Funny Friday

Ok - I'm a mean mom, but I thought this was funny.

And as I showing Katie and Will the pictures later....they laughed too. 

So the three of them were riding on the paddle board.  John started rocking it and they thought that was fun.

Pretty soon they started begging Dad to tip them over.....

Almost....

Just about...

AND THEY'RE OVER!

They are also mad...

...very mad.  :)  But it didn't last long.

Busy week back!

Holy cow - it's been a busy week back at home.  State fair, 2 school open houses, beach day, pool day, and it isn't even Friday yet!

Let me see where were we....ah yes, vacation pictures.....

On Tuesday last week we rented a boat for the day.  The kids were able to catch fish off the docks, but they really got a kick out of catching them in the open water.  I didn't mind putting the worms on the hooks, but I let John deal with getting the fish off.  I attempted one time and then gave up.  I DID however manage to get one off later in the week.  Deb: 1  John: 50

Katie driving the boat!

Will is the king of the world....

Northern cabin vacation

Oh boy do I have some good pictures for you all.  We had an amazing time on our week up north.  It was just so great and we got to experience so many things together.  I think for the most part everyone was in a good mood for every day.  (Well, 3 out of 4 anyway.....we'd switch off.)

We left last Saturday and drove about 3 1/2 hours north / northwest towards the area of Remer, MN and Longville, MN.  The cabin was technically in Remer, but we never actually went into that town.  Longville, however, was a little hotspot of about 143 people. :)  We stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin that had a loft with another 2 beds.  The kids slept up there.  We had a stove, oven, fridgerator, microwave, toaster and coffee pot.  It had a good sized dining table and a little loveseat.  No tv, no air conditioning.  Luckily, we didn't need either.

Thunderlake Lodge is a family run and owned resort of about 7-8 cabins and 5-6 hotel type rooms.  It was small enough that the owner greeted you as soon as you drove up and were immediately introduced to his wife and their 14 month old son.  They had canoes, peddleboats, and kayaks all free to use, and boats that you could rent for the day.  A small beach was closeby that had tons of sand toys, a playground, beach volleyball court, and a very nice lake with a swimming dock. 

Honestly, the days kind of blurred together after Monday.  So here are some highlights.....

John in the kayak.

Katie and John in the peddleboats.

Will enjoying the sand as Katie drifts off in the lake.

John and I both found it pretty challenging to stand on the paddleboard.....

....Katie, on the other hand, was a rockstar on it!

On to the bike....

So after I got all laced up, I hopped on the bike. It felt good to be doing something other than swimming, and I felt comfortable on my bike. I love my bike. After having done a race with "her" already - we were bonded. Many more participants had "tri bikes" or "racing bikes" which meant they had really narrow, thin wheels, special pedals/shoes/straps, and special handlebars. I didn't have any of those things - just me and my road bike. The course was pretty and scenic, along the Mississippi River, but I couldn't see much of it for all the trees. I also wasn't looking around that much. I was concentrating on where I was going and who was coming up behind me. Overall, the course wasn't too hilly. A few up hills that I had to work a little harder on, but nothing like a couple of the hills in the duathlon last fall.
Thanks to the cooler temperature and/or the amount of water I swallowed in the swim - I didn't take too many water drinks. I think I grabbed my water bottle twice for a couple quick sips. My goal was to finish the 15.5 miles in an hour or less - and I wanted to try to have an average speed of at least 15 miles per hour.
My time - 1:02:37
Average Speed - 14.9 mph
I felt pretty good about that.

After that, it was time to re-rack my bike. It was funny - when I came out of the swim to get my bike - it was VERY easy to find. On my entire side of racked bikes - probably 500 or so....mine was the only one there. Pretty easy to spot. When it came time to put the bike back, it was a little more trickier to find my spot. I knew this would be the case which is why I picked a towel laid out for transition that I would recognize quickly. Got my helmet off, grabbed a bite of a banana and a drink of water, and I was off on the run.
I knew it would feel "odd" to run after riding the bike so that wasn't shocking. I would say after the first 1/2 mile it began to feel more normal. That's they way it's been in the past and wasn't anything new race day. All of a sudden I was at the mile marker - and then suddenly it was 2 - and then I was coming around the last corner. The run went by very quickly for me, I was very relaxed and enjoyed it. I was about 1-2 minutes off my "average" mile pace, but - again - that's ok.

