nine o'clock last night I went to Supermart and found some. I was very lucky to have gotten there on time; it closed as soon as I walked out the door! This morning I woke Emma up early and while Steven went for a run we made him french toast with powdered sugar, strawberries, and turkey bacon. Sometimes little things like that are more fun than an expensive present. Emma was very excited to surprise him and had a drawing for him as well. Steven, I hope your day brings more surprises! I love you and thank you for being a wonderful husband and father. Owl Bar tonight!

2010-04-11T09:06:00.004-06:00

Hooray! Today is my last day of my master's classes. I have been traveling back and forth from Truth or Consequences and Magdalena one weekend a month for 22 months. During that time I was pregnant and gave birth to Grace! Completing my master's was much easier and a lot more fun since I had friends doing it with me...thanks Becky and Margaret. The hardest part of this program was being gone from my family for the weekend. I would drive back and forth everyday, so I only got to see everyone in the evening. Thank you Steven and mom for your help and support...I love you!

2010-04-06T22:52:00.004-06:00

This past weekend I was really excited to take Emma and Grace to Old Mesilla and "try" to take some nice photos. I really do not know a whole lot about taking great pictures but I figured with Steven's help for posing I would be able to get some good pictures out of it. I thought it would be fun to take Monique and Levi along too...so here we go. Four kids, two adults, and not much experience in taking posed pictures. I kid you not, five minutes into it we were on our way back to the car! Emma was leaning against an old wood door and got splinters in her hands. Not only was she balling, but now Levi was too because to him this meant we were leaving back to Socorro. There we were in Mesilla with four kids, two balling their eyes out. We sat in the car for less than two minutes and they stopped. So, out we go again attempting to take some cute pictures! Monique was my saving grace! As Emma continued to cry I was able to atleast practice with Monique and Grace. Emma's eyes were red and puffy and she was not in the mood for taking pictures at this point! Levi changed from crying to laughing hysterically which really lightened the mood! I was able to get some good pictures, I think! I am just wondering what editing software any of you would recommend. I have Photoshop for my PC, which is out of commission at the moment, and so am now using Picnik online. Anyone have other suggestions?

2010-04-02T11:51:00.000-06:00

Great Friday

Yeah I know that for all christians today is known as Good Friday, but so far mine has been a great Friday. Many people walk the pilgrimage from the catholic church in Socorro to the catholic church in Polvadera, north of Socorro by about 10.5 miles. For me, this pilgrimage is a time that I can reflect on my faith and say "thank you" for another year of good health and family. It gives me a time to remember my dad, who I know would have been out there with some water or gatorade for me if he were here. I always keep him in my thoughts on this day.

Good Friday is also a good way to get the community together and doing something good. For the past 3 years I have invited and encouraged school kids to do the run with me and this year was no different. This year I had 6 kids complete the run with Lindsey and myself. For all but one of those kids it was their first time and I know they were very proud of themselves for accomplishing such a long run. I truly love it when a kid does something they thought was impossible not long ago. I just love being a part of that, it's huge for them.

Lindsey left about 10 minutes ahead of me with 2 kids that were thinking the run might take them a little longer. One freshmen girl carried pictures of two of her cousins that are suffering through difficult medical conditions. At first she was very hesitant to run the distance and was going to walk it instead with some relatives but she decided last night to go ahead and run it. She did so good and when we got there she took out those pictures and and had some tears for them. I know finishing that run meant quite a bit for her.

The boy who left with Lindsey is also a freshmen. I met him this year when he came out for XC. He didn't make varsity but ran and had a great attitude. Now he is out for track and I have noticed that he is challenging himself more and more lately. Often he opts for the longer and more difficult runs that the faster boys do and although he falls behind, he is always there, getting the work done. When he finished today I don't think he stopped smiling and just beaming with pride. He said he couldn't wait to eat and sleep. I have never pushed him, just encouraged him and made it fun and now he is pushing himself just fine.

The boy who has run every one of these with me since his 8th grade year also ran today. We were talking and we think our time has gone down by 20 since the first time we did it, although it is not at all a race. He has really become a great runner and still has a couple of more years of high school to go. I look forward to seeing all the things he will accomplish by the time he graduates. He is such a great kid and I am very proud of him. I can see the two of us doing this run together for many years to come.

And last but certainly not least, of everyone I saw and ran with, no person put a smile on my face any bigger than the one I had when I saw Lindsey. Like I said, she started about 10 minutes ahead of me and I almost kind of forgot she was out there but when I saw her I just felt so happy and comfortable. I picked up the pace to try and catch her by the finish but I didn't know she saw me and did the same thing. I am very proud of her for running and for being a part of the kids I coach. I love that she cares for these kids too. We talk a lot about the difficulties of living in Socorro and teaching and raising kids here and we agree on many values and I love her for those values and her energy to make them a priority.

I hope you all have a great day and Easter weekend.

2010-03-31T22:19:00.000-06:00

The Tri Season Starts Now

There is nothing like slapping down the debit card number online and registering for some races to get things going! I am currently registered for 4 triathlon races this season. First up is the Deuces Wild Triathlon festival in Show Low, Arizona. I am going to do 2 races over the weekend, an Olympic distance triathlon and an off-road Xterra triathlon. I think this makes the third year in a row I make it to Show Low and as always I am looking forward to it as the start of summer and the season. We will camp and fish and take the kids to the local pool which has slides and is a lot of fun. Plus, Danny and Misha will be there camping too :)

Next up is a half ironman triathlon at the end of June in Lubbock, Texas. The BSLT 70.3 is one of the closest major triathlons to New Mexico so it is nice to be able to drive and keep things on a budget. Last year I had my best finish time for this race in particular and this year I plan to decrease that time even more. It's not an easy race at all but I feel like this race has always gotten the better of me so I feel like I have a score to settle.

