Randomness

My Family

Last weekend a large number of my family showed up at my house unexpected. I knew mom was coming to pick up her NEW BIKE!! but I was not expecting Zach, Jodi, Avery , Alissa, Granny and Granddad. While Pete was fitting Nana on her bike the guys were standing around with nothing to do. It was 50 degrees outside with about a 50 mph wind. I have needed gutters over my flower bed for 3 years. Dare I ask them to oblige? Why not?!

So I was off to Home Dep*t with the boys, returning shortly with the supplies THEY needed to do the job :) It only took a couple of hours for them to complete the project because I made sure there was no loafing on the job.

Finally, after 3 years of a huge, ugly square of dirt in front of my house, I can plant flowers! Yea! Thanks guys. I am sure they will never show up again. Too bad, because I am wanting some wood floors and stuff...

how many men does it take to hang a gutter? I guess 2 with 2 "supervisors"

Yesterday was beautiful with a break in the wind (sort of) so Reese and I got started on the bed. Zach (my official landscape advisor) suggested that I make it smaller, easier to maintain. I think he knows that my thumb is the farthest shade from green and didn't want me to lose hundreds of dollars in a flower bed catastrophe. So I scaled it down. Now my problem is finding a place that will sell me some squares of sod; everyone wants me to buy a whole pallet.

here is a "getting started" picture and I will update it when we are all done.

Soren

A swimmer? Yes. A scholar? For sure. A runner? She was the 1st 4th grader to reach the 20 mile club at school (boys and girls!). And now she is setting more records during the tests in PE that are required by the state of texas. I think these tests are kinda funny, but it is interesting none the less. They do sit ups, pull ups, push ups, stretching, etc.

Last year Soren was labeled "average" by the state for being in shape. I looked over the test to see how a kid who swam 10+ hours a week could be only average. It turns out that she far exceeded the standards on all of the tests except for one. Flexibility. She is like her dad. You can't bend her very far. So because of that low score (she can't touch her toes without bending her knees) she is only average.

They are in the middle of these tests right now and so far she is doing great. To score "commended" you must do 30 push ups (I can only do 15). She said that if your knees bend, you put your head down, or any part of your body touches the ground then you are done. She did 50! It was the most push ups done by any student in her grade. The next day she could barely move her arms but that did not stop her from swimming 5,050 yards in practice that afternoon! Next was the long jump. In this event one boy tied her distance but because his foot was just past the line when he jumped, Soren was declared the winner for 4th grade with a jump of over 9 feet!

I just laugh everyday when she comes home with these feats of accomplishment. She is so excited and really wants to do track, but when in the world would she do that? This is Saturday morning, 7:30 am, and where is my child? At a special back stroke practice! I don't see where she gets her motivation.

Sorry. That was a lot of bragging. There is just so much to say about her. She is the best and I am so happy for her success in all areas of her life.

Reese

Yesterday Reese and I went to have lunch with Soren. And it was time. Time to sign up for kindergarten registration. We had to make an appointment; it is not just some paperwork you fill out. She will meet with the nurse, counselor and a teacher before being admitted. Wow. I was sad. She was ecstatic.

She asked about the tests that the nurse was going to perform and now she is concerned about passing them. "What if I can't hear good?" she asked. I told her that they would put a hearing aid in her ear and she would be fine :) So funny.

So that is what is going on in our world. Same ole same ole.

Savoring Spring Break

Ahhh. Spring Break. It is the best. This year was extra best because #1 we had AWESOME weather ALL week long and #2 we got to hang with the cousins. As I have said many times before, I have simply the best family ever. Kara, Jodi and I kid swapped which allowed 24 hours with 7 kids aged 12 months to 10 years followed by 48 kidless hours. A trade well worth it I'd say.

Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon were my "on" hours with the kids. This group is great anytime, but when you add perfect weather to the mix, all you have to do is have A LOT of food on hand and the rest takes care of itself. I can't imagine a better group of kids to be in charge of. It was truly a pleasure to have them.

I did not take many pictures. This one is obviously forced, but at least I got them all :)

gotta throw in nakey alissa
the big kids decided to build a playhouse. I was very impressed with the progress they made. Those beams are heavy!

later, Soren turned it into her flower garden where she planted sunflowers

After a night at Kara's house and then Jodi's house, we all crashed at Nana's house on Friday night (Pops was "conveniently" out of town for the weekend). We went to bed early to rest up for the first annual "Run to the House 5k" race on Saturday morning. Nana sponsored all of us to run, and run we did! Nana, Jodi and I ran the 5k while Mat graciously watched/assisted the 7 kids on their 1 mile run. What a fun day. Thanks, Nana for providing the opportunity and thank you, Mat for making it possible!

cool and the gang

Nana and I both won 2nd place in our age groups! woo hoo!
of all of the 1 mile racers, kids as well as adults, Soren won 1st place and Wyatt won 2nd! Pretty cool. The Parker gang went away with a good stash of hardware!

Ashton, Parker and Avery enjoying the bounce castle entertainment

All in all, a fabulous spring break. We are so very blessed!

Now, back to the real world. Count down to summer break is on!

Ouch

Reese was pulling her friends in a wagon and they gained too much momentum heading down the hill; Reese got clobbered. The picture doesn't really show how bruised and swolen her chin is. I am just glad we are not at the dentist replacing teeth after the way she landed!

St. Patricks Day Freeze, I mean triathlon

What to say about this race....

