Happy Halloween 2011

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I did it! I am a sprint triathlete!

On Saturday, August 27th, 2011, I competed in the IronGirl Boulder Sprint Triathlon at Boulder Res & I crossed the finish line!!! Not with any phenomenal timing records, but without injury! I had the pleasure of training with Amy Douglas, Cindy Molloy & Michelle Weingardt & having Amy's sister, Gayle, join us for the race. I knew I could manage through each leg individually, but I wasn't sure about all of them back to back. I was even more hesitant when I had to stop some training for a few months so I could go to physical therapy for my right shoulder and elbow. So, here are a few pictures from the event...

We checked in our bikes the day before & listened to the "course talk" and had Q&A time.

Me, Cindy, Michelle, Amy & Gayle flexing our pre-triathlon muscles at the finish line that we can wait to see tomorrow!

Eric & the kids decorating cheering posters for me the night before the race.

When they assigned me my bib#, I had a bad feeling, because #911 for my first triathlon felt pretty ominous. To add insult to my hopefully not pending injury, they mark your leg with your age! Once I realized what that number was, I couldn't stop looking at everyones calves!

Me (in all my Speedo glory) with my cheerleaders just minutes before the start.

Amy, Michelle & Me waiting for our wave to start our 1/4 mile open water swim. SO NERVOUS! The swim was a little harder than I anticipated, because I could not get a good breathing pattern since I was constantly getting splashed & inhaling water! I had to resort to breaststroke for more than I wanted to. I only got swam over once, which is pretty good for being in the thick of 150 people in my wave.

I don't have any pics on my camera of the bike portion (17.2 miles), but the bike was way more fun than I thought it would be. I actually enjoyed the ride & did it faster than my practice rides! Now, the 5K run. All I have to say is BLAH! I hate running & I totally ran out of steam. But, here I am approaching the finish line!

I did it!

Eric & the kids came to cheer me on as well as my mom & my brother. It made me so happy to have such great supporters cheering me on!

Amy, Michelle & Cindy having our post-race breakfast during the awards ceremony.

Yep, I was there, too! Check out the beautiful Boulder Res behind me! The water did not look that beautiful swimming in a crowd of people.

We are all first time triathletes! Woo-hoo! Now, maybe next year I'll actually care about my times & not just finishing.

What a weekend!

So, it's a little more than a weekend, but here it goes!

Wednesday - We had to say our good-byes to the Miller Family before they moved back to the Bay Area in California.

Thursday - I had to try to keep it together & not cry spontaneously because of the Miller's moving. And our cat is donned the cone of shame due to a big "ouchie" on his back from some large animal.

Friday - My diamond fell out of my ring, but through prayer I was hugely blessed and found my diamond! One fun thing, we attended a fun Gone With The Wind Party, but my pictures didn't turn out.

Saturday - Went for a bike ride on my used road bike that I bought on craigslist only to discover that the front derailer don't work properly. No pic, just a big GRRR.

Sunday - Wyatt split his lip by dropping a pushup handle on his face. After 2 1/2 hours, 2 stitches, 2 doses of Versed, a blood draw, 4 people holding him down and TONS of screaming, spitting & kicking, we were finally on our way home from Children's Hospital Urgent Care. Warning: Following is a before and after picture!

We are starting out pretty low, so things can only get better, right?!?

Cousin Conversation

Today, the kids were at my sister's house while I was at an appointment. During clean-up after I returned, Brock was "trying" to carry a basket full of cars back up to his room. I told him that he should ask Jake to help, because he has Christmas muscles (see Morris funny quotes for a little explanation). Amazingly enough, he was strong enough to carry the basket all the way upstairs!

A few minutes later, I went downstair to check on the clean-up progress, I overheard Jake and Brock talking & their conversation went something like this...

Brock - "So I heard you asked for Christmas muscles for Christmas."
Jake - "Got 'em!"
Brock - "Me too."

It's gone!

 Avery & I have been growing our hair out to donate it together. Avery's hair was finally long enough for us to donate! We both have been waiting patiently for her to have 8 inches to donate. Tonight was finally the night. She has been so anxious to have short hair again & I think she looks so beautiful!

 I'm so grateful we were able to do a special type of service together. I would definitely do it again, but for the time being, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy drying 10 inches less of hair!

Jake finally did it!

He lost his first tooth last Wednesday (April 27th)! The first one came out with a few tears (as you can tell from his slightly red eyes). I gave it two good twists, he started crying, but immediately started smiling once I got him to look in my hand. Then he lost another one tonight (with Dad's help, which is a first in this house!)& not even a week later! He has been so bummed that he was the only one in his class that didn't lose a tooth, yet. I'm so happy that he finally lost his first one before the end of the year, so he could sign the tooth poster in his classroom. Yea!

Easter 2011

Coloring eggs

 

Easter morning egg hunt

 

  Wyatt, I'm pretty sure there are no eggs hidden there!

 The annual hunt at the Miller's. This year we had to stay inside, so hiding 135 eggs got a little tough.

 Avery & Lily

 Peep Sushi

 Brynne & Eden

 Some of the kids were brave enough to try eating outside. Brrr!

This boy makes me laugh!

 Here is Wyatt doing P90X. He was trying to do one arm push-ups. I had to stop to grab the camera!

Hmmm. I wonder who colored the front door with blue crayon? Could it have been the boy with the matching blue lips? I should have taken a picture of him scrubbing the door a few minutes later.

Preschool Dairy Tour

 Eden's preschool field trip to the dairy farm was far more uneventful than our last field trip here. Which is a good thing! We didn't have to clean cow poop off of anyone! As you can tell from the pictures, Eden was not a fan of the smell of the dairy. She spent the first half of the field trip gagging, coughing and pulling her shirt up over her nose. Then I think she got use to the smell a little.

 

Eden let the babies suck on her fingers once, but I wasn't fast enough to get a picture & she wouldn't do it again for me. It is a little slobbery, but this is by far my favorite part of the tour. I love the babies!

A few of Avery's dress-up days at school

 Mismatch Day - she totally nailed that one!

Mommy loves Crazy Hair Day!

 

Roman Day - she dressed up as the Roman Goddess Ceres. Ceres was one of the few modest ones!