A whirlwind weekend: sushi, alpaca shearing and a 5K run
This weekend has been full of adventure and fun, and several firsts! My mother and grandmother came out for a whirlwind weekend (and a little down time : ). On the agenda: a picnic in the park, wander around Old Town in Fort Collins, drive up to the reservoir and see what we can see, eat sushi and eel for the first time, participate in shearing 63 alpacas, Skype with my little sister and her husband in Cambodia, and if that’s not enough, walk/run a 5K! Wowza, and we did it all in 3 days!
Let me elaborate a little: my mother had her birthday this week and wanted to try something out of the ordinary for supper, thus the sushi adventure. We went to the restaurant and pored over the menu. The writer and I took care of ordering the sushi rolls while mom and grandma picked out “safe” traditional stir-fry dishes. The food arrived and I began feeding sushi rolls to mom, not telling her what was in them until after she tried them! (a California roll, a Samurai Fiesta roll and some delicious Unagi) She thoroughly enjoyed the two rolls and agreed to try the eel (Unagi), which she also liked! Yay mom!
The alpaca shearing: growing up on a cattle farm in Nebraska, we have a tradition of branding the calves in the spring. As a child, that meant all of my cousins came over and we got to tackle calves, play in the mud, and eat tasty chili. It’s a tradition (and a necessary farm event) that holds special memories for me. So, my mom wanted to experience the yearly shearing of the alpacas out here in Colorado, thus loading my grandmother in the car and heading out here. *stay tuned for more photos/info on alpaca shearing*
Skyping with my sister and her husband in Cambodia: they are serving with Samaritan’s Purse in Cambodia for 6 months and we can only communicate through the internet (email and skype). Grandma doesn’t even have a computer, let alone a skype account. So we set up a skype date with Katie and Jake and surprised my grandmother with a face-to-face chat with her granddaughter and new grandson. She really enjoyed seeing them and hearing about life in Cambodia. She had a big smile on her face for the rest of the evening!
Run for Orphans: last but most definitely not least, we ran a 5K on Saturday. This is my first ever 5K and I am pretty excited that the writer and I ran the whole thing! The Run for Orphans Race is sponsored by several local churches, each raising money to support a specific ministry for orphans. Our church, Grace Place, along with Ukraine Orphan Outreach is raising money for a transitional home for orphans in Ukraine. *more info to follow*
Here I am getting ready for the run. My mother and grandma also participated in the event.
All of us finished the run in one piece! My grandma walked about 2 miles and then hopped in the van and rode most of the rest of the way. The writer and I ran back to the van, helped grandma out and ran with her across the finish line. She won 1st place in her age group! Yay grandma! Needless to say, it’s been a long few days…but we’ve made some wonderful memories! (and I am so proud of mom and grandma : )