Then a sprint race in Tucson on the 4th of July with my big bro, Mike. It has been a very long time since I have done this race. It will be guaranteed hot and will have lots of fast people. Mike will be gunning for the overall win and I will see how I feel the weekend after the 70.3 miles of the half ironman.

So the season is just around the corner and I am eager to get some time spent swimming and riding outdoors in the warm and sometimes windy springtime of NM.

Thanks for reading!

2010-03-29T20:47:00.004-06:00

Over Spring Break we enjoyed family time down in Alamogordo with my mom. This was our first time to White Sands that Emma can remember! She loved sliding down the dunes after waxing her sled up...the hike back was not bad for her as long as she did not have to carry the sled. Grace really enjoyed the feel of the sand in her hands and on her feet; and Kona was just so happy to have Grandma along!

2010-02-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

KID UPDATE

2010-02-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

And 2010 Marches on...

The third month of the year will be here tomorrow. Seems not that long ago we were in Disneyland celebrating the New Year. Time does fly that is for sure.

Not too much has happened this past week besides SHS having it's first track meet and me having a cold all week. I was really hoping to have February go out with a bang as far as training goes but it went out more like a fizzle. On Monday I had a really good effort on my run with the kids and then that evening Lindsey and I worked out together with her on the treadmill and me on the bike trainer. I have owned a trainer DVD for quite some time now but had never used it so I did the hour workout which was tough. As be both worked out, it got pretty hot so we opened the sliding glass door in the room and the cold air came in and I think gave me an immediate head cold. So for the rest of the week I took it pretty easy because I never really felt very good. I still managed to just barely beat my January totals, almost doubling my running miles, keeping my swimming just about the same and not biking quite as much. I wish I had biked more but the weather just hasn't cooperated and the indoor trainer in the evenings gets hard to look forward to.

In March I am obviously looking forward to Spring Break and hopefully a break in these storms and some nice warm and windless weather. Below is a peak at my training log I use to keep track of my training. It's not much to brag about (Little Danois can do 20+ hours in one week) but Im pleased for right now.

I still haven't registered for any races in 2010 besides the Ironman lottery for Hawaii. I don't think I will do any triathlons till after Track season which ends in early May. I may do the Tour of Socorro in April because we have a Friday meet that weekend. It is a two-day event that I have never done for whatever reason. If anything it will get me on my bike outside :)

Thanks for checking in.

2010-02-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Emma's Birthday Weekend

Emma had a pool party with some friends and family. Grace got in the pool for the first time and loved it! When the kids are in I like that it is 86 degrees, when I'm swimming laps... not so much.

Lindsey did a great job on the cake. The ribbon is a fruit roll up and the polka dots are sprees.

Emma, Levi and Mo went to the park and Emma made it all the way across the monkey bars on her own for the first time and Grace swang for the first time as well.

And her present from Mom and Dad... a new Specialized Hot Rock bike.

Thanks to everybody who came and made the day special :)

2010-02-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

Daddy Day

Today was a scheduled half day at school and I needed to pick up my new prescription glasses in Albuquerque so I took the day off and invited Emster to come with me. I was kind of shocked at how little persuasion she needed to skip school. I will have to keep a close eye on her when she's a teenager for sure. We went to the NM Natural History Museum and the Explora children's museum. I knew she would like the Explora better but the Natural History Museum had dinosaurs, which is pretty hard to beat. We had a great time together. Here are some pics of our day.

2010-02-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Steven the Chef

Lindsey is thedinner chef at our house the vast majority of the time but I came up with a dish I wanted to make this week. I think I got the idea from a magazine article I read recently. I started by cooking some chicken tenderloins on the stove with water and spices. I made brown rice, warmed a can of black beans, diced a tomatoe and 2 avacados. I warmed 12 inch flour tortillas and garnished with cheese and salsa. These burritos were really really good and I recommend you try them. They were easy and healthy too. When Emma finishes her entire plate you know something is right. Here are some pictures for you.

Check the twitter updates on the right to read about our desert.

2010-02-03T10:30:00.001-07:00

Damn groundhog! Rain and snow GO AWAY!

I am tired of winter weather. It seems like storms roll in weekly, and this week is no different. Woke up to rain which has since turned into snow. It is coming down pretty hard right now at 10:00 AM and covering everything with a white blanket. Track started officially this week and we have practice this afternoon and I learned at a recent coaching clinic that you should never cancel practice due to weather if you don't have to. Supposedly it's what makes you a team and those are the practices that are remembered and talked about long after they are over. Yeah, I guess running in the slushy cold is awesome dude when you're in high school but my 31 year old body has aches and pains that didn't used to be there. Plus its cold. And snowing. Did I mention I am tired of this winter weather?

In fact, I am so tired of this weather that Lindsey and I ordered a treadmill last night from NordicTrack.com. Should be here in 7 - 10 business days. We are looking forward to it for many different reasons. I look forward to running in minimal clothes and at night after the kids go to sleep or in the morning before they wake up. I'm serious though, the thought of getting in a run and not have a full basket of laundry makes me excited! Lindsey, if you know her, is not afraid to dirty clothes or have a full hamper so I do not think that is her motivation but she will be able to get in some runs after dark and after kids are asleep. Maybe in the mornings but we'll see ;)

Speaking of Lindsey, she won a local 5k this past Saturday. It was a handicapped 5k which means there was a staggered start. She started 5th and passed everyone ahead of her and did not let a single person pass her. Her time was in the 25 minute range and she won $10 for her efforts. She was happy, I was happy for her and proud of her, and she quickly went and spent that $10 getting her brows waxed. Good job Lindsey!

