4th of July Party

This year Mark & Jenn hosted a 4th of July BBQ and firework show out at their place. And I must admit, I am very envious of all the acreage they have to roam on. The kids had an absolute blast riding around in the ranger and playing war against each other, while the adults sat and talked. After dinner we utilized the time and put together a friendly game of kickball. Aside from the Missionaries, Jenn, Brian and myself were the only adults who actually played. All the other adults were lame, sitting on the sidelines. Really! Who doesn't love kickball!? After kickball we did a little archery and then it was time for the fireworks. Between all of us we had a really great show. Misty even taught us how to capture on film writing your name in the sky with a sparkler. I didn't know you could do that! The only problem is, I can't figure out how to flip my photo so my name isn't backwards. However, that last photo really is my signature. You might not see it, but I do, and I think it is so cool! Thank you to Mark & Jenn for hosting such a fun event.

Random

I love random photos like this! How long he stayed in that position is beyond me?

Surprise, Austin!

Summer birthday's can be tricky, and Austin's birthday falls right after everyone gets out of school and people are itching to take off for the summer. It seemed like no matter what weekend I picked to have a party for him very few of his friends would actually be in town. He felt really bad. And of course, as a parent you don't want your child to be sad. So I decided to throw a surprise party for his 9th birthday long before his actual birthday just so he could feel special.

The surprise was a Fishing/Pizza party at a park. I picked up four of his friends and the pizza and got set up at the park right before Spencer showed up with Austin. Spencer told Austin when they pulled into the park that they would try to do a little fishing. All of the boys hid behind trees and so Austin had no clue as he was walking up to me that anyone else was there. As he got closer all of the boys jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" It took him a minute to process the fact that they were all there for his party and that he was indeed having a party. The boys ate pizza, cupcakes, tried to fish (without luck) and had relay races. I was so glad that it all worked out okay and that he was able to celebrate with his buddies.

The Great Wolf Lodge

Oh yes, The Great Wolf Lodge! This place was a real treat. Whoever thought to build an indoor water park inside a hotel is genius! 88 degree year round temperature; water slides both young and old can enjoy; and completely family oriented, yep ... genius! The hotel also offers tons of fun adventures and activities to do as a family, so needless to say our kids went to bed fully wiped out. Upon checking in all members of the family were given wristbands which was our ticket into the water park. One cool thing that I found totally clever was the fact that the adult wristbands were also our room key. I loved it. Not having to worry about misplacing a key ... once again, genius! The whole family loved the Great Wolf Lodge. In fact, Andrew still every once in a while in his prayers prays for help that we can go back. I tell you, it's hard to keep from laughing out right when that comes up! Someday Andrew we'll go back and your prayers will be answered.

Austin's Award Ceremony

About a week ago I received a letter in the mail that said Austin would be receiving an award at school at their end of the year assembly. This letter couldn't have come at a better time. Austin has had been receiving extra help in a lot of areas this year and I think it's starting to bug him a little that he requires it. The last thing I want is for him is to feel insecure about that. So needless to say, I was very happy for him that he was going to get an award. The teachers keep it a surprise for their students so Austin didn't have a clue. I'm sure he had a pretty good idea when he walked into the gym and saw his family there though. As it turns out his teacher gave him the Positive Attitude Award. His teacher, Mrs. Lewis, is the one standing behind the music stand. Her student teacher is handing out the award to Austin. He was so happy. And, if one award wasn't great enough, he was also chosen by Mrs. Moung, the P.E. teacher, to receive the Athletic Award for great sportsmanship and teamwork. Like I said before, this couldn't have come at a better time. I am so grateful he received that extra little boost of recognition!

