Saturday Oldest and Littlest participated in a kid race. They were both very excited. Oldest met a new friend, a little girl with a scooter. They rode their scooters before the race even started. They needed to rest for a few minutes before the start.
The race started Oldest was off, faster than me. I had to run to keep up with him. He rode his scooter about 1/3 of a mile and decided he was done with it and wanted to run. We handed it off to Littlest who was with my husband and Oldest and I started running. He ran the whole rest of the race. On through the finish line , through the "Spray Zone" and on to the watermelon and cookies. I was impressed at how fast he finished.
We waited for Littlest, who also ran across the finish line. Both got finisher ribbons and got to stand on the winners podium. It was a morning of fun. We will definitely do this again.
Oldest won a raffle and got a certificate for $20 off a new pair of running shoes from Salt Lake Running Company. We headed there to get his new shoes. They have blue stripes, laces, are a little big but not too much, and are very fast :)
Littlest loved the scooter so we got him one of his own. Now he is set to race another day.
~Race on
Monday, June 30, 2008
I Scream
A few years ago my husband and I went to a major league baseball game where one of the vendors was hawking Ice cream. He walked around yelling, "I SCREAM!" It got your attention.
Last night we went as a family for ice cream. Littlest was way too excited. He kept saying "Ice cream. Ice cream." The line was very long. Every time someone other than us got their ice cream littlest took I scream to a new level. He certainly has a sweet tooth. He gobbled his twist cone faster than Oldest who didn't even finish his.
I was a fun day capped by a sweet night.
~ah summer~
Last night we went as a family for ice cream. Littlest was way too excited. He kept saying "Ice cream. Ice cream." The line was very long. Every time someone other than us got their ice cream littlest took I scream to a new level. He certainly has a sweet tooth. He gobbled his twist cone faster than Oldest who didn't even finish his.
I was a fun day capped by a sweet night.
~ah summer~
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Racing Day
Racing day, it's racing day,Racing day, it's racing day!It's not nervous pacing day.Today's the day we race. ~The Backyardigans
Today, Oldest has a race. Littlest is participating too, but that's just more of a way for him to not throw a 2 year-old fit.
Oldest has been wanting to do a "kid race" since my 1/2 marathon adventure in April. On Father's Day we went to play mini-golf and came across a registration form for a Kid Race. It's taking place in a near-by neighborhood and the proceeds go to help a local children's grief support program. www.thesharingplace.org
Oldest is very excited. During the first part of the race participants ride "something". I think he will ride his scooter because his bike doesn't have training wheels anymore and he still hasn't perfected riding it. He's better but not good enough to ride it .80 of a mile without getting frustrated. The remaining .30 of a mile is a run. Oldest's race is non-competitive. (There is a competitive division but I think Oldest needs to participate and have fun, not be upset if he doesn't win.)
Littlest will ride on Dad's shoulders and then run to the finish line.
Oldest will wear the "race shirt" I got him a while ago. It says FUTURE MARATHONER. He's asked me if I want to run across the finish line with him.
~Peace
Today, Oldest has a race. Littlest is participating too, but that's just more of a way for him to not throw a 2 year-old fit.
Oldest has been wanting to do a "kid race" since my 1/2 marathon adventure in April. On Father's Day we went to play mini-golf and came across a registration form for a Kid Race. It's taking place in a near-by neighborhood and the proceeds go to help a local children's grief support program. www.thesharingplace.org
Oldest is very excited. During the first part of the race participants ride "something". I think he will ride his scooter because his bike doesn't have training wheels anymore and he still hasn't perfected riding it. He's better but not good enough to ride it .80 of a mile without getting frustrated. The remaining .30 of a mile is a run. Oldest's race is non-competitive. (There is a competitive division but I think Oldest needs to participate and have fun, not be upset if he doesn't win.)
Littlest will ride on Dad's shoulders and then run to the finish line.
Oldest will wear the "race shirt" I got him a while ago. It says FUTURE MARATHONER. He's asked me if I want to run across the finish line with him.
~Peace
Friday, June 27, 2008
FORE!
Oldest came to work with me today. He earned the opportunity as a reward and I thought it would be a boring day in the office. He packed his backpack with some activities and snacks. We were going to order pizza into the office and have a picnic on my floor. Nothing really exciting.
I listened to my Voice mails first thing and there is a voice mail from my boss. The trophies for the Client Appreciation Golf Tourney needed to be picked up and brought down to the course. Would I mind doing it? They needed to be there about 12:30. I could stay for lunch.
Oldest delivered mail, helped make copies and retrieved items from my printer. He also had various other errands to run around the office. There were very few people there and it was fun to have him there to "help" me.
