Kelton's birthday day of fun

Kelton's birthday ended up squished between my return from Oregon and our departure for the Grand Tetons.  It was going to be a busy day of packing and prepping for our next trip but I didn't want him to feel like we'd forgotten him.  So after a fun morning surprise of a balloon barricade outside his bedroom door, we had a whole day of fun planned.  

I had chosen nine quick and fun activities for the boys and I to do throughout the day.  I hid each idea in a balloon and on the top of every hour he would pop a balloon, I would pause whatever prep work I was doing, and we would do whatever was on the paper.  It turned out to be such a fun way to celebrate!  

A game of chess.  He won of course.  He's much better than I am.

A game of frisbee golf in the backyard....it turned into three games because we were having such a great time.

A puzzle battle.

He got to open one present early.

Throwing paper airplanes off of the roof.  This one was fun.  Moki even tried hoping out my bedroom window to join us!  He almost made it too.

Rock, paper, scissor tournament.

Pillow fight!

Run through the sprinklers actually turned into Cambrie squirting them with a hose as they ran across the yard.  Just as much fun!

And we got to have ice-cream before dinner!

The best part was that after we had played all day, he still got to open his presents and eat his cake.  He ended up with some marbles, jelly beans, a monkey ball, and a new ninja line for the backyard!  Happy birthday to my goofy, energetic, and kind nine year old boy.

Oregon 70.3

On my journey this season to try to reach my pro goal, I have been able to race new courses, one of them being Oregon 70.3.  I journeyed out alone and made it a very quick weekend.  The good-bye from my crew was a perfect way to go.  

I like traveling with friends because the energy is always amazing.  But traveling by myself sometimes is just as nice because then I can enjoy quiet mornings like this.  I spent the day before the race exploring the course, including the 1.5 mile walk to the swim start.  The sunrise and the morning fog lifting off of the marsh was gorgeous.  

I made sure to time the walk so that way I knew what to plan for on race morning.  Thirty minutes!  That is a big chunk of time to find in the morning.  At the swim start I met up with a couple of other athletes who had run over there to check it out too.  I laughed because now I had the easy way back to my car, completely down river.  I always get nervous swimming in a new body of water and prefer to go with someone.  As it worked out I was the only one there.  I had been told to expect a sandbar near the swim start and be prepared for a pretty quick current.  I wasn't prepared for the noise of the water tumbling the river rocks though.  At first it threw me off and I sat up to assess the noise.  As I floated I looked at the river bank and saw I was flying downstream!  It felt like I was on a water ride that was out of control.  It only took me 18 minutes to swim the entire 1.2 miles course.  That's a new record.  

After race prep I met up with a quick Smashfest Queen photo op.  There were going to be quite a few of us racing the next day.  I love looking for everyone out on course.

I had the whole day to myself, and instead of spending all of it in my slightly scary hotel room, I decided to go exploring a bit.  I went and drove the course.  It was going to be gorgeous; river roads, climbs, vineyards, and farms.  But a girl can only spend so much time in the car before getting stiff and I didn't want that to happen.  So I went back to my hotel room and binge watched HGTV.  It was glorious. I probably would have stayed all night if I hadn't received an invitation to join some friends for dinner.  We all showed up with our chicken and rice at their Airbnb and visited while we ate.  

Race morning came bright and early.  Ok, actually dark and early.  I found a fabulous parking spot right near transition and got my stuff set up early.  The swim start only allowed for two athletes to start at a time and I did not want to get stuck in that backlog.  So as quickly as I could I started walking to the swim start.  Butterflies were going as they always do.  I was really hoping for a top three finish.  

Time to begin!  I managed to be one of the first ones in the water and started cruising.  The race directors had told us to stay to the right of the buoys where the current was a little more manageable, but I quickly learned that everyone else wanted the ride so I scooted over to join them.  It was a really fun swim.  I was so glad I had done the race the day before so the current, the water depth, and the exit point didn't throw me off.  I jumped out of the water pretty sure I was getting out with some of the pro women.  Even running up a very steep boat ramp I managed to have a quick transition.  

I was excited for the bike.  I ducked my head ready to cruise.  Part of me was a little worried and curious how the day was going to go because the month of prep leading up for this race wasn't great.  I had a lot of interruptions and never felt like I had the solid block I really wanted.  I just hoped I had enough fitness to be ok.  And I did have enough fitness...for forty miles.  Around mile forty my inner thighs started cramping really badly.  I tried different riding positions.  I tried massaging them on my saddle as I rode.  It got so bad that I couldn't even put any effort into my stroke.  I got off at the last aid station to vigorously rub them and take in some calories.  It was awful.  I was in the lead at the turn around and even really close to the pros.  As I sat helping my thighs I just watched so many women pass me.  I climbed back on my bike but there were times I'd look down and see only 75 watts on my computer.  That was dismal but it was all I could do.

Getting off the bike I was really nervous about what to expect for the run. If those same muscles cramped while I was running I had no shot.  Surprisingly my legs were fine.  I tried to be conservative just in case they flared up again.  The run is my favorite Ironman run ever.  About 90% of it is in the shade and it is basically flat.  I could cruise without worry of overheating, curbs, cars, or anything.  We ran through a nature preserve and I loved every minute of it.  I was feeling so good.  Shade does that.  I was still discouraged about my bike and had relied on catching up to the ladies on the run.  Unfortunately I wasn't passing anyone.  They were all having great runs.  I was too, but it wasn't quite good enough.  So when I came close to the finish line I kind of knew I was in trouble.  

I finished, grab some food, and laid in the grass. My legs were cramping every time I tried to go down or up. I found somebody with a phone and realized I took sixth place. I didn't have time to look at the results in detail at that point, but that's when I was just so frustrated. I wish I was primed for this course because it was such a great course. I decided not to wait for their scheduled bike check out time and found a way into transition, packed my stuff and cried all the way back to the car. I cried on the drive home, I cried as I unloaded the car, I cried as I talked to Jeremy. I cried because I wasn't prepared and that is so rarely the case. I told Jeremy that I wanted to just hop on the next plane home.  I didn't want to be there anymore.  He told me to take a step back and heal before coming home.  Ultimately it was the best thing I could have done.  

I jumped in the car and drove to the coast.  I found a little ice-cream shack and bought myself an ice-cream cone before wandering out on the beach.  

I spent hours out there, walking, sitting, laying down, thinking, exploring, and settling down.  I found some really awesome mollusks that clung to anything at the water's edge.  But basically I just needed time.  By the time I made it back to my room I knew that I was ready to go home the next day and keep working at this crazy pro goal.  Even if it's looking a little different than I had planned.

 

15 and all sorts of grown up

I was gone for Cambrie's birthday, so it was up to the rest of the family to make the day special for this girl.  McKenzie stepped up to make Cambrie's cake.  She went above and beyond and baked her a New York style cheesecake from scratch!  

Cambrie had designed a pair of custom Converse sneakers earlier this summer and they arrived in time for her birthday.  I love her creative spirit.  

She also got a new set of Prisma Color colored pencils, and three new sketchbooks.

  

I love the young woman she is turning out to be.  Happy birthday sweetheart!

The Fort of July

Everyone had the the Fourth of July free and we had the entire day to spend as a family.  When I asked the kids what they wanted to do with our family day: play games, go on a hike, or go to the pool, they vetoed each idea.  I asked them if they had a better idea and they said they wanted to build a fort in the backyard.  Well okay then.  We had the kids draw up plans for what they envisioned, took some measurements, and then headed to Lowes to buy the supplies.  We spent all day in the backyard building.  

We needed kids to saw wood, did holes, move rocks, hammer nails, and put in screws.  

It was such a hot day for this kind of work, but they didn't complain because they were finally getting a real fort.  

We have an empty place behind our pine trees in the corner of the yard.  We built the fort to tuck in away behind the trees so it will always be a little secret fort.  There are windows like a castle, a cottage window for light, a roof to keep out the rain, and a doggie door for Moki.  It is incredible.  

We were about 80% done when it started pouring rain.  We had to gather up all of our supplies and tuck them away before they became too wet.  At that point it was time for fireworks.  We had originally planned to go down to the commons to watch the city fireworks, but the kids wanted to spend as much time working on the fort as possible, so we stayed home and lit our own.  The boys and I had stopped in Wyoming on our way back from Utah the day before to pick some up.  We found a great variety of small ground fireworks, fountains, and shooting balls.  It was just the right amount of fun.  

The next day I came out to the backyard to clean up the construction and firework debris.  It was a soggy mess, but it proved we had a great time.  

We were able to finish the fort a few days later and the kids have already made themselves at home with rugs on the floor, chairs to sit in, and games to play.  Hopefully this secret fort will get a lot of use.  

So while I didn't get a cute matching patriotic picture of my kids, I like this one just as much.