Both Jillian and Tor set personal bests at their track meets the last couple days. Jillian ran 26.96 seconds in the 200 meters to place 1st at Woodland High:
Tor ran 22.00 seconds in the 100 meter hurdles to place 3rd in the 7th grade at Mt. Solo Middle:
Tor is participating in track & field for the Monticello 7th grade this spring, and he had his first meet of the year at Kelso High against three other schools. Tor was in the 100 meter hurdles, the 400 meter run, and the high jump.
In the high jump, he ended up clearing 4’2” and placing 4th in 7th grade and 11th overall.
Bridget and her Cowlitz 16-1 Black volleyball team had a successful end to their season, winning all 3 bracket matches on Sunday to win the Flight 3 Gold Division bracket to place 33rd in the 16’s!
Bridget had suffered a sprained left ring finger on Saturday that swelled up and turned purple, plus she was developing a cold … and despite that, she still helped lead the team with her hitting and blocking:
and she was also asked to play back row for most of the day for her passing and defense.
Bridget had a great year with coaches Sarah and Kayli and all her teammates.
Jillian and her Cowlitz 18-1 Black volleyball team finished their season on a high note, winning the Silver bracket in the Open Division to place 9th overall!
All three bracket matches were close, and the team had to come back from big deficits, especially against NPJ Salem 18 National in the final after losing badly in the first set. Jillian helped lead the team through it all with her consistent reliability, not only running the offense with her setting, but also defensively (digging and blocking) and attacking whenever needed. It was an emotional game, since it was the last club volleyball match for the 7 seniors on the team (Emily, Ella, Bailey, Izzy, Addi, Ashlynn and Jillian):
Jillian had lots of highlight-worthy video clips, but this one in particular shows the final club play of her career, a set to Ella for a kill and the win:
Afterwards, it was time for photos. Jillian really enjoyed playing for her club coaches Kelsey and Whitney (and Y):
Grandparents Papa Ken, Grannie and Papa Bob enjoyed cheering for Jillian throughout her 7-year club volleyball career:
Mom and Dad are very proud of all that Sweetie Pie accomplished in club volleyball:
Both Jillian and Bridget played their first day of the CEVA Regional Championship at the Portland Expo Center. Jillian’s Cowlitz 18-1 Black team finished third in pool with a 1-2 record, placing them in the Silver bracket of Flight 1 of the Open Division:
… while Bridget’s Cowlitz 16-1 Black team finished second in pool with a 2-1 record, placing them in the Gold bracket of Flight 3 of the 16’s Division.
Before the opening game, Jillian joined other CEVA players for a picture of the Class of 2026 College Commits:
Tor went to the Spring Dance in the Monticello cafeteria, all decorated in the Hawaiian theme by Mom and the PTO. Here he is with the crew:
RA Long High School hosted a public Olympic College signing ceremony for Jillian tonight, along with two other classmates signing with their colleges. Jillian sat at a table on the auditorium stage with Mom and Dad, amidst volleyballs, sports pictures, her letterman jacket, flowers and balloons, while a slideshow played in the background.
AD McCabe welcomed everyone, then the coaches spoke about their players, with Coach Maya filling in for Coach Naillon.
Unfortunately, it got missed that Jillian also signed for track, so her track coaches Tiffany and Oscar didn’t have the opportunity to speak:
Jillian then spoke to the crowd, thanking them and family & friends for their support. The ceremony wrapped up with the athlete signing.
We celebrated Grandma Cindy’s 76th birthday with fish and chips from Cap’n Yoby’s along with assorted other goodies.
Tor is playing flag football again, this time as a Carolina Panther. He is joined by several Monticello classmates and basketball teammates, including Bowen, Ryan, Evan, Cole and Keegan, along with Coach Fowler leading them. He played well in their first game against the Packers, including this pass breakup on defense:
Tor also scored 2 touchdowns:
The club volleyball season is rapidly approaching winding down, with Bridget and her Cowlitz 16-1 Black volleyball team playing in the April Power League at Jefferson High School. They were missing several players, so the lineup shifted quite a bit, but Bridget continued to lead the team at the Middle Blocker position, tallying many kills and blocks all day.