My run time - 32:26
Average pace - 10:28 per mile

The only thing that bothered me the whole race was how hard it was to let go of being in the water. For the first 6 miles on the bike - I was re-playing everything that happened in the swim. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was remembering the swim, and the water, and the chaos. It made me very emotional and I cried to John as soon as he asked me about it at the finish. I have very mixed feeling about the whole race. I liked how I biked/ran. I finished the swim, and I know I should be happy about that - but I didn't finish it the way I wanted to. I'm not disappointed that I stopped at almost every noodle - I expected to do that. It was how I swam between noodles. I didn't get my head in water as far as I should have, my hips were dragging, my kicks weren't as effective, I wasn't side breathing. I wasn't able to apply what I had been learning and training for in the pool. Again, I chalk it up to inexperience. Now the question remains - do I want to gain more experience in this area or is it a "been there, done that" kind of thing.

I relate it to someone having a baby. As soon as they go through labor and have the baby if someone asks them if they want to do it again....most are going to reply with a very strong "Hell no." Then time passes.....

I'm here.....and here's what happened.

The triathlon is officially past tense.  I got through the swim and it was way harder on my head than my muscles.  Luckily I could legally wear the wet suit that I rented because the water temp was below 78 degrees.  It was really the only thing that helped me calm down when I felt like I was gonna loose it.

A short re-cap....at least I'll try to keep it short. 
I woke up at 5:45 am and thought I'd just lay there til the alarm went off. The alarm didn't go off at 5:50 am as planned.  When I checked I saw that I had set it incorrectly the night before - was set for 5:50 pm.....I don't know how I woke up on time, but I did.

I had breakfast and got dressed.  I had loaded the bike and packed my bags the night before so I was ready to go.  It took me about 20-25 minutes to get there and parked.  I parked behind a woman who was there to watch the race.  Her DIL was volunteering as a noodle swimmer.  I told her that I would say hi since odds are I would probably be meeting her.  (I didn't.)
I met friends on the way there and we walked to the transition area to set up our things and rack our bikes.  Setting up your transition area is an artform all on it's own.  You need your helmet, sunglasses, socks/shoes, race bib, etc all set and ready to go when you need them.  And some people have shoes just for biking/just for running.  We then went and got "marked up" with our race #, age, and swim wave.  We got our timing chip, and had time for a bathroom run before the mandatory swim meeting at 7:40. 




I was in swim wave 6 - start time 8:15.  I was a deer in headlights.  Can you see me up there??  Off to the left - white swim cap.  Anyone that hugged me and wished me good luck brought tears to my eyes.  I didn't know what to expect and didn't know if I was going to be swimming in on my own or riding in on a boat because I'd had to be picked up.  The swim route is sort of like a triangle....you swim out at an angle (150 yards), turn a corner - swim the backstretch (200 yards), swim back at an angle (150 yards).  They set us off and I walked very slowly into the water, letting others plow on ahead.  I didn't want to louse up anyone's rhythm.  Finally I got to a point where it was time to lift my feet up and go - I didn't think about it too much and am actually surprised that I didn't freeze right there.  The toughest thing was just sticking my head in the water and finding a rhythm....actually I never did do that.  Tried once and it was so unnerving not to know what was ahead of me.  So most of the time my head was bobbing at water level - much of what was exhausting me in the beginning.  I skipping the first noodle person and went to the second.  Stayed a minute - then skipped another noodle person and went to Cathy.  (At this point I was hanging out with them....I might as well get their name.)  I stayed with Cathy about 2 minutes because by then the next wave was coming up on me and I just wanted to let them go by.  I think I stayed too long because she pretty much had to say - get going!  Just do it!  This was right before the first turn and I think that was intimidating me too. 

