I thought about doing "a post a day" in December but Lord only knew it wasn't happening. The transmission went out on the big gray bus, my baby sis had her first baby, I had to do a job for St. Michael Patch (our new local news site...check to see if you have a Patch.com site for your town!), I put Trina in a few classes at the high school, and there are many many many other things still on the schedule until before Christmas.
I can't wait until Lent.
Lent is more of a time waiting than Advent is. Advent seems to be a little more "bustle-y" for our family and it's not a matter of going around freaking out about gifts. It's more of a time of everything-falls-to-crap and we're playing catch up all month.
Maybe it's the same for a lot of other families. I know that things aren't all bad or dramatic (like a new baby or two!) but it feels like I've been on overdrive and it's always one step forward, then WHAMO back about 10 steps. I need to focus more on the 'reason for the Season'. Of course, everyone needs to be reminded of that this time of year, right?
Part of my new project was to visit businesses in the area so I got to see a lot of what was available in my town and I've actually gone back to 6 of the businesses (so far) to purchase something in the past 3 days. I stopped by a computer refurb store and bought a computer so this one doesn't have any pictures loaded up on it yet for that oh-so-exciting picture people always want to see with a new post.
I'll illustrate with words:
I look like an old lady with about 10 new wrinkles, unshaven legs, barely showered body, haircolor that's all worn out, my house is a disaster area, my kids are ignored, my hubs is yelling at me to stop writing on my blog and get back to work, and I gotta gooooooo......
Adios. Until I have a minute to breathe.
P.S. My legs are always unshaven this time of year. I just threw it in for your extra added enjoyment.
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label update. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The End
...of a lot of things this year. It seems time to say goodbye to a friend. It's the "end" of his life here on earth, but the beginning of his eternal rest. Please pray for him and his family.
Butch didn't have any major endings, but he didn't have any major illnesses or injuries this year!
The end of my marathon endeavors. I won't be running another marathon. Maybe I'll run another half this year, but I'm pretty sure the marathon training and run wrecked me for the Olympics, anytime soon.
It's the end of the never-ending weird weather year. We barely had a summer. I hope the winter will be mild and short and we have a refreshing, decent MN summer.
This year marked the end of a marriage in our family. It shook us to our core and seriously damaged our ability to trust. We have become much stronger through this, don't worry, but please pray for the family as we try to figure out the new "normal" and if you don't mind, pray that my brother finds a good job to support his family.
This year was the end of our 8 member family! We're working on number 9 and everything is going very well in that regard. She'll be making her appearance around April 18th.
This year has also seen the end of a two-driver-only family. Katrina got her driver's permit now and all we need are some clear roads for her to practice on, so she can get her license in the fall of 2010!
We all worked on playing guitar since last Christmas and we've all gained a TON of knowledge and ability (YAY for youtube!). For a very minimal cost, we've been able to get guitars for everyone and free lessons to each other and from the internet. I highly recommend this method of music education. When you are learning something that you love and that can be picked up relatively easily, take advantage of it! We can't afford expensive lessons for all the kids, so this was a great adventure that can last for years!
Matty became an official altar boy this year, that's something new. He RELUCTANTLY did the training and has helped for exactly ONE Mass (one more this weekend then for Anna's wedding next weekend), but it's a start and helps him to better understand the Mass and become more "church community" involved. It really helps that we seem to get totally cool priests that kid around with the kids but are completely reverent and orthodox for Masses.
It was the end of waiting for Weazy to receive our Lord in the Eucharist! She had her FHC this spring and it was a wonderful event for her. She really couldn't wait (even though I tend to want to wait until I think they're ready...she really was ready!) and got to receive with her cousins and the parish school kids.
It was the end of total homeschooling for this family. I tried Kindergarten for Bocker this year and he LOVES it. It's been getting hard to wake him up so early for the bus, but I think I'll be driving him a lot this winter, and I don't mind. It's all kindergarten at his school (public) so I like the idea of him learning the early skills from someone other than me for just a couple hours a day. Hey, it's free, right? I'll bring him back home next year, as I don't really think he'd do well at the bottom of the "pecking order" in the grade school and I think he has learned the patience to sit and do lessons now at home. I really like the primary school, though, so I'll be sending the other kids there when they are ready for Kindergarten too. Hopefully they'll all get the same teacher. I like her style.
It was the end of Mariela drawing stick persons with giant heads and spiky hair. That girl draws me at least 30 pictures a day with massive scenery and details you can not believe. I have to get my scanner fixed so I can put some of her amazing art on the art blog.
No major endings for Tommy. He's just working on all the new things like being a super football fan of the universe! He is hilarious in his knowledge of the game and excitement for it. He plunks his little body down in the crook of Matty's arm or Daddy's and watches and cheers like an old pro fan. I can't believe he'll only turn TWO this February! It seems like he's been around forever.
