Triathlon

I'm still unsure exactly HOW it all came about. I think I started it with lots of big talk..(while drinking a margarita...so that might have something to do with it!)
But it seems I have committed to do a triathlon...yes...actually compete in one. Well two really but more on that later.
Michelle has a pretty good blow by blow description on how it all came about on her blog.
Now the bad news is that I HAVE actually signed up for it officially so there is no backing out. But there is good news....quite a bit of it actually.
The first bit of good news is that it's 12 months away. So that allows for 11 months of procrastination and then one full month of panicing. Ahem. What I meant to say was I have allowed myself a good long training window to get into shape.
Secondly, after Michelle and I agreed to sign up together to support each other there have been a number of others sign up. My wonderful hubby, Michelle's hubby and at least one of our neighbors, (although we are crossing our fingers for a few more). So it is going to be fun to be able to train and compete with friends. I do say compete in the loosest way possible. I think for all of us (bar Michelle's husband who actually has marathon and triathlon experience), finishing the race in one piece will be a huge achievement and our only real goal.
Now this race is run in July and is a sprint triathlon. You can read about it here. However this is really just a preliminary to the main event...the olympic triathlon run at Lake Couer D'alene every year. Michelle, Terry ( another friend) and I are going to enter as a team, each doing one leg of the race. I am apparently the swimmer, (unfortunately I am not allowed to wear floaties), Michelle will cycle and Terry will run. I think I have gotten out of the deal pretty lightly. I only have to swim 1.5 km or just under one mile, Michelle will have to ride 40km (25 miles) and Terry will have to run 10km (6.2 miles).
Now I'm not sure how this sounded like fun at all but somehow we convinced our husbands to form a team and join us. So we will all be doing the Olympic Triathlon together. Sounds like fun eh?
{ Now you'll understand the relevance of my photo that accompanies this post!}

Just Another Sunday Afternoon at our House

Vandals?



Who...Us?



Never!



We're just helping out with the renovations!

Fun Dad

Fun-Dad lives at our house.

My husband works pretty long hours but when he is home he is always doing something fun. If you have a dog you will know how they bound to meet you as you walk in the door, tail wagging. Well when Matt comes home from work the kids are a little bit like excited pups. Bouncing around yelling "Dad's home" bounding out to meet him. That's mostly because he always has something fun to make or do with the kids. The potato canon was last weeks project. On Friday he came home with a paper bag...so cold it had frost on the outside. The children were intrigued.



He had brought a block of dry ice for the kids to play with...and weren't they delighted. They put it in colored water and pretended to make a witches brew



They added it to a variety of different drinks...diet coke certainly produced the best results.





And if you are wondering we were careful not it touch it with our bare hands because it can burn your skin. Dry ice is actually frozen carbon dioxide...( and its freezing point is much lower than that of water (-78 degrees C)so when we put the left over dry ice in the freezer overnight it was gone by the next morning. The ice has melted and turned back into CO2



And then of course with lots of giggling and laughing it was put in the toilet. To bubble and froth and smoke away. Mum would never have come up with these ideas....thank goodness for "Fun-Dad"

MM-4

My blog friend Elizabeth sent me an email last week with this link to an amazing set of pictures. Of course seeing them inspired me to try it myself. The kids were enthusiastic helpers...however after several hours of bubble blowing and bursting I came to the sad conclusion that my camera just isn't fast enough to capture the action. This is as good as we could get. Hmmmm...might be time to think about upgrading my camera. I'm sure my hubby will be overjoyed by that!

Taking a Different Road

Same journey. Different route. Always something new around the corner.

MM-3

Not exactly a macro, but this was as close as I was going to get!

Hot Air Balloon

How fun does this hot air balloon look? We spotted it this afternoon floating by. Looks like the perfect way to spend a summers afternoon.

Boy Math

Potato + hairspray x contraption =



A Potato Canon.

Slipping n' sliding

Nothing like a slip n'slide...especially when its 95 degrees outside!

MM

"Nature is man's teacher.
She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence."

