Portland-Race Day

Race day at the Nike Pre-Nationals finally arrived. Too bad the weather conditions weren't more favorable. It was cold, windy and rainy. Who would have thunk? Still, the Frontier team prevailed. Boys varsity placed third. Noah raced through continued pain in his ankle and ran a 22:54. After the meet it was time for surprise #2: a trip to the world famous Voodoo Donuts. Noah got in calorie intake for the next month by finishing off his Old Dirty Bastard. Team flies home today. Can't wait to hear the stories! 

Portland-Day 2

It's been a very busy day for the team in Portland. They had a quick run this morning, followed by a trip to Portland State University. Surprise #1 for the team was a trip to Cannon Beach after visiting the house that Goonies was filmed. It sure looks cloudy, foggy and windy on the beach tonight! The team runs tomorrow starting at about 11:30 our time. The first two pictures are the view from Noah's room. A picture of the tea making effort. Portland State. The beach. Noah is in the red coat. 

Portland

For the second time in four months, Noah is in Portland for the weekend. The Frontier Academy XC team will be running in the Nike Pre-Nationals on Saturday. They flew to Portland today and had their first run at sea level this afternoon. Coach Shanklin has several surprise activities planned, in addition to daily or twice daily runs, a visit to Portland State University, and lots of food and fun. Here's the team before leaving today, a shot from the plane, and after their first run this evening. 

XC-Berthod

First meet in several weeks due to the great Colorado flood last week that canceled the Denver meet. Yesterday the team ran in Berthod. Noah had a solid meet, but struggled near the end due to the giant blister that had former on the back of his foot. He only has a few days to recover before the teams flys to Portland on Thursday! 

4103

Room 4103 at Medical Center of the Rockies continues to be a place of healing this week. My surgery went very well on Monday. The doctor was able to do the procedure laparoscopically, which was a huge blessing. It means a much shorter stay here, and an easier recovery in the weeks and months ahead. The nursing staff has been amazing. Thanks to everyone who has called or visited, including mom and dad, my favorite mother in law Janet, Jeff, Lee and Penny, Big Andrew, Noah, Sarabeth and Jennifer. Also had a visit from a beautiful therapy dog yesterday. He even had his own business cards!  Hoping that I might be able to escape later today or first thing tomorrow morning. Please continue to pray for healing and wisdom as I begin life with a bag. 

Asking

It was a very busy day Sunday at the Roth household. Noah invited two friends over, and they spent the afternoon and evening baking cakes and making signs. The reason? Getting ready to ask their female friends to be their dates to Homecoming. After baking and decorating the cakes, Jen took them to the girls houses and they surprised them with the cake and flowers. Both girls said yes. The big dance is in 3 weeks. Noah even got a new suit to wear. He looks sharp! 

Surgery

Well, it's come to this. Another surgery. After conferring with several doctors and giving the new treatment/diet almost a month to work, I've decided it's in the best interest of my family, my job, and my health, to have a permanent colostomy bag placed. The pain I've been experiencing these last 9 months is becoming overwhelming. The frequency of my bowel movements has become a real problem. The healing we had been hoping and praying for is just not going to happen. 

So, tomorrow morning over at Medical Center of the Rockies, I'll undergo surgery at 8:30. Depending on how things go, I'll be in the hospital for 3-7 days. The recovery could stretch anywhere from 8-12 weeks depending on how the surgery goes. While I'm not looking forward to another abdominal surgery and lengthy recovery, I know this will end my pain and end the pooping problems I've had everyday since January 3.   

Grandma Janet will be staying with our family for the next couple weeks. We would appreciate everyone's prayers tomorrow and in the days ahead. If anyone is in the area, I'd love to see you for a visit either at MCR or when I return home next weekend. Thanks to everyone for your support through what seems like a never ending quest to get Ryan better. I'll update everyone later on tomorrow on how things went. 

Flood

It has been a pretty terrible last couple of days for our state. To much water, in too short amount of time. The damage is heartbreaking. Thankfully our family is safe and dry with no damage at all. Other parts of our state haven't been so fortunate. Here are some pictures I captured from the news and Facebook friends. The pictures from the stores are from King Scoopers and Wal-Mart where the bottled water used to be. The S shape road is Highway 34 from Loveland to Estes Park. The news reported there are over 17 miles of that road alone that will need to be repaired. The flooded intersection is about 10 miles from our house. There is currently a do not flush order for parts of the city of Evans. Our church, Journey Christian, is offering showers, shelter, and animal boarding to those in need. Please keep our city and state in your prayers as we begin the long clean up and recovery process. 

WATCH DOG

Before things get too crazy this fall, I had the opportunity to serve at the elementary building as the daily Watch Dog. It is a pretty neat program that asks dads to serve for a day at the school. Dads help out in class, patrol the school grounds, help in the cafeteria during lunch, and make sure the dismissal process goes smoothly. I had a great day helping out, meeting teachers and staff, and seeing what the kids routine is like during the day. Even though it doesn't look like it, there were lots of other kids at school that day. Can't wait to serve again at the elementary school in February and the high school in October. 

As a side note, the heart list are writing promps that Sarabeth came up with on her own. It warmed my heart to see that I was included. I guess I'm doing something right in my parenting. 

Little D

With the other three kids busy with before and/or after school activities this fall, we strongly encouraged Andrew to find an activity that he would enjoy doing this fall. We thought the drama production of Sleeping Beauty would be a solid choice since he doesn't really feel led to play sports. So guess what he found? He the now the official team manager for the middle school boys soccer team. He loves it. Their custom shirts showed up today. Here is the name he wanted on his. 

XC-Meet 2

Since I haven't tracked down a picture or pictures from Noah's second meet of the year on Thursday, here is a picture Noah took on the way past Mile High. He had a great run at 22:57, shaving several minutes off his time from their first meet. It was still pretty warm in the never ending summer heat. But the course was a bit less steep. Very proud of the progress he continues to make. His goal is to run 18:30, which would qualify him as a letter winner as a freshman! Next meet in Denver on Friday. 

Old Dewey Bridge

Along the road in Utah, we stopped at the Old Dewey Bridge. It was the first bridge that connected Utah and Colorado. I think. Correct me if I'm wrong. Either way, it was pretty neat. And the pictures I was able to take made me feel all artsy. Kids enjoyed looking around for lizards and snakes. While its obviously no longer in use, sure was a cool place to stop and hike around for a few minutes.