I went around the turn, and then started back floating - back floated past a noodle person (I think) and then flipped over to see where I was.  I couldn't see anything - no swimmers, no noodle people, no buoys.  I didn't have the first clue which direction to swim.  For some reason things were turned around for me - it didn't seem like I was going in the right direction - yet I didn't know which direction I had come from.  It was at this point - looking back, that I would have panicked big time if it hadn't been for the wet suit.  In that - I could easily tread water and know that I wasn't going down.  Just find a noodle person, get to them and ask directions. :)  And that's what I did.  I was a little less than halfway.

From this point on, I didn't try to skip noodles.  I went to every noodle, just didn't stay very long.  30-45 seconds.  Enough time to get their name and make my offer to run twice as long later, if they would just take me to shore now.  They were great - very encouraging and calming.  In the end I finally hit the sand with my feet - sweet, sweet sand.  I wasn't very dizzy getting out of the water - I expected worse.  Probably because I spent as much time vertical in the water as horizontal. 

My swim time - 28:53.  I beat my initial guess by 67 seconds. :)  So that's something, right?  Plus - there are TWO people that finished the race and were slower in the water than me.  I'm thinking the 3 of us should get together and commiserate.

I pulled off the top of my wet suit, saw great friends cheering me on as I climbed up the sand - which made me cry...again.  I washed my feet off in the kiddie pools waiting for us and ran to the transition area to get my bike.  Pulled off the wet suit (easily)...pulled on my running skirt, socks, ankle wrap, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, and watch.  I was ready to go off on my bike.  Time for all this madness - 4:08.  I got held up a few times when I was getting wet suit off and putting my ankle wrap on because I kept having to take my timing chip off.  (It was velcroed onto my ankle)  Then I'd put it back on only to find out I have to take it off again to get the ankle wrap on. 

Next up - 15.5 miles on the bike.

5 days and counting....

I realized I haven't updated much on my ankle - been busy these last 2 weeks.  The first week after I hurt my ankle I thought it was healing pretty well - I could walk on it with out much of a limp.  Then about 7 days in - holy hell.  I had pressed it the wrong way getting up one day and pretty much had to start all over again.  The swelling came back - couldn't put all my weight on it, etc.  Now it's about 2-1/2 weeks after the initial fall and it feels pretty good.  I got a compression wrap to wear and that helps a lot.  It just feels more secure.  I've ridden the bike, gone running and swimming and it feels pretty good.  Aches for a while afterwards, but feels ok during the actual activity.  So I'm sure it will be fine for the race - however, I'll still wear the wrap for the bike and the run portions. 

My final swimming lesson is tonight - they have helped a lot and I've learned some great tips and things to work on.  I've been promised a whole lane tonight - so far I've just been working in about 5-6 meters, flipping, breathing, etc. and have only swum lanes on my own.  I'm having issues with the 3rd/4th breath while I swim and at that point I flip over because I'm not getting good air.  I'm hoping to correct that and get better.  If not, well - then I'll just do more flipping during the race and that's ok too. 

The race is Sunday.  If the water temperature is below 84 degrees, they will allow me to wear a wet suit which will provide me with more buoyancy, and I'll only have to focus on forward movement.  I'll get done faster, but won't be eligible for finishing prizes.  That's ok - I'm a ways off from that.....
While I will feel more comfortable during the actual swim - I'll be a bit anxious about getting the damn thing off during the transition.

My friend Anne (aka Debbie Downer) has told me that she thinks the water temp will be warmer than 84 because we've had such a long warm spring/summer.  (That's ok Anne....I still love ya. Little does she know I'll be attaching a rope to her ankles so she can pull me along....)  No anxiety about the transition without the wet suit.....now just the water.  Which I'll be fine anyway - just will take longer. 

