Every Good Thing Must Come to and End

 

As always, we had a super fun summer and were sad to see it end, but we were all ready for the routine of the school year to be back.  We of course spent a lot of time outside in the backyard playing football or soccer, at the park or splash pad, at grandma's or Nana and Pop's pool, at the lake or up hiking in the mountains.  We really did live our best lives this summer.  With the kids getting older we were able to let them stay up later and have more adventures.  It was a very hot summer (the most 100 plus degree days ever) so we spent a lot of time in water of some form.  We swam so much this summer, that by the end of the summer the kids were kind of done with it.  They of course always had more fun if cousins or friends were involved in our activities.  They got along so well all summer long, they had very few arguments and played so well together.  McKay spent most of the summer with his shirt off and was disappointed when we made him put one on, like for church, but he was always very obedient.  The kids also had some sports camps throughout the summer.  They went to a soccer camp, basketball camp, and a multi-sports camp.  I also taught a couple of weeks of swim lessons at my Mom's pool.  I always have fun teaching.  A lot of popsicles and snow cones were eaten and McKay took a lot of power naps in the car.  We took the kids up to Starlight Mountain Theatre to see The Little Mermaid.  We love going up there but this was the first time we took the kids and they absolutely loved it.  As always they did such a great job with the performance and the kids were already asking if we can go again next summer.  My nephew Mason also went through the temple in preparation for his mission to Argentina.  It was so nice to have a lot of my Dad's side of the family there with us.  It is always nice to be in the temple with family.

We got up to McCall as often as possible and each time we were up there we tried to do a hike and go play at the lake.  I got a paddle board for Christmas and we had a lot of fun getting that out onto the lake.  Brooklyn was a natural at it, McKay was a little indifferent but would get on every once in a while.  Brooklyn learned how to water ski this summer.  I helped her the first few times but she would pop right up and each time she was able to go a little bit farther.  We didn't get as many hikes in as usual but still got some good ones in.  The first one of the season was the Boulder/Louie Lake Loop.  We had done each lake separately but decided the kids could do the whole loop (almost 7 miles).  Being the first hike of the season, there was still a decent amount of snow which made it a little tricky to follow the trail, but we made it through.  The poor kids feet were soaking wet by the time we were down, I felt terrible, but they didn't complain.

Luckily the next hike didn't have any snow.  We headed into Crystal Lake with the kiddos.  It really was quite gorgeous and as always the kids did great.  It was only just over 5 miles total but had quite the elevation gain, but it was totally worth it.

Craig and I then did 20 mile lakes just the two of us.  The boys in the ward were doing the hike for High Adventure and Craig volunteered us to scout it out.  Luckily it wasn't a 20 mile long hike, only about 14 round trip.  We did have quite the excitement though on our way in, Craig finally got to see a bear.  It was a bear cub hiding in the brush and that scared me even more because that means momma bear is usually close by.  Craig quickly grabbed out his gun and I quickly let a few choice words out and then the bear cub started running down the mountain.  After that we made sure to make a lot of noise while we were hiking.  We got up to the first lake and found a few camp sites and then checked out 2 more lakes that were near by before we headed back.  It really was quite a pretty hike, our adrenaline was just a little higher than usual.

Our final hike of the summer was quite the adventure, to put it kindly.  We headed into Deep Lake, which we had done before and was a pretty easy hike with lots of huckleberries, but after we got to Deep Lake Craig decided that it would be fun to finish it out as a loop instead of just heading back to the car.  So we started heading off trail to 2 other lakes, Trail Lake and Frog Lake.  Well we eventually made it to the other lakes after passing by quite a few bear poop piles.  Once we got to the last lake we then had to hike down one side of a ravine and back up the other to get back to the truck.  This is where my patience really left me.  I ended up sliding down a chunk of the mountain on my back side (it hurt to sit for a few days).  We literally had to hand the kids down parts of the mountain between Craig and I.  We eventually made it back to the truck and I decided it would be best to keep a few words to myself, but we made it was for the most part all put together and safe.  Needless to say I will never do that hike again.

Luckily a lot of these hikes were finished off with a stop at Ice Cream Alley!  Ice cream makes everything better.  We did a lot of fires and smores.  Took the four wheelers out around the neighborhood and played a lot of yard games, the kids were introduced to Crotchet and did pretty good with it.  We sure love McCall and all the time we get to spend up there and the memories that we get to make as a family.

And they are off...

 

The kiddos started school on August 23rd.  Both kids were very excited to get started with school.  Summer was a blast but we were all ready for a schedule.  Brooklyn is in the 4th grade and McKay is in Kindergarten at Galileo Stem Academy.  Brooklyn has Mrs. Murphy and McKay has Ms. Sparks.  Brooklyn had Ms. Sparks for 1st grade, but she switched to Kindergarten this year.  West Ada School District also switch to full day kindergarten.  I know some parents weren't thrilled with it, but McKay was so excited.  He is the type of personality that likes to be entertained and is happier to be around a lot of people.  He was also so excited to ride the bus and just to be with the big kids.  I can't believe how grown up Brooklyn seems and she was excited to show McKay the ropes.  The kids picked out their outfits the night before and we knew it was going to be a task to get them back to an earlier bedtime.  I thought for sure McKay would wake up in the night because he was so excited, but I ended up having to wake them both up.   It was safe to say that there were no tears for any of us.  They both have such a bright future and I know they will have a great school year and will be the best students.  Now to find something to fill my time with.

