Dirty Boys......

Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about the annual Mud Run. What's the annual Mud Run? I'm so glad you asked.

The Mud Run is the event that kicks off the Cross Country season here in east Idaho. Why do they call it a mud run?

Because they do this to parts of the course. There's also a canal they have to jump in and swim through and hay bales they get to jump over. It's less a cross country run and more a steeple chase if you ask me. Still it's fun to watch.

One of the most fun things about the mud run is that kids get to wear basically whatever they want for uniforms. So most of them decorate t-shirts and shorts. Although body paint is fairly common. And you will see a few boys running with women's bathing suits over their clothes. And sometimes women's bathing suits are their clothes. At any rate, you'll see some fun things!

Cody runs cross country to help condition for wrestling season and as you can tell, he definitely got into the spirit of things.

Gideon was excited to come cheer him on.

See. I told you. Body Paint.

Just chillin' waiting for the race to start.

Okay can I be honest that I'm thrilled this is Cody's senior year. I'd hate to come back to one of these once Gideon is mobile. I just kept seeing kids everywhere playing in the mud.

And if the mud wasn't enough, they were rolling around in the sand dunes.

We did find some friends. The Stutzman's were there to cheer on their son and so were the Griffiths. It was fun. The munchkin enjoyed the attention.

And they're OFF!

Gideon watched with interest on the boys' first pass through the mud.

Okay the kid in the gray shirt and black shorts is blocking Cody. But you can sort of see the corner of his butt. (Remember, white shirt red shorts. This is the last time you see them this color.)

That big spray of mud right in the middle is Cody.

I don't know that kid, but he's running in a blazer so I had to get a picture.

And after weighing themselves down (I can't imagine all that mud is very light) they get to run up the side of the sand dunes.

Meanwhile, Ben Stutzman teaches the munchkin how to play in the mud.

And here they come back through. That tall blonde kid leading the way is Riley Mickelsen. He's neighbors with mom & dad.

And here's Riley crossing the finish line. He was actually 2nd place over all.

And here comes Cody, struggling through the bog.

They haven't posted the official results online yet, but I was standing right at the finish line and I'm very confident he finished within in the top 20, which is way better than he did last year and huge considering the field of well over a hundred.

My Baby Brother. I'm so proud!

Exhausted at the finish line!

Where did your legs go?

Nice smile! Actually this is cleaner than he was earlier in the race. He was totally caked with mud from head to foot, but then they jumped in the canal before coming back through the mud.

Another neighbor, Garrett Griffith.

They're like alligators. Or at least that's what this picture reminds me of. Still I can't help but wonder how radiant their skin will be in church tomorrow. Don't people pay big money for mud baths at spas? And here these teenagers get it for free.

Well I'm fairly confident that's Cody on the right, but I have no idea who the other kid is. Even if I could recognize him, it would have been difficult through all the mud. They stopped to say hi on their way to jump in the canal. (Again.) This time it was for fun. And to sort of clean off a little bit.

With four boys finishing in the top 10 and 8 or 9 (I lost count) finishing in the top 20, Madison easily won the Boy's Mud Run. (Their girls came in 3rd, but they did have the top two individual finishers on the girls' side.) Anyway that's Riley on the far right.

Guess what the prize was?

Mud pies of course!

I think it took all of 90 seconds for the pies to be completely gone. Oh well. It was a fun day and we're very, very proud of Cody and the whole team! (And yes, Cody showered the second we walked in the door at my house. He said you couldn't believe the cracks and crevices he found dirt and mud in. I don't want to know.)