a little commotion

Sacrament meeting in my parents ward is pretty quiet. Some of our past wards had so many kids that sacrament meeting was really loud. This can be nice because my kids don't disturb so much all by themselves.

Today was a particularly quiet day. People go out of town a lot in the summer. Mark and I happened to be sitting in the second row right in the middle. My sweet little guy Gabe has a really strong gag reflex. If he has anything in his mouth that he doesn't want to swallow, he will throw up. Something about the sacrament bread did not agree with Gabe and he threw up all over. While Mark and I are trying to clean the puddles up with wet wipes he starts sneezing. Big sneezes that spew, over and over. Like 10 in a row. It got funny and Mark and I started laughing. Then I stepped on Abigail's bare foot with the heel of my pointy-heeled shoe, and she starts wailing. Mark and I quickly work out a game plan - quickly, but not very quietly since we were talking over Abigail and Gabe. The 5 second walk out of there seemed very long.

I wonder if anyone noticed?

To expound

Mark listened to the song below and didn't quite get the reference. Maybe if he was a little more focused he would have. *A.D.D.* :) It is a Christian song by Matthew West. I really like all of his songs. I love the message of forgiveness and repentance. Especially how Christ is the only one who can give us those, and if we lift up our sins or give them up to him, he'll heal us. It's so nice to have music with a great message to listen to while exercising.

Sweat and Tears

This is my new favorite song. I can hardly listen to it without crying. It's also a good workout song which makes for quite the situation. Crying on the treadmill at the gym. People must think I am so weird.

Where a grown up can be a kid

My wish list: a new camera.

I really want a new camera, and I'm hoping posting about it will remind me that I really want one the next time I want to spend money on clothes or candy or clothes. I'm officially saving for a camera.

Now, on to the pictureless post of our family at Knotts Berry Farm. :)

I've been trying to talk Mark into going to Disneyland forever. I really really want to go and to let our kids have the experience. It is just so expensive. So, we compromised with Knotts Berry Farm. Much cheaper and since my kids have never gone to an amusement park, they didn't know what they were missing.

It was a blast! The kids loved it, and I loved it. Mark also had fun. I was so glad for Abigail's growth spurt because she just barely made it on the little kid rides. The first one was little airplanes that go up and down, and surprisingly I was terrified to let her ride on them alone. I kind-of said something to myself like, "oooohhh I'm scared!" and some parents gave me looks like I was crazy.

Gabe was fearless and also got the most enjoyment out of the rides. He laughed so hard we thought he might throw up. He probably could have gone on the biggest coasters, and laughed. They wouldn't let him though. We tried to get him on one that was fairly big and spinney, but he got kicked off. He even stood on his tippy-toes like I told him. He was so sad because Emma got to ride on it. I was proud of myself because I refrained from telling him that if he would just eat his veggies then he'd grow big and get to ride the roller coasters. (not a good time)

Emma was very fun as well. She rode every ride and had fun. She'd get a little nervous before a big drop and then say, "that was awesome!" afterwards.

I snuck off and rode some rides by myself, which were awesome! I love them! We went with Tom and Krista who didn't seem to have any desire to ride on the big rides. I was so confused by this. I asked Mark if he thought roller coasters are a kid thing and part of growing up is just "out growing" them. He said no and they have just ridden them a lot more than I have. That's good, because I can not wait until my kids are old enough to go on all the rides and we can ride them over and over until they kick us out. Which is almost what happened this time actually. Emma was so tired when she was trying to eat dinner. She said something like, "I never want to go to an amusement park again if we are going to stay so long because I'm so tired. I'm just so tired!"

The kids were so good and there were hardly any people and the weather was so nice (almost a little chilly). It was the perfect day.

The Big Day

My training since my last post has been pretty non-existent. I tried really hard to get over my sickness. I rested a lot, which I actually don't like very much. I even took naps. Nothing was helping. I decided to just go and do the best I could and have fun.

The morning of the triathlon, I had a bad headache, but my throat was a lot improved. I felt great otherwise. I felt excited, and energized. The weather was fantastic, just a fabulous day to race.

The swim was great. I was worried about lining up in the wrong spot and either being stuck behind slow swimmers or having everyone pass me. I had to pass one person, which is good.

The bike was going pretty good. I was tired, but a good tired. I had to tell myself, "smooth, even strokes. Faster. " It was an improvement from last time for sure. Then TRAGEDY. There was not a lot of people around, and I wasn't paying attention where I was going. I was just following the biker in front of me. Well, I caught up to that biker, and they were not in the race, just someone riding their bike. I looked around at realized I was not on the course. I yelled, "NOOO!!!" The guy jumped. I kept yelling, "No, no, no!." After about6 or seven blocks, I was able to get back to the course, but I wanted to cry. I needed all the extra help I could get on the bike, and then to get lost. It was so sad. I kept going though, and I am proud to say no one passed me after that.

The run was also an improvement. I felt like I was able to run pretty fast. I had to tie my shoes twice, which brought back memories from basketball. I think it was Shelbee's mom who said she was going to bring duct tape for my shoes to the games. :)

It was a very enjoyable experience. I loved it! I feel like I pushed myself good, and had fun. (except for getting lost)

They originally posted my time as 1:13. I was pretty pleased with that, but online it is listed as 1:19. I'm not sure why the big difference. I found out last year the times were off a little, and I am not really trusting them this time. I think next time I'll bring a stop watch, just to be sure. Anyway, it's an okay time. There were 700 racers, and I got 69th place overall, and 10th in my division. I wish I didn't get lost, I'd have loved to see my time. Getting lost really crushed my spirits. But there will be more triathlons I am really motivated to keep training. There is so much to learn and improve on. So thanks for bearing with the training posts. It has been kind-of fun to write about it. :)

Balance

Sickness. I really don't like you.

I can't believe the last two weeks before the triathlon, I get sick. It really stinks. I have two thoughts.

1: It is hard for me to figure out what I am supposed to be doing for training. By that I mean, what kind of intensity, and duration, and in what order. It's not good to over train or under train. It's frustrating knowing that I could be hurting myself when I think I am improving myself. Throwing sickness into the mix just makes it harder. I don't know what to do right now because I am sick and I have a race in 6 days. And I didn't really do anything last week. Do I rest completely? Do I exercise a little? Do I make up for last week and go hard?

2: Triathlons are supposed to be fun and challenging, but not stressful. I don't want to allow something in my life that is going to cause me stress and worry. I already struggle a little with balancing exercise and family life. I've mentioned before, some days I wish I could exercise all day. But I have to be careful that training doesn't precede family and home life. If it's causing stress, then there is definitely a problem. Who needs added stress in their life?

With this is mind, I am just going to do what I want to do this week, and try to take it easy. And enjoy the race this Saturday. (By doing this I have to lower my expectations a little) There will be more races in which I won't be sick the two weeks preceding it. :)

bleh

I'm sick.

I know. Really. I hate being sick and I can usually mentally push it out of my mind. I just keep moving because once I stop then I feel it. Mind over matter. So Keeping Mark's warning to stay home and rest in the back of my mind, I went to spin class. A very odd sensation to be sweating and very much out of breath, and shivering at the same time. I only stayed for half an hour before Mark's warning (my conscience) couldn't be ignored. I was frustrated and sick. After a very frustrating next hour of bad news, long lines, other's mistakes, forgetting Abigail's swim suit, forgetting our snacks I packed last night, trying not to cry etc, etc, etc, we finally made it to the pool. I LOVE the pool! Being outside is so nice, and I love just playing with the kids. I am very blessed. I can't be sick tomorrow though.

9 more days!