New Mexico

This post is way overdue, and I'm sitting here hoping I can remember enough details to make it worthwhile.

Last June we loaded up the kids, some clothes, and a whole bunch of snack food and made the long trek to New Mexico. This is the highlight of Sammy and Riley's summer every year. It amazes me what kinds of details they remember from previous visits--and they expect the same or better on every new visit. The biggest excitement comes from the "Magic Treasure Box," whose mysterious fairy leaves small gifts for the boys each afternoon. This year they scored magnifying glasses, bubble wands, piles of pennies, and candy, among other treasures.

Another required activity is hiking up to the nearby mesa and feeding the family of bunnies that has lived in the bushes for at least 20 years. Grandpa and Dad usually orchestrate that outing. We also had fun with my friend Rachel and her two boys at a really interesting park--it has the most unusual climbing toys I've seen at a park.

Grandma spoiled the kids (and us) with fabulous food, as usual. Pancakes, strawberry shortcake, banana cream pie, etc. Zeke was in heaven, since no Grandma can resist a baby's request for "cookie?" Sometimes I fight against the nonstop flow of treats that come from grandparents, but I fully plan on doing that for my own grandkids someday, so I might as well be resigned.

The big event every year is a fishing trip with Grandpa. We've given up on driving 2 hours to a really great fish pond in the mountains. Instead, we drive for 20 minutes to a little trout farm in town. After trying for an hour to catch a big fish (they are big because they've been smart enough not to get caught for so long!), we moved to the small fish pond where the boys quickly caught their prize fish. Unfortunately, the water is so warm that all the fish taste like mud, so while the boys ate their trout for dinner, the rest of us ate wild Alaskan salmon (from the store).

All three boys cried when it was time to go, and are already talking about their plans for next summer's visit.

Miracles!

Tonight in our home we experienced a significant miracle that brought a tear to my eye. You may think I'm kidding when you read what happened, but I really did tear up. You see, our sweet baby boy Zeke is not so sweet about eating dinner, unless it involves sweets like fruit or syrup. We actually worry quite a bit about his nutrition (or lack thereof), and frequently make him fruit smoothies with a bit of spinach blended up in the mix. Other than that, and the occasional mashed yam or chicken nugget, his diet rarely includes meat or vegetables.

This evening, Zeke ate dinner.

He climbed onto my lap, grabbed his spoon, and without a word from me started scooping up peas and eating them. All of them. He was suspicious of the bite-sized chicken pieces on his plate, but eagerly chomped a larger, nugget-sized piece. Then he asked for another. And another. I handed him off to Bruce while I cut up some cantaloupe, but even knowing that treat was on its way to the table he ate a few more bites of chicken. Needless to say, I happily gave in to his request for cookies later in the evening--for once I didn't feel guilty because that was the only thing he'd eaten all night. GO ZEKE! (Unfortunately, I still foresee many nights of utter refusal to eat any dinner, but at least now I have hope!)

A few other minor miracles have been keeping us happy lately. Sammy and Riley are both overcoming their fears of water, and get their heads and faces plenty wet in the pool and in the sprinklers. Bruce solved the murder in an Agatha Christie novel (and he will point out that this one even had Poirot stumped for awhile). And I came in SECOND in my age division at my triathlon yesterday, which also happened to be my first event in the open water (at Scofield Reservoir). It was a half-mile swim and I was very nervous, but it went really well and was fun. Also, I was riding a heavy, slow mountain bike, so I got passed a lot, but still managed a decent overall time. Still, even though racing is fun, being done with a race feels better!

Back to the grind tomorrow. Any suggestions for more Zeke-friendly dinner menus? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Suh-wing, batta batta batta, swing!

Riley has really enjoyed playing t-ball this summer. He's in an "instructional league," which means they just learn how to play for several weeks, and only have a (non-competitive) game on the last day. Unfortunately, we only made it to two out of five (or was that six?) games, because we were out of town or just plain forgot a few times. Kind of not worth the money, except that Riley loved those two days he got to play.

Fielding practice:


What an arm!