Here's my expected finishing time for each portion......
Swim - 30 minutes
Transition to bike - 4 minutes
Bike - 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes
Transition to run - 2 minutes
Run - 30-35 minutes

My starting time is 8:15....so I should be done around 10:15-10:30 depending on how much my ankle yells at me for doing all 3 at the same time.  I'm really upset that I hurt my ankle at all.  I mean I was only worried about the swim - I felt totally comfortable with the bike and run portion.  Now, it's my ankle that makes me think those parts will take longer - well, on the run anyway.  And that last leg was going to be my favorite part.  Well, maybe "favorite" is too strong of a word - but it was the part that I knew the best.  I know what I will feel like, I KNOW that I can do that portion well, I know how to calm my mind and body down when it's telling me to stop.  I'm getting there on the bike....I'm more comfortable with it, and I know what my body feels like on a long ride, and how I can get it to just give a little more without stopping.  That "override the brain" feature is what I'm missing in the swim.  My head says "What are you doing!?  You can't do this!  Flip over and grab on to something!"  I remember those thoughts going through my head when I first started running too.  It'll come.  I'm just not sure I enjoy swimming enough to keep trying. 

Another request

I've added a new Caring Bridge website over on the right side.....there's another little girl and her family who would really benefit from some prayers, good vibes, happy thoughts - whatever you got. 

The Olympics are coming!

After this whirlwind of birthday action, Katie informed me that we forgot Molly's birthday which we had assigned to the 23rd.  Oh well.  She seems ok with it.  She's 2.  Things like that happen as you get older.

I fell down the stairs last Saturday and rolled my ankle.  It hurt more than anything I recently remember - thought for sure I cracked or broke something, but after I was able to put weight on it about a hour later we decided that x-rays could wait.  We had tickets to go to Batman, and a babysitter was on her way.  I did have an x-ray on Sunday and they didn't see any cracks or breaks - just a sprain so they gave me a splint and told me to stay off it for 2 days.  Yeah, like that's gonna happen.  But thanks to John I was able to spend most of Sunday off it, and took the splint off yesterday.  It feels pretty good - I can walk without a limp.  There are moments when it hurts - going down stairs, some ankle circles, etc.  But overall it's pretty good.  When I was rolling the trash cans out last night I even tried jogging back up to the house and it felt ok.  Did some jumps on it, and it held up fine.  So if it's going to be a little cooler this weekend maybe I can work in a 2 mile run or so to see how things are.  My tri is 2 weeks from this Sunday!

I have my 2nd swimming lesson tonight.  My instructor is Amy and she is very encouraging and has really helped me with my flipping over in the water.  I still need to tweak my breathing though.  I swam last Friday - before the fall.  All the lanes in the 25 meter pool were taken and I didn't feel like lane sharing.  So I went to the lane in the other pool, but it's only 20 meters.  I was able to do 10 laps (400 meters) and did NOT feel like throwing up!  I didn't feel like I was overly exhausted - although I still did some resting at each wall (30-120 seconds).  I would have done more but I was getting frustrated because I kept getting mouthfuls of water and not enough air.  I think I just need to turn over more when I breathe.  However, my turns onto my backfloat and then returning into a front float were great.
The race director of the tri even e-mailed me back (because I had sent her a question) and verified that their goal is to have a noodle swimmer every 25 meters.  Other than 20 noodle swimmers they will also have 15 lifeguards and 3 boats in the water.  She pretty much guaranteed me that they would save my butt if I needed it.

I also fully expect to be inspired by watching the Olympics which start tomorrow!  Opening ceremonies start at 6:30....swimming and men's gymnastics start Saturday night.  To get you through til then, here's some shots of Katie from gymnastics camp a few weeks ago.

2 very short videos....sorry for the blurry footage.  My camera was losing power!

Birthday pictures!

A re-cap from Will's birthday.

Angel food cake topped with strawberries and whip cream! 

I even found the "5" candle we used when Katie turned 5!

Katie found Will a Star Wars game at a garage sale.  It's an easy game of luck - which Will has yet to win.

And of course, a talking, web-shooting Spider Man.



And yes, Will did get his "Joker house" which topped the list of his bithday wish list.  It even topped my list because I found a used one for $10!

Today's plan

Even though we didn't get any rain yesterday - it's relatively cooler and less sticky today.  A nice treat before the weekend warms it up again.  Speaking of the weekend.....The Dark Knight Rises opens this weekend!  Have you got your tickets?  Of course - we already have ours. :)

Katie is at "Safety Camp" all day today.  Our city sponsors it and they discuss fire safety, water safety, bike safety and a few other related topics as well.  Katie got to take her bike and helmet and will get to ride through an obstacle course of sorts that simulates the rules of the road.  It goes all day and they provide lunch, snacks, water, juice, a t-shirt, etc.  Pretty darn good for $22.

