How to Beat the Heat

I hope all that haters all winter are happy, because this weather (in my opinion) is miserable!  Wow.  It really does not help the situation that our yard is pretty much in full sun.  We really wish our baby shade trees would grow a whole lot faster!  We've been trying to make the best of it.  Going out for short bursts of play time, getting loads of mileage out of the basement toys, watching more TV than we should, eating lots of popsicles, and taking every opportunity we can for an ice cream date!

And, playing in as many cool ways as we can outside...sprinklers, water, the few square feet of shade in our yard...

cold water and all the fun containers we could muster

Ben cannot stand having water poured over his face, which of course Natalie loves to do.

But he finds it just about the funniest thing to do it to her.

pool time

check out that beach body on my baby

They have been on each other's last nerve lately...

so any period of them getting along is more than welcome.

I think the heat has us all a little testy.

Trouble

When they pause from playing to get "helmets," nothing good is about to follow.

Indianapolis Get Away

Last week the kids and I headed to Indianapolis for a little vacation.  Our first order of business was to spend a day at the Indiana State Fair.  The kids were pretty excited, but kept saying "where's the fair?"  I think they were thinking the fair meant rides only.  They were way less excited about seeing the world's biggest pig and some of the other exhibits than they were about riding rides.  Until...

...we saw pony rides!

Natalie probably could have ridden that tame pony all by herself.  His name was Copper.

And, much to my surprise, Ben didn't hesitate to saddle up on his pony, Ziggy.

Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen?

look how happy he is out there!

27 tries later and they figured out how to get both their faces in there

we liked watching these horses race and 

were able to get right up by the side of the track for a good look

watching horse racing

we bought a very limited number of ride tickets for a few rides at the very end of the day

And, did we mention that we had a very special guest join us?  Nana drove all the way down from Wisconsin to spend the two days with us in Indy!

Our last ride was on the ferris wheel!

fairgrounds from the top of the ferris wheel

after a whole day at the fair, I thought these two would be out like a light.  Once we got to our hotel (yes!  we stayed in a hotel downtown so we could have a second day of Indianapolis adventures.), they found the energy to have a dance party!  They were so excited for the hotel.

a quick walk around Monument Circle at night for some ice cream before bedtime

giant malted milk balls were a fun surprise in the bottom of our ice creams!

On day two, we headed to the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  After a pancake breakfast at McDonald's, we were on our way.

excavating for dinosaur fossils

Dale Chihuly glass ceiling

traditional Chinese meal with chopsticks!

practicing Chinese characters

somebody was worn out after the fair, restless hotel sleep 

(both kids, Mickey, Minnie, & myself shared a double bed!), and a morning playing at the museum

after a quick snooze, he caught a second wind

old fashioned pony ride

We closed down the museum, got caught in rush hour traffic on the way home, but had a great two days!  The kids loved it.  We definitely will do a quick trip like this again!

Half Iron Mom

Wanted to take up a post away from the kids (not to worry, there will be a post about another of our adventures shortly), to do a self brag.  Last month, I realized a goal that had been almost exactly a year in the making.  It all started last summer when I jumped off a boat with Eric and "raced" him into the dock.  From that moment, the seed was planted of taking on the challenge of triathlon.

On July 19th I finished Ironman 70.3 in Racine, WI.  My goal was to finish in 6:30:00 or better.  I felt that was a reasonable goal being my first attempt at the half iron distance.  My official finish time was 6:14:00!  I beat my goal by 16 minutes, and really could not be happier about it!

Here are some pictures from the day:

Lake Michigan

I was very happy for the beach start for the swim, but not so thrilled about the frigid water temperatures...61 degrees on race morning.

swim went off in waves by age group every 4 minutes

here's my age group lining up

(I was so happy to see Eric at the start!  He braved a very early wake up call to make the start.)

finished the 1.2 mile swim in 43:06

on my way into transition to head out on the bike course

transition area

that's me in the middle of the picture making my way to the bike out

on the bike

and immediately up a massive hill

thankfully, I had gotten a good piece of advice from a friend who had done this race a few years ago...make sure you have your bike set in an easy gear to start!

cruising!

the rough roads of Racine were hard on my bike.  I hit a pot hole about 4 miles in and rode the rest of the way on a low rear tire.  Getting bounced around eventually really irritated an injury I had to my knee from a training ride a couple of weeks before, but didn't slow me down too much.

finished the 56 mile bike in 3:20:32
(for future races, I think this is the area that I can really improve)

the run was a double loop course that started both loops with a pretty big hill

I love this picture...me still running past all the walkers on the 2nd loop!

about a mile to go to the finish

and all I wanted to do was jump in that freezing cold lake!

I really appreciated the people that were spraying runners with hoses in their yards

and the cups of ice at the aid stations.

my favorite picture from the day

I saw Eric & the kids about 20 yards from the finish line

they were waving, cheering, and blowing kisses!

crossing the finish line

finished the 13.1 mile run in 2:01:04

official finish time 6:14:00

I loved every minute of this day!  And I definitely plan to do it again.  The race was a definite victory lap for the months of training, early mornings, and aches and pains.  I am so thankful for all the support and encouragement that Eric and the kids gave; I really could not have done it without them!  They made plenty of sacrifices so that I could achieve my goal, and for that I am very grateful.  And huge thanks to them (especially Eric) for coming out to support me on race day.  Eric was on the course for the entire 6 hours, and the kids and Dave & Beth were there at the finish!  I also got to see my friend, Kelley, who is an amazing triathlete, at the finish line.  She spent the day volunteering and was the first one to find me after finishing; it was such a great surprise to see her!