On the kid front, Emma's birthday is this Friday and she is turning 5. Time flies for sure. Since she doesn't read this blog I can go ahead and say we are getting her a new bike. The 10" bike she has now is getting too small so we're going to get her a 16" bike. She is definetly growing fast and we are enjoying every minute of it. Kids make your life more fun :) and not so self-absorbed.

2010-01-28T15:58:00.005-07:00

Snow Day! We have had quite a few days in Socorro this season where it has snowed but it never really sticks or snows enough to do much more than build a little snowman that melts in a few hours. This morning we woke up to a few inches of the white stuff. We also got the news that school had been delayed for 2 hours so we woke up bright and early and headed over to the golf course for some sledding. We were actually the first people to get there and we had had a blast! School was never canceled so we did have to leave but I think most of our schools students could have been found there today because our hallways were e-m-p-t-y. The forecast calls for more possible snow storms tonight and possibly tomorrow. If so, we'll be sledding for sure :)

2010-01-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Since XC ended I thought I would start to read more so I researched some good running books and one of those books was Running with the Buffaloes written by Chris Lear. The book follows the University of Colorado mens cross country team during the 1998 season on their road to the NCAA championships. Besides being regarded as one of the best running books ever written, one of the runners on the team at the time was former Socorro High School graduate, Matt Napier. Matt has been a friend of mine since kindergarten when we were in the same class at San Miguel. Although life has taken us on different paths since then, it is great to learn about the kind of success Matt had at CU and now that Matt is a triathlete (a very good one at that) it is not uncommon for us to send some emails back and forth and have a long chat at any race we both find ourselves at. Back to the story...

It is a great read if you have some spare time or are an avid reader and runner. The book follows the season's ups and downs on an almost daily basis in journal form. There is no exaggeration in any of the stories and there doesn't need to be. The book does a great job letting you inside the team and you feel like you really get to know the runners and coach. I'd say it would be hard to read this book and not put it down and be a fan of CU running. One of my favorite aspects about the team and coach was the success CU manages to attain using only American and mostly local Colorado kids at that. Like Matt, who went to CU not having run more than 12 miles a week in his life and leaving as an NCAA All-American, many "blue collar" kids are able to find success in the program.

Coaching cross country has shown me that there is no closer team than in CC. Pretty much all of the kids fit very similar personalities and the adversity that they share during training, racing and in life, brings them together into a very close knit group. The lowest point of the book is the tragic loss of one of the runners and the book does a great job of providing insight into the pain and emotion that the team felt and how they dealt with it. The chapter before that accident took place, I was about to email Matt and ask what that runner was up to now. I was just that interested in him and his life and it was unfortunate for even me to hear of his death in the next chapter.

Besides Matt, my personal favorite runners on the team were Oscar Ponce, a Mexican who grew up dirt poor on the streets of Juarez and who is now a teacher, coach, and mentor at his high school alma mater in Denver. The other is Ronald Roybal, who was self described as a "little Mexican from Pojoaque." Besides these two, there are many others to root for including 1998 NCAA champion Adam Goucher.

So if you have some spare time, I encourage you to pick up a copy. I'd lend you mine but I signed it and dated when I finished it and passed it off to one of my runners to do the same.

2010-01-19T10:06:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking about something lately and even more so since I received my latest Runners World magazine. In the latest issue, the cover story features Bernard Lagat, a Kenyan by birth who has since earned his American citizenship and who has established a running career much longer and more successful than most elite runners. Although the story goes into lots of different aspects of Lagat's running and personal life, the thing that has stuck with me was his childhood growing up in Kenya. You see, the thing I have been thinking about lately is how the kids I see in Socorro have little drive and no consequence and how this affects sports, education and ultimately their lives.

In the Lagat article it is described how a young Lagat was crudely circumsized in front of the male elders of his village. If he showed any sign of weakness he would be labeled as a coward for life. Lagat did pass and earned his manhood and the respect of his village elders. Beyond this, he worked on his family farm taking care of livestock and running to and from school daily. Lagat and probably 100 more boys in his village were raised this way and were no strangers to work and discomfort. That's a stark contrast to the US where teenage years are viewed as an exemption from work and responsibilities.

Here in Socorro, discomfort is something far away from most people. Even families who are not financially well off can receive government aid and live a pretty decent life as far as I can see. There is no shortage of cell phones, iPods, and clothing that I can tell of in our hallways. From what I see the kids who seem capable of success at a University are the minority. It is almost as if being a delinquent is the norm and socially acceptable because afterall, it's Socorro. I hear that excuse a lot actually. Not many kids are willing to work for anything worthwhile, whatever is good enough academically and athletically.

So this brings me back to sport. Being a XC coach, I need to teach kids to be OK with discomfort for extended periods of time. That's a tough sell when I try to recruit new runners for the team. I have to convince them that running can be fun and rewarding. I also have to acknowledge that we run... a lot... and it's uncomfortable for the most part... but it is rewarding. When a kid can learn to embrace the work and see value in it I feel that I have accomplished a much bigger thing than making my team better. I recently had one of my top returning runners tell me that he really wants to have a good year in XC next year. He experienced some success as a freshman and he likes that feeling and wants more of it. The first thing I told him was he is very capable of being a very good runner BUT he is going to have to be willing to work, welcome discomfort and get used to it.