The results were not quite what they wanted, going 1-3 on the day, but there was a lot of quality volleyball, and they played hard to the end.
Bridget and Handsome participated in their final regular season show in Elma this past weekend. They switched from Trail Equitation to Dressage (for the first time). Here are the results:
3rd - Hunt Seat Equitation
2nd (Team) - Western Versatility
5th - Stock Seat Equitation
4th - Dressage
5th - Showmanship
4th (Team) - In-hand Obstacle Relay
5th - In-hand Trail
Bridget has now qualified for the WAHSET State Championship in Moses Lake, Washington on May 14-17! She will be competing for Battleground High School in Hunt Seat Equitation and Team Versatility. She is also the first alternate for Showmanship, Stock Seat Equitation, In-Hand Trail and In-Hand Obstacle Relay.
Our third evening ended with a trip to the beach when the sun came out and the wind stopped, so it was a great time for a sand football game of parents vs. kids. Not sure who won, but it ended due to exhaustion (again).
Dinner was make-your-own pizzas. While they waited, the kids played Exploding Kittens while watching Phineas & Ferb episodes.
Tor brought his basketball on the bike ride, and he and Bridget played a little one-on-one:
This was followed by a boys vs. girls game that was close, as Tor and Jillian traded 3’s, before we called it a day when we were all tired and ready to go back.
By the time the kids all woke up, had breakfast, and finished watching Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the weather turned nice. We hopped on the bikes and rode to the library:
It had obviously been awhile since we had been to the library, because it was completely remodeled … we didn’t even recognize it when we entered!
But, our favorite little window nooks were still there:
The downside to going to the beach on Monday is that Colleen’s Coffee House is closed, forcing us to settle for buying our traditional post-beach ice cream at Jack’s:
We arrived at the beach cabin late last night, after Easter and Grannie’s birthday party in Castle Rock. We watched the new Fantastic Four: First Steps movie before bed. The next morning was beautiful and sunny early, but clouded over at 10:30 am. The kids slept in until almost noon, and after watching Star Wars: Rogue One, we headed to the beach. It was windy and chilly, so we lasted only 15 minutes.
Tor brought his golf clubs along to practice his sand game:
Jillian and Bridget were crowned as the champions of the raw egg toss for Easter 2026!
They outlasted some stiff competition on the final long-distance throw against Cale & Erika, with Bridget hucking it to a running Jillian for the clutch snag:
Amazingly, this win comes 20 years after Mom & Dad’s win, while they were dating.
It was a beautiful, sunny (and kind of hot) Easter this year at Grannie and Papa’s house. There were lots of new little kids joining the older kids. Taking a big group picture was fun:
After a potluck lunch, we had 3 separate egg hunts: 0-3 years, 4-18 years, and 19+ years. Tor was the winner of his age-group, finding eggs worth $50:
The older group found their eggs full of crafting supplies, and put together their displays; Jillian’s team of Dan and Erika were judged the winners (by the younger kids):
The egg roll was next, but all of us were out pretty early on:
The final event was the raw egg toss, with teams of Jillian & Bridget, and Dad & Tor (Mom was holding Grant so Cale & Erika could participate).
Unfortunately, the egg hit Tor on the fingertips, so it broke … but the girls fared better (see next post).
We met up with Papa Ken, Bev, Auntie Greta and Meagan at Omelettes and More this morning for Easter breakfast. Jillian and Tor ordered the usual biscuits and gravy, while Bridget tried an omelette (and liked it).
Cousin Hazel did all she could to wake up a sleepy Tor who had dozed off on Grannie and Papa’s living room floor.
The Woodruff kids have been spending some time at Grannie and Papa’s house, helping to get the yard ready for Easter. While there, the little Johnson kids came to visit, helping out a bit (and play):
Jillian racked up the victories at the track meet in Washougal, winning the 4x100m relay, 100m, 200m, and 4x400m relay. She ran the anchor in the mile relay, with the entire team cheering her on in the home stretch with a “wave”:
