Triathlon

I don't know why, but completing a triathlon has been on my bucket list :).  This past summer, the stars aligned and the timing was right for me to train all summer for one! I found a 13 weeks training schedule and did a pretty good job sticking to it. The kids got toted to the gym a LOT. It felt so good to work out, picturing myself competing. After our summer vacation and losing some ground I was discouraged and almost gave up, but I pushed through and it paid off! On Labor Day I completed my first tri! It was a sprint-400m swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run. Vickie loaned me her old bike and it was so nice and light. It was the Towne Lake Triathlon and while the water was a perfect temperature the visibility was literally zero! That made the swim somewhat difficult. Plus I held back in my heat because I figured I wasn't a strong swimmer but I'm better than I thought and I got stuck behind a few people :).  The bike was a breeze and the run was brutal! After biking when I started to run I felt like my legs were made of jello and I just couldn't get them to move very fast. But either way, I finished!! It was one of the best feelings ever.

Pre-race. In my tri-suit. A comfy, embarrassing spandex piece :)

 

 

 Post-race with my awesome medal (and shirt that I threw on after the swim). Jared and the kids came to watch me finish and were there but somehow didn't see me! That was a bummer.

 

My car decal! I bought it several weeks before the race and put it on the afternoon after my race :)

August Summary

As I get back to blogging, it's not going to be fancy! Here's our August in a nutshell of photos.

 

 

A few from our Utah vacation:

 

Justin mastered counting to 100 by himself and so he joined the '100 club' and got a crown. Of course little brother needed one too!

 

Fun at Chuck E. Cheese

 

The biggest sundae ever! We all shared it. 

 

Lindsey's first scarf completed with her knitting machine. 

 

We got a new Kroger grocery store and it has mini shopping carts for the kids. For the most part they all stayed in control (except when Noah occasionally gets someone's heel when he doesn't stop). I don't think I'll ever push a cart again!

The Many Sleeps of Noah

Life as a third child can be crazy and tough! Noah is the sweetest boy, always happy, and gets toted everywhere while I take his older siblings places. As a result, he grabs a nap whenever, wherever he can! These were all from this month, too!

Okay, he's not actually sleeping in this one-he was car sick from our drive home from Utah this summer so we stopped at a rest stop, threw down a blanket, and let him rest.

Napping during nursery at church. The result of 1pm church.

He fell asleep before I had a chance to put him to bed.

Lindsey's the best big sister to snuggle with!

On a mini-trampoline? I don't even know why! :)

Cy-Fair festival day

There was a little festival at the local college that we went to. It was kind of hot, but still fun!

 

She better be enjoying that pony ride-we stood in line for almost an hour!

 

Petting Zoo 

 

All the free goodies. 

September memories

Well, my blog has transformed from my efforts at wit and creativity to a journal for me. I think some of my favorite posts now, though, are the ones with random pictures from a month. It just captures our day-to-day joys, activities, etc...Reminds me of the fun we find everyday!

 

Family 'picnic' in the family room.

Noah's first fat lip. It was pretty swollen!

 

Discovering the cabinets. It might be time to consider cabinet locks! 

 

 

Tent time with brother!

 

New bunk beds all set up. (well, new to us. They belonged to Jared and his siblings when they were younger!)

 

 

Pulling out the poses for the camera!



The heat is breaking

 

 

It's finally getting cool enough to enjoy some time in the backyard on an activity that doesn't involve water.

 

 

Noah hasn't really enjoyed swings yet, he's not much of a thrill seeker-doesn't like being tossed, turned, thrown around :) But this little swing we have was just right for him.