Over the weekend, I invited 2 kids for a mountain bike ride. They aren't bikers at all but they each own a bike and were willing to go ride for 2 hours up and down mountains and through river beds and learn a new kind of pain in the hope of becoming a better runner and person. I'm proud of each of these kids for who they are becoming. So I guess there are those kids out there who are still willing to work and fortunately I have 30 of them out for XC. If they're GPA says anything about them, the average team GPA this season was 3.88.

The truth is for every one of these kids there are probably 4 more who aren't anything like them. In the mornings I teach in portables in the ELC alternative department of our school and I just had a kid say that he turns 18 soon and he is going to go buy a big ol' bong and get all high. Aspirations huh?

2010-01-14T11:04:00.003-07:00

"Faith is not the belief that God will deliver what we want when we want it, but that He has gracious control of our lives and that He will be faithful to direct our paths and give us the grace to walk through life's unpredictable times."

My thoughts and prayers are with my very dear friend Dawn today as she says goodbye to her father who unexpectedly passed away. May the memories they shared bring comfort to her and keep him close in her heart. I love you Dawn.

2010-01-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Isn't this picture awesome? Lindsey's mom, Sue, sent it and some other ones from the same artist to me in an email the other day. This one in particular has become my phone's background and my personal favorite. This picture was taken in Hawaii but I'm not sure which particular island or beach. So many things came together at this one instant to create the image and when I think about that it just reminds me of "perfect". I also wonder how many photos and how many sunsets were spent at the beach in order to achieve this one shot? No way this was captured on the first try and hopefully there wasn't too much photoshop used either. Anyway, this picture reminds me of summer, the main reason people become teachers you know ;) It seems like lately I have been longing for those warm summer days as mornings here have been in the 20 degree range and it is very easy to ignore the alarm and stay in the warm bed a little longer. Every week a new cold front moves in and I get that much closer to buying a treadmill. I hope you like the picture and here's to summer, 105 more school days to go.

2010-01-05T20:51:00.002-07:00

DISNEYLAND

So we spent our Christmas vacation at the magic kingdom of Disneyland to celebrate the new year and Lindsey's birthday. We had a great time for sure and I'm glad we had a 2-day pass as we learned our way around the first day and then really hit it with an almost 14 hour day at the park on New Years. The park was very crowded and there were some long lines but once we figured out the fast pass stuff we were in business and never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride (some lines were close to 2 hours!). We did not get to visit the entire park but we did visit the legendary teacups, it's a small world, the haunted mansion, space mountain, the matterhorn, splash mountain, pirates of the caribbean, buzz lightyear, star tours, and winnie the pooh... Just to name a few! Emma's favorite ride was splash mountain because we got pretty wet and my favorite was the big thunder mountain railroad coaster. As you can see we had a very full day on New Years and as much as I tried to keep Emster awake for midnight she fell asleep right on my shoulders as soon as the regular fireworks display was over. I didn't think much of it then but she was pretty heavy and awkward to carry to the hotel and now today I tried to go for a run and my back seized up on me and I am in some pain :(

2010-01-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a teaser of how we spent our Christmas vacation! More to come later...

2009-12-24T20:05:00.000-07:00

Socorro got it's second dusting of snow yesterday and it was just enough to build a little snowman this morning. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy continuing or starting new family traditions. We've already driven around to look at lights and we're getting ready to open a gift, make reindeer food, and settle in with Twas the Night Before Christmas.

2009-12-20T19:55:00.005-07:00

Another Great Day...

We were welcomed with beautiful weather today. Steven and I both got our runs in and spent good quality time with the girls. Now that Grace is getting older and not needing me so often to eat...I can use that time to work out, do homework, and spend time with Emsters. So, when Steven got back from his run Emma and I went for a bike ride. We rode through Tech, collected Mistletoe, and played at the park together. We climbed on a swing together and sat like a "spider". We laughed and laughed, the higher we got the more we laughed! I felt like a kid again. No worries or responsibilities, just magic. It was a lot of fun, just the two of us.

2009-12-16T21:14:00.002-07:00

When Grace was six weeks old I started running again...only to pull a muscle in my stomach. So, I stopped running for a while and have now recently started again....thanks to my husband, and friends Emily and Fran. Without them I would not be able to get myself out the door on a regular basis and go more than twenty minutes! So, our longest run was Monday...a ten miler in the drizzling rain. It was really beautiful. I got home and plopped myself on the couch. Steven and Emma both said "Are you ok, you were gone for forever"! It was perfect timing though because Steven had hamburgers on their way...special delivery by his mom. I really enjoy getting out with Emily and Fran; they are very encouraging and supportive. It feels so good to be running again and I really like that Emma sees me doing it. I think it is really important for her to see her mom for more than the one who takes care of the babies!

2009-12-04T08:31:00.004-07:00

Socorro saw snow for the first time in a while! Emma enjoyed playing outside, running around, and throwing snowballs! She stayed outside last night until about 7:00pm playing. I even got a night run in with Fran and Emily...lots of fun!

2009-11-29T15:43:00.005-07:00

Thanksgiving

No Holiday is complete in our house without arts and crafts and this Thanksgiving was no different. Lindsey and Emma made some Thanksgiving Luminarias for the outside of the house and some very edible and delicious pilgrim hat treats for desert. I got in trouble for eating too many of them and I had the girls make more on Sunday because they were so good.

The weather in Socorro could not have been better and we were able to spend lots of time outside enjoying the sun and our pup, Kona.

