Lonestar Half Iron Triathlon

This weekend, mom and I escaped to Galveston (kid-less!!) for the Lonestar Half Iron Triathlon. This was my second race of this distance and it is officially my most favorite race! I had such an incredible experience. I was able to conquer a big fear; the 1.2 mile swim was in the ocean! With all of the swimmers around me (kicking me in the jaw and gut) I was not afraid at all. But it was an experience. Although the water in the bay is quite calm, it is not as calm as a pool (duh) so when I would turn my head to breathe, I would get a mouth full of lovely Galveston Bay salt water, gross! Also, the waves were just high enough that I could not site my swim by following the shore line, so I weaved back and forth like crazy. I made it out of the water in 39 minutes, which is not bad considering how crooked I swam.

this is the dock that we walked out on for our deep-water start on the swim

all lined up ready to jump in! the water was 65 degrees, yea for wet suits!

We were sent out in 7 waves, 5 minutes apart. This is my wave (red caps, females 30-34). We jumped in, swam to the start bouys and waited for the ready, set, go!

headed toward the first turn. The people on the surf boards were out there to help direct us (me) when we went astray

made it! I was so elated to have completed that swim. big day for me.

The wind was a little bit of an issue on the bike, but Pete passed along some great advice about my wheels and I was able to average 19.2 mph over the 56 miles. The course was totally flat, so it was really fun to just cruise along the coastline listening to the waves crash on the shore. I was very blessed to have no flats or mechanical bike problems; there were a lot of people stranded on the side of the road with issues like that.

coming into the half way turn around on the bike

The race was held in Moody Gardens, which is absolutely beautiful. Our 13 mile run weaved all over the grounds of the gardens which allowed spectators to see us many times. There were bands set up playing live music and aid stations at every mile which made the run really great. When you are 4 hours into a race, it is so nice to be cheered on like that. I finished with an exciting 8:33 pace with a total run time of 1:51.

coming into the finish!

finished!

My overall race time was 5:37. I am so pleased! I felt great when I crossed the finish line. It was just an amazing experience overall. Can't wait for the next one!!

This is my friend, Denise, who did the race with Team in Training in honor of her dad. They raised over $700,000 for Leukemia research

Look at my new niece!

Zach helps Reese hold her new cousin



This is my new niece, Alyssa, born yesterday to my brother Zach, his wife Jodi and big sister Avery. She is amazing. So beautiful. We are so excited!

visit www.theparkersblog.blogspot.com for more great pictures!

Another Week!

Another week has flown by! I am drowning in my "to do" list this week, but I wanted to get some of this stuff down and get the pictures off of my camera, ready for this weekend.

Wednesday when I had all of the kids, we decided to get out and go to the zoo. So did all of the DFW metroplex. When we neared the turn for the zoo we saw that the police had it blocked off and they said that all of the parking was full. I could not believe it! I told the kids and asked if they just wanted to go to the park; a resounding NO drove me another quarter mile up the road to a remote parking spot and after 30 minutes of walking, we were at the entrance.

After lots and lots of walking at the zoo, it was time to journey back to the car. The kids were awesome. They sang all the way back. We were all tired and hungry, so we decided to drop into Chilis for some dinner. We were at the end of our meal when the manager came and sat next to me and said "I do not normally do this, but let me explain what has happened." Those were her exact words and my heart sank. I thought the kids had been really good, especially considering how tired they all were, but I guess we had offended someone? Then she explained that there were some "regulars" sitting over in the bar and they had been watching us the whole time. They were so impressed with the behavior of all six kids that they wanted to pay for our meal! They said that good parenting is unusual and that it deserved a reward. So cool! The manager left and came back a few minutes later with free kids meal coupons for all six of them for their next visit as well. That was neat.

On Sunday we got to enjoy Easter combined with Parker's birthday up in Denton with all of the family. Good times!

Now I am trying to get everything ready for this weekend and the start of next week. Pete leaves Friday for a convention, and mom and I leave for my race in Galveston. Pray for good weather! Should be fun.

Where did the week go?

