and cupcakes for Helen's class
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Happy 7th Birthday, Helen!
She came down stairs so excited this morning and she squealed with happiness when we wished her a happy birthday! ironically it was probably the same happiness that I experienced 7 years ago when I gave birth to her and found out that she was a GIRL!!! I was convinced that she was a boy in my tummy.
can you see the excitement on her face - she's so happy it's her birthday today :)
traditional breakfast bar with a candle
she's so excited!
singing happy birthday in Dutch
a special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dress from Grandma
she loves it ..... and i think Jillian does too :)
she wanted a pizza for lunch today --- and she kindly shared some with her sister
a friend from school - i said that they looked like sisters :)
her favorite food - PASTA!
a Ninja Turtle themed Party - but a Frozen themed cake :)
daddy ninja turtle :)
such a happy birthday girl
so excited ......
..... she got the present she wished for :)
birthday MONEY!
.... more birthday money!
adding to her Precious Moments collection
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Family selfie!
and cupcakes for Helen's class
and cupcakes for Helen's class
5 minutes left of SUMMER!!!! .... and other back to school fun!
as I was dropping the boys off for their first day of school on Tuesday, Jayden said to me "hey mom, there's only 5 minutes left of summer!"
Helen and her teacher at open house- 2nd grade!!!
Tailgating at the high school football game
our tailgate :)
super jilly wearing a spirit scarf as a cape
helen photo-bombing super jilly
The boys ran in the LaGrange 4mile the Saturday of Labor Day weekend
Jayden is ready to run!
Graham is scared that the starting gun will be too loud :)
and they're off! who will win?
cheering for the boys
here comes Jayden in the lead
but Graham has some great running form .....
and...... it's Jayden rounding the corner first toward the finish line - with his sisters running next to him
and a few minutes later - Graham rounds the corner .....
but he kindly tells his sister's to "get out of the way!" ahhhh, Graham
a baby buffalo - apparently the mascot of the race
Jayden accepting his award for 1st in his age group and I think 7th overall in the 4 mile run
Graham accepting his award for 2nd in his age group and I think 12th overall in the 4 mile run
Jayden wrote a special story for Jillian and read it to her just before she went to bed on the night before she started KINDERGARTEN!!!! yes, KINDERGARTEN - I can't believe she's in KINDERGARTEN! she's going to a private kindergarten for 3 hours a day this year.
it was a story about Hello Kitty (Jillian's favorite character behind My Little Pony) getting ready to go to kindergarten
first day of school - porch photo
my sweet BABY girl walking into kindergarten
as i'm sitting next to her, making sure she is getting settled - she leans over to me and says "mom, you can go now and have a great day!"
Helen waiting for the bell to ring on her first day!
the boys agreed to a QUICK photo in the parking lot of their school - getting ready for 4th and 5th grade!
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Traverse City Sprint Triathlon 2014 Race Report - Defending my Title
Traverse City Sprint Triathlon 2014 Race Report - Defending my Title
The pressure was on August 17 - in 2013 Ross, Erin, and I competed in the Traverse City Triathlon for the first time. I somehow pulled out a win in the female category of the sprint triathlon just a week before my Ironman Louisville race. It definitely caught me by surprise when I won overall female. So this year, just 2 short weeks after feeling completely defeated by Ironman Boulder - I set out to defend my title. We drove up mid-afternoon on Saturday to Grayling --- stopping along the way in Grand Rapids for a nice picnic. Then stopped about an hour south of Grayling for some gas AND an ice cream treat! Yes, I actually ate ice cream!!! :)
We woke up race morning and I felt like I didn't sleep at all the night before - I was SO nervous about defending my title. Ross and I got in a nice running warmup and a couple miles on our bikes. I decided to wear my wetsuit - it was chilly out and the water was FREEZING - well not freezing but really cold water in the Traverse Bay :)
Coming out of the water, I thought I was about 4 or 5th in the race. I hopped on my bike and began "cranking" as Ross calls it :) I couldn't seem to get the same speed that I had last year and that made me really nervous! My legs were tired. I passed a couple girls in my age group and as I neared the last mile or so of the bike course, I caught up with what I thought was the first female. I came into transition JUST seconds before her - but she sprinted out of transition (23 seconds to be exact!) and her friends and family were cheering VERY loud for her. I tore out of transition as fast as I could after her! I ended up catching up to her in a similar spot to last year where I caught the first place female. I lagged behind her just a little, looked down at my watch only to realize that we were doing a 6:30/mile pace (I was hoping to stay around 6:45/mile for the race). I thought to myself - this IS going to be a LONG 3.1 miles today if I have to maintain THIS pace. I got up the courage to pass her - and I passed her with intention! Then, what does she do? But come back up on my like I'm standing still - I immediately thought - OH ??!:!!!!????? what is happening? This is not supposed to happen when I pass someone. :) She stayed with me for about 45 seconds (trust me, it was a LONG 45 seconds) and then she disappeared. I was now at the turn around point for the 5k (it was about the 3/4 mile mark in the race). As I rounded the corner, I looked back and could not find her! I kept going because as I turned around, I saw at least 2 other females not too far behind me. I NEVER looked back for the rest of the race for fear that someone might be getting close to me. I rounded the final turn of the race to find Ross cheering for me but about 50 feet in front of me was ANOTHER female and my heart sank - I knew that I MUST catch her!!! As I passed her, doing a 5:30/mile pace at this point, I noticed the "D" on her calf that indicated she was doing the Duathlon - phew!!!! But I did end up passing her anyway and defending my title of overall sprint distance tri female!!!! I was so happy! and I earned FREE entry to next year's race ---- where I will try to make it 3 years in a row! No pressure, right? :)
and the age of the girl that got second place - 17 --- 21 years younger than me :)
our race bling
Ross got second in his age group in the sprint tri and 7th overall
accepting my overall female sprint tri award :)
not a PR on the course - but a nice win after IM Boulder 2 weeks ago and I did improve my run time!
The pressure was on August 17 - in 2013 Ross, Erin, and I competed in the Traverse City Triathlon for the first time. I somehow pulled out a win in the female category of the sprint triathlon just a week before my Ironman Louisville race. It definitely caught me by surprise when I won overall female. So this year, just 2 short weeks after feeling completely defeated by Ironman Boulder - I set out to defend my title. We drove up mid-afternoon on Saturday to Grayling --- stopping along the way in Grand Rapids for a nice picnic. Then stopped about an hour south of Grayling for some gas AND an ice cream treat! Yes, I actually ate ice cream!!! :)
We woke up race morning and I felt like I didn't sleep at all the night before - I was SO nervous about defending my title. Ross and I got in a nice running warmup and a couple miles on our bikes. I decided to wear my wetsuit - it was chilly out and the water was FREEZING - well not freezing but really cold water in the Traverse Bay :)
Coming out of the water, I thought I was about 4 or 5th in the race. I hopped on my bike and began "cranking" as Ross calls it :) I couldn't seem to get the same speed that I had last year and that made me really nervous! My legs were tired. I passed a couple girls in my age group and as I neared the last mile or so of the bike course, I caught up with what I thought was the first female. I came into transition JUST seconds before her - but she sprinted out of transition (23 seconds to be exact!) and her friends and family were cheering VERY loud for her. I tore out of transition as fast as I could after her! I ended up catching up to her in a similar spot to last year where I caught the first place female. I lagged behind her just a little, looked down at my watch only to realize that we were doing a 6:30/mile pace (I was hoping to stay around 6:45/mile for the race). I thought to myself - this IS going to be a LONG 3.1 miles today if I have to maintain THIS pace. I got up the courage to pass her - and I passed her with intention! Then, what does she do? But come back up on my like I'm standing still - I immediately thought - OH ??!:!!!!????? what is happening? This is not supposed to happen when I pass someone. :) She stayed with me for about 45 seconds (trust me, it was a LONG 45 seconds) and then she disappeared. I was now at the turn around point for the 5k (it was about the 3/4 mile mark in the race). As I rounded the corner, I looked back and could not find her! I kept going because as I turned around, I saw at least 2 other females not too far behind me. I NEVER looked back for the rest of the race for fear that someone might be getting close to me. I rounded the final turn of the race to find Ross cheering for me but about 50 feet in front of me was ANOTHER female and my heart sank - I knew that I MUST catch her!!! As I passed her, doing a 5:30/mile pace at this point, I noticed the "D" on her calf that indicated she was doing the Duathlon - phew!!!! But I did end up passing her anyway and defending my title of overall sprint distance tri female!!!! I was so happy! and I earned FREE entry to next year's race ---- where I will try to make it 3 years in a row! No pressure, right? :)
and the age of the girl that got second place - 17 --- 21 years younger than me :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)