Warrior Dash

Big Shot in Vegas and now the Warrior Dash! Mid-life crisis? Maybe! Though I believe I am still a year or two too young to be "mid-life." Thanks to my great, and persistent friend, Jodi, I signed up for "the craziest frickin' day of your life!" The Warrior Dash. And it was crazy! Crazy fun! I was so not looking forward to this race from the minute I signed up but the day before the race I decided to change my attitude and embrace the craziness of it all. This race is a 5k, but we had 12 obstacles along the route to maneuver too. I had been training half-heartedly for a couple months but was still unable to run a full 3 miles by the day of the race. It turned out to be not a problem because there was very little runable terrain on the course. The first mile or so was obstacle free, except for the hills we had to trudge almost straight up. No one warned us about those or I would have done more hill work in preparation. It turned out the race was not focused on being able to run a 5k, but being able to endure through the 5k. My whole family was there to cheer me on and Jodi and her son rode with us too. We were so nervous before the race started but we did fine on the course. I was afraid I would be the very last finisher of the day and all the workers would be waiting for me to drag my behind over the finish line, but I actually finished 3820th out of 5400 competitors on Saturday alone! My time was a respectable 1:00:40.55 Jodi beat me by 6 seconds! I thought I did pretty well till I saw a 78 year old lady beat me by a few minutes. Oops.

I was most concerned about the fireman pole obstacle. I had no idea going into the race how its done without getting friction burns on my hands or legs. When I finally got to it I looked at it for a second and said the heck with it and climbed on. I was able to hold myself pretty well till I started to get lower where my wet pants had gotten the pole wet and slippery and I kind of just slid down. No burns! I was so happy that one was done! Our first obstacle was in the lake, climbing out of chest high water and slithering over huge logs in our way. Lets just say that one was a team effort. And really, the whole race was. Jodi was my own personal cheerleader, as well as everyone else on the course. We were all willing to lend a hand or a shout to keep someone moving through the race. It was very cool. The people that is. The temperature gauge in my car said it was 97 as we arrived at 3:30pm. Luckily 99% of the course was in the trees so it was warm, but totally manageable. Our families even found some shade to watch the runners so they were OK too.

There were plenty of climbing obstacles, cargo nets to traverse, wobbly platforms to run across, hills to climb, fire to jump, and of course, the mud pit. Not my favorite obstacle and one I could have done without, but it was the very last one of the race so at least we weren't trying to run with all that mud on us. As we got to the mud pit there was a ledge of mud to get over. A guy to my right thought he would launch himself onto it and I saw him belly flop and yell "UGH!" I knew there had to be a better way! I went as far left as possible to a somewhat less slimy part and was able to climb up the ledge and slide down into the pit on my booty. That's why I am a tad bit cleaner than Jodi in the pictures but I think Jodi had a GREAT time in the mud and wore it like a badge of honor!

We were so proud of ourselves. We didn't skip a single obstacle and we made it through without injuries and other runners behind us. What more could we ask? It was so much fun and I hope it is back in Oregon next year so I can do it again. I was cursing Jodi for getting my into the race but now I want to thank her. What an awesome experience with an awesome friend!

Here is one of the obstacles with some future Warriors!

Toot! Toot!

