Boulder Sunset

Why race 70. 3 miles when you can race 32 instead? Jeremy and Chuck decided to do the Boulder Sunset Olympic tri just for fun. To keep things interesting though, they invited Ty, his wife, and friend who are into Hyrox just to see who would win in a head-to-head contest. The stakes felt crazy high for a local tri but it was fun. I didn't race, but instead I did my long run and met them along the course to cheer everyone on. 

I think almost everyone made the podium, but unfortunately Ty did beat the guys...by one minute. That's ok, throw him into 70 miles and I think they've got him.

Swim 28:40, T1 2:09, Bike 1:02:05, T2 :54, Run 45:49, Overall 2:19:37

Pool day

We are running out of pool days! Nope, not ready for that. So when Kenzie needed to study and the rest of us needed some sun, we made our way over to the pool deck to chill. Well, the girls chilled. Daxton went "splashy, splashy" with some of his classmates. They were having an unofficial fifth-grade start of the school year party that he joined in on. Then when those friends left, we became the target of his water gun action. Thank heavens for Jess who is willing to play back!

 

Leadville 100 MTB

I was excited for the Leadville 100 MTB. I have never been able to so support before and there is a whole world I was missing out on. Everyone there, wives included, knew how things ran during the weekend. Not having a clue was new for me. I showed up to the Carlson's cabin and had to learn my role quickly. It is a self-supported race so if I messed up on where I needed to be and when, these guys wouldn't get the fuel they needed. The ladies split up the group so we each only had two or three guys to pit stop when they came through. And pit stops there were! It was a get in, get out as fast as you could situation. No pressure or anything.

It was a beautiful morning up at Leadville. A little chilly on the start, but a lot can change in eight hours. They managed to sweet talk the race organizers (because of their years of loyalty), and all start in the same wave. That made our job much easier as we tracked them. 

The bulk of the crew went up to Twin Lakes which was the biggest aid station. I was able to do a quick stop at see them at Pipeline, cheer them as they passed, then join the crew up. The aid station situation they have rigged is great. The Shontz' bring their rig so we have all sorts of comforts while we waited for the guys to come through. Not to mention the view! 

When the passed us the first time there weren't any surprises. Brian came through first, then the rest of the guys came through pretty much as a group. They weren't even halfway through the race by that point, but it was obvious that some of them were starting to fatigue. They still had the climb up Columbine which was going to be rough and separate them more. When we saw them come back through the second time their positions had shifted. Brian and Bryan were looking strong. Anthony was looking great. Chuck was starting to look tired, and Jeremy looked like he was teetering on the brink of not being ok. Kent had fallen behind and we didn't know how much farther back he had dropped. It was exciting when they came through because someone was in charge of the camelbacks, someone else was on water bottles, someone was on lube for the chain, and someone else was handing out solid food. It was a rush!

All of these guys wanted to big belt buckle. The course was changed this year because of construction, so that meant they needed to be faster than 8:15. All of the wives were watching the clock and the splits to make sure everyone would make it. The last half hour or so was rough. Wheels started falling off and it was going to be close for Jeremy and Kent. But watching each of those guys cross the finish line was great. They were all covered in mud and looked like they had been battling out there for the last 100 miles, which they had. Even though I was nervous, everyone of the guys came across under their goal time. Jeremy said it was one of the toughest days out there he's had in a long time, but you can bet  they'll all sign up again next year.

Check out that bling! 

Broomfield Shoot-Out

I only have one kid at the Broomfield Shoot-Out this year, this is going to be a breeze!  The shoot-out is always interesting because it's the first glimpse we get of the new teams. I never know half the boys playing with Kelton, and neither does he really. There is a lot of real-time learning that happens during these games. I am grateful that there are some familiar faces; Ish, Oliver, and Mark. From what I can tell we seem to have a some aggressive forwards, but not many solid defensive players so it will be interesting to see what position Kelton will play. Their team looks to be set up to have a successful season based on their tournament wins this week. Here's to a good season!

 

Zach Bryan

Zach Bryan was the hottest concert ticket in town this summer. I didn't even know he was coming, yet all three of the teenage girls in my house knew, had tickets, and plans with their friends to go. Welp, missed that memo. Apparently it was the best concert any of them had ever been to. The music, the energy, the performance was all just top notch. McKenzie sent me pictures from her and her friends, just to show me how amazing she looked that night. 

I 100% agree, she looks stunning!

But seriously, none of the girls could stop talking about it, and now I'm seeing his merch everywhere. I'm so glad they all had so much fun.

Silly Worms

Family prayer doesn't exactly always end in peace and quiet around here. I have no idea whose idea it was, but here we are trying to worm across my bedroom floor. Watching these kids try this, then trying it myself...honestly I haven't laughed that hard in months! Love these goofy kids.

Back to School

This is a big year for back to school. Daxton is a big, bad 5th grader and is planning to rule the school this year. Really though he thinks it's crazy that he is now the oldest kid at school. When on earth did that happen?

Kelton has found his groove in middle school and things are smooth sailing. I never thought I'd say that when referring to middle school, but I'll take it for now! 

And McKenzie really is set to rule the school as a varsity cheerleader! Her first day of school outfit was easy since she gets to go in uniform. She is so excited for this new chapter. According to her, this uniform has super powers which can only mean that it is going to be a fabulous junior year!

Cambrie couldn't wait to get back to Purdue. Yes, seeing her family during the summer was fun, but her heart is in West Lafayette. She has a new apartment this year and a new rugby teammate, Shanon. Her schedule is full of physics and math classes, TA gigs, a part time cafe shift, rugby, and a research internship. Honestly, it sounds like she will be living her best life this fall. 

Water World Finale

I don't think it counts as summer unless we make it to Water World at least once. The boys and I found the perfect day for the three of us to go and we enjoyed every minute of it. They are growing bigger and braver...which means I have to grow bigger and braver to go on the slides with them. Don't get me wrong, I like water slides, but the white ones have me shaking in my suit. They insisted we all go...so we went. did I scream? Probably. It was a toss up as to what was our favorite ride of the day, the white slides, the green roller coaster, or the new yellow drop slide. The anticipation waiting for that floor to drop out is awesome. Why don't we have enough days to go to Water World every day during the summer?