Zoo

Last weekend we took the kids and one of Paige's friend to the zoo to celebrate Paige's birthday.

The kids had a great time, and it ended up being a beautiful day weather-wise.

Here are a few pics from our day...

(Above) Paige and her friend and the bird show
(below) Paige's friend got to participate in a demonstration with one of the birds.

(Above) Drew is very interested in the "keeper talk" about this lizard.
(below) One of the kids' favorite things at this zoo is Stingray Bay where you get to pet stingrays.

(above) The Tropical Rainforest

Triathlon Pictures

In case you were curious of what the race looked like, here are some pictures.

That is me before it began talking to a friend.

That is me the closest.

This is the end of the biking.

I Survived the Triathlon!!!

I even have a t-shirt to prove it. Well actually they gave me the t-shirt before the race, but I did survive the entire thing. And I even finished faster than my goal by 14 minutes and 51 seconds, so that was exciting for me. The swimming part was a bit more chaotic than I would have liked, but I learned some lessons for the next time.

My friend took some pictures, so when I get them from her I will post.

Drew's Question of the Day

Drew (as he is eating his cauliflower for lunch): Mommy, what does dirty cauliflower taste like?

Mommy: Well, I guess it would taste like cauliflower with some dirt taste too.

Drew: So, if it had bugs on it, it would taste like bugs?

Mommy: I would imagine so.

Drew: Oh (smiles and continues to eat his cauliflower)

Triathlon

I have been training for a sprint triathlon the past few months and it is coming up this weekend.

And I am nervous!

I am not a swimmer. I am not a cyclist. I like running, or rather jogging, but after swimming and riding my bike, running is whole new ball of wax.

So why am I doing this?

Well, I have a neighbor who wanted to do it, so I agreed to do it with her making her promise she would be patient with my swimming and wait for me. I signed up for a swim training class and then my friend decided that she wouldn't be able to do it because of the day it was on. So, I thought "Well I have already signed up for the swim class, atleast I will get some good exercise." Then one of my good friend's teenage son decided to do it again (he did it last year) and needed to train, so he signed up for the class and we decided to train together.

Maybe another reason is that I am trying to prove to myself that I am in better shape in my 30's than I was in my 20's. A pre-midlife crisis thing or something.

So here I am the week of the race.

The swim training went well. I took two months of it. It began the beginning of February in a heated outdoor pool. Thankfully, I had borrowed a wetsuit, because it was still a bit chilly. Jathan got me a new pair of goggles and my first swim cap, so I atleast looked like I knew what I was doing. The first day of class I looked around at the other students trying to figure out if they were as new to this as I was. I saw a few with swim team jackets on, not a good sign. Then the teachers gave us a card and asked us to write out our goals. I wondered if writing "to finish the swim portion of the triathlon without dying" was a good goal to write. But I decided that I would just write "to finish in a reasonable amount of time". Since I am not a swimmer, I have no idea what a reasonable amount of time really is. My real goal was #1 to live through it and #2 not to be the very last to finish. So swim class begin. After swimming 8 lengths freestyle, 4 lengths with a kick board, 4 with a pull buoy (a flotation to device to get you to use your arms only), and 4 more freestyle, I thought I survived a good work out. Then I found out that was just the warm up! Several days, I left class not sure if I would be able to use my arms again. And a few times feeling like I was going to hyperventilate after doing sprints again and again and again with seconds between to rest, but I really improved and have to say that I enjoy swimming. Towards the end of the class we had a day that I thought I was back at the beginning feeling like I was going to die. The swim instructor told me that she was pushing us that day because we had gotten comfortable at our new level so she wanted to push us to the next one. My thought was, "I know that I am not going to win this thing, but I do want to live to participate in it!" But I made it through that workout too.

We will see how this weekend goes. If I don't post for a while, you will know what happened, so you can send flowers. Just kidding.

Let it Snow!

Last week we took a short Spring Break (3 days off of school) and then eased back into school slowly with a field trip up to the mountains for our first day back of school on Thursday.

We spent the beginning of our day on a Spring nature hike, looking, feeling, listening and smelling all of the signs of Spring in the lower elevation. My hope is to go back to this same trail for each season to see the changes. It was enjoyable walk.





After the walk, the kids decided it was time to go to winter and see some snow up close. So we journeyed and additional 4,000 feet up and found it. This is the first the kids had been in the snow all winter. We had seen it in the distance up in the mountains (which is the way I like it, at a distance!)

Even though I am not a snow lover, I have to admit it was a perfect snow day. It had snowed the day before, so the snow was fresh and it was perfect for snow balls. We played for quite a while throwing snow balls and making snow angels and a snowman. It was fun, but I was glad to journey down the mountain to the warmer valley after the day was done.

Happy Birthday Paige!

My first born turned 8 yesterday. Wow! I know I was told it goes fast, but seriously, 8 already!!! I remember lying in the delivery room with Jathan holding Paige in a chair next me. I can still hear him talking to her saying "Hi Paige, I'm your daddy" over and over. She was so tiny and we had no idea what we were doing. And still 8 years later I still feel like we aren't quit sure what we are doing. But by God's grace Paige is growing into a beautiful young lady both inside and out. She has such a tender heart and patience that far exceeds mine. She is constantly putting her brothers' needs and wants before her own. She has a hunger for God's Word studying it and asking great questions that I have to call in Daddy to answer. She is truly a joy to be around. I love her diverse interests. On any given day you will see her playing dress up or dolls, Bionicles or Transformers, making up plays or riding her bike, shooting baskets or organizing her football cards, watching Anne of Green Gables or watching something on ESPN. I love it! Time is going fast, but I am so excited as I am seeing a beautiful young lady God is working in. I am blessed to be her mother.

Paige had an enjoyable birthday yesterday. After school, she played with some friends, then the family went swimming, then we opened presents and watched the NCAA championship basketball game. She was so excited that the game was going to be on her birthday.