Ironman Texas

This past weekend I was able to go to Houston, Texas to cheer Erin on during her 5th Ironman.  It was so cool to be around so many awesome athletes - definitely boosted my motivation for my upcoming races!
Up dark and early and ready to race!

At the swim start with her cheering squad

Getting ready to start - Erin is right in the middle of the picture, pink cap, next to the kayak

And they're off!  Doesn't this look fun? (Yes!)

Out of the water, she had a great swim and looks focused and ready to kick some butt!

We didn't get to see her out on the bike course and I was too excited to take many pictures on the run!  But here she comes down to the finish line!

Check out that time - 10:34!  SHE WON HER AGE GROUP AND EARNED HER SPOT TO KONA!!!  I know William and I were cheering louder than everyone else combined!  And I'm thankful that the bleachers I was jumping up and down on didn't fall apart!

She did it!!!

With her coach, Matthew.  Although she is a teacher, I have a feeling this guy will make sure her summer is anything but a vacation :)

Night night!

The next morning she officially claimed her spot to Kona!

At the awards banquet.  Erin was first in her age group, third amateur female overall.  She also beat some pros!

With Mike Riley - the voice of Ironman!  For those who don't know, he announces every finisher by name at many of the Ironman races.  It's the best sound!

Such an awesome race and I'm so glad I was able to be there!  So proud of my little sister!

Fun afternoon

After waking up to frost on Tuesday morning, we were happy to finally have warm temps this afternoon!  Makayla couldn't wait to put her suit on and play in the water. 
It wasn't long before she came up with this water slide idea. 

WEEEE!

Right after this she did a face plant... 

We had all the toys out today!

Working at the car wash!

After watching Makayla go down the water slide a few times, Conner decided he wanted to give it a try.  He sure was fast!

A wonderful Mother's Day

My day started with a delicious breakfast in bed made by Jason and his two "assistants". Then a great family day that ended with a wonderful dinner. I've done a lot of things I've loved in my 36 years but being a mom to these two awesome kids definitely tops the list!

Go Makayla Go!

Makayla did a half mile kids run this past Saturday. She finished in about 4 minutes and gave us a look like, that was it??? Next time she's doing a mile!

So very proud :)

This morning was Makayla's kindergarten physical and she heard from many friends that she gets shots at this appointment.  The appointment started with checking her vision and hearing which were both fine (so she can hear me...) then a basic physical, then shot time.  We've talked a lot about how this is not an option, she was going to get the shots no matter what.  I was prepared to have to hold her down but she sat still in my lap, said "ouchie" after the first one, then "ouchie" again for the second, and that was it!  No freak outs, no drama, no crying (from me either!)!

After her appointment we took Conner to get a hair cut.  Check out this big boy sitting all by himself.

So after such wonderful behavior, we had to go out for a special lunch - Chick Fil A of course!

 

I'm so proud of these two and a little sad at how quickly they are growing up.  They drive me crazy at times but I know someday I'll miss that too!

A little morning exploring

Love this boy

Makayla and her friends were playing dress up last night and Conner just had to join them.  Here he is doing the "spin test" to see if his skirt poofs out enough...

And this morning he "accessorized" and told me he was ready for school...

Mother's Day Tea

Makayla's class had a wonderful Tea Party for all the moms yesterday.  I love these special times with my girl!

After we all ate, the kids sang a few songs for us.

She was so cute, it was hard to hold back the tears (but I did, mostly...)

With her teacher, Mrs. Thomas

Knoxville tri

Sunday morning Sean and I did the Rev3 Olympic Distance Triathlon in Knoxville.  It rained all day Saturday and I was really hoping it would stop before Sunday morning, but it did not!  We woke up to a cool morning with a steady rain.  Not the best weather to get pumped up for a race especially because I had never ridden in the rain before!  Then I heard the water temp was 58 degrees - good thing I brought the long sleeved wet suit! 
Thankfully the transition area was under cover so last minute prep and getting ready was dry. 

Hey look - I found 5 dollars! 

After a little walk in the rain from transition to the swim start, Sean and I were ready to go.

Ready, set, go!  Before I knew it I jumped into the water, lost my breath at the shock from the cold, calmed down a bit and we were off.  The swim was ok but my goggles kept fogging up which was quite annoying.  Transition took a little longer than I would have liked since my feet and hands were so cold and not working very well to get my socks, bike shoes, and other gear on.  Eventually I was off on the bike and trying to figure out how I was going to see where I was going.  The clear glasses I had (HUGE thank you to Jason Hodge!) kept fogging and were covered in rain spots.  But when I took them off I couldn't keep my eyes open because of the rain!  At this point I just laughed to myself at how crazy this was, put the glasses back on and hoped for the best.  I made it through the bike safely and started on the run.  It took about two miles before I was able to feel my feet...  It was still pouring at this time but my running felt great!  There were lots of puddles along the course but were mostly just water, until the very end.  Just before getting to the finish, we had to run across a section in the grass that had turned to mud - about 4 inches deep of yucky mud.  I was really happy to get across that without falling - that counts as a mud run, right?  I felt great crossing the finish line and although I didn't really have a time goal, I was happy with my finish time of 2 hours, 52 minutes.  And more happy to have raced in such unpleasant conditions - a real confidence booster to know that I can!
Happy to be done and ready to go get warm and dry!

 

On the way home I checked the results to see how I finished up. I was totally surprised to see that I got second in my age group!  Looking forward to more racing this summer!

Baby shower!

This past weekend, Makayla and I went to Knoxville for Colleen and Jason's baby shower.  It was nice to spend some time just the two of us and I think the boys had a good time chilling at home!
It was a joint effort between Erin, Sean, my mom, my aunts Berta and Fran, Pinterest and I to put the shower together and it turned out great!
Makayla is guarding the "Pinterest Punch"

The food - yum!

The cake - double yum!

One of the activities was for each person to decorate a letter for the baby's room.  Makayla was very focused on hers.

So pretty!

She was very excited that she got to do another one!

They turned out great! Can't wait to see how they look on the wall!

The kids

A group picture with Sean behaving???

 

It was a great time - can't wait to meet baby Hodge!

Circus day

Last week Makayla's class had a Circus Day complete with lots of games, face painting, hot dogs and snacks! 
Of course she chose a fairy for her face painting :)

They could dress up as their favorite circus performer and she chose to be a tightrope walker. 

Her favorite station - cupcake decorating.

After the circus I went out to check on Conner's class.  I've heard this little girl thinks Conner is her boyfriend :)