Garden 2010

Here are a few pics of this years garden. Very different from last year! All flowers and different stuff for us this time around.

This little bunch belongs to the kids. Pansies, marigolds, and some pink stuff for Lily.

Pretty little planter

Morning glory vine growing in the back, pink hydrangea and also day lilies

So pretty

More updates as things start to bloom

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Sprint Tri part 1

Hiya everyone! I am back after surviving my very first triathlon! I tried to take lots of candid pics ala 'a day in the life of', so be prepared this is a very long post.. actually it's a two part-er because I was having trouble uploading so many pics.
Ok, Day 1, Saturday before the tri I made a gigantic breakfast for the family; I guess it would was a sort of ploy to get the kids' attention away from me packing up the Jeep :)

(still working on the candid day in the life of pics, I've programed the kiddos to say 'Cheese' every time I pull the camera out)

Packing for the road trip-- tons of Gatorade to keep me hydrated, PB&J's for before, during and after the race... and what would a road trip be without a cold meatloaf sandwich?

(mmm, meatloaf)

The Jeep is packed, and I am off.

And of course, I got lost. Someone please buy me a GPS! Thank goodness for this cute little country store.

(Dinner time!)




What does a triathlete eat before a race? I am not too sure, so I just stuffed my face with whatever looked good.

Pre-race coaching

And the finish! A beautiful sight!

Off to bed, getting up at 4:30 am for the big day!

Sprint Triathlon part 2

Day 2 begins!

Waffles and bananas at 5am

Looking good with full makeup before the swim. Why put on makeup before a tri you ask? I have no idea, I was so tired I laughed when I realized that I was in 'full battle' makeup
They marked my age on my leg

(not over the hill yet)


Setting up my transition area

(go #592!)

Video blog about 30 mins before the race began





*After the race*


My 5k time was 29 mins... could have been much faster had I not been bleeding :(



FINISHERS!

My overall time was 1hour 46 mins, for a 750m swim, 15mile bike, and a 3.1mile run

This next picture is not really tri related but makes me giggle.

Such a southern thing, one day I will actually go into one of these stores and buy something southern like fried okra.

And lastly, a reminder to everyone; always wear your sunscreen! I think I was so nervous making sure that I had all of my racing gear that I forgot about daily necessities.

Here I go

Ditching the family this weekend to compete in my very first (sprint) triathlon.. WhiteLake,NC and it will be great! I have been training for about 10 weeks, and I feel stronger than ever. Triathlon training entails the given; swimming, biking , running, but also you might not realize but things such as spin class, weight training and *ugh* watching the diet very carefully. I am super excited and encouraged already because all of this training has already made just my basic 5k speed improve dramatically (while pushing the stroller).
I will be taking lots of before and after pics! Wish me luck (and really great weather)!
b

Dogwood Festival and 5K run

We got up dark and early on this lovely Saturday to run in the Dogwood Festival 5K run.

Here's a nice pic of some of the members of the FRC (Fayettville Running Club). This is before the race.

It was a perfect race, some challenging hills and weather in the low 70's. Gavin has been training for a few weeks, and he ran a PR 26:56!!!! He won gold for his age group and we are so proud that his hard work paid off. Meanwhile I pushed Dean and Lily in the stroller and finished our 5k in 28:30... not too shabby.

Dean's first, and Gavin's long overdue...

HAIRCUTS!! My handsome boys shed their locks on Wednesday. I cannot believe just how long Gavin's hair got in one year!
(thanx for the great smile there Gav)
We didn't want to cut Dean's hair and lose those amazing curls, but the knots overpowered me :)

Believe it or not Gavin actually wanted to cut his hair. We have a 5k run on Saturday, and he wants to be able to keep his head cool. Gavin is intent on winning gold!

So how did my very energy filled two year old do in his first 'sit down and be still for more than 20 seconds' task? Very well, thanks to the old Easter egg candy trick! And if you were wondering, he still has some curl in his hair, just no more rats' nests.

Very handsome boys!

But poor Lily.... she was so sad that I was taking the boys and not her to get their hair trimmed. I had to explain that she is a beautiful girl, and that we can put more clips and bows in her hair if we don't cut it. I think it might be time for a mother-daughter shopping trip or new bottle of nail polish.

weekend bowling

Two great videos below: The first is Dean's turn bowling, and the second is Lily cheering Gavin on (and also Lily being pretty gross!)

Spring Break

has been nice. I am on a one week break between classes (the same as Gavin), got my grades from my last 2 finals (perfect 4.0 gpa still!), but why is it when a person finally has a little time off *BaM* here comes the flu or virus or whatever. I have 3 weeks until my first triathlon, and getting sick at this point is very frustrating. The kiddos and I had lots of plans for this week, and we only got to check a few things off of our list before I started feeling yucky.

Hoppy Easter

New talents

Dean has picked up on playing the guitar... well sort of. Ok, he plays the guitar like a 2 year old, but he looks really cool doing it. It's a small guitar that Gavin bought at a yard sale last fall, but never used, and has recently been discovered by Dean.




So adorable. Meanwhile, this morning I took a class for military spouses, where we learned to do/make mosaic tiles. Here's my near-finished product:


I still have to wipe off some of the extra grout and then seal it tomorrow. Kinda pretty and it was a fun class.