1/2 #2

 Reed ran his second 1/2 marathon yesterday.

Reed and I went and picked up his packet on Saturday.  It's a big deal to get in the A group, you have to turning in official race times, and they have to approve you, so getting an A number is pretty cool. 

Quite a few of the cross country kids ran, and here are some of them along with their coach (who also ran it really fast).

Here's Reed's view at the starting line.  This is what it looks like at the "official" start time since he was in the first group.

Jason and I were able to see him after mile 4 where Reed gave us his pullover.

The lady looking on was super impressed with how fast Reed was going.

Speaking of fast...with the traffic, road closures, and getting stuck by the longest train I've ever seen we were never able to catch him again.  We've made a plan that next year we are going to go straight to the finish line from mile 4. 

Here he is with cross country friends that he finished with. 

And after we found him.  We were very proud.

Kyle Has a Driver's License

 So finally Kyle has a driver's license, but I still believe the DPS hates me.

He passed his back alley $50 private test with flying colors, but I had to wait until Friday to get him back in to the DPS.  On Monday when I took Reed they took the paperwork that the driving center gave us, and asked for his permit.  So if I had I taken this exact same paperwork that Reed needed, we would have left without a license.  But since I know the DPS hates me, I had every piece of paperwork that they could think up to ask for.

They never once asked for Reed's birth certificate.  I had to present Kyle's birth certificate 3 separate times. They also made Kyle pass an eye test (Kyle and Reed both wear contacts). And those of you that know how blind Kyle is know I was holding my breath during that!

 The one thing they never asked for either of them was their proof they are enrolled in school (and this is supposedly a requirement).

Anway, everyone in this house now has a driver's license...except Chloe. 

The DPS Hates Me

 I dreamed all Sunday night that I wouldn't be able to get Kyle's driver's license, and guess what, I was right.

We got there and all checked in, and then they called over everybody that was there for a driving test.  She informed us that an 18-wheeler had hit the top of the carport where they do part of the test and so it would be unsafe to administer the test.  She offered to reschedule our test, but didn't know how long it would take to fix it, so she didn't know when they could actually reschedule the test for.

So needless to say, Kyle didn't get his driver's license yesterday.

I had Reed scheduled at a different place in the afternoon, so he was able to get his. But JR was in such a hurry for them to leave (they went to the National Championship last night) and it also looked like a tornado was about to touch down, that I didn't even get a good picture.

But here he is with his truck, which he drove to school today (well, sort of, we are renting one of his friend's driveways near the school since they can't park at school as sophomores.)

I was able to get Kyle in this morning to take his test at a 3rd party site, but I wasn't able to get him back in to the DPS for them to give him his license until Friday. (Which was the only appointment not 2 weeks out in the whole entire city, suburbs, and surrounding areas of Houston) So we'll be off to the DPS again on Friday. Bless my heart. 

16

 We left Colorado yesterday morning about 7:15 and we rolled in last night at 12:45.

We didn't get too much snow, but we got this much over about 2 days. 

This morning we woke up to 2 people being 16.

Reed told me my display was "a bit excessive", but Kyle (and Chloe) seemed to think it was ok. 

I will be receiving guests all day tomorrow at the DPS if you'd like to come visit with me since I have a morning appointment and an afternoon appointment. You know I'm known to have problems at the DPS, so here's hoping I have good news to report. 

Ruined Skiing

 I was told that nobody wants to ski with me because I'm so slow I "ruin it for everybody".

That might be true, but I still got a few pictures with them. 

Almost everybody in the family.

Everybody in the family

And with the people I ruin skiing for. 

2nd Day of the Year

 So far 2024 is a lot like 2023.

Reed's been running.

Kyle's been working.

And we've all been skiing.

Some way more than others. 

Yes, we are the others. 

It was a Good Year