Iron Man - The Woodlands

My brother is an Iron Man! He trained for about a year with Ryan Schooler. Matt and I were sort of on the fence about whether we wanted to go watch or not and I am SO GLAD we did! It was such a neat experience. That whole culture is amazing to be a part of (even as a spectator). And I could tell it really meant a lot to Peyton (and Emily!) that we were there. We left baby Matthew with Nanny Alva which was a good move. The kids did really well watching the race. It really was cool to see all the athletes and the time went by really quickly.

We headed down there on Saturday morning which gave us most of the day to watch Peyton and Ryan. They had already finished the swimming and were on their bikes. What was really fun was how often we got to see them and cheer them on. At the transition from bike to running was the first time we saw Peyton and he was so glad to see us. And then we positioned ourselves on the banks of the river walk in The Woodlands and could see them several times as they made the 26 mile loop around us. We held up signs and they would even stop and talk with us for brief moments. AMAZING experience!

Peyton finished the race in 14:32. CRAZY!!! I am so proud of him.

Not sure if this is for Ryan or Peyton, but we could follow along with our phones 

The bike transition area - look how many!

Ryan finished the bike section first - it was so fun to see him kiss Christy S.

Peyton just starting his MARATHON (26.2 mile run)! 

Ryan at the finish line with his family

Peyton and Ryan - IRON MEN!

Brownie Troop 1512 Campout!

I offered the land in Bertram for our first Girl Scout campout. Man, I was totally dreading this whole event. Thank goodness I like Anaise and all the other moms! It turned out to be much more fun than I thought and it was really great to see Bertram through the eyes of others. It makes me appreciate it so much more. The weather was perfect - a little windy - but that kept away the bugs and best of all it was not too hot!

I don't think Anaise realized how much the little house has back there so we brought our own water, cooked on the campfire and slept in tents. The only time we went inside the house was to use the restroom which was such a nice amenity.

The girls before we left from L-->R: Kyra, Avery, Madeline, Alivia, Elizabeth, Katherine, Ivy

The girls loved the whole experience. I have a feeling I have a few more campouts coming up in the next few years!

Unloading the firewood

Our tent!

An overview of the campsite

Exploring at the tiny river - so sad to see how low it is now. . . 

Yep, I fit this blow up mattress inside the tent and don't regret it one bit

Me and my precious girl

Katerine Dugan getting settled in

Taking the Girl Scout Pledge

Some of the moms - Anaise, Lisa and Sheila

Our fearless leader - Anaise Corbitt

Each girl git a hat and a bandana

All their stuff had to fit inside this white bucket (except sleeping bag) which also served as their seat for the overnight

The girls planned all the meals!

Kate, Sheila and Kristine

From L-->R Avery, Kyra, Alivia, Madeline, Sophia, Ivy, Katherine and Elizabeth (not pictured: Sophie and Audrey)

What have you been doing for the last year?

Women's Development! It is an intensive leadership/theology class offered through our church, Austin Stone. Matt did Men's Development last year. Whew! It has been intense and hard but I have learned so much and am so glad that I did it.

Every Wednesday night I went to a lecture from 6 - 9 pm. Then I would meet with my LTG (Life Transformation Group) that included Michelle Spears and Angie Phillips from 9 - 10 pm. And on Friday mornings from 9:30 - 11:30 our entire 8-woman group would gather at one of our homes to share our stories, prayer requests and other life issues. And throughout the year we had day-long Saturday seminars about various topics including "Gospel-Centered Counseling" and "The New Testament" and "The Old Testament."

We read almost the entire "Systematic Theology" by Wayne Grudem. It turned out to be an amazing read for me - I think it was my favorite part. It is such a rich book that helped me to realize how complex and amazing God is. I walked away feeling like I know so little about God. And learning to trust Him more and love Him more. Thank you Mr. Grudem. I hope I can meet you some day to thank you for introducing me to Systematic Theology.

I just completed my oral and written exams last week. I think I will miss the intensive learning, but won't miss the ongoing weekly commitments. It has been hard on the kids and Matt to have me be gone during the week.

Sarah Grant, Courtney Miller and Michelle Spears

Angie and I before our oral exam - see the Systemic Theology book?!

Our entire group - from L->R: Catherine Garza, Noelle Otts, Courtney Miller, Christy Mangum, Angie Phillips, Sarah Grant, Michelle Spears and ME!

Catherine and Angie celebrating after our Oral Exam

Noelle's husband, Brad, made an amazing dinner for us one night