I have pondered what to say about this race and decided to be honest (novel idea, I know). The fact that the weather hovered around the 38 degree mark and a steady drizzle fell, deepening the puddles that already blotted the streets is about all that needs to be said. But I will complain a little more for your enjoyment.

I swam in a nice warm pool in a nice warm building; that was great. I exited the pool and ran out the door, soaking wet, in a bikini; not so great. I took 3 minutes (an eternity in a sprint tri) to put on bike shorts, knee socks (wanted to be festive!), a sweat shirt, skull cap and gloves. My heart rate was high enough from the swim that the cold did not really strike me until I was down the street a ways on the bike. And then did it strike! No toes, no nose, mist in the eyes, nerves on edge riding 20 mph on wet streets. One good thing...I did feel stronger riding than last season. Pete has had me on the bike all winter and I do feel like I have improved. Anyway, back to complaining...

I finished the bike and went into transition 2 to get ready for the run. The numb in my toes had travelled half way up to my knees and when I tried to run I kept kicking myself in the back of the leg. The fact that I have not been running at all did not help, either, so that made for a L-O-N-G run. The whole time I was running I was telling myself that I would not tell anyone how completely miserable I was; racing is my hobby and it is ALWAYS fun! But I can't lie. This one was not. The weather along with the fact that I was not prepared made for a survival race and that is not my style.

I walked away with two lessons learned. #1: I do not like to be cold therefore I should not race in the spring! #2: If I am going to race then I need to train. No more racing a race that I am not ready for.

All that said, here are some pictures of the day I will never forget.

On the 5k run there was 1 aid station that you pass by twice. As I neared it I heard someone cheering my name and realized that my girls were the volunteers handing out water to the racers! That was neat. When I finished I noticed that all of my family was at the finish line, which is 1 1/2 miles from the aid station where my kids were. None of them even knew that the girls were out there volunteering. Soren and Reese took it upon themselves to walk out to the station and ask if they could help. I promptly let Pete know that I was not going back out there to get them because I was headed inside to the warm showers. Pete got a small run in, too :)

teaser

I love Texas weather. I love that it has been 80+ degrees for almost 2 weeks. I could do without so much wind, but I will take the wind over the cold anyday. I do wish that this latest string of hot weather would have pushed itself just a little longer to last through mid-morning this coming Saturday for the St. Patrick's Day triathlon. I fear that it is going to be an extremely chilly ride coming out of the pool at 7 am!

We have been soaking up the weather with outside play as much as possible. Here are some pics of Reese with the tulips at the entrance to our neighborhood. I have pictures of her in this same spot from the last three years and it is amazing to see how much she has changed.

I wish you looked like that...

Reese has recently made a habit of commenting on looks. We were clothes shopping and she pointed out a picture of a model and said "I wish you looked like that." I responded, jokingly, "I do!" "Well" she said "Your hair is that color but your face sure doesn't look like that!" nice.

Last night we were playing at the gym while Soren swam and Reese was leading me through a series of "workout" activities. At one point she said we had to go up to the track and run. I complained, saying I was too tired to run, and she says "If you ever want your stomach to look like mine then you have to run."

I am glad that Pete is my coach and not Reese. He is a lot more complementary of me :)

3 years

It dawned on me this morning that March 2009 marks the 3rd anniversary of my "do something about it" decision. 3 years ago as I was approaching my 30th birthday I realized that my clothes were fitting just a little bit tighter and my body was a little bit softer than I would like. Having no workout experience (Kara took me to a step aerobics class once and we quickly realized that I did not have the coordination necessary to succeed, so I never went back) I put on a pair of tennis shoes (found them in the back of my closet) and headed out for a little jog.

Pete sees me dressed in running attire and questions my actions. I answered confidently "I am going running!"

A flat, confused "oh" was the response as I walked out the door.

Our house is located at the peak of a street with a pretty good incline. I headed down the hill toward the stop sign approximately 1/10 mile away. When I reached the sign (it had probably been about 1 minute) I heaved a breath, stopped running, turned around and started walking slowly back up the hill to the house. I was so defeated. My thoughts were "I can't even run down the street! I feel like I am going to die!"

When I went back into the house Pete looked at me with big eyes and asked if I was OK. My face was bright red and I was breathing hard. I broke down and told him what happened and his response was simply, "just try to go a little farther tomorrow".

So I did. Everyday. My first goal was to be able to run 5k (3.2 miles). I remember that day so well. It had been almost 3 months since I first began running and I was out to do about a 2.75 mile run. I was feeling good, so I decided to go for it and I was able to do the full 5k without stopping. I burst into the house and announced my accomplishment to my coach :) who was not surprised at all. He knew all along that I could work up to it.

Meeting that goal gave me the confidence to try more challenging distances and with Pete's help and encouragement I have met each one with great success. 2 months after meeting my first run goal I completed my first mini triathlon; it was a 300 meter swim, 10 mile bike and 2 mile run. A perfect first triathlon distance that got me completely hooked on the sport. A year later I found myself in Arkansas completing a half iron distance tri (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, half marathon run) and the by next summer I had worked up to the full iron distance.

Exactly 2 1/2 years after the day that I could barely run down the street I was an ironman. Being active has become my lifestyle. It never was before and that is so hard to imagine now. It is such a great feeling and has impacted my life in many positive ways.

So for anyone out there who thinks "I could never do that"....yes, you can. Because if I can do it, anyone can. I highly encourage everyone to make some sort of physical goal and go for it. It is really amazing!

Yea for my 3 year anniversary of being fit!