Muddy Buddy 2010

Muddy Buddy 2010 was a huge success....which means we were able to finish it!! And actually we did the course in 1 hour 7 minutes and 44 seconds and finished 509th (509out of over 1200 teams) overall and 19th in our group (19 out of 57). I am thrilled.

The course went like this:

First leg: I rode 1 mile up hill while Cindy ran. The transition obstacle was a rock wall.

2nd leg: I ran 1.3 miles over a dry, in the sun, no wind trail on the top of the mountain, while Cindy rode. The next transition obstacle was a balance beam.

3rd leg: I rode downhill 1.3 miles while Cindy ran. I was singing hallelujah after that hot run! I sped down the hill barely in control at times. Next transition was an inflatable with a rope ladder on one side and a STEEP slide on the other (the slide was the scariest part of the whole day)!

4th leg: I ran 1.4 miles while Cindy rode. This leg felt like it went on and on. The obstacle transition was crawling under a cargo net....in the very dry, hot grass.

5th leg: I rode 1.3 miles while Cindy ran. This is where I saw a man down and being attended to by paramedics - it was hot! I met up with Cindy at the end and we ran to the mud pit and dove in!

The mud pit was an interesting experience - I had never crawled thru mud before. It was cold, slimy and hard on the knees. Especially when my husband jumped into the pit and tackled me!

Jim and Drew were a team and they came up with a time of 1 hour 43 minutes!!!!! But we think the time is wrong. I think that they took Jim's time when he came out of the mud pit with Cindy and I after jumping in with us because they had already been in for a long time and went thru the starting line about 45 minutes before us. I suspect they came in around the same time as us. Although....you should have seen the victory dance I did when I thought Cindy and I beat them!!!! It was a mixture of the chicken dance, the macarena and a bad seizure!

Let me know if you are interested in participating next year. I would love to get a big group of people together and make a big party out of it! I will even share my 10week training plan with you!

Still Clean

Mud....

Muddy Girls

Muddy Buddy

Twas 2 nites before.....

Twas 2 nites before muddy buddy
And all thru the house
All the creatures were readying
So as not to be a louse

In the garage on a rack
were the helmets and bikes
In the house were the snacks
And 4 sizes of nikes

Come Sunday at the crack of dawn
All our hearts will be a flutter
With anticipation and dread
And hopes that we don't end up face down in a gutter

Stay tuned to this blog
For stories and pics of mud
As we decide if our partner
Is really, truly a bud....or a dud!

Graduation

Drew graduated yesterday from 8th grade. I had not really given much thought on what to expect from the graduation ceremony or the little dinner we had afterward but the whole day exceeded my expectations!

The ceremony was really nice - it was genuine and respectful. The kids were celebrating but doing so in a respectful manner. All the teachers were involved and the kids applauded and cheered for them! We all came home and had a nice spaghetti dinner and enjoyed time with some friends and family. All in all a really special time!

Snoozing

This is what a labrador looks like after too much swimming!

A nite out....

A nite out with a little too much beer and karoke! (The kids and I went home to take care of sick Ahi - so no one was there with any sense!)

Thanks

Here is the thank you pic that Gracie did for the vet staff that cared for Ahi!

Cherry Lake

While Gracie and I were playing nurse/vet for Ahi - everyone else was having fun at Cherry.

Sick Puppy

What a bummer weekend! We were supposed to be at Cherry Lake for a summer kick off of fishing season. But on Friday afternoon Ahi started to throw up and didn't stop! By Saturday morning, she was still throwing up and was really sick, so Gracie and I decided NOT to go to Cherry and take Ahi to the vet instead. It turned out that she was dehydrated and needed to be kept at the doggie hospital.

Grace and I were so sad leaving her there. Soooooo SAD!

She ended staying overnite and the vet still wanted to keep her another nite but she was so nervous that the vet ended up thinking she would be better off at home. So she came home with antibiotics, anti-nasuea meds, pepcid, flagyl and a special food.

