Mission Accomplished

I'm breaking a cardinal rule and posting pictures of myself. I apologize sincerely for anyone that has to see me in spandex. :) But, there's no way around it because of the fun I had this weekend (except for when we were actually DOING the tri) for a once in a lifetime experience. Or maybe twice, if mom changes her mind next year. :) But it still won't be the first time. I can almost walk normally today, 2 days after the fact.

This was the only time we were dry for the next 6 hours, at least. Rain started in the swim.

Hard to tell we're near drowning, huh.

Still near drowning, even though we were technically done with the swim.

I am the skinny one. Take your pick. That's me in one of the greens. Any of the greens.... :) hahahhaahhahaha.

When's the last time you did something for the first time?

I am currently in a hotel in Bellevue, WA (near Seattle) on the eve of the first triathlon I have ever done. Actually of any race, except for high school track which I did one season and HATED. We all start tomorrow at 0600 in the lobby to leave for Qwest Stadium, to catch shuttles from there.....
Here is Qwest Stadium, apparently home of the Sea Hawks. This was our caravan of 3 cars, all with 1-2 bikes in tow to register and get our race stuff and numbers, so we could then travel to rack our bikes for tomorrows race. No accident occurred after this photo was taken.

This is our group of racers, myself, Mel and Jody, Mom and Heather, our adopted sister for this event. :) This is in front of Lake Washington, where our swim starts. In the background is Mercer Island, where we bike to via the I-90 bridge, apparently. Holy cow, I'm giving myself the shakes just doing this. We swim first, then go onto the bike leg...604 meter swim (200 shy of 1/2 mile), then a 12.5 mile bike...

This is just a small (very small) portion of the bikes of the estimated 4500 participants. Here you can see the swim area and part of the bridge we will bike across. We swim, "hurry" to our bikes where we "transition" out of swim cap and goggles, don shoes and socks, helmet, etc. and off we go, running our bike to the road. We then return to this spot and take off on a 3.1 mile run (?) to complete the race.

Here we are, with our numbers marked on us, in all of our nervous glory. They are purely for body ID should we drown on the swim. :) Kidding! Anyway....more later, time to try to get some sleep and make sure I am all packed accordingly for fast transitions! We are to arrive at 0645 to set up our transition area by our already-racked bike, then get in our swim area and begin our "wave" of participants at approx 0750. Chances are, by the time you see this, it will already be a thing of the past and I'll never do a triathlon for the FIRST time again! My motto: Slow and steady may not win any race, but it will finish it!!

Haircut for Tavin

Tavin has always held "long hair" as a very important measure of beauty and femininity (is that a word?). She's never had bangs, mainly because hairstylists have advised not to due to her cow lick right smack in the center of her forehead. Today, we decided (she agreed) to try to cut it shorter, layer it, and get her some "bangs". She's old enough to fight them herself, although I'm not ready to give an almost 5th grader hairspray and a curling iron yet. Her curls underneath the back are more apparent, and so are her natural highlights. The gals at the salon couldn't believe she's only 10 and made comments about modeling (which her daddy quickly corrected with a quip akin to "over my dead body".)
This was Tavin helping me make zucchini bread by grating the zucchini, and she was helping train an exuberant RJ to house manners. We've found it very helpful to be told to keep the pups on a leash in the house at all times, tied to our belt loops or such, to teach them proper manners and to prevent.....damage.

This was Tavin's "model" pose.......

This was laughing at her "model" pose.....

This is a little more natural. I told her I think she has hair like her aunt Jody, light colored and very thick. She liked that. Simon, well Simon is being the typical brother...he told her it looked stupid but at least it covered up her zits. I only type that because she does not have a zit problem and she paid him back with a swift kick. Then he threw a rock at her...Then all of the friends weighed in as to who started it....I have 5 other kids outside besides these 2, Lucy is upstairs "sleeping" although I just caught her wandering around her room "playing". Didn't take her long to figure out she's no longer confined by a crib. :) Now I get to prepare for a trip to the laundromat, since our washer is in need of a new pump and Sears apparently needs 2 weeks to get one here. It may cost a little, but at least I have to be alone! I mean, it's terrible to be separated from all of the dozen kids outside........

Lucy's Birthday!!

It's official...Lucy is no longer a "baby". She is 2!! She shares today with cousin Eric, who is 19. Her main gift was a "big girl" bed, which is a BIG step for her mom and dad (mostly mom) because it meant dismantling the crib, for the last time ever, and no more babies in this house! (I speak with surety on that!)
Here is a nice picture from only a week or so ago, when Kevin and I had a date. Apparently Lucy wouldn't stop crying, so Tavin fixed it (unbeknownst to the babysitter) by sleeping with her in the crib. This is the same crib that Tavin had, as well as Simon but I never thought I'd see anything like this. Mainly because I thought it would collapse! I don't even want to know how she got in there. I do know that it was very difficult to get her out! Notice the lovely bumper that Grandma (Lucy's Great-grandma) made. I think I'll keep it for Lucy. Along with the dust ruffle, and crib sheet!

This shows the transformation from "cute" 1 to "terrible" 2. We have captured it on film. Like the 2 towels on the barstools? Our washer died, and we had the Sears repairman here today, but instead of working, we are delayed until the 22nd! Replacing a pump, apparently.

THIS is how you eat cake and ice cream. All at once.

Lucy has mastered making an ice cream cone out of a spoon. The "ice cream spoon". She even managed to blow out both of her candles on time, and in 1 attempt, which shocked all of us! Unfortunately the cameraman wasn't "on", so we had to set it up again and she suddenly had trouble. Oh well!

Lucy's new bed. As you can see, it was for jumping, walking, and falling on. It does stretch out to a twin, so it'll be nice to have. Gotta love garage sales!!

Finally, asleep. We won!! Now to paint her walls. Happy Birthday Lucy! We love you and can't imagine what our lives would be like without you!

This also means that we are 1 week away from our 2 year anniversary here as well. So much has changed! All I can say is I am much more comfortable now than I was then (physically!!). :)