That sound you hear is me tooting my own horn! January 7th of this year I took a good look at myself in the mirror and was horrified at what I saw! I was grossly overweight and I looked and felt awful. I decided I had no more excuses and now was the time to get myself back to normal. 8 years ago normal, before I got pregnant with Drew normal. But that normal was a looooooong ways away. I had half-heartedly tried to loose weight over the past few years but this time I was finally totally ready to do what needed to be done to get myself back in shape. And it has been no easy task. I had to start at the very beginning, which was a bit humiliating actually. I started level 1 of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and I was unable to do more than a few jumping jacks at a time. I had to buy braces for both my knees as I was pounding them with all the extra weight. I had to have insoles for my shoes to help with my plantar fasciitis, which is related to being overweight. It was rough. It took me a long time to be able to get through level 1 doing modified movements. I started Weight Watchers on-line which really works for me. I need to be accountable to someone or something and I also like watching my weight go down every week on their cool graphs ;) I stuck with WW for 2 months and then felt like I had a grasp on the plan and set out on my own. There really was no magic formula to my weight loss. Exercise and eating right are what did it for me. Imagine that! I cut down portion sizes to where they are supposed to be, and I cut out a lot of the extra junk food. The first 2 weeks were awful, I was hungry and craving sweets, but I made it through and it was so much easier after that. I still drink Dr Pepper, still have an occasional bowl of ice cream, and still pop a chip or two in my mouth every once in a while. I knew I needed a plan I could live with for the rest of my life and I didn't want to live without my Dr Pepper and ice cream! I am sure I could have lost more weight and even faster if I had cut those out totally, but I didn't want to be miserable and I knew I couldn't keep that up. I started running at the high school track, or should I say walking with sporadic bursts of plodding in between. I was so proud of myself when I ran 2 laps straight! After a few months I was tired of the track and was running farther so I started running around the community and also walking the hills in our neighborhood. Lately I have been doing Jillian 3 mornings a week and run/walking 3 miles hopefully 5 nights a week, but that will cut down since the weather is changing. It was a struggle, leaving the kids every night I could during the summer to run for an hour, but I made the committment and Paul was more than supportive of me getting out there. It was really nice to have an hour to myself too, along with getting exercise. So anyway, so far I have lost 37 lbs! I have 10lbs to go before I am pre-Drew weight but I figure why stop there? I am more than halfway to my goal but I still have a ways to go, and it might be difficult with the holidays creeping up on us. I think I will be OK though since I have lost so much and worked so hard I really don't want to sabotage it with extra helpings of mashed potatoes or pumpkin pie. I can do this! I will do this! And I cannot express how much the support and encouragement from those around me has helped me keep on task. I refuse to be a mom who can't run and play with her kids. I want to have adventures and be able to survive! I would have included before and after pictures but I didn't want to be reminded of how I used to look, and I haven't reached my after yet! I probably won't admit to how much weight I loose in the end, just because it makes me cringe to say 37lbs and know that I still have more to go. I am so proud yet so disgusted at the same time. Anyway, that's me tooting my own horn. I am losing weight and it feels amazing!

Back to School

Mason started kindergarten this year! He was so ready to go, and I was so ready for him to go, or so I thought. The night before the first day of school I was helping him with his prayer and I was just sobbing at the thought of him leaving me. I am no longer his primary source of information, I will loose my smartest person in the world status to his teacher, if he is anything like Drew, and he will have interests and friends that I am no longer a part of or in control of. Yikes this is hard on mom! He seems to be doing great though. He has come home with a Mustang award 3 days running now. I don't know what he will do when he finally doesn't earn one for being good. He is much more easy going about the whole school thing than Drew is or was. I am so excited for him and all the amazing things he will learn to do in the next nine months. Pretty soon I'll have 2 kids reading! Amazing! And since he gets home at 10:30 its not like he's gone all that long. Those of us left at home are already starting to adjust, but I miss my little guy every once in a while.

Miss Drewsey is in 2nd grade! Been there, done that. She's a pro at full day school, riding the bus, navigating the cafeteria. She is big girl on campus since their school tops out at 2nd grade. She will have 2 teachers this year, as her main teacher is on maternity leave till Christmas. I think she will be fine though, she just trudges right along, doing all that is asked of her and enjoying the learning. She would probably name a school subject when asked what her favorite part of school is, where Mason has answered with recess and the toys in his classroom. 2 totally different kids but I know both will have great years!

Summer Smorgasbord

I decided to do an end of summer wrap-up instead of seperate posts. This was my garden this year. Tons of green beans, a few peas, enough yellow squash, 1 lemon cucumber, a few green cucumbers, corn that didn't grow, a pumpkin plant that didn't ever produce, and tomatoes that are still trying their hardest to ripen on the vine. Not my best crop ever but thankfully I am a green bean fan and those worked so I won't complain too much. Oh! I also grew 3 heads of cauliflower for the first time. They tasted more like brussel sprouts than cauliflower but I like those too so it was ok. Those were my crowning achievement in the garden this summer!

We also picked and processed a ton of fruit, starting in June with strawberries. 10 pints of jam, 2 gallon bags frozen, 4 pints of raspberry jam and 2 obscure fresh raspberry desserts, 3 gallon bags frozen blueberries, 6 pints boysenberry jelly, 7 quarts canned peaches, 6 pies, and a cobbler, 2 gallon bags frozen green beans, and 19 quarts of applesauce, 2 gallon bags of dried apples and 2 pies. I believe that covers it. I love the fresh produce and picking but when I get all that fruit home I have to ask myself just what the heck I was thinking. Tons of work! Its fun to get the kids involved though and they are always willing pickers.