We left at 11:00 to go get the trophies and drive down to the course. Oldest was excited to go into the trophy shop and wanted to hold the trophies in the car as we drove. When we got to the course we dropped off the trophies to the appropriate place and proceeded to the course to wait for my boss to give me something I needed to take back to the office. The golfers weren't done so we watched for a bit. A colleague noticed us and I asked if Oldest could ride in the cart to the next hole. Oldest not only got a ride but he got to drive. He did well. And got a golf ball from my friend. We waited a little longer. Went up to eat lunch and then headed back to the office.
Not what we planned for the day, but very fun. Better than running that work errand by myself. Oldest is a pretty good driver.
~Fore!
I listened to my Voice mails first thing and there is a voice mail from my boss. The trophies for the Client Appreciation Golf Tourney needed to be picked up and brought down to the course. Would I mind doing it? They needed to be there about 12:30. I could stay for lunch.
Oldest delivered mail, helped make copies and retrieved items from my printer. He also had various other errands to run around the office. There were very few people there and it was fun to have him there to "help" me.
We left at 11:00 to go get the trophies and drive down to the course. Oldest was excited to go into the trophy shop and wanted to hold the trophies in the car as we drove. When we got to the course we dropped off the trophies to the appropriate place and proceeded to the course to wait for my boss to give me something I needed to take back to the office. The golfers weren't done so we watched for a bit. A colleague noticed us and I asked if Oldest could ride in the cart to the next hole. Oldest not only got a ride but he got to drive. He did well. And got a golf ball from my friend. We waited a little longer. Went up to eat lunch and then headed back to the office.
Not what we planned for the day, but very fun. Better than running that work errand by myself. Oldest is a pretty good driver.
~Fore!
Summerfest
Summerfest opened yesterday! Summerfest and I turn 40 this year. Summerfest is a 10 day music festival in Milwaukee, my hometown. I grew up going to Summerfest. I saw many concerts there. From the days before the Amphitheater when the Main stage looked like a side stage I saw groups like Huey Lewis and the News in 1984, the Violent Femmes the same year. My high school band geek friends and I went every year to see a jazz group called Spyro Gyra.
Later I saw groups other groups, Pearl Jam, REO Speedwagon, Bo Deans, Hootie and the Blowfish and many other I cannot recall. My husband and I started going every year to see the musician Pat McCurdy, a Milwaukee native that has somewhat of a cult following. My husband even offered to buy me a ticket to our first Jimmy Buffet concert at Summerfest on our first date.
When I worked in downtown Milwaukee, my husband would meet me for lunch there since it was only a couple of blocks from my workplace and you could get in every weekday from 11am-1pm with a pin you could buy for $1.
So, Summerfest has a special place in my heart and has left me with very special memories. But, I've got to tell you I don't think I like the way Summerfest has grown up. There seems to be more violence there, the crowds are immense. Maybe it's because I haven't been in 8 years. Maybe it's because I'm now a parent and it doesn't look like a place I would want to take my little kids. I don't know maybe I'll change my opinion in a few years. Maybe it's just Summerfest's mid-life crisis
Anyway, Happy 40th Birthday Summerfest. I hope you enjoy many more. Me Too!
~peace
Thursday, June 26, 2008
High Maintainence
It was unbelievable. On Saturday morning as I am trying to get ready to run my final leg of the Wasatch Back, I head to the locker room of the school we stayed to brush my teeth and put in my contacts. As I enter the locker room there is a cluster of a dozen or so women crowded around the only mirror and three sinks (of which only two worked) putting on make up and curling their hair. Did they forget where they were? Did they not realize that in a matter of hours they would be sweating like pigs, slogging up a mountain? I was appalled! I had to fight my way to the sink to spit and put in my contacts without a mirror.
The kicker though, a woman stuck her head in front of me while I was spitting out my toothpaste and said, " I just need to make sure my part is straight." Huh?!?!?
~peace
The kicker though, a woman stuck her head in front of me while I was spitting out my toothpaste and said, " I just need to make sure my part is straight." Huh?!?!?
~peace
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Slim Jims
Is it possible for someone to live on Slim Jims? Lately that is all Littlest wants to eat. We offer him some of his previous favorite foods but he shakes his head, says "uh uh" and heads to the drawer that that holds the Slim Jims. We bought them a while back for a car trip. Now we have to stock up on them because he has at least 3 every day. I know it is a stage that he will grow out of, but until then they are a staple in the house. Maybe he can be one for Halloween?