We ended our first year babysitting the two neighbor girls. We've had a few bumps with separation anxiety here and there, but we've really enjoyed the extra company and watching them grow along with our little ones. I think Tommy is in love with the 1 year old. He can't keep his hands or lips off of her when she comes in the morning. He loves ALL babies, of course, but, I think because she only comes a few times a week with weekend breaks, that he appreciates her more when he sees her after a long separation. It will be interesting to see how he acts with the new girl in the house! I don't know if any other girl could ever replace his "ee-yah" (what he calls the neighbor girl). I can see the future where our lives separate maybe for years and they meet again in college and realize they've loved each other all along...heehee, that would make a cute story!
Well, I'm starting to think of more and more BEGINNINGS and less endings, so I'll stop now and continue the stories in the NEW YEAR...maybe even tomorrow! Hopefully, it will be a happier, less stressful year. I don't THINK it will be, but I do hope it will be. That's all we can do, right?
Happy New Year, everyone!
Butch didn't have any major endings, but he didn't have any major illnesses or injuries this year!
The end of my marathon endeavors. I won't be running another marathon. Maybe I'll run another half this year, but I'm pretty sure the marathon training and run wrecked me for the Olympics, anytime soon.
It's the end of the never-ending weird weather year. We barely had a summer. I hope the winter will be mild and short and we have a refreshing, decent MN summer.
This year marked the end of a marriage in our family. It shook us to our core and seriously damaged our ability to trust. We have become much stronger through this, don't worry, but please pray for the family as we try to figure out the new "normal" and if you don't mind, pray that my brother finds a good job to support his family.
This year was the end of our 8 member family! We're working on number 9 and everything is going very well in that regard. She'll be making her appearance around April 18th.
This year has also seen the end of a two-driver-only family. Katrina got her driver's permit now and all we need are some clear roads for her to practice on, so she can get her license in the fall of 2010!
We all worked on playing guitar since last Christmas and we've all gained a TON of knowledge and ability (YAY for youtube!). For a very minimal cost, we've been able to get guitars for everyone and free lessons to each other and from the internet. I highly recommend this method of music education. When you are learning something that you love and that can be picked up relatively easily, take advantage of it! We can't afford expensive lessons for all the kids, so this was a great adventure that can last for years!
Matty became an official altar boy this year, that's something new. He RELUCTANTLY did the training and has helped for exactly ONE Mass (one more this weekend then for Anna's wedding next weekend), but it's a start and helps him to better understand the Mass and become more "church community" involved. It really helps that we seem to get totally cool priests that kid around with the kids but are completely reverent and orthodox for Masses.
It was the end of waiting for Weazy to receive our Lord in the Eucharist! She had her FHC this spring and it was a wonderful event for her. She really couldn't wait (even though I tend to want to wait until I think they're ready...she really was ready!) and got to receive with her cousins and the parish school kids.
It was the end of total homeschooling for this family. I tried Kindergarten for Bocker this year and he LOVES it. It's been getting hard to wake him up so early for the bus, but I think I'll be driving him a lot this winter, and I don't mind. It's all kindergarten at his school (public) so I like the idea of him learning the early skills from someone other than me for just a couple hours a day. Hey, it's free, right? I'll bring him back home next year, as I don't really think he'd do well at the bottom of the "pecking order" in the grade school and I think he has learned the patience to sit and do lessons now at home. I really like the primary school, though, so I'll be sending the other kids there when they are ready for Kindergarten too. Hopefully they'll all get the same teacher. I like her style.
It was the end of Mariela drawing stick persons with giant heads and spiky hair. That girl draws me at least 30 pictures a day with massive scenery and details you can not believe. I have to get my scanner fixed so I can put some of her amazing art on the art blog.
No major endings for Tommy. He's just working on all the new things like being a super football fan of the universe! He is hilarious in his knowledge of the game and excitement for it. He plunks his little body down in the crook of Matty's arm or Daddy's and watches and cheers like an old pro fan. I can't believe he'll only turn TWO this February! It seems like he's been around forever.
We ended our first year babysitting the two neighbor girls. We've had a few bumps with separation anxiety here and there, but we've really enjoyed the extra company and watching them grow along with our little ones. I think Tommy is in love with the 1 year old. He can't keep his hands or lips off of her when she comes in the morning. He loves ALL babies, of course, but, I think because she only comes a few times a week with weekend breaks, that he appreciates her more when he sees her after a long separation. It will be interesting to see how he acts with the new girl in the house! I don't know if any other girl could ever replace his "ee-yah" (what he calls the neighbor girl). I can see the future where our lives separate maybe for years and they meet again in college and realize they've loved each other all along...heehee, that would make a cute story!
Well, I'm starting to think of more and more BEGINNINGS and less endings, so I'll stop now and continue the stories in the NEW YEAR...maybe even tomorrow! Hopefully, it will be a happier, less stressful year. I don't THINK it will be, but I do hope it will be. That's all we can do, right?
