Sunday, September 13, 2015

When in Missouri...

You go to The University of Missouri and run the track at Stankowski Field. 

Last year when I went to Missouri, I had a couple mile repeats on my training schedule so after late night baseball games, we headed to the track.  As tough as it was,  I loved the sweat inducing heat and humidity, coupled with the energy of the track.  There's something contagious about the energy of college students running around the track, playing scrimmage soccer games on the fields, and enjoying sand volleyball games all under the Rec Center stadium lights.  

This year I once again had a track workout on the schedule, so I headed the Rec Center for some 800s.


You have a good sweatfest! 

Are you noticing a trend here!? SWEAT! I have never sweat like I do when running in Missouri, but I love every minute of it! Holy humidity batman! 


With Heidi training for the Chicago marathon, me keeping up with my training schedule, and Heather being willing to jump on her bike and meet us out on the trail...we all accomplished our run, with SMILES! 


You RV it!

Saturday morning we loaded up in the Minnie and heading off to Camp Comfort. Ashton couldn't miss a great selfie opportunity, with a sleeping Holly photobomb.




You CANOE a boat.

I love turning nouns into verbs. Sidenote...rivers, floating, boating etc are a tad different in Missouri than in Oregon.  In Oregon, when we make reference to the river and floating, it usually includes rapids and inflatable boats...which lead to quite a debate..what is a TAHITI? Is it more of an inflatable kayak? Or an inflatable canoe!? Ok...back to our FLOATING ADVENTURE..



In true Missouri redneck fashion, after dropping off a vehicle at the end of our float, we all piled into one vehicle, and road in the back of the truck. 



And then we floated. And carried our boats. And laughed. And swam. And took a lunch break. 

 

It doesn't get much better than this.


Yes, the selfie stick made the float. 


Canoes, Kayaks, and Paddle Boards...OH MY! 






There is just something about dads throwing kids! 




I just love these kiddos! NUUN TEAM FUN! 


You spend the night at Camp Comfort. 


You participate in a several hundred boat water balloon fight! 


I have never experienced such a thing! And it was amazing! We entered the water balloon fight completely unarmed, but thanks to the phenomenal driving skills of Phil, we maneuvered our way through all of the boats, scooping up water balloons from the water and equipping ourselves with our own ammo.  



Hours later we returned soaking wet with battle wounds and stories to tell!


You teach the kids to wake surf! 


PRICELESS...the smile on all of the kiddos faces when they mastered wake surfing.  I got in the water with all of them to help them get the feel of getting up and we were 4 for 4...all of the Crouch/Figueiredo clan are now wake surfers!!! 

 

There's something about a boat...it rocks to right to sleep! I'm right there with you Parker!


You have a very serious RACK-O tournament! 

The Figueridos and I played Rack-O when they came out to Oregon for Spring Break, and this guy was so determined to win, that he wanted to play over & over & over! He was a little nervous to play in a round with his Grandma {serious game player}, Dad {Rack-O Champ} and myself...




This is what a reigning champs game face looks like! 




The grandkiddos loved helping Grandma and she loved returning the favor. 


Ashton might've been nervous, but he was quietly strategizing a WIN!!!! Rack-O CHAMPS!


You have hysterical jumping photo outtakes! 


You squeeze in a little tennis playing.

When in Missouri we squeeze in as much fun as possible, and we have been talking about playing tennis together for weeks...so we didn't let a little rain slow us down! These boys were naturals...future tennis players for sure! 


Family is not defined by your blood relatives.

I am beyond blessed to have an amazing family, and I thank God for them everyday! But I am also extremely blessed to have friends that are like family to me. Holidays, especially summer holidays, are all about spending time with family doing what we love.  I got on a plane Labor Day weekend to fly across the county, and was welcomed with loving arms, as if I was family! I spent the weekend doing what I love, with people I love. 

You summarize the weekend with one picture!