Kindergarten Music Program & Graduation

Cameron had the best Kindergarten teacher this year, Mrs. Miller. She was outstanding!! I volunteered in her classroom twice a month for most of the year and I was always amazed at how well she handled all those kinders. She is the Queen of positive reinforcement, always catching the kids trying to do something right and recognizing them for it. I wish she could move up with Cameron as well. Their class, along with another kindergarten class, prepared a music program that included a lot of sign language in it and performed it on Tuesday. It was cute and fun. After the program, the two teachers called out their students individually and handed them a diploma, their graduation certificate from Kindergarten. It was sweet. Mrs. Miller had rolled their diploma around a regular size bag of M&M's candy. She really is awesome. I hope next year he lucks out just as well as he did this year with a fantastic teacher. You will be missed Mrs. Miller! And seriously, a first grader? How did he get to be so old already!?

My 2011 Sprint Triathlon at Blue Lake

Well after weeks and weeks of hard training, I am pleased to say that I accomplished the goal I set for myself. I did it! I actually participated in a sprint triathlon. And I did well!! Actually, after all was said and done, I was pleasantly surprised with how well I actually did. It was hard though. I was so pumped up with adrenaline and so focused on what I was doing that most of the time I had no idea how good or bad I was doing. For example: during the course of my swim I realized right off the bat that swimming in open water is so much harder than the pool. I expected that, but not to it's degree. In the lake you can't see a darn thing. You have to frequently pause for a second and look up to find the markers and make sure you're staying on course. In my situation, I had to follow an oblong path and when I rounded the last marker to head back, I hugged it too tight and started swimming right back into the path of oncoming swimmers. That mistake probably cost me at least a minute or so and in my mind I felt like I was the last in the pack. It wasn't until I saw my final scores that I realized, I did awesome! I came in 13th out of the 42 women in my division and at the time I had no idea I did so well. So here's how the triathlon worked: Every participant that enters is placed into a Division by sex and age. My Division included all Females ages 30-34. In your registration packet you are given a colored swim cap designating what Division you are in (mine was gold); all the stickers and numbers you wear that has your identifying number; and a timing chip that you wear around your ankle. This chip records every thing you do. Which is really cool because it tells you how long each event takes you, how long you spend in transition, and you're overall time. Great invention! Before you can even enter the transition area you must have your number on your bike. Then they mark your leg with that same number. The picture below is not flattering of me, but it shows how on my left leg my participant number of 73 is written, then they write your age on the right leg as well. That was cool because it allows you to know the ages of people that pass you and/or you pass. I thought it was awesome that a 61 year old man flew by me on the bike. Good for him! There was only 3 minutes between the start of each Division and mine was the second to start. So the first event to conquer was the swim, and at the time I felt that it was the hardest part. But I really think the fact that I had so much adrenaline pumping through my body made me feel that way. It was like a natural caffeine high. I was buzzed. In fact I was so disoriented getting out of the water after the swim that I did a little tumble right there in front of everyone. I was fine, but I had sea legs and was going so much faster mentally then I could physically. I finally did get my bearings and made it quickly to my transition area where I dumped the wetsuit and got my biking gear on. The biking path was along Marine Drive. It left Blue Lake and went almost to the Portland airport before we circled back and followed the same path, only on the opposite side of the street.

The run itself was probably the most difficult because after an intense bike ride (not to mention a swim) they literally felt like bricks! After dismounting the bike I was laughing with another participant about how weird our legs felt and how difficult it was going to be to run. My legs were so tired I felt like I was crawling during my run. Seriously!! It wasn't until halfway during my 5K that my legs finally relaxed and didn't feel quite so heavy. I am still in shock about how well I did on my run. Like I said before, it felt like I was soooo slow, but after seeing my time, I actually ran faster than I had during training. That is a great feeling to not only meet expectations, but to exceed them. I just hoped to finish! Speaking of crossing the finish line, that was great! It was the very first finish line I have ever crossed. I have never ran a race before in my life. As I crossed the line I could hear the announcer say, "Number 73, Nicole Waite, St Helens, OR." Then I saw my family cheering me on. Spencer, the boys, and my Mom & Bill were all there with smiles on their faces. Austin said to me, "Mom, I'm so happy, I'm proud of you!" That did it. That helped elevate me to cloud 9. I was so high all weekend. I still feel really good about what I accomplished. I don't feel superior to anyone. I don't feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I just feel so darn good for doing something so hard. I could get addicted to this feeling. I want to do this again, every year. Who wants to do it with me!?