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Other Half
I registered today for another 1/2 Marathon. This one in Moab, UT on Oct 19th. I must be crazy!
My Wasatch Back Experience
We did it. My team finished the Back, faster than we thought we would. We finished in 29:57:31.8 averaging a 9:55 min mile. It was hot, it was cold, it was long, it was short. It was 30 hours of fun and exhaustion. As Oldest would say, it was "AWESOME".
HOT
Was it hot! My first leg started at 2:57 pm. I don't know what the temperature was, but it was mother hot. 90-95 easily. This leg was 4.0 miles through farmland and the small town of Eden, UT. Some residents of Eden put on sprinklers to cool runners down and other teams had huge water guns and spray bottles to help too. Sportsmanship was running high! My leg was relatively flat and I finished on pace.
The rest of the runners from my van continued the legs up to Snowbasin. It was beautiful. But the 2 runners who ran up the mountain just said it was hard. We increased our overall time to -35 minutes, handed off to Van 1 and headed to our next exchange point, East Canyon State Park.
We got some food, tried to sleep, but the call that Van 1 was close came an hour early. Time to get ready to run again, this time uphill in the dark. I put on my reflective vest and head lamp and started up to the exchange gate. I didn't know what it would be like to run at 11:30pm, but it was peaceful and cooler. The low overnight up in the mountains was in the 30's. It was during this leg that my bosses team caught up with us. They cheered me on and gave me encouragement. Many of them have worked in our office and they have become my friends. Ashly was the runner of that leg and she did pass me on an uphill. They went on to finish in 26:51:19.5.
This was my most difficult leg. 3.9 miles with a 600+ft elevation gain already at altitude, but I loved it. The rest of my vanmates ran through the night. Through small towns and by resivoirs. Our last runner said he felt his run was spiritual. He finished at 5:00 am with the sun starting to come up over Rockport resivoir. THe frogs were croacking and the birds were chirping. He was at peace.
We handed off to Van 1 -1:30. TIme for a shower and some sleep. The van was quiet as I drove it to Heber City. We got there at 5:30 and I proceded to find the shower, get some breakfast and crash on the westling mats the school put out on the gym floor. Sleep came slowly and went fast. At 8:30 the call came that I would need to run in 40 minutes. We were now -2:00.
This was my hardest run. I was tired. I was slow, very slow. It was 4 miles that just wouldn't end. But it did, and I was done. We had 5 more runners and we were done. Unfortunately the hardest legs were still ahead of us. UP and OVER Guardsman's Pass. Very hard legs straight up then straight down. But, my warrior friends made it look easy. I'm very proud of us.
We were all slower this morning, but everyone did incredibly. We were glad to be done and get some food and rest. My Vanmates Jason, Rebecca, Bonnie, Jenneifer and Colby are amazing people. I'm glad I got to know them. I hope I get to run with them again.
At the finish line, we got to run across as a team. My family met me there and Oldest ran across with us. I let him get my medal.
The team is registered for next year. Count me in.
HOT
Was it hot! My first leg started at 2:57 pm. I don't know what the temperature was, but it was mother hot. 90-95 easily. This leg was 4.0 miles through farmland and the small town of Eden, UT. Some residents of Eden put on sprinklers to cool runners down and other teams had huge water guns and spray bottles to help too. Sportsmanship was running high! My leg was relatively flat and I finished on pace.
The rest of the runners from my van continued the legs up to Snowbasin. It was beautiful. But the 2 runners who ran up the mountain just said it was hard. We increased our overall time to -35 minutes, handed off to Van 1 and headed to our next exchange point, East Canyon State Park.
We got some food, tried to sleep, but the call that Van 1 was close came an hour early. Time to get ready to run again, this time uphill in the dark. I put on my reflective vest and head lamp and started up to the exchange gate. I didn't know what it would be like to run at 11:30pm, but it was peaceful and cooler. The low overnight up in the mountains was in the 30's. It was during this leg that my bosses team caught up with us. They cheered me on and gave me encouragement. Many of them have worked in our office and they have become my friends. Ashly was the runner of that leg and she did pass me on an uphill. They went on to finish in 26:51:19.5.
This was my most difficult leg. 3.9 miles with a 600+ft elevation gain already at altitude, but I loved it. The rest of my vanmates ran through the night. Through small towns and by resivoirs. Our last runner said he felt his run was spiritual. He finished at 5:00 am with the sun starting to come up over Rockport resivoir. THe frogs were croacking and the birds were chirping. He was at peace.