The turkey came out great. It was the first time that I prepared the bird and I decided to try and deep fry it and it came out surprisingly moist and flavorful. Lucky that my brother in law the fireman was here to make sure there were no 911 calls.

The big hit of the day was our new Wii game, Band Hero. We all rocked out pretty good and really enjoyed laughing and having a good time. Here I am doing my best Brett Michaels impersonation singing, Every Rose Has it's Thorn. In middle school I knew Poison was always going to be cool! Since Band Hero does have 3 Taylor Swift songs, Emma was able to dress up as her favorite singer and do her best impersonation also.

A well deserved rest on the couch with 2 of my 3 girls.

2009-11-11T21:31:00.009-07:00

All good things must come to an end.

This has been my first week without XC and it has been a difficult pill to swallow. On Monday I think I was actually depressed and I moped around for most of the evening. I had worked with these kids roughly five days and sometimes six days a week since July. Unlike other sports I have coached, I never looked forward to this season ending. I love this sport and I love the kids that I am lucky enough to work with. Nobody ever gets into coaching for the money and I know I could be in better shape and see my family more if I didn't coach, but I would not be better off.

Today, we held our first annual run-a-thon at our school track so I was able to see all the kids in that environment one more time. I am hoping that this will prove to be a successful fundraiser for us and we will not have to do many more besides this one. The kids went out and got pledges per lap or donations and we ran around the track for an hour. Very easy for one thing. There are even different levels of fundraising a kid can achieve and they can earn things in return like T shirts, hoodies, or a Nike watch. So after school, we all met one last time at our normal spot and ran. My top boys ran in sync and comfortable at 7:30 pace, finishing 32 laps in the hour. Most importantly, we had fun one more time. Money is not due for a little while longer so we'll see how we did. With all of the expected budget cuts I am unsure of the funding we will have for XC next year. It is unfortunate that sports like XC are affected when in reality we really need very little at all. We are in fact, just about self sufficient. If anyone reading this would like to make a donation to the team or a pledge to any individual on the team that you might know, please let me know via email: stevenmontoya (at) q.com

Wednesday has also become our newspaper day for XC. The state championships were only the second race that I did not have to send in an emailed race report. There were actually two newspaper reporters attending from rival Socorro area newspapers. Here is a link to the Defensor Chieftain article. Some other notes on the team and their performance:

11 kids ran personal bests out of the 12 runners Socorro took
Both the SHS boys and girls records were broken
First time we had both a boys and girls team qualify for the meet
Tim Abeyta finished 33 places and 1:21 faster than 2008
We graduate zero girls from our state team and our oldest girls were sophomores this year
The girls beat rival Cobre, by 62 points, after having finished runner up at district to them
We finish the season with 4 trophies. 4 more than last year :)
We will graduate 2 very good boys from our state team who I will miss but I look forward to see who will "step up"
We had fun and we got faster. When you work hard, good things happen.

As for now, I need to start running more as I have a marathon in December. I am also working on the end of the year DVD for team and will share that when it is finished. I will show it at out banquet which I also need to get planned. A lot of my kids have already started swimming and I look forward to watching them learn something new and become a better person because of it. And last but certainly not least, I get to see my family a little more. Nothing beats that.

2009-11-11T21:31:00.006-07:00

Master's in Technology

When we moved back to Socorro, my teaching contract stated that I would have to complete my master's degree within five years....So, last year I started my Master's Degree in Technology through Lesley University. It is a pretty easy program that meets one weekend a month for 22 months. The classes are easy, and most of them I do not really learn anything new. However, since Grace was born I decided to take one of my classes online so that I would not have to leave her, and this class has been the best one so far! It is a lot of work, very time consuming, but fun! I am learning so much about web design (in code) and how to really use Photoshop. My problem is that I could spend so much time...maybe too much time "playing" with photoshop. I am not that good at but I am learning and I am getting my money's worth with this class! Here are a couple of pictures that I had fun editing!

2009-11-09T17:30:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday, You Little Puppy in My Pocket!

Megan-I hope you had a great day today!

Blue Punch Buggie, No Punch Backs!

Love you

2009-11-08T20:40:00.006-07:00

Being out in Portland was a very enjoyable vacation! Liz and Jim kept us very entertained and well fed. The kids had a blast playing at the house, having slinky races down the stairs, salon, the zoo, chinese jump rope, going to gymnastics, and the favorite...the pool with the water slide and vortex. Emma really loves to play dress up too! She could definealty play that all day. So, Liz and I joined in...and Megan too which does not happen that often...she is more of a Puppy in My Pocket girl! Thank you very much Liz and Jim for having has at your home. I loved visiting with you both and being around your family. I am sorry it has taken me so long to get out there... I promise it won't be that long again! I love you guys.

2009-11-06T11:07:00.002-07:00

This year Emma and Megan decided to be characters from Scooby Doo. However, post people weren't quite sure who Emma was!! But they sure did have fun.

2009-11-04T18:15:00.005-07:00

Socorro XC in the News Read All About It

In just its second year of existence, the Socorro High School cross country team has shown that it is the team to beat in District 3-3A.

The Socorro boys team won its first district championship with a 32-point score and the girls team finished second in district with 44 points. Host team Cobre finished second on the boys side with 39 points and first on the girls side with 30 points.

Socorro didn't have the fastest individual, but three Warriors trailed Cobre's Xavier DeLaTorre to give Socorro a definitive edge. Senior Trey Thunborg led Socorro with his second-place finish in 18:39, Owen Azevedo was third in 19:03 and Dylan Gallegos took fourth in 19:13. Socorro also had runners finish in 10th and 13th place. "We were able to win district despite missing two of our normal top-five boys," coach Steven Montoya wrote in an e-mail to the Chieftain. "Winning district was our goal since last season when we finished fifth. There was no secret pill for our success, just consistent hard work over time."