So here is how I placed: Overall I ranked 20 out of the 42 in my Division. I came in 13th on the swim; 20th on the bike; and 23rd on the run. My overall placement including all Divisions & participants (male & female) was 275 out of 483. My total race time was 1:34:34. With a swim time of 17:49; Bike time of 40:29; and a run time of 28:43.

Our 2011 Cabo Getaway

I love getaways! I so look forward to them, and I feel they are so healthy to take. For the first two days my niece Megan came and stayed with the kids. The boys were sooo excited about that. They love her! For the remainder of the time, the kids stayed with David & Bethany which worked out pretty awesome for us, and I hope not too bad for them! That allowed the kids to continue with school and a normal routine while they got to have an extended slumber party with their cousins. They didn't seem to even miss us.Spencer and I arrived in Cabo on Saturday, May 14 and stayed until Thursday, May 19th. It almost felt too short, but we still got to do all that we wanted to. Spencer went on a guided fishing trip with my Dad and our friend Rob. To his delight, Spencer caught a 30lb. Dorado (Mahi Mahi) while Rob caught a 120lb Marlin. Both fish were larger than life. The guys took the fish to a local restaurant and they cooked it up so deliciously for us. We also went parasailing together. It was Spencer's first time. There is something so peaceful about parasailing. It's so calm and quiet when your up that high. Most of the time during the day was spent laying on the beach or pool side eating and drinking as much stuff as we could. Thanks to those wonderful timeshare presentations our stay was virtually all-inclusive. I wonder how long we can keep milking the system!?

This trip was very relaxing. There was no rush for anything. We are so familiar with Cabo now that everything just feels easy. One highlight this year was seeing the beach under the arch at Lands End. Every 4 years the tide is low enough that you can see the beach and some times walk through the arch. This happened to be the year, however, it reached full moon during our stay and the waves were something to behold. They were enormous! So during that time, water taxi's couldn't get near Lover's Beach on Lands End. It made for some exciting times though when those waves came. Each year Spencer and I talk about how we should travel somewhere new, but it's so hard to not want to keep coming back to Cabo year after year.

Swim, Bike, Run

I did something I have been wanting to do for some time now, I signed up for a Sprint Triathlon. The Sprint triathlon consists of a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a 5K run. When I started training I wasn't exactly a strong runner. I hadn't been to the pool to swim laps for over 12 years. And I have never in my life even been on a road bike before. So why on earth was I so determined to sign myself up for something like this?? Well, I did it to challenge myself because I love having a goal to work towards. I am a classic example of someone who is capable of far more then they are willing to exert. So in hopes of accomplishing something worthwhile I chose to do this. The triathlon I chose was recommended to me by a friend. She said this particular course is great for beginners because it is all flat. In the beginning when I looked at each of these 3 events, I didn't think they sounded all too hard. I can run 3 miles, I thought. I can easily bike 12 flat miles! But I am learning that as I start combining some of them together it takes a lot more energy then I thought. I have 9 more weeks till my event. I have already been training really hard and have found that I actually enjoy running outside (even in the pouring rain) and swimming. Twice a week I incorporate "blocks" where I do 2 events back to back. Really the only concern I have is the unknown. What is it really going to be like? I know a lot of these questions won't go away until I cross the finish line and learn the answers through experience. My goal isn't to finish in the top 10, it's just simply to finish what I started and I really hope all goes well!

6 Birthday Candles

At least 3 times a year our family goes to Chuck-e-Cheese, because that is apparantly The place to celebrate your birthday! At least that's what our kids think. I actually really like it there as well because it's not my house the kids are trashing. Can a party get any better than that! :-) Just like previous years Cameron was able to invite a few friends along. I think all of the kids had a great time. At least there were no visible tears or any major melt downs so that is success in my mind. Cameron, the lucky dog was surrounded by some of his best girls all evening and he didn't seem to mind, imagine that! Happy birthday to my handsome 6 year old!