We handed off to Van 1 -1:30. TIme for a shower and some sleep. The van was quiet as I drove it to Heber City. We got there at 5:30 and I proceded to find the shower, get some breakfast and crash on the westling mats the school put out on the gym floor. Sleep came slowly and went fast. At 8:30 the call came that I would need to run in 40 minutes. We were now -2:00.
This was my hardest run. I was tired. I was slow, very slow. It was 4 miles that just wouldn't end. But it did, and I was done. We had 5 more runners and we were done. Unfortunately the hardest legs were still ahead of us. UP and OVER Guardsman's Pass. Very hard legs straight up then straight down. But, my warrior friends made it look easy. I'm very proud of us.
We were all slower this morning, but everyone did incredibly. We were glad to be done and get some food and rest. My Vanmates Jason, Rebecca, Bonnie, Jenneifer and Colby are amazing people. I'm glad I got to know them. I hope I get to run with them again.
At the finish line, we got to run across as a team. My family met me there and Oldest ran across with us. I let him get my medal.
The team is registered for next year. Count me in.
Friday, June 20, 2008
It's Here
Well, today is the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. Can I just say, where did this year go.? I met my whole team last Monday and we finalized some of the details. At 9:00 am my team takes off from Logan , UT for our trek to Park City. http://www.ragnarrelay.com/
I start my first leg about 3:00pm in Eden, UT. We wind our way through the mountains through the night and end in Park City about 5:00 pm Saturday. My other legs will be at about 1:00 am and 11:00 am . I'm excited and nervous, just like with the 1/2 marathon. I'll run a total of 12 miles over the 3 legs and not sleep much for the next 36 hours.
We get to run across the finish line as a team. My family has plans to be there to cheer us across. I love you guys! xo xo xo
Sunday, I'll write about the journey. After I've slept though.
Park City or Bust. Knees don't fail me now.
You can do anything you set your mind to!
~Peace
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Speech Class
Oldest and I attended a weekly speech class over the spring. It was a group class at a local elementary school. Oldest loved it. I was not so impressed. GROUP SPEECH for preschoolers? I never felt like he was working on what he needed.
Today we start speech class up at the University. I'm curious to see how this class is run. I sure hope it will be more individualized. He has specific needs ( problems with th, ch and occasionally substituting the first consonant in a word, like tid for kid) and with encouragement and practice he'll get it.
Lately he's been having a running commentary on everything. He's talking all the time. Making up stories. He's always loved to hear us read to him, I really want him to learn to read himself. I'm hoping this class will give me some help teaching that.
We've gotten a summer activities book for Pre-K kids. He loves doing it. I showed him the certificate at the end of the book for when he finishes all the activities. He's determined to get that certificate quickly. Last night he did 8 pages of homework. I hope when he gets real homework in a few years that same excitement is there.
~Peace
Today we start speech class up at the University. I'm curious to see how this class is run. I sure hope it will be more individualized. He has specific needs ( problems with th, ch and occasionally substituting the first consonant in a word, like tid for kid) and with encouragement and practice he'll get it.
Lately he's been having a running commentary on everything. He's talking all the time. Making up stories. He's always loved to hear us read to him, I really want him to learn to read himself. I'm hoping this class will give me some help teaching that.
We've gotten a summer activities book for Pre-K kids. He loves doing it. I showed him the certificate at the end of the book for when he finishes all the activities. He's determined to get that certificate quickly. Last night he did 8 pages of homework. I hope when he gets real homework in a few years that same excitement is there.
~Peace
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
21 days
You've probably heard that it takes 21 days to modify behavior or make something a habit. Well, since I haven't posed in about 6 weeks, I think it's time to modify my behavior.
We've made this a family project. We have 4 sticker boards up with a calendar starting with today. We are all going to try to modify behavior, create new good habits. We will each get to put a sticker on our board if we our successful for the day. Our reward will be a trip to a water slide park. Oldest is excited, Littlest is clueless. They both helped decorate the charts last night.
So starting today, I will post 21 times in the next 21 days. I'm giving myself an off day this Saturday because I will be in the middle of the Wasatch Back, but I will make it up with 2 posts on another day.
I'll fill you in on my family's success along the way!
~peace
We've made this a family project. We have 4 sticker boards up with a calendar starting with today. We are all going to try to modify behavior, create new good habits. We will each get to put a sticker on our board if we our successful for the day. Our reward will be a trip to a water slide park. Oldest is excited, Littlest is clueless. They both helped decorate the charts last night.
So starting today, I will post 21 times in the next 21 days. I'm giving myself an off day this Saturday because I will be in the middle of the Wasatch Back, but I will make it up with 2 posts on another day.
I'll fill you in on my family's success along the way!
~peace
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