She is feeling better each day but is still not quite herself. We are so happy she is feeling better.

These are pics of her in the 24 hours after she got home!

Sizzling Sixteen

For all those Janet Evanovich fans, her new book, "Sizzling Sixteen", comes out on June 22! I think I need to get it for my summer vacation read!

Trouble in Muddy City

I just checked the Muddy Buddies participant list and I was ALARMED to see that Coach Cindy and I are in the MENS under 45 division! How did that happen???

So this is the email I just sent her:

"ON NO! Unless with both grew penises...we are in trouble! We are some how listed as being in the men’s under 45 division!!!!

I have sent them an email to correct it. But if they can’t, we may need to get some spray on chest hair!"

This race just keeps getting better and better!

More swimming pics

Thought this was a funny pic of Gracie and Tyler at the meet on Saturday.

Gracie's swimming buddies

This is a pic from the weekend swim meet. These are her other rockin' fast buddies: Kayla and Cassie. Can't wait til they do a relay together!

Father's Day came a little early this year. Jim's Father's Day gift is a backpack tackle box and we needed to give it to him early so he could use it this weekend at Cherry Lake. It is super cool!

Is it Thanksgiving time?

The carpool kids have requested pumpkin cookies - so here is the batch that will go to them today for pick up.

Swim Times

Gracie had her first swim meet this last weekend. It was actually a practice meet, which was great so that the kids could get a feel for the process. She swam four events. Here are her results:

25 yard breaststroke - 6th place - 24.72
25 yard butterfly - 2nd place - 19.65
25 yard freestyle - 2nd place - 15.92

I LOVE to watch her swim. Probably more than watching her do any other sport. She is so smooth, graceful and powerful! A real joy to watch.

New Hobby

We have a new hobby and it is a perfect hobby to use my new superhero cape! It is called geocaching. You use your gps device and go find things that people have hidden. Gracie and her friend Kayla did it today while on a "furlough day" of school.

We are looking at potential geocaches up at the lake. We will try to find them next time we are there!

Just what we need - another hobby!

Check Your Boobies

Here is a pic of the sweatshirt I got for Lesley. It says, "check your boobies"! I plan to give it to her tomorrow. Mine is coming tomorrow - I can't wait to wear it!

Holy Hoppin' Hank

Hank escaped AGAIN this weekend. This time he was much farther from his tank when we found him...AND he was on the floor....being SNIFFED by Ahi! I guess his full name is Hoppin' Hank Houdini!

Super Dogs

I had to post pics of the super hero capes, but no one was home to model them...except for the dogs. Check out Ahi's cape - it has a hood!

The Middle

If you have not watched the tv show "The Middle", you need to check it out. It is about a family of 5 (mom, dad and three kids).

In every episode the teenage boy says or does something that reminds me of Drew. Last nite the boy was accidentally given the aptitude test results of the boy behind him in class and was inadvertently labeled as a genius. When they told him that he was a genius, he was laying on the couch using his math textbook as a plate for his hot dog! Could have been Drew.

But that was not the best part of the show. It had the best one liner I have ever heard.

The parents were all worried about whether they were good parents and they were trying really hard to help their kids. Finally after failing, they come to the conclusion that "we are really good parents, we were just given a bunch of crappy kids!"

AMEN!

Darn!

Oh Shoot! I should have put on one of my super hero capes when I rescued Hank this morning! See....already a PERFECT use for a cape!

Hank Escaped!

Each morning, Hank's tank is foggy. So, I crack the lid to let some of the moisture out. As normal, I did that this morning. Then I went to take Gracie to ed therapy and go for a run.

When I got home, I went over to look at Hank, as I always do. I couldn't find him, which is not unusual as he is pretty good at hiding. I looked all around and was about to give up when I looked down and Hank was on the desk - OUTSIDE his tank!!!!

I grabbed him and put him back in his habitat!! Lesson for the day - Hank is an escape artist!