Will also has a play date/ birthday party today at a friend's house from school.  So that means I have about 2 hours to myself!  My plan is to ride my bike for about 10 miles near the nature center and then run a few miles after that.  Since it's pretty comfortable out, it should be doable.  I also start my swimming lessons tonight so I'll work in all 3 activities today!

And some pictures......

The kids (and John) found a big frog in the backyard last week.  Usually we just get a lot of little toads.

Of course Will wanted to bring it in the house while we ate supper.  So we found a plastic box with a lid and he sat and watched us eat. 

Molly was VERY interested...

...and wouldn't leave her new "friend's" side.

A bit of this and that

It's almost 8 am and a pack of (non-wild) girls....13-15 year olds, just ran by the house.  Gosh, at least 12 of them our exercising in a group run.  Oooop, there goes another smaller pack a little bit behind....  That's a lot of organization for before 8 am.

A woman walking her big dog was having a hard time getting him out of the neighbor's yard sprinkler.  He was having a good time getting cooled off and getting a drink.

This past weekend my husband's brother, Jim, came to stay with us and we all went to a Twins game.  They lost, but it was a fun game.  It's really hard to find 5 tickets together that aren't all in the sun for most of the game.  So John and his brother found a pair in the shade on Club level, and the kids and I found some out in the outfield overlook.  Even finding 3 was hard - I guess you aren't supposed to go to the game in odd numbers. 

The kids were very well behaved.  When we were leaving after the 3rd inning to meet John and Jim TC Bear was shooting out t-shirts in our area.  We stood in the aisle about 10 seats down from where we were sitting.  Wouldn't you KNOW it?  That damn bear shot a t-shirt right into Katie's seat.  The lady sitting next to us reached over and handed the shirt to the boy sitting in front of us.  When we returned to our seats with cotton candy and cracker jacks we were filled in by our other neighbor on how we missed the t-shirt shooting.  "Yes," I replied, "we saw it.....why do you think we came back with cotton candy?"

I swam again last night too - after I put Will to bed.  I got 8 laps in - 3 with the kickboard, 5 swimming freestyle/backfloating.  Other than feeling like I was going to throw up and crying in the hot tub afterwards, it went well.  (Eye roll.)  I spose my endurance level is improving if nothing else.  And like everyone tells me, I'm getting comfortable in the water.  (I am?)

Swimming is hard.  It's more physically taxing than I anticipated and the mental issues are sometimes overwhelming.  Do you want to hear about my experiences as a child?  Of course you do....
It was nothing traumatic, but I remember it very clearly.  I started out taking 2 summers of private lessons.  I worked with a sweet girl - Casey.  She was the daughter of a high school teacher and very patient with me when I refused to do things she wanted me to try.  She is the sole reason I can backfloat today - I still hear her voice in my ear telling me to push out my belly button.  After 2 summers, my parents didn't want to pay for private lessons anymore - public lessons were cheaper and I thought I was ready.  I must have been about 7-8 and was taking swimming lessons at the local pool, (indoor at the time).  My aunt Carol was taking me because I was staying with her for the week, and the lessons were every day.  I started at station 1.  In order to move on to the next level, you had to do 10 bobs.  I finished that the first day and moved on to Station 2.  Station 2 was doing a front float for 10 seconds, and backfloating for 10 seconds.  It took me a couple days, but I finally did it, and moved on to "3".  Station 3 was where we had to front float across over half the width of the pool and backfloat back.  On my first day at Station 3, I could front float across fine.  But then on the backfloat, I would always stop in the middle thinking I couldn't do it.  On my (maybe) 3rd attempt the jackass running station 3 yelled at me in front of everyone when I stopped.  "What do you think you're doing!?!  You stop, you lose!  Don't be such a baby!  You're never going to get anything right!  You're never going to swim!" and on and on....