Wow! Has it been a week already? We were busy with Easter parties and picnics at school. Friday after school I took the girls up to Grandma's house and came back home for our quarterly night out with our neighbors. We have so much fun together that we decided that once a quarter we would rent a limo and go out - kid less. We had such a large group this time that the limo company had to bump us to a mini-bus; not quite as romantic as a limo. We had a pot luck and then hit the town. We went to The Stockyards and Sundance Square and actually ended up at a club. It was one of those clubs that has a bunch of different themed rooms and we tried them all. You can imagine how seven suburban moms dancing on a stage would stick out in a club! It was hilarious! But we had so much fun. Our husbands were content to watch rather than get up there with us (too scared!). I am NOT at dancer, but with all my friends there, who could resist. I did not realize how much I needed to just let my hair down and not worry about anything. All of the girls sang Cindy Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in the karaoke room and one of our couples sang the Greece song Summer Lovin to each other. We all decided that we will definitely do that again sometime.

ready to hit the town!

So I went back to get the girls on Sunday and we came home Tuesday, picking up all of the cousins on the way. Mom and Kara are remodeling the bathroom and since I am no help in that area, I volunteered to man the kids. They are having fun, but I think we will have to find some kind of outing today, for the sake of my house!

eat and play. that is what we do.

boxing on the wii

Bummer

I remember the first time I paid over $1.99 for a gallon of gas; it was two years ago and I was driving a beastly 4 wheel drive suburban that got 11 miles per gallon. Got rid of the boat and then the suburban when gas stayed in the $2.50 range and bought bikes. Good decision.

Today marks the first time I paid more than $2.99 for a gallon of gas. Burleson was able to keep the price at $2.99 until late last week. Today I was driving home from my weekly ladies lunch date (love it!) and saw that the price was still $3.05. I have been waiting a couple of days to fill up hoping it would drop back down in the $2 range so I could hold on to my record, but alas, I needed gas. I decide to pick Reese up and then go to the gas station. By the time I pull up to the pump it read $3.15. Dude! 10 cents in 20 minutes?! Come on! I left that station and raced down to the QT where I nabbed the last of the $3.05. Sweet. I saved a whole $1.50. I felt so defeated having paid $3 for gas until I got home and saw a picture on the internet of gas prices in California. Ok. I will pay $3. And I will try not to complain, after all, Pete and I are extremely blessed by the company we work for. They give Pete a car with insurance, gas, and all maintenance paid. That is HUGE. We only have one car to worry about and I know how valuable that is. Just wanted to mark the $3 day.

On another note...

Today we went to a picnic at Soren's school. They had TAKS tests last week and so today was "play hard" since last week was "work hard". Anyway. The kids on the playground really surprised me. Usually when I am up at the school we are inside and teachers are nearby. On the playground the kids show their true colors because they know teachers ears are far away. The things they say to each other made me so sad. They are mean and hateful with their words and actions. They seem so sweet and naive but yet the things they say are very grown up. I talked to Soren about it for a long time and now I have something else to specifically pray over her. I pray that she will be the same person at all times. That she will obey the rules because that is what is in her heart, not because someone is watching. That her words and actions will be encouraging and show the love of Christ that is in her. She is a sweet sweet girl and I pray that the world does not take that away from her.

A new generation

Last week when we took Reese ice skating, Pete bought a Wii. Our 9 year old beats us at boxing and our 4 year old beats us at bowling. Soren can really jam on guitar hero, too! It is so crazy to me how much kids today know about electronics. Soren has a digital video camera that she can use to record clips and send out on email. She knows how to research things on the internet and insert pictures into word documents. She is a better typist than I am! Anyway, I was watching Reese beat Pete bowling on the Wii tonight and it struck me how different this generation is. Pretty cool. Hopefully it can be channeled into useful areas....like bowling and boxing :)

She Said

The conversation went like this:

Reese: Mom, you know when you have to get ready and go to a meeting and your little girls always have to go to bed and we always have to do all these things? Well, God wants you to say yes to Him.

Me: He does? (just playing along)

Reese: Yes, He wants us to say yes man (that is what she says instead of yes ma'am) to Him every time.

Me: Do you say yes to God?

Reese: I always say yes man to Him. Everyday.

As of Sunday, Reese is MUCH better! No fever for 36 hours! She is back to playing the wii with her dad, so you know she feels better!