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.

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 :)

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

Steven,

All I need is you....

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

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.

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!

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!