I went back to the wall, crying.  I got to the steps, walked out of the pool told my aunt I wanted to go home and I never went back.  I never even went back to that swimming pool with friends.  A few years later they renovated the pool and made it an outdoor one, I think I went there twice before I graduated high school.  I still remember the asshole.  He graduated with my brother, and my husband.  Years later, in high school - he was a sub for my German class and I remember telling him (out of the blue) that I didn't like him at all, and he wasn't a very good teacher.  He was a sub - he said nothing. 

So here we are.  I'm trying to convince myself that I can swim, but there's a giant voice in my head saying that I'll never do it.  Hence - the crying when I got out of the pool after 8 laps.  I had wanted to do 10, but I just didn't have anything else in me for the night.  I have my first lesson Thursday night.  I doubt anyone at FOSS will make me cry, but I'll let you know if they do.   

My first real swim

So I went swimming by myself for the first time last Thursday.  I did activate my free 3-month Lifetime membership and I was right - it's a full 3 months.  The great news is that the kids can come with me for free.  There's no extra charge for them to go to the kid's place while I work out and they can also go swimming with me later.  

Katie was spending the afternoon with friends so I dropped Will off at the play place and went off to swim.  There were lap lanes open so I didn't have to share.  I'm not quite smart enough to do that just yet, let alone good enough.  I decided to use a kick board first - no arms, just work on my kicks and see how effective they are.  Boy, it was a LONG way down the length of the pool.  I think my kicks could be a lot better and hopefully they'll be able to give me some pointers at my lessons.  I did 4 lengths of the pool with the kickboard, then 2 lengths swimming freestyle, then another 2 with the kickboard and finally 2 more freestyle.  That's 5 laps total, half of what would be done in the tri.  Each time I got to a wall, I waiting 30-60 seconds at least.  I'm not at a point where I can just keep going.  Also, the last lap I did freestyle I had to switch to a backfloat about 3/4 of the way down each time.  BUT, I feel comfortable on my back and can at least keep moving.  I just can't see where the hell I'm going. 

I keep reminding myself it was this way when I started running.  Remember?  Remember when I could only run 1-2 minutes at a time and running a whole mile seemed downright laughable?  Like anything else, it WILL get easier.  Any progress towards improvement will give me the positive boost I so need right now.  It was a bit disheartening to struggle so much.  It's hard for me to not be able to do something, and even harder to admit it to other people.  I may be able to get in the water today - depending on the kids.  If I can talk them into letting me swim first this afternoon....then I'll be able to get a few minutes in.  Otherwise, I think I should focus on lifting some weights at home and working on upper body strength - of which I have none it seems. 

Next week I start my lessons.  Every Thursday night at 8 for 3 weeks. If nothing else, it's more time in the water. 

Friday Funny

I have a distinct feeling that this applies to everyone in my house.....not just the kids. :)

Didn't happen.....yet

Ok, ok.  I know I said I was going to swim last night, but it didn't happen.  With Will's birthday yesterday the whole night kind of got away from me.  I still have 4 Wednesday swim workouts I can do and a friend, who is a super-star swimmer, is going to go with me next week (probably to make sure I go!) :)

BUT, I am planning on going swimming today.  I got to thinking about my Lifetime membership that I won.  Did I tell you about that???  Our county hosted a "Get Up and Go" program earlier this spring and you kept track of your workouts online.  If you logged 150 minutes per week you got entered into a weekly drawing.  At the end they had some extra drawings and I won a 3 month single membership to Lifetime Fitness.  We used to be Lifetime members before Will was born, so I'm familiar with what they offer.  At the location in our town they have a really great outdoor pool and indoor pool that have swim lanes always open for adults. 

The downside is that it is a single membership, but I can add on extras to it so that the kids and John can go too.  I'll have to see how much that is.  In any case, I'll have to add the kids because it will be nice to be able to swim while they are having some time in the child center.  That way I can do it whenever - not just after 6 pm. 