Happy New Year, everyone!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
December Ending
Well, with the best of intentions, I didn't make it through December with a post-a-day.
I was sick, that's my excuse. It seems like EVERYONE went through a barfing flu-type thing (at least on facebook!) so this family must have caught that virus too. I think it hit all the girls. So far, it hasn't affected any boys in the house...but I'm waiting for that other shoe to drop, as it always does.
I haven't been getting ANY sleep. I am stressed out and have a bad cold sore. I thought I was going to go into labor with the barfing I did yesterday.
The GOOD news is, Anna's wedding is next weekend! Yeeeehawwwww! We have a slight dilemma regarding the new address of our soon to be brother-in-law. The kids already have an "Uncle Matt". So far, we've been addressing the NEW Uncle Matt like this: Future Uncle Matt. Since that will no longer be applicable, we've decided we have to come up with some alternative name for him. What should it be??? "Uncle Matt 2" sounds lame. "Little Uncle Matt/Big Uncle Matt" are kind of rude sounding since both of them are pretty big but new Uncle Matt is quite tall. "Anna's Matt" just doesn't do him justice. We'll have to think on that one some more. Both of their last names sound a little goofy and not as personal, so we can't go by "Uncle (last name here)".
Okeydokey, ONE more post tomorrow for December, then I'll really try to post weekly, at least. I'll also try to scrounge up my camera (where did I leave that thing?) and post some more pictures or beg some off of Trina. I'm also going to try to record some of Matty's accomplishments on the guitar. He's really taking off with that thing. We need to find him a decent amp., though so he can shred some electric guitar for a change. I think that's where he'll really shine!
Now, I have to head out to ALDI for some groceries, even though I still feel like junkola. We have NO butter, eggs, cheese, bread, or other basics in the house. I did miss the whole week's trip last week but we filled in with holiday meals so we didn't feel the hurt until today!
Oh man, I just looked at Mariela and she has a goatee. It's purple marker colored. She's really been bored this morning and she's been using a marker to write in her workbook...and all over herself, apparently...oh, wait...some of the furniture too. It's a never ending battle around here, I tell ya. I have to go show her a mirror now. I'll try to get a picture before she gets a bath.
(used my cellphone)
I was sick, that's my excuse. It seems like EVERYONE went through a barfing flu-type thing (at least on facebook!) so this family must have caught that virus too. I think it hit all the girls. So far, it hasn't affected any boys in the house...but I'm waiting for that other shoe to drop, as it always does.
I haven't been getting ANY sleep. I am stressed out and have a bad cold sore. I thought I was going to go into labor with the barfing I did yesterday.
The GOOD news is, Anna's wedding is next weekend! Yeeeehawwwww! We have a slight dilemma regarding the new address of our soon to be brother-in-law. The kids already have an "Uncle Matt". So far, we've been addressing the NEW Uncle Matt like this: Future Uncle Matt. Since that will no longer be applicable, we've decided we have to come up with some alternative name for him. What should it be??? "Uncle Matt 2" sounds lame. "Little Uncle Matt/Big Uncle Matt" are kind of rude sounding since both of them are pretty big but new Uncle Matt is quite tall. "Anna's Matt" just doesn't do him justice. We'll have to think on that one some more. Both of their last names sound a little goofy and not as personal, so we can't go by "Uncle (last name here)".
Okeydokey, ONE more post tomorrow for December, then I'll really try to post weekly, at least. I'll also try to scrounge up my camera (where did I leave that thing?) and post some more pictures or beg some off of Trina. I'm also going to try to record some of Matty's accomplishments on the guitar. He's really taking off with that thing. We need to find him a decent amp., though so he can shred some electric guitar for a change. I think that's where he'll really shine!
Now, I have to head out to ALDI for some groceries, even though I still feel like junkola. We have NO butter, eggs, cheese, bread, or other basics in the house. I did miss the whole week's trip last week but we filled in with holiday meals so we didn't feel the hurt until today!
Oh man, I just looked at Mariela and she has a goatee. It's purple marker colored. She's really been bored this morning and she's been using a marker to write in her workbook...and all over herself, apparently...oh, wait...some of the furniture too. It's a never ending battle around here, I tell ya. I have to go show her a mirror now. I'll try to get a picture before she gets a bath.
(used my cellphone)
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Snowy December
(Huh? I THOUGHT I posted on Christmas eve! Here is the post I had in my edit draft pile but never got a chance to hit the "publish" button, for some reason. Better late, than never!)
We're not stuck, but it's looking very White Christmas-y around here! Butch and the neighbor have been puzzling over the non-starting snowblower...no go. So, it's a group thing and we're all attacking the piles of snow together. We had Butch's family over this morning for a very successful brunch. Now, I have to put together some stuff for the Dehmer party (my family) over at Trine's.
I'm sending Analise with Butch and whoