Off to NY....

Eric, the kids, and I are heading to NY and leaving in about an hour! We'll be there until the 30th, and will update the blog upon our return. We are flying into Rochester, driving to Groton for the night, and heading to the St. Lawrence River tomorrow morning for 3 1/2 days. My parents have their motor home and boat up there, so we'll be "camping!" We'll be dining with Jay and Sheri, our Atlanta friends, tomorrow night in Alex Bay. They just happen to be visiting their families in NY at the same time. :) On Wednesday, we head back to Groton to visit with friends and family, and meet my Grandpa's new puppy, Cooper. Lots to do and plenty to see! We will also be running a couple of races while we're up there. Time to rock the hometown race courses. This trip will be tons of fun! We're off! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Where has it gone???

Signing off, Gotta Run!

Thomas the Tank Engine Dance...

Ethan had a great time dancing to the Thomas the Tank Engine song the other day. He plays at the train table any time he gets a chance! You will have to excuse my annoying voice singing in the video and possibly mute your speakers but I had to post this because the little man's dance is hilarious. Every time I start singing, his mouth opens up and he grooves to the beat!

Thomas, Take One

Thomas, Take Two

All You Need is a Box!

Seriously, a box is the cheapest form of entertainment! Unless you factor in what came in the box... In our case, Ethan's dresser came in a HUGE box and now the box serves as the "bat cave" for Batman and Bat Boy, and all of our friends that come to play! Eventually, maybe we'll tip it right side up and make an indoor playhouse out of it. But at this point, a bat cave (with door flaps!) it is!

A New Toy! Maiden Voyage...

The kids and I bought a new bike trailer. We found it used on Craigslist for $50 and went to pick it up on Friday. We have a really nice riding trail near us called the Silver Comet Trail. It's a rails to trails path that stretchs from here in Smyrna all the way to Alabama. I did a little research and rented a bike trailer twice with the children to make sure they liked it. After all, they are getting big and have to squeeze in shoulder to shoulder. Luckily, they get along quite well and did great in the close quarters. They promised me they liked the ride so we decided to get one of our one. I figure this is one of the ways I'm going to get my cycling in for triathlon training. Not ideal conditions for riding when you're towing 80+ lbs, but it definitely adds to the difficulty of the workout and that's not a bad thing! We took the trailer out for our maiden voyage Friday evening. Here are the shots from our start. It involved snacks, drinks, an assortment of Disney cars, Care Bears, helmets....

Georgia Aquarium Trip with Friends

We headed back to the Georgia Aquarium yesterday for another exciting visit! The Ollanove's and Kelly's came too, so it was great to see it with friends. The kids really enjoyed all the sights. We will never get tired of that place, always so much to see, and we always find something new.

Happy July 4th! Peachtree Road Race!!

The Peachtree Road Race 10k is the greatest 10k in the world! Not only does it take place right here in our hometown of Atlanta, it occurs on the 4th of July, it's quite patriotic, it's tradition, it is famous for the T-shirt, and it's the largest 10k in the world. 55,000 runners come from all over the world to run it!

We had a great race morning. Picked up some friends in the 'hood and had a three-car caravan over to Brookhaven. We did, however, get a late start, which really bummed me out. We parked a mile away, and I had to start jogging immediately to cover the mile to the start area. I had worked very hard to get in the "sub-seeded" time group (right behind the Kenyans) by qualifying for that group with a sub 42:00 10k time. By the time I got to the starting area, I missed my group and had to jump in with time groups 1A and 1B. It was quite chaotic and confusing and not the best way to start a race. The good news was that the chip mats were still down so I would at least get an "official" time. My goal was to come in top 1,000 so that I could get a "top 1,000" finishers mug. To earn that, one usually has to run Peachtree in around a 44:00 10k. I got off to a rough start b/c is was so crowded. My first mile was a slow 7:13. By mile 2, I was down to a 6:34, then, 6:27, 7:06, 7:30 (yikes), 6:43, and 1:35 for a 43:11. I was decently happy with that, since the "new" Peachtree finish is now UPHILL for the last 1/2 mile! OUCH!

Rockin' the Peachtree in a Skirt....

Eric rockin' the Peachtree...

When I got home to check the results, I WASN'T IN THEM!! I was definitely disappointed, since I absolutely knew I crossed mats at the start and finish. If I new I wasn't going to have an official time, I would have relaxed a bit more. I called the Atlanta Track Club and they could find my chip starting time but not finish time. I was able to prove with finish line photos that the people I finished around (in my photos) had "x" clock time. So with my chip start and their clock time, they were able to verify my 43:11 and they are putting me in the results! Now maybe I'll get that mug afterall... Eric ran a good share of the race with his friend Kevin. Kevin ended up with Nana's number in time group 2. They barely made their start, as well. Kevin's heartrate maxed out during the race due to a nasty cold, so he and Eric split at around 4 miles and Eric finished in a nice and easy 53 minutes. He could have run much, much faster but decided to take it slow and easy to avoid what we call the "Peachtree Headache." (I ended up with it, he didn't.)

Eric and Kevin before the Peachtree, on the way to the start...

Finish line photo...

After the race, we headed home, packed up the kids and the pup, and headed to Barb and Doug's new lake house on Lake Sinclair. We spent the weekend there through Monday. We got some swimming in, had an awesome boat ride with the Wright Family, saw some sweet fireworks over the lake, played some cards, tested out the new margarita set (it works), and worked (a lot). I snuck in a couple of runs (10 and a 5) and Eric did 6.5 of the 10 with me. The place needs some work, but it will sure be a gem in no time at all!

A Green Tip....

Don't be afraid to run your dishwashers, ladies!

Check out these blurbs:

Dear EarthTalk: Is it more environmentally friendly to hand-wash dishes or to use a dishwasher? – Jennifer Furnari, Sonora, CA
Dishwashers are the way to go if you comply with two simple criteria. “Run a dishwasher only when it’s full, and don’t rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.” So says John Morril of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, who also advises not using the dry cycle. The water used in most dishwashers is hot enough, he says, to evaporate quickly if the door is left open after the wash and rinse cycles are complete.

Dishwashers More Efficient Than Hand Washing
Scientists at the University of Bonn [pdf] in Germany who studied the issue found that the dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most sparing and careful washers could not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also found that dishwashers excelled in cleanliness over hand washing.

Shoe Fetish?

The boy has discovered girls plastic play shoes... Dressin' up is fun to do!

Ethan's Triathlon

I was giving the family a demo of the triathlon I did Saturday morning, showing them the swim, the transition, the bike, the transition, and then the run. Here is a photo of Ethan doing his own bike version after my demo.