Tim Abeyta was knocked down in the race by a runner from another school and didn't score, according to Montoya, and Sierra Cahall was out sick.

"I am obviously very proud of the way the kids ran, especially after Tim went down. Isiah Vigil and (Raul) Contreras stepped it up to make sure we won the title," said Montoya. "They ran with a lot of heart."

Gallegos, Azevedo and Thunborg were chosen for the All-District team and Thunborg was also honored by Montoya as Socorro's Runner of the Week. Montoya was picked as the district's Coach of the Year.

Socorro had the top two runners of the meet, DamiAna Contreras in 21:39 and Dayna Guerro in 22:51, and both were selected as All-District runners.

This season was the first that Socorro had enough girls to field a team for cross country, and the second-place finish makes them eligible to run at the state meet.

Socorro only had five girls run at district, the minimum for a team, since some runners are dual athletes who chose to play with the soccer team in the first-round state playoff game against Santa Fe Prep.

"Last year, we only had two girls running so this is just as huge of an improvement as the boys," said Montoya. "Going from two to five girls is more than doubling but next year, we need to double again to around 10 girls. Having that many would definitely put less stress on the girls and ease the transition to varsity."

Socorro did have individuals run at the state meet in 2008, but this is the first year either the boys or girls team will run as a team. The cross country state championships will be held at Rio Rancho High School on Saturday, Nov. 7. The Class 3A girls will run at 9:25 a.m., and the Class 3A boys race at 11:35 a.m.

2009-11-02T22:29:00.005-07:00

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

...

Last Wednesday, Emma, Grace, and I flew out to Portland to visit my sister Liz and her family for Halloween. It was Fall Break in Socorro so we decided to take advantage of the time off. Unfortunately, Steven had his district Cross Country meet and could not join us. The girls did

really well on the plane...a quick 2.5 hour flight. Emma has enjoyed playing with her cousins and Grace got to meet everyone for the first time. Here are some pictures from our trip. I will post more later.

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-31T13:58:00.008-06:00

Happy Halloween!

Ran a 5k this morning dressed up with some clothes I wore in college at Tech. I knew saving them was a good idea. Have a great weekend!

2009-10-30T23:50:00.003-06:00

2009 SOMA 1/2 Ironman Triathlon

So last weekend I raced a half ironman triathlon in Tempe, Arizona. I run a lot with the kids but I haven't been doing any swimming or biking since about the end of June to be honest. I ended up doing alright! I improved my time from last year by 10 minutes (10 minute un-improvement on the bike and 20 minute improvement on the run) and bettered my time from the half I raced in June. Final splits were :36 for the swim, 2:43 for the bike, and 1:50 for the run. Total time was 5:13. I finished 23rd out of 92 in my age group and 173rd out of 598 male finishers. Also to note I was chicked, cougared, geezered and probably chubbed too. It's OK, I'm OK with it, I really am. Really. I'm Ohhh Kaayyyyy. Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggonit, people like me! My PR for this distance is 4:43 set BM (before marriage) in 2002. I applied for sponsorship from Trisports.com for the 2010 season and if I somehow get accepted on the team I think I will put forth some real effort into lowering that time. Right now, I got a XC team to work with and state is next weekend!

2009-10-22T21:26:00.002-06:00

Just an Update...

When I took Grace in for her two month check up she weighed 12lbs. 9ounces and is 27 inches long! She got three shots which they gave to her while she was asleep...poor thing, not a fun way to wake up. Emma was with me and could not even look after the first shot because she felt so bad for little Grace. At the same time our Pediatrician recommended that Emma not go back to school because of the Swine Flu, atleast until she gets the vaccine. Af first Emma was not too happy, but agreed. She has been great! We have had a lot of fun being together again all day. She is very patient with Grace and knows that she cannot have my undivided attention all the time. Now that Emma is not back in school yet and Winter Break coming up, Emma, Grace, and I are going to fly to Portland to see my sister Liz and her family for Halloween. Unfortunately Steven can't make it because his District Cross Country Meet is that Friday. But, he will be doing some dressing up of his own!...stay tuned for pictures!

2009-10-18T15:38:00.002-06:00

Gotcha!

I am finally not Gracie's pacifier anymore! After buying about ten different ones, all of them unsuccessful, Grace finally got the hang of something...her thumb! She is now sleeping through the night I believe because she has her thumb...works for me! Emma never sucked her thumb, just had her pacifier, and was able to easily take it away from her. I do worry now that Grace sucks her thumb that I will not be able to get her to stop!! It is so cute though :)

2009-10-16T10:24:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Kyle!

My nephew Kyle, who lives in Portland is celebrating his birthday today! We do not get to see him and his family enough but we do think of them often. We look forward to going up during Halloween to visit though. Have a great day Kyle....see you soon!

2009-10-11T20:45:00.002-06:00

An Interview with Emster

So Emma, how old are you?

What is your favorite color?

red and blue

Do you have a favorite food?

chinese

How about a favorite drink?

chocolate milk warm

And dessert?

cake and ice cream at birthday parties

What about a favorite musical artist?

right now I really like Hannah Montana, party in the USA

Do you have a best friend?

yes my cousin, Momo

How do feel about having a little sister?

I love to take care of her

Now that you’re in pre-kindergarden, do you have a favorite part of school?

