You never Know unless you TRI! Ethan's first Triathlon!

We signed Ethan up for his first Triathlon.  He had to swim 25y, bike 1/4 mi, and run 0.10 miles.  He's been talking about it for weeks and we'd been "training" with him for weeks, so he was really pumped on race day.  The race was at Ottawa Lake State Park in Dousman, Wisconsin.  We went camping there on a Thursday and stayed through race day, Saturday.  Ethan had a BLAST!  Unfortunately, race day weather was in the 50's and he had to swim in the freezing cold lake :(  So he did shed a few tears when he came out of the water, until he warmed up and got dressed at the transition area.  But when it was all over, he kept asking me if he could do the race again:)  I had to explain that he could only do it once, but we could cheer on the next age groups.  He wore his bib number all day and has worn is race medal everyday since...yep even has it on right now :)    Thanks to Justin's family for making the drive and standing in the freezing cold to cheer him on.  We did all get a chance to head back to our campsite for some warming up by the fire and some post-race smore's :)    It was a wonderful experience that we will definitely do next year, especially since it's a charity event for their local children's hospital.

Ready to race!  The race provided all the children with "Ironman" swimcaps.

Look at the cheering section

Freezing!

Off the 3 and 4 year olds go

FINISHED!

Post Race Reese's Cup...He earned it!

Post Race campfire warmth, lunch, and smore's

Claire giving Cousin Gavin knuckles

MMMmmmm Smores

Cousin fun

Ethan with his Cousins

Grandma and Grandpa P and Aunt B with the big Triathlete 

July 4th

Well our little town is CRAZY for July 4th.  They literally take the entire month leading up to the 4th to celebrate, so you can imagine the day-of festivities.  We decided to have a little cookout for lunch with Pappy & Gma Kathy, and Grandma and Grandpa P.  We then headed off to the parade that Ethan and I walked in for the YMCA, and then off to Ice Cream Paradise for some ice cream and playground fun.  Last but not least, we set off some fireworks in the driveway before putting the kids to bed.  It was a wonderful, fun filled family day.

Cookout fun

My American flag cake attempt.  It was delicious.

Waiting to see Ethan & Mommy at the Parade

Waiting by the YMCA float.

We were right next to the tractors in the parade waiting area

Here we come

Heading to get icecream.  What a dad!

Ice Cream Paradise


On the playground at Ice Cream Paradise

Underdog anyone?

Watching fireworks



Thanks for the visit everyone!!!!

Graduation Weekend

Enduring to the End

Well, we all have our trials, and I can say without a doubt that Justin's college education has been the major trial of his life.  We've been married for almost 5 years now, and he's been working towards his Bachelor's degree that entire time (not to mention the years before we were married)...and I can't believe the number of speed bumps he had to endure, one after another.  I was shocked that something as simple to me as a college education could be so difficult to obtain due to finances, paperwork errors, administrative glitches, bureaucratic hoopla...you name it, we hit it straight on.  Times certainly got tough and I know he must have wanted to give up, time and time again, but he weathered the storm as we all tried to do our best to support and encourage him knowing it was his trial and he had to be the one to conquer it.  This past year of his education was, I think, the most intense yet, calling for all of us to make many sacrifices.  Most of the year was spent with Justin in the back room doing homework, at work, or trying desperately to catch up on much needed sleep...we didn't see him much and I think at one point I told him I felt like me and the kids were living with a roommate.  But alas, there was nothing any of us could do about it...we just had to endure until he finished.  I think we all felt like those around us didn't understand why we weren't showing up for those extra church functions, why Justin wasn't going all out in his calling, or why we weren't attending family get-togethers, or extended family holidays...you know, all those extra activities that most families can't wait to get out enjoy with others.  But we were sacrificing so much time as a family, that when we did FINALLY have some family time, we were just not willing to share it with anyone else.  I guess you could say, we were a little territorial.  I've said for the past year that I've felt like a single mom, overwhelmed by it most of the time.  With Justin's crazy schedule and his free time going to homework, I had to do all the housework, cooking, cleaning, yard work, "plumbing", fixing, caring for the children, picking up after everyone, my own job, babysitting, etc; without the help he would most certainly have given me otherwise...it was all on my shoulders.  Most of the time I was exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed, but so was Justin between work and school.  When he did have any sort of free time, we felt he needed to spend it enjoying the children and just being a dad and husband, not worrying about to-do lists and things around the house.  Needless to say, it's been a long road and at times we thought we would never see the end.   But we did!  He did it!  He never gave up and we never gave up as a family.  I'm so proud of him, I can't even put it into words!  His graduation day was a day of tremendous celebration for all of his hard work and sacrifices but also our hard work and sacrifices as a family.  Way to go Babe!  Congrats college grad on your Bachelors in Business Management!

Graduation Weekend

          Grandma and Grandpa P came down for the graduation celebration so we slipped in a trip to the Indy zoo, some campfire s'mores, backyard camping, and oh yeah, JUSTIN'S GRADUATION :)

at the dolphin show

oops! the chair broke.  at least he didn't get stuck.  pretty sure we have some pics of justin similar to this that involve a stool.  like father like son i guess.

Mmmm, gourmet s'mores.  instead of hershey bars we used reeses peanut butter cups, kit kats, caramello's, and special dark.

"These are sticky"

The boys camped out.  Mom, Claire, and Gma headed to bed inside.

Heading to our seats at the graduation

Mimi came to help with the kiddos and watch Justin graduate.

Looking for dad

YEAH!!!!

Playing dressup

Statue of Jesus with an undergrad and grad student.  He's sending them out into the world  to honor his name.