-Alfred Nobel

More Bravado

After a considerable amount of bravado, they are grateful that God, (and Dad driving the boat) have spared them.

Bravado

Isn't it funny how this can turn to....



This. In a matter of seconds.

More Bravado to come.

Freckles

Kisses from God.

The Mind of a 6 Year Old

I can just imagine what he is thinking.....



Got her wrapped around my little finger!

4th

July 4th, 1776
The day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
So how did we spend that day some 233 years later???
Well it involved....



FIREWORKS.

On a large scale. on a barge pushed out into the middle of the lake.



And on a small scale in our yard.





A BOAT PARADE. With boats of all shapes, colors and sizes.



Some with questionable seaworthiness.




Lots of patriotism and flag waving.


With just a touch of the daredevil.



How was your 4th?

Macro Mondays

My eye always seems to be drawn to the minutae of nature. The wonderous magnificence that is in every flower, bug and droplet of water. I never get tired of seeing the world through the lens of my camera. It is such tangible evidence of God and his handiwork. And so to look upon it, to recognise the complexity of the design and the simplicity of the beauty seems is like a real connection to God Himself. The creation is an echo of the Creator.



So to recognise my place in the world and my appreciation of it I am going to start a weekly post on Mondays to share the beauty I see every day. In the small things.

The New Do

Note to self.....

When taking a self portrait:

1 - put on some make-up...(yes...must remember that next time)
2 - style hair....(as this was the purpose of the self portrait using a brush on the hair is probably an important step)
3 - clean bathroom mirror BEFORE taking photo...(all those little specks of toothpaste all over the mirror don't exactly provide a great backdrop!)
4 - edit arm and camera out of the picture...actually maybe just photoshop the whole thing. Reduce wrinkles, whiten teeth...sheesh that could really take a while!

OK...so now I'm digressing. Onto the subject of this post. The New Do.

You know how they say not to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach? Well the same applies to a haircut. Don't go to the hairdresser when you are having a bad hair day. Because shouts of "Just cut it all off" will be gleefully followed.

This is what happened to me yesterday. I actually quite like it although most of my family have other ideas.

Response of Son #1: No...uh, uh....nope....too short...way too short...no...nope not OK..(then proceeds to leave the room shaking his head)

Response of Son #2: Do I HAVE to tell you what I think of it. (If you have to ask then no...better to leave it unsaid.)

Finally daughter who has just witnessed all this. "I like it Mom. And after all, it's just hair"

Indeed.

Husband, who hasn't EVER noticed when I get a haircut can't stop looking at it with a puzzled expression. No words just looks.

So the new do has certainly got everyone's attention.

Nuff said!

It's a Dog's Life

It's pretty simple really.
Feed me.
Play with me.
Love me.
And don't get too angry with me when I mess up, and I'll be your friend and loyal companion forever.
Dog's have such a wonderful view of life. Nothing complicated. And yet they are ALWAYS happy.



We have a dog, Beau. Despite his happy-go-lucky nature God did not bless him with an overabundance of brain cells so occassionally he does get called Dopey instead of Beau but he cheerfully responds to it all the same. No judgments. No drama. No game playing...well... maybe some tugging on a toy!!!
If only people could be more like dogs.

The Taste Test

This is the sort of thing that goes on in our house.
Unconventional? I guess.
Funny..definitely.
The kids and I had fun yesterday blindfolding each other and tasting different fruits and vegetables to see if we could guess what they were. Unfortunately for Matt, when he got home from work he was sucked into the taste testing vortex.
He was sat firmly on a chair and blindfolded..(its actually one of the kids neck warmers for skiing but it looks hysterical on Matt's head!)
They got him to taste cherries and raspberries and blueberries and strawberries. But the funniest was watching his face when the kids had him taste things that he doesn't like. This was his reaction to tasting a radish. It makes me just giggle looking at these pictures. We tried to get him to eat a tomato which is by far and away his least favorite thing to eat. But we couldn't even get it into his mouth. Just the smell of it made him clam up. At least we know his nose works pretty well.