Cape Drama

Jim was not happy to hear I bought three capes! He said he would be really mad if I paid more than $3 for them. So, I let silence fill the air for awhile and then reported....."I paid $1 for them all!"

Everyone cheered because it was such a good deal!

New gear

You know how our family is about having the right gear....we have gear for just about every sport and activity ever invented.

But, I found something today that we did not have....and I am sure we need them....super hero capes!

Someone at work was selling 3 super hero capes today (including a velour one). And luckily I have a really good coworker who bought them up for me while I was on a phone call.

I am the proud owner of 3 super hero capes and I see endless uses for them, including:

* Muddy Buddies costumes
* Dog rescuing
* Carpool pick up
* Early morning jogs

Keep your eyes peeled....I will be the lady in the purple cape!

Tan?

I got this cool new neutrogena lotion that has a tint in it to take the white glare off my russian cankles and legs. It works pretty well....even Jim noticed that I was looking a little tan. HOWEVER, my socks seem to rub the color off so I have these nicely tanned legs and glow in the dark feet!

Check your boobies!

Today is the day that a dear friend is having a double masectomy. Thankfully she found the lump herself and is doing what needs to be done to take care of business. I have already given her a shirt that says "Fight Like a Girl" and has the pink ribbon on it. What she does not know is that I have a sweatshirt coming that says, "Check Your Boobies" on it! My girlfriend from work knows the gal who started a non-profit that is called "Check Your Boobies". Can't wait til she is feeling well enough to give it her. I know she will wear it proudly! (As will I, because I got one for myself!)

Habitat for Hank

I went hiking this weekend with a bunch of friends and found Hank, a tree frog. I brought him home and we decided we needed to make him a terrarium complete with a waterfall!

So we went on a road trip to Lowe's and bought all the supplies needed: pump, gravel and plants. Then we came home and spent a couple hours designing and building. We were lucky to have Marty to help because building fountains is his new hobby. Mari was over helping Gracie catch bugs for Hank.

We went to bed last nite with Hank sitting next to his waterfall looking really happy!

But....then when I woke up this morning, there was no more water in the pond and the terrarium was all foggy. The water had all splashed out!

So now today we are doing a re-design. In the meantime, check out the pics!

Message from the field

Got this picture and the message...."rattlesnake on the soccer field" from my brother on Friday! SCARY!

Dogs R Us

We are watching the neighbors dogs again. All three of them. Here is my message to the owners this afternoon:

Dogs are fine.
Toby needs to go to a fat farm. (he is a big fat lab)
Rufus is a big sad sack - he won't come out of his crate because he misses his mom so much!
Rico is just plain ole' happy all the time.

They cracked up!

We have the fence open and all the dogs are playing and hanging out together. Its a good dog life!

new step

Jim is building us a new front step. It is somethin we have wanted to do for about 10 years! So far he only has the brick front done. Next step is to fill in the top with bricks. It will look awesome!

Happy Mother's Day

Here is my mothers day gift. Jim built a flagstone patio and got me two new adirondack chairs. I love it!!!

non-inpirational

Sorry that I have not been blogging lately --- there has been nothing inspirational or funny happening in my life.

I will try to work on that!

Guinness Cake

I may have found a perfect dessert: a chocolate cake made with 1 cup of Guinness! And the frosting is powdered sugar, cream cheese and heavy cream. You are suppose to only frost the top of the cake so it looks like the top of a frosty pint of Guinness!

Uvas Canyon County Park

My hiking buddy, Marty, and I went for a hike today at Uvas Canyon County Park. It's about a 35 minute drive from home and it's like being on another world. We hiked up a canyon right next to a creek that had a bunch of waterfalls. Then we crossed the creek and hiked the other side of the canyon. I think it is one of my favorite hikes. It was nice because it was in the shade the whole way. The park only has 6 miles of trails and we did over three of them! One more trip and we will have hiked the whole park.