At bat:


Why am I writing captions? You can see what he's doing!


Zeke's almost ready for the majors:


Sammy has been less than enthusiastic about t-ball this year. Okay, to be honest, he loves his team hat and shirt, and he REALLY loves getting a treat after each game. We're not sure if this makes it worth the money and bi-weekly treks to the baseball diamond, though.

Sammy at bat:


Running:


Standing his ground at first:


Upping his teammate's RBI:


Celebrating another game over and done with:

School's out!

Yes, school was out about a month and a half ago. Yes, I'm way behind on blogging. Yes, this day of overdue posts is totally making your day!

Due to unfortunate miscommunication, photos of Riley's preschool "graduation" got deleted. Good thing he didn't graduate, so we can take more pictures next year. Not much else to say--he loves preschool and does well.

Here are some pics of Sammy's kindergarten farewell party.

"Sammy, what did you learn in kindergarten?"
"How to qualify for the card trick section at football games."


Apparently they learned to dance in kindergarten as well:


Proud kindergarten graduate:


We went to the Thunderbirds air show with some friends after the kindergarten festivities:


Sammy in the cockpit of a big plane:

Race Report

We have had a lot of sports themed posts lately, but what can I say? The weather is beautiful, and in between activities the boys mostly read books or watch TV in the air-conditioned house.

Anyway, on Saturday I competed in my second triathlon, a small race in Bountiful. By small I mean not a lot of people (maybe 100?), not short. It was actually slightly longer than my last TRI, yet it only took me two additional minutes (total time just under 1:24)! I was very pleased with my better-than-expected swim time, despite getting passed by a few people who immediately slowed down and created quite a bottleneck in the pool. The bike course was much flatter than my last race, which compensated for the really heavy mountain bike I was riding (instead of a borrowed snazzy road bike like last time). The run was just a few minutes longer, but seemed way harder for some reason (I wasn't the only one who thought so); I think getting delayed by traffic lights at a few corner crosswalks didn't help. It was very fun, laid back, yet quite competitive (lots of great athletes there). Even better, I knew quite a few people from my team and my Saturday running group, and it was fun to see friendly faces and have people to chat with.

Oh, and I did the whole race half blind. I lost a contact last week, and couldn't get a replacement in time. I actually hardly noticed; my one good eye did a great job.

So here are a few pictures of the day. Hope you enjoy!

My cheering section:


Wow, I look great underwater:


Now for the bike:


The boys had a great time at the park while waiting for me:


Tired of biking:


Off and running:


Happy to cross the finish line:


So fun to have the family there! Do you see Sammy hiding behind the stroller?


Leo showed up just in time to see me cross the finish line. Thanks!

Sporty shorties

I'll start with an advance apology and warning about photo quality. I used Sammy's "kid-proof" camera to take these shots, which turned out pretty good, considering. (We're one step closer to a new camera, hopefully soon!)

Yesterday, Sammy and Riley celebrated Memorial Day by getting up at 6:30 (cheerfully!) and racing in a local one-mile kids' run. Initially, I was going to do the 5k right beforehand, but plans changed and I didn't run. Anyway, the boys had a fabulous time, and they were so excited that Grandma Jacobs was willing to tag along to watch them. Grandma mostly appreciated the beautiful scenery at the park (way out in Syracuse). Zeke mostly enjoyed sneaking bites of his brothers' post-race donuts. Riley liked the donuts too. Sammy claimed "This is the best day of my whole life!" He didn't "win the race," like he was sure he was going to, but he was very excited about the cool flag medal and pin he was awarded. Then he got a race t-shirt, then he got donuts and Gatorade, and THEN he won a "scramble" for prizes and got a fun mini-fanny pack. It doesn't get much better than that when you're six!

Here's Sammy doing some pre-race push-ups:


Riley was calm and relaxed:


Showing off prizes to Grandma (notice the flushed cheeks):


Zeke has gotten into the sporty spirit lately as well. Tonight he was screaming in frustration that I didn't want to repeatedly lift him up to throw a basketball in the hoop hanging high on Sammy's closet door. So I went downstairs and dragged up our little basketball standard (out goes the rocking chair and the last bit of babyhood!). Zeke was thrilled and couldn't get enough of swishing the ball in the basket! All night he has been giggling and saying "babuhball." Best of all, I didn't have to lift him up once.