I like going out to recess and drawing pictures and painting

You are also playing AYSO soccer right now, what do you think of that?

soccer is kinda cool but one day I got kicked in the face

You do know that soccer and XC are during the same season so what would you pick if you had to?

XC is still my favorite

What kind of things do you really enjoy doing?

I really like to hang out with my family

Can you tell me a little bit about your family?

my dog is named Kona. He is kinda special and cute and he sleeps with me at night. My daddy has lots of cool bikes. Mom has one cool bike. My little sister, grace, is cry-ie but i still love her.

Can you tell me something about all of them that no else may know?

my dad swims and bikes and runs. My mom makes me chocolate milk warm and snacks and does a lot of things for me.

What is your favorite thing to do with your dad? Your mom?

I like swimming at Tech with daddy and playing with mom.

Are you going to do triathlons when you grow up?

yes. I am pretty fast.

How are you training nowadays?

I swim, bike, run and skateboard

What is the hardest part of training?

running far... like into the woods

Do you train by yourself or do you have a coach?

yes, my dad is my coach.

Who do you think are faster, boys or girls?

girls because they are kind, loving, pretty, cute and have great smiles, but boys do rule

Do you have a favorite place to visit?

I like to visit Grandma Burns, she likes to walk my dog

If you were a superhero, who would you be and what powers would you have?

I would be supergirl and I could shoot lava and ice

Do you know what our going to be for Halloween?

Daphne from Scooby-Doo

Since your spending Halloween in Portland I was thinking aunt Liz should be a cougar for Halloween, what do you think?

yeah but what could uncle Jim be?

2009-10-04T14:23:00.001-06:00

2009-10-01T19:15:00.002-06:00

Hay Bale FAIL

2009-09-29T16:53:00.002-06:00

I think I could spend all day just taking pictures of the girls! Once I am done with my Master's Classes I hope to take a photography class at the University. Steven bought me a fancy camera two years ago and I have yet to learn how to "really" use it.

2009-09-29T11:19:00.003-06:00

Fun at the Fair

It was $10 all you can ride night!

2009-09-27T11:58:00.003-06:00

Socorro XC wins the Berry Patch Invitational

The Socorro boys won their first meet this weekend in Cloudcroft at the Berry Patch Invitational despite not having two of our normal top five runners. We had the top individual finisher and placed all five of our scoring runners in the top nine overall. We would have had the first and second overall finishers but a wrong turn cost one of our boys the title. Luckily, we were able to keep that title on the team as we had a runner following behind in second. Needless to say the kids were very excited to win and bring home their first team trophy and many individual medals. So far this season had been filled with large meets against large schools so it was nice to get a taste of winning. In the coming weeks we travel to Las Cruces, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Grants, and then our district meet in Cobre. Things are looking good for us making it to state and we will be able to race against last years district champ, Cobre, this weekend at Mayfield.

The course was very challenging and fun. There were two hay bale sections and a pit section and many many uphills, fast downhills, and switchbacks. The course was not fast and at 9000 feet elevation, it made several over ambitious runners pay the price later in the race.

2009-09-23T13:27:00.003-06:00

Emma came home from school and in her backback I found her name written in cursive! How cute!

2009-09-17T13:11:00.003-06:00

Rainy Day Ride...Priceless!

2009-09-17T12:57:00.003-06:00

Fashion Galina....

If you ask Emma what she wants to be when she grows up she will tell you several things, however, one of them is a Fashion Galina. I am not sure where she got that name from, but she has stated that she wants to be a fashion model. So, today as we were waiting for the bus to arrive, I wanted to get a quick picture of her on Picture Day at school. Well, I guess she thought she was at a fashion shoot...here are the poses she came up with...and she is only 4! I think we are in for it when she gets older...

2009-09-17T11:36:00.002-06:00

Socorro XC in the News...

http://www.nmhssportsnews.com/main/page_coach_montoya_socorro_hs.html

http://www.dchieftain.com/dc/index.php/sports/245-lady-warriors-stride-to-second-place-finish.html

It's too bad the local paper does not publish the photos that go along with the story because they really did have a good one.

Also, in this week's NM Coaches poll, the Socorro girls team is ranked 6th in 3A!

2009-09-16T00:04:00.002-06:00

Socorro Stampede XC Race is in the books...

Seems like not that long ago the idea popped into my head that we should have a XC race here in Socorro. We needed to have one here to help promote Socorro XC and to give our friends, families and supporters a chance to see us in action and to see what XC is all about. We had our meet last Friday at the NM Tech golf course. As you can see from the pictures, it's a beautiful setting. Mike came down and was a huge help in getting the course ready. I really could not have done it without him.

We did a 2 loop, 3 mile course using grass, dirt and some cart paths. We even threw in a hay bale section that I think was a big success. We had 5 schools, 4 high school races, and an open race. From what I have been hearing, I think it was fun, well-organized, and challenging.

The girls record is now set at 20:27 and the boys at an amazing 16:06. Our girls finished second to 5A Los Lunas and our boys, despite having their best meet yet, finished a close 5th. The boys side of things was pretty stacked as we had Los Lunas, Valencia, Grants, and Pecos racing. The girls are continuing to do great and are starting to get some attention on the state level. Unfortunately, we will not have the help of our 4 soccer girls for the next 3 weeks as they will have soccer games on the next 3 Saturdays.

The boys had a meet best 7 runners break :20. That number is also our team record, bettering our previous best of 5. To put things in perspective, it took us 4 weeks into the season last year to get one kid to break :20 and the best we ever had last year was three. We also had a meet best pack time of 1:29. Eight of the fifteen boys running ran PB's, and five out of the nine girls running had PB's. We had three boys running 18:XX and two girls running 21:XX.

The results, time wise and meet wise, are encouraging and it lets me know we are doing things right. We are getting faster, Socorro XC is supported, we were able to host a great meet for kids and coaches, and we are are on the right path.

Thanks to Mike and all of the volunteers that came out to help make the Stampede a success.

2009-09-12T22:52:00.003-06:00

Slumber Party!

2009-09-12T13:31:00.002-06:00

Just relaxing...

2009-09-12T13:18:00.003-06:00

Two for me....One for you.

Emma scored two goals for her team, and one goal for the other team at her very first soccer game!! Way to go babe!

2009-09-09T16:52:00.002-06:00

Just a little clip of some pictures during Grace's first month!

2009-09-06T22:32:00.007-06:00

NM 1/2 Marathon

I ran the NM 1/2 marathon today in Albuquerque in a time of 1:32:19. That is an average 7:01 minute/mile and a whopping 10 minutes faster than I ran this race last year!

I couldn't have asked for better weather as it was cool and overcast. The race starts with a mile or so of downhill then it is as flat as you can get for the remainder of the race. I think I ran well and did my best to run consistent but I know I slowed at mile 8. Up to that point I was averaging just slightly faster than 7:00 min/mile and the dream of breaking 1:30 was dancing in my head. But it was not to last and I slowed slightly. I was able to run by people almost the entire way and it was not until mile 10 that one male passed me and at mile 12 I got "cougar'ed" by not one but two female runners. I just looked up the results and saw they finished 2nd and third respectively in the women's division. Their ages... 47 and 39. Ouch. They were probably stay at home cougars that train all day while their kids are at school so my ego is not too damaged.

Next race is the Elephant Man Triathlon at Elephant Butte later this month. I need to swim and bike some. My goal: improve my time from last year and to not get chick'ed.

Cougars often travel in packs and overtake younger men

who are not at full strength in the late stages of a race.

2009-09-06T22:32:00.006-06:00

Alamogordo Invitational

XC Season has started! Here are some pics from this past Saturday's race in Alamogordo. Notice the new uniforms that are not borrowed from track like last year. Another big thing is different this year is that I actually have a girls team. There are 6 of them there but I have 10 girls total and 18 boys. The girls ran well enough to take 3rd ahead of some much larger schools like Alamogordo, Onate, LCHS, Artesia, Silver City, Gadsden, and most importantly the perennial district champs, Cobre.

The boys finished 8th out of the 11 school represented. It is definitely an improvement from last year when we were last. The boys also defeated district rival Cobre despite not being at full strength. Of our top 5 boys, two were absent, one was sick and one didn't tell me he had an ankle injury. The trickiest part of coaching XC is having 5 runners healthy and running their best at the same time in one race. That one race will be our district championships on October 30.

We will continue to work and get stronger. I love it!

2009-09-01T09:35:00.006-06:00

Our Trip to Las Cruces

This past weekend we drove down to Las Cruces to visit the two other "Montoya" households! -That would be Mike and Marlene, and Danny and Misha. The weekend was full of food and fun! Emma got to hang out with her cousins Monique and Levi, doing all sorts of fun things... her favorite was Chuck E Cheese! They also made Tie-dye shirts (which were very messy), went for a ride on Uncle Mike's cool bike, where she proceeded to fall asleep, and played every other game you could think of! They were in tears when it was time to leave.

2009-08-27T17:16:00.003-06:00

We registered Emma for soccer last week and while we were in Alamogordo, Steven surprised her with new running shorts and pink shin guards! She is ready to play!

2009-08-27T16:47:00.004-06:00

MAY GOD LET US BORROW HER FOR MANY YEARS TO COME...

I can't believe that Grace has blessed us with her presence for a month now already. Just like her sister, she has been a wonderful baby. She is very content; the only time we really hear her cry is when she wants to eat! I am fortunate to be able to take some time off work and stay home with her...to be with her during some of her most precious moments. She is smiling at me every now and then...real smiles...not just gas smiles! The transition for Emma to being the only child to now a big sister and starting a new school has been great. Emma is a real trooper!

So during Grace's first month here with us:

*She has slept

*She has eaten every two hours...on the dot!

*She has made some pretty messy diapers

*She has met her sister Emma, some of her cousins..Sydney, Thomas,

Monique, Levi ( Megan and Kyle came too early!!)

*She made her first road trip to Alamogordo to visit her Grandma Burns.

*She weighed in at 9 pounds 7 ounces when she was two weeks!

2009-08-26T11:58:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we ventured out of Socorro and made a quick trip to Alamogordo. We met up with my older sister Kelly and her kids, Sydney and Thomas, at my mom's house. The kids enjoyed seeing each other and playing. Emma kept them very busy with her favorite pretend games....honey and sweetie, doggies, and whatever else they would play with her! They also made it to an indoor jumping place where they all had indoors. It is always nice visiting my mom in Alamo, even though we do not do it enough. It is nice to be in my old home again!

2009-08-26T09:35:00.003-06:00

I thought that Emma's first day of PreKinder was hard, but the first day she took Public Transportation was even harder! I cried as soon as she drove off....my little girl is really growing up. She was really wanting to take the bus to school so I made a phone call and she now rides the bus everyday in the morning and afternoon. The bus picks her up right in front of our house. She says she made a new friend on the bus, a girl that she sits with. She wants her to now come play at our house! Yesterday she told Steven and I that there is a boy on the bus that just stares at her and smiles the whole way to school. She says she will try to smile at him today! Oh, the best part, she told Steven he better run those boys off!