New Bike!

I grew tired of the endless flat tires and the bicycle mechanics who said it was the most difficult tire they've ever changed. So, I sold my Target Brand bike. 15 people on Craigslist were interested. I should have sold it for more. Last night I went to the Honest Bike Shop and fell in love with this one. It is so smooth and so fast. Look out world, passing on your left!

GA Vacation Photos

We had a nice trip to GA for the Hunt family reunion. Here are the trip photos.

The tiny pool at the hotel




Visited my grandparents grave site. I believe this was the last time I was in GA, to bury my grandfather (1989!)




The girls played in the rain at my Aunt Sara's house




Elyana at the church playground at the reunion


Hanging out at Aunt Sara's


Mikayla trying to win a "who blows the first bubble" contest. She's never blown one. Didn't stop her from trying...


The GA Guidestones. A mysterious stone site that reminds people of a Southern Stonehenge.






The airplane that brought us home...the girls enjoyed the turbulence! "Mama, look, I'm bouncing like a ball!"

Computer Geek Family

I think this photo is priceless. Mikayla and Elyana each have their own PC now. I still have the laptop (6 years old!) and Nate of course has his PC. I'm hoping sometime we can get a photo of all four of us on our computers at the same time, because it does happen from time to time. The girls now have their own printer. We're still trying to sell our 3 in 1 printer to get an updated one.


Here's also a photo of the girls in the Dells. These flotation swim suits are awesome. Mikayla was swimming by herself, with goggles, with her head under the water. Unfortunately, they are not allowed in the Rochester public pools. They don't believe in kids depending on any flotation device instead of learning to swim by themselves. To me, this is the stepping stone to them learning to swim by themselves, by giving them the confidence they need.


I'm sure I'll have another updated blog post next week as we're flying to GA this weekend. That should be interesting! By the way, I already made Elyana a piggy like Mikayla's. Mikayla is already designing how she wants her next pig to be! Anyone have any old pink tights (or pink in them?) One last thing, I'm selling my bike (of 1 year). Too many flat tires. Evidently, it's hard to find the proper tube for a Target bike. I'm looking for a nice bike. So, if you know of anyone selling or needing a bike, let me know.

This Little Piggy...

Mikayla has always liked the book The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman.

At the end of the book, it has instructions to make your own pigs out of old stockings. Last week Mikayla asked me to make her one. "It's okay if it doesn't look like the ones in the book, mom, you can just call Miss Karin and have her make one." Well, thanks for your confidence honey. Here is what your ol' mom came up with after several finger pricks and disgruntled words. I think she's rather cute.


Button nose...

It's little feet and curly tail...

Tomato Plant

Nate made me two awesome raised garden beds. My plan was to have raspberries and strawberries fill one and veges of our choice fill the other. Kayla and I planted some onions, green beans, some corn, and of course this tomato plant. We only yielded 2 green onions (actually thought I planted yellow onions...) and this enormous tomato plant. It has grown so big the wire cage is bending with it's weight. So, last night, we used this huge walking stick we found at the park and some pvc piping to wire it up. No tomatoes yet...

Trek Women's 2009 Triathlon Series-Pleasant Prairie, WI

Well, I did my third sprint distance triathlon yesterday! Despite getting lost a lot (trying to get there and home) and having another flat tire the night before, it went very smoothly. I even got an awesome hotel (the Marriot!) for $57 on priceline.com.

Here's my stats:
Overall time = 1:52:21
Overall Place = 1691 / 2544
Swim Time (1/2 mile swim) = 16:54
Swim Rank = 699 / 2544
Transition 1 time (time to get dried off and put on my bike gear) = 6: 46
Bike Time (12 mile bike) = 46:07
Transition 2 time = 3:54
Run time (3.1 miles) = 38:37

(So, if I didn't have to transition and you counted just my time racing, it was 1:42:21.)

Here's the photos:

Sally Edwards Pre-Race Talk. (Sally Edwards is "a former Master's World Record holder in the Ironman Triathlon, as well as a World Record Holder in the Iditashoe 100-Mile Snowshoe Race, Sally has spent the last 30+ years as a professional athlete. She has competed in some of the hardest races on the planet, including numerous multi-day adventure races and the Western States 100-Mile Run (which she won). From the time she ran the 1984 Olympic Marathon Trials using her heart rate monitor, Sally has been at the forefront of a revolution in fitness training.")

Lake Andrea. The half mile swim crosses this lake.


Time we left the hotel for the race.


The shuttle we had to take to the race. Love the name on it!


Me pre-race.


Getting ready to go warm up in the water.




Me warming up in the water.


Crossing the finish line!




Mom and me after the race.

A Kernel in Time

Elyana has has a stuffy nose for over a month now. She had her 3 year old check up on the 29th and I was told that her nasal passages looked swollen and she might have allergies. Last night Ellie blew her nose and stood there staring at the Kleenex. I came over and stood there staring too. Evidently, at some point, Ellie had stuck a popcorn kernel up her nose. Yuck. Here's the grossest of all, the popcorn kernel was starting to turn soft. So disgusting. She's breathing much easier now! What would make anyone want to stick anything up their nose? What thoughts go through your mind?

On to a nicer topic... Last night the girls participated in the free kids track meets at Soldier's Field Track last night. Everyone gets a ribbon. Kayla's been wanting to do this since last summer after watching a few of my races. Here are some pictures. I love the last picture of Kayla running next to Ellie encouraging her. Elyana has never wanted Kayla to hold her hand even when she was learning how to walk. It's always been, "No, want to do it myself!" So, Kayla's learned to run beside her and encourage her. She is such an incredible big sister.

Busy Busy

I think I've been more busy this summer than during the school year. Wow! This Sunday am is the Triathlon in Kenosha, WI. One final week of hard training combined with normal mom stuff (kids swim lessons, groceries, errands, etc.) Today Mikayla dressed up her teddy bears for winter. Elyana dressed up for winter too (and I think she really believed it was winter). We opened the garage door to go to swim lessons and Ellie walks outside in her winter hat and scarf and says, "Where'd my winter go? I was gonna go sledding!" It took some convincing to get her to not go to Walmart with me wearing her stuff.

So, my mom gave me the coolest book to use with Mikayla this coming school year. It's called Love-U-Grams by Marianne Richmond. It's basically a book filled with perforated postcards, notes, and coupons. One section has little notes to stash in their lunchbox. These say things like: "Make your teacher laugh," "Your incredible," Sending you a hug," etc. Another section is coupons that say things like: "This coupon is good for one mom and me activity of your choice," "This coupon is good for staying up one hour past your bedtime," "This coupon is good for renting one movie of your choice," etc. Very cool idea for a book! Thanks mom!