The funny thing is, we got this basketball hoop for Sammy when he was about Zeke's age, and he never really got the point of it. Riley was never interested, either. And when we moved here, we inherited another hoop that is still in our backyard. Both of them have mostly just been taken to pieces and used to build secret hideouts. I am so happy to have a budding ballplayer, and especially to finally get some use out of the old toy!

Triathlon Success Story

Wow, I am so excited and happy tonight about my race yesterday, I don't know where to start! I guess to explain the excitement, you should know that I just found out I came in 92nd overall, out of 527 finishers! Don't believe me? http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/overall/140923

I don't know what really got into me when I signed up for my first triathlon (on a whim) last January, but I'm so glad I did! I have discovered how great it is to be active when it's a lifestyle, and how fun it is to have a great group of friends to work out with, learn from, and challenge me. Most of all, I've found something to motivate me to work hard--something I really needed help with. One of my most basic beliefs is that it doesn't matter so much what we are learning/working on--as long as it's something worthwhile and uplifting--it will have eternal benefits. I love that throughout my life I have had so many different subjects to focus on, each in their season. I am enjoying this season of life, with a dual focus on mothering and training--with the additional benefit of learning how to balance those competing aspects of my life!


I didn't get much sleep Friday night (nerves), but that made it easier to get to the race location in American Fork bright and early (6:15)! I was one of the first people there, and Bruce was right there taking pictures of me shivering in the cold. Thanks to Dan & Dee and Grandparents Jacobs, who tag-teamed to watch the kids for us. (They would not have enjoyed all the waiting around!) Though the race started at 8, we had to wait in line for our turns to swim (for me, a 45-minute wait!). I am so pleased with my swim time, coming in over 30 seconds faster than I had hoped for! Then after a race through the parking lot, I got my shoes on my wet feet, and took off up some hills for a bike ride. I dropped off my bike, and started running, and soon it was all over.

The race itself was really uneventful, but I have learned so much from the overall experience. Mostly, I am laughing at myself for my own reactions. First, my excitement at the finish line was dampened because I didn't do as well as I wanted to on the bike ride. Looking at the results tonight, I was surprised to see that my swim time (the one I was so happy with) was only ranked 258th, and my bike time (that I was mad about) was 168th--way better! But it's not about how I did compared to others, it's about whether I did as well as I knew I could. I really think I probably worked hard enough, but I'm glad for some new motivation to train harder and become a better biker.

I'm also glad I've come to love running, and to like swimming quite a bit. I felt every bit as exhausted during this race as I have during other races I've done in my life, but this was the first time I didn't think "I hate this! Why am I doing this? I should just quit now!" If only I could transfer that feeling to other areas of my life, for the challenges I have now and those that will come in the future. But it does give me hope that even if things don't get easier, I will become strong enough to bear it and not want to give up. As for swimming, well, last February I would have ranked in the bottom 15 or so (out of over 500). To move up to spot 258, and to even enjoy the swim portion of the event, is such a feeling of accomplishment!

I should mention what a great thing it was to be surrounded by hundreds of women of all ages (80 percent of them were older than me!), of all sizes (some were fairly large, at least one was pregnant), competing in this race and being able to complete it. Very inspiring to see the results of everyone's efforts.

Finally, I'm glad my kids get to see me excited about running, biking, and swimming. I've got a goal to go on a long backpacking trip with the family when our boys are old enough, and I recently realized my efforts now are a concrete step toward making that happen. I want physical activity to be part of our lives, and I'm glad Sammy and Riley are picking up on that--I have to set an example (Bruce does a good job of this too), so that the message will sink in.

Though this should have been the first thing I wrote, THANK YOU Bruce, for your love and support and for cheering me on. I could never have done this without you. Now, how about that push-up challenge?