When I first got the certificate it had an expiration date of 7/31/12.  That meant it was only going to be good for about a month, not 3 months.  But as I got to reading it today it sounds like I have to activate it by 7/31/12....but then it's still good for 3 months once it's activated.  So that would be VERY nice. I left a message for the membership coordinator lady and she's supposed to call me back.  Once she does, I'm taking Will at 2:00 to head there and check it out.  I don't have "Pebbles" today and Katie is playing at a friend's house this afternoon.  No excuses, right???  It would sure be nice if the TWO places I called to get some lessons would call me back to schedule those!  However, I did get a swimsuit to use for training.  Not sure if I will wear it in the race though.  I'm not too sure how I feel about running in it yet.  I will have to try it out.

Happy Birthday Will....

And now he's 5!

It's time...

I awoke last night and had somewhat of a panic attack.  My triathlon is in 34 days and I haven't really done much swimming.  At all.

So here we go - I'm off to get myself a good one-piece swimsuit and making plans to start my workout swims tomorrow night.  The Rec Center offers lap workouts from 8:30-9:15 every Wednesday night for $4. 
The description says "This drop in class is available for intermediate and advanced swimmers who need extra help with technique and endurance.  A Water Safety Instructor will coach from the pool deck and provide a work-out and help swimmers with their strokes and turns.  Swimmers must be 18 years old or older and be able to swim 50 yards (1 lap) of the pool."  Well, I can swim 1 lap.....and that's about it.  Then I'd have to rest a few minutes.  Do I qualify?  Will I embarrass the hell out of myself if I go?  I spose I won't know til I try, but....

I have contacted the director about setting up 1-2 private lessons for myself to just get some pointers on breathing/arm control, etc.  I haven't heard back from her yet, so I'm going to explore another option today as well.  Maybe I can get in the water twice a week for the next 4 weeks. 

I think I'm really scared of swimming.  I'm scared of not being good enough, not being able to get better, not enjoying it.  I can swim short distances - 50 yards I spose, and that's about it.  I get going and I feel like I have to swim like a bat out of hell because I start to panic.  I tell myself that's just because I don't feel confident in the water, and with practice I will get there.  The problem is, I actually have to practice.  I can't just rationalize it in my head.  It was that way with running too - I could run about 2-3 blocks and then have to stop because my head was freaking out and telling me I couldn't do it.  With time, I was able to increase the distance and now enjoy my short 3-5 mile runs.  (Enjoy is a relative term....)

So now it's time.  It's time to get wet and see what happens. 

Fun Pictures

Everyone likes pictures...and here's some no one has seen yet - even better. 

AND FYI - the kids DID get up for fireworks last week.  We returned home about 10:45 and were getting jammies on and brushing our teeth.  I always have moments of "It's not worth it to stay up so late for fireworks."  But, you can bet we'll do it again next year. 
It occurred to me that Katie has attended fireworks on the 4th of July every year she's been born.  We even took her with she was 17 days old!  Will missed them his first year - he was almost 1, and we were watching them in the backyard at our home we live in now.  We could somewhat see them at that time....now the trees have grown too tall.  I believe I let him sleep because we were just in the backyard, and he was still waking up 3-4 times a night!  Odds were good he'd wake up for them anyway, but he didn't. 

Katie in her jazz get-up from dance this year. 

Warning to family: We have her dance recital DVD....be ready to watch a bit the next time we see you....

Katie in her ballet outfit.  Her short hair REALLY looked pretty with this one.

The non-profit group that I work with had a photography fundraiser a few months ago and these were some shots that I liked.  It was exactly 2 days before we got Katie's hair cut off.

Always a superhero...there was no sense in trying to get him to wear something else.

Katie has a moment to shine by herself.



Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all are having or had a nice 4th of July.  We are hoping to make it to fireworks tonight....but it's 7:20 and both kids have been sleeping for the last hour.  So they may or may not feel like going at 9:30....we'll see.

WHY are they so tired, you ask?  Here's why......

Instead of hanging around for the parade, we went and visited some friends that have a pool. 

Katie and Will spent a LOT of time swimming and having a great time in the 100+ degree weather!

The water was almost hot.

Not only do these friends let us play in their pool - they also feed us!!

Their dog, Missy is waiting for any leftovers.

Odds and ends

Just a jumble of pictures that I haven't shared yet.....

Katie's birthday party.  She requested a fruit pizza instead of cake, and that was just fine by me!

Will and Katie are taking swimming lessons - they are both doing great!

My favorite new beach.  The sand could be a little softer, but it's a great place to swim!

Ok - Here's an extra Saturday Silly to compensate for my poor effort of a Friday funny yesterday.
It came from http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/mom-takes-childrens-songs-literally


Mom Takes Children’s Songs Literally.


BY Sarah Schmelling

- - - -What do you mean, she’ll get here “when she comes”? That’s not a time. How can I plan around that?
- -And we’ll all have chicken and dumplings? All of us? Even you three vegetarians? Who’s going to be cooking these dumplings anyway? Remember that time I made pierogies? No, I bet you don’t remember that.
- -Okay, someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah. What is this, a guessing game? And no one’s going to be “strumming on the ol’ banjo” in my house. I’m not stupid.
- -You are not a little teapot, honey. You’ve just got my hips. I’m sorry.
- -You’re paying far too much attention to that very, very small spider.
- -No, you can’t put a person in a pumpkin shell. Really, I’m starting to worry about you.
- -Is the old man snoring? Or is he in a coma? Because if he bumped his head and can’t get up we need to call someone. And it’s going to be tricky since it’s raining. And it’s pouring.
- -Well nobody asked you to carry a banjo all the way from Alabama.
- -I don’t care how many of them there are, get the monkeys out of the bedroom!
- -Again with the old man. Tell him to leave your thumb alone. What the heck is “knick-knack”? I thought he was snoring a minute ago.
- -A snowman is marching through town? Are you drunk?
- -What are you talking about, “how I wonder what you are”? It’s a star. You just said it was a star.
- -GET THE BABY OUT OF THE TREE. NOW.
- -What are you doing asking a sheep if it has wool? And I hope that’s not the same lamb that’s been following Mary around.
- -That’s a lot of pressure, telling someone they’re your “only sunshine.” Are your ready to take that step?
- -What? The bridge is falling down? For Christ’s sake stop singing!

Friday Funny

I can't rememer if I've already used this one.....so just in case, you get two today.  They aren't very good, but hell it's better than nothing. :)

The next (insert famous pitcher's name)

Katie and I went camping on Friday night with her Girl Scout troop. While we were gone, John and Will had a boy's night which included a lot of baseball.  John found Will's glove and they played catch and worked on throwing.  Will was to stand and throw the baseball at the tree.  When he showed me the next day - I was surprised at how good he had gotten!  I have a movie to prove it, but am too lazy to upload it at the moment, so I'll try that later this week.

Take note of his good form!

Happy Joe's

It's funny.....when there's not much going on, I have plenty of time to blog - but nothing to blog about. When I'm super busy there's a lot to say and no time to say it. 

I'll start with these birthday pictures of Katie at Happy Joe's Father's Day weekend.  Katie was totally excited to have the entire restaurant's focus on her.  (I should have know.)

Thank you to Mary, Jim, Denise and Wally for celebrating with us!

Since it was also Father's Day, dads got a free sundae.  Wally didn't want his so Will was able to have a little ice cream of his own.

8 Years Old!

Today is Katie's birthday!  Wow.  8 Years old.  It's getting serious now.  I had read that at age 8, girls usually experience their first surge of hormones that can suddenly bring on growth spurts and mood swings.  I think she started that already.  The mood swings, anyway.  Although we always see that around her birthday.   Will usually gets difficult at the half year mark.  At least they're on different rotations.

Our plans for today....Happy Joe's.  We've invited some family and are going to have some pizza and ice cream in true Happy Joe's form.  I was told (I don't really remember) that when I was about 4 or 5....we went to Happy Joe's for my birthday.  All was well until they brought out the free ice cream.  That's the point where they turn on the siren which fills the restaurant and the whole staff gets everyone to sing Happy Birthday while the birthday child stands on their chair.  I. Was. Mortified.  I told my family to NEVER sing that song again and each time we went to Happy Joe's I made sure that they were NOT going to pull that again. 

It's time to pass along that feeling of embarrassment.  Ahhh, tradition.  Be ready for pictures this time.

Friday Funny

Gearing up for the Olympics.....