Happy Birthday Bubba!

 

Our McKay man is officially 6 years old.  He had been counting down to his birthday all summer long and was so excited when it finally came.  We started off the celebrations on Friday, August 12th with his birthday party.  We had a total of 17 kids in the backyard playing water games, eating popsicles and cupcakes.  We had the sprinkler going under the trampoline, a slip and slide at the bottom of the slide, a water balloon and water gun fight and a pinata.  It was a very hot day and the water was very welcome.  McKay had a blast and got a lot of gifts.  I was exhausted by the end, but the smile on his face was definitely all worth it.  

On his actual birthday, August 15th, we started the day with doughnuts for breakfast and then headed to jumptime and then McDonald's for lunch.  We then met Craig and my Mom at Stan and Diane's house for dinner and presents.  He wanted costa vida for dinner.  After swimming and eating we then got to the real important stuff, the gifts.  He had already opened a stuffed turtle from Brooklyn that morning and then he got some awesome Boise State gear from my mom and a sweet nerf gun and hat from Pops and Nana.  From us he got some water guns, clothes, a 49er football, and a squashmellow.  I was going to make brownies for his birthday treat, but while we were at the store that day he decided he would rather have mint oreos.  I was totally ok with that.  McKay had partied so hard that he crashed in the truck on the way home.

We love our happy, kind, strong, quick witted little guy.  He really does bring so much joy to our family and sometimes might give me a headache, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  He challenges me but makes me laugh and smile every day.  He works hard and is very competitive.  He is a friend to everyone and will talk to anyone and everyone he sees.   He really does complete our family.  Here's to another great year for the Mr. Magoo.

Spudman Triathlon

 

So...Sunni and I did a thing.  I convinced Sunni to do the Spudman Triathlon with me.  I had done one other Olympic distance triathlon before but it was 14 years ago and Sunni had never done any triathlon before.  Our Dad did the very first Spudman Triathlon when we lived in Burley 37 years ago.  Our Mom also did the bike portion for a team that same year.  I wrote us a training program that we started way back in April.  It was very time consuming, especially with the 3 spin classes I taught each week on top of my training. I ended up having to double up workouts at least twice a week.  My body was definitely spent by the end especially after having the flu, strep throat and going on two vacations during training.  On Friday July 29th I met Sunni and Akirah in Burley.  We got all checked in and got our transition areas set up and then headed to our friends the Taylor's home to spend the night.

Saturday morning we were up early and back to the race sight.  We made sure our bike tires had air and our transition areas were all good to go.  As the sun was rising we got into our wetsuits and got ready to go.  Sunni started in the wave behind me.  Luckily the Snake River was feeling fairly warm so our wetsuits were mainly to help with flotation.  I was really excited for the swim part, which normally I dread, because it was current aided.  There were about 300 or so people in my wave.  Once we headed out into the water we had to tread water to make sure we didn't float too far down river.  The swim portion is 1.5 KM (just shy of a mile).  With the help of the current I was able to swim it in 20 minutes.  It usually takes my about 35/40 minutes to swim a mile in the pool.  We then transitioned onto the bikes.  Had to get the wetsuit off while trying to run to my bike and then had to get socks and bike shoes on and then hop on the bike to start the 40 KM (about 25 miles) ride.  The ride was through back roads and country side that was really beautiful.  About halfway through my ride is when some people from the wave behind me started to catch me.  They wrote our ages on one of ours calves during check in so when people passed you would know if they were catching you from waves behind. I felt like I was riding as hard as possible, about 18 miles an hour with my heart rate in the upper 180's, but I just wasn't keeping up.  I still beat my goal time, but everyone else just made it look a lot easier.  I came into the second transition area and quickly switched out my bike shoes for my running shoes.  The course started straight up hill but then luckily leveled off quickly.  They didn't let us have music, but luckily I found another racer who was running the same pace as me so we took off together.  We carried a pretty quick pace and were gradually picking people off, I am happy to say that no one passed us.  I was able to keep up with her for about 4 miles, but my heart rate had been in the 190's and then jumped up to 195, so I had to back off a little bit.  My last 2 miles were a little slower, but I kept it steady.  As always I finished with a kick.  I finished the whole race in 2:36:44.  My goal time was 3 hours, so I am very happy with the results.  I wish I could have pushed it a little harder on the bike, but it is what it is.  It really was a fun race.  They had everything so well organized and you really can't beat the current aided swim.  Sunni did extremely well.  She actually beat my time, she killed me on the bike portion, but I'd like to attribute some of that to the amazing coach she had that wrote her training plan for her.

After the race we cooled off a little and ate some fruit and then grabbed our gear and headed back to the Taylor's house to shower off and get packed up.  I then hopped in Sunni's van with her and Akirah and we were off to Rexburg for Mason's mission farewell.  He did a great job and it was great to spend time with family.  This was the first time I have ever been away from the kids without Craig, it was a little weird, but also nice.  Sunday afternoon I rode with my Mom and Tucker back to Burley to get my car and then finished the drive back to Boise.  It was a great weekend.  I am glad the race is over, especially the training.  It was very time consuming, but I am really glad that I did it.  Now on to the next adventure.