Mason experienced his first, and second, bee stings. He was watching tv and started screaming and ripping at his shirt. I pulled it off and sure enough a yellow jacket got him twice on the neck. We caught the bee and observed him under the jar. We also observed Mason to check for signs of being allergic to bees but luckily he wasn't. We seemed to have tons of bees in the back yard this summer. Enough that the kids stopped using the pool in August because of all the bees flying around and landing on the pool. Good for my garden though, I guess.

We took our annual camping trip to Cape Disappointment and the Kite Festival in August. My sister Samantha and her family joined us, along with another niece and nephew. They were great babysitters! They kept my kids entertained the entire time. It was an eye opener for me the first evening at the ocean. All of a sudden I had 4 able boddies all trying to do their own thing! No one was in a stroller and I admit I was a bit stressed trying to make sure they were all safe and not going too far out. Bree, Darcy, and Mason all went down in the surf at one time or another but I am happy to say we made it home will all 4 kids!

We had a great time playing with cousins, visiting Fort Stevens, eating at Dairy Queen (an extremely rare treat), seeing all the kites in the air, and of course, my reason for making the trip: Elephant Ears! YUM!

We were able to squeeze a trip to the zoo in the week before school started. That's always a good time, but once again, 4 bodies to manage running around in public. Heaven help me! This is one of those rare and elusive photos of all 4 kids actually looking at, and even smiling at the camera at the same time!

We also spent a day on the Columbia River with Paul's family. His sister Carmen has a boat which ferried us all over to our own private beach where we visited, swam, and ate! It was a great time. I was able to cross everything off my to-do list for the summer. Next summer we will add swimming lessons for 3 kids, probably another road trip, and of course more camping here and there. We love summertime!

Finally!

Drew FINALLY lost her first tooth! And I say finally because 1) she is 7 years and 3 months old, and 2) she had that darn tooth hanging by a thread in her mouth for a month! It was ready to come out 4th of July weekend but she was afraid to do it. It was driving me crazy, not sure why, but I really wanted her to pull the thing out. She refused to do it. She refused to let me do it. She even refused when grandpa and Uncle Jay said they would add a dollar to whatever the tooth fairy brought. No deal. Finally, on July 24th I had had it. I told her it wasn't good for her to leave it in and it was bad for the tooth underneath and she needed to pull it out before she went to bed for the night. At 9pm she still hadn't done it so I stormed off and told her to go to bed. She came up behind me seconds later, tapped me on the shoulder, and showed me the tooth in her hand! It barely bled and she said it didn't hurt at all. I felt kind of bad for guilting her into it, and I'm not sure why I was so worried about it being pulled, but I'm glad that ordeal is over. She was flying high that night. She was so excited and I was so glad it didn't hurt or bleed too badly so she won't be afraid to pull out the next ones. The next morning she found $5 under her pillow! I believe the tooth fairy will not be leaving that much next time. The permanent tooth was already starting to grow in by the next morning so unfortunately she won't have a jack-0-lantern face for Halloween. I am proud of her for finally pulling it herself. Drew is growing up!

Road Trip 2011!

Seems like every odd numbered year since Paul and I have been married we take off on an extended road trip. Alaska in '03, Four Corners area in '05, Maine and back in '07, Canada and Glacier National Park in '09, and Yellowstone in '11! We packed up the trailer and headed east Saturday, July 9th. We drove to Caldwell, ID and camped for the night. The next morning we met my sister in Nampa and exchanged another sister's baby backpack. She was heading home from her road trip and we were starting ours so it worked out perfectly. Kind of funny meeting in a Wal Mart parking lot in Idaho. That day we made our first stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Not quite a National Park but it was cool enough to be one. And it had the stamp for our NP passports so I was happy. We had a great time here. It was hot walking the trails in the black lava fields but the kids did great.

This mountain we all climbed was made up of very small lava rocks. It was a neat place when you got to the top and could see the valley below you. Its hard to believe that so much black rock could be so pretty but that area has a beauty about it. All our legs were able to make the climb, even Darcy's, I was so proud of her.

We made our way to the lava tubes and chose Indian Cave, where you didn't need a flashlight and much to Mason's dismay, this cave had no bats. It was nice and cool and we had a great time exploring it. I think this was Drew's favorite part of the trip. She said there was no way Yellowstone could be cooler than that and I never heard her say otherwise on the trip. She wanted to explore more tubes but in our true road trip style, we needed to push on! We don't stay put for long. That night we stayed at the KOA in Arco, ID and swam and had licorice ice cream(yuck).

Monday we drove to Jackson, WY and camped at the KOA. We had heard this was THE place to stay. Maybe if we were planning on rafting the Snake River, which we weren't. We were practically on top of the trailers around us but we had plans to explore Jackson, where Paul had great memories of as a kid so we didn't mind too much. Well, Jackson has changed since Paul was a kid. He remembered cowboys in chaps, acting out bank robberies, and crafts for kids to do. The Jackson we met was an upscale cowboy town, if you can picture that. All the shops downtown were very pricey. Even the ice cream shops were gourmet. So we spent about an hour and a half walking around in the heat and headed back to our air conditioned trailer and spent the afternoon cooped up together, eating Domino's pizza! I guess I can say I've been there, but I don't know why I'd ever need to go back to Jackson, WY.

Tuesday morning we entered Grand Teton National Park. I had supposedly been there when I was 2 but I didn't remember it. Well, Grand Teton National Park is what you see in the background of this picture. Just a mountain range. It was an impressive mountain range, but just a mountain range. We stopped at the visitor's center to get our stamp of course, but I think that may have been the only stop we made. Not much to do there, just a range to look at out the car window.

Here are 3 of our moose droppings showing off their antlers!

I had scheduled a much longer stay at this park but we ended up being done with it and pulling into our campground just north of the park at 12:40pm. Luckily we could check in that early!

Since we got there so early in the day we set up our trailer and headed north 5 miles into Yellowstone! Mason was grumbling as we got out of the car to take yet another picture of a sign. Better get used to is Mase, those are mom's favorite! That evening we visited the West Thumb area and got our first smell of the stinky geysers. Surprisingly the kids handled the smell a lot better than I did when I was 2, according to my parents. I guess it made me gag the whole time. Fun! That night we were finally able to whip out the fire materials and roast marshmallows. The mosquitoes were pretty bad at the camp site so Bree and I stayed in the trailer as much as possible. I guess the pull of a roasted marshmallow was stronger that an aversion to bugs for the others because they were out 2 of the 3 nights around the camp fire.

On Wednesday we went to see Old Faithful. Mason LOVED it. We were lucky enough to have it erupt about 5 minutes after we got there. What a way to start the day! We took the 3.5 mile walk around the geyser basin, looking at all the different stinky geysers and pools. We saw the beehive geyser erupt, which they say can erupt anywhere from every 10 hours to 5 days so I think we got pretty luck on that one. We loved the Morning Glory pool with its beautiful colors and Darcy and Drew were very concerned that stupid people actually throw trash into it, which lowers the temp and changes the colors. Darcy talked about that all day. My kids were very good about staying on the board walk that took you through the geysers. Well, the 3 oldest were. We never gave Bree the chance to prove herself. The poor girl was either strapped in her car seat or strapped in a stroller or back pack for 8 days. She was so not having fun. She would go stiff as a board and start screaming when we would try to put her in her seat and we just had to wait for her tummy muscles to get tired so she would bend and we could lock her in. The very few chances she got to run she took full advantage of. Good thing she won't remember the trip or she would probably claim child abuse. We went north to Mammoth Hot Springs and then out the North Entrance to see the famous Roosevelt Arch. Also to go into Montana so Bree can say she's been there ;) That night we got back to camp around 8 pm. Usually 3 nights camping in one spot for me is my limit but with all the exploring we were doing outside of camp it really didn't seem like we were there for 3 nights.

This beautiful bison was our first wildlife sighting! Well, I saw a couple of moose bodies in the bushes by the river the first evening but we figured we would see lots more so we didn't go back for everyone else to see. This bison walked right up the center of the road and passed withing inches of our car. Luckily on Paul's side. He has a picture of the guy's face right at the window. He was pretty impressive and just beautiful. The kids loved it. When all was said and done, we saw a million bison, a million elk, a coyote that may have been a wolf, a yellow bellied marmot, two halfway concealed moose bodies, and some squirrels and chipmunks. I was sooooo disappointed that we didn't see any bears! How in the world could we have seen all the northern National Parks that have these dire bear warnings posted everywhere and not see a single bear!? I don't get it. I was bummed. We were all bummed about not seeing anymore moose either. Guess we'll have to go back in a few years and try again.

Our last day at Yellowstone we stayed to the east. We went to Lake Village, where Bree terrorized the gift shop, and then on to Lower Falls, the most photographed spot in the park. Drew, Mason, and I took the mile hike along the Yellowstone Canyon to reach this picturesque spot. Paul and the little girls drove in a nice air conditioned car. It was beautiful though and the pine trees smelled so good! I recommend that hike to everyone. We were blessed with perfect weather in Yellowstone. There were a few minor thunderstorms and showers but we were always dry when we were hiking and it was about 75 the 3 days we were there. Perfect.

We had an extra day to mess with at the end of the trip and we considered trying for Mt Rushmore, but we didn't think the kids would enjoy it all that much being so young so we headed south to Utah instead. We got there Friday evening and went to Temple Square. It was HOT! UGH! Drew enjoyed the visitor's center and would have liked to stay longer but after Bree threw a handful of dirt from an indoor tree all over the cream colored carpet we were out of there. Maybe that was her payback for being cooped up for days. I was so mad.

Saturday morning we went to Heritage Park and saw "This is the Place!" Looks like a great place now, but I'm not sure I would have been thrilled with it if I was a pioneer coming through those mountains, seeing a dry desert valley and realizing this is the place. I am thankful I live when I do! The heritage park had a great place for kids. The 3 oldest took a pony ride, they washed clothes on an old scrub board, and thoroughly enjoyed the petting zoo. Bree could have played with the pigs all day long. She got in the middle of a head butting contest between a pig and goat, and she hugged a goat's behind. Luckily she didn't get kicked or pooped on before we got her off of him. We also drove around the U of Utah campus and tried to get a t-shirt but the bookstore was closed. So we headed west with thoughts of maybe camping that night back in Caldwell, but knowing we would probably just drive through the night to get home. We arrived home at 3am Sunday morning. I ended up with 9 loads of laundry but we had a really good trip and I'm so glad we did it. My kids are pretty good road trippers, Bree excluded. She better suck it up though, this is what we do best! Summer of 2013 Paul will be taking his sabatical which means 2 months off from work. You can bet I'm already planning a massive road trip!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Darcy and I have birthdays 2 days apart in July. Right after the 4th of July, which means we eat, eat, eat and party, party, party for a week straight! As you can see, Paul was more interested in getting a picture of my "cake" than of me blowing out the candles on my cake. It may look funny but this stuff is heavenly! Thus the name, Angel Delight! And also because its angel food cake I guess. I make it only once a year for my birthday and man, it is good! Too dangerous to allow myself to make it more often. For my birthday we went to the park by the river and ate Subway sandwiches. Fine with me, I didn't have to cook! We had a beautiful sunny day and it was so nice by the river. We even got to see a huge ship go by. I got a timer and soaker hose, so I wouldn't lose my garden while on vacation, and a Kindle! I am an old fashioned kind of girl when it come to books . . . I like them, so I wasn't sure I would be interested in the Kindle. But boy, I am like a kid in a candy store! All those books at my fingertips, where all I have to do is enter some credit card number and then in seconds I have a newly released novel in the palm of my hand with little effort on my part . . . Awesome! I took it with me on our vacation and loved it. The hard part will be stopping myself from buying every book I can think of. It was a really nice birthday this year, topped off by Mason's guess that I was turning 20. I love my son!

Miss Darcy turned 3! For some reason mom scheduled the roadtrip to begin the morning after Darcy's birthday but that didn't stop us from making a puppy dog cake as per her request, and decorating the room with streamers and party hats! Its hard for me to believe she is three. I call her and Bree my babies but that really isn't true anymore. Darcy will play outside with Drew and Mason and I can trust her to follow directions and rules and be in control of herself. Darcy has always been my sunshine baby and just one look at the smile that takes up her entire face will keep me going. Now unfortunatley, that smile doesn't come around as often as it did when she was a baby. I have discovered with all my kids that the most trying stage for me is the last few months of being 2 and the first few months of being 3. I don't know what it is about that age but Darcy is struggling. We are still trying to potty train even though we started on January 1st. She just isn't doing it. She seems to cry at the drop of a hat, and we are also trying to figure out nap time, whether we need a nap time or not. Mom says yes, Darcy says no. So, we are having our struggles but we will get through it all, soon I hope. Darcy loves animal, stuffed and real. She sleeps with at least 20 stuffed ones on her bed every night and comes down in the morning with arms full of them. They make it into the car with us too. Too bad her mommy is so mean or else she would be great with a pet around the house. Oh how I love my Darcy. At night I give her a kiss and tell her I love her, she puts her arms around me and pats my back and says "love you too mom," with that sweet little 3 year old voice, and I just melt. I have been known to go through the ritual 5 or 6 times in one night just because it is so sweet. Hopefully this year will bring good thing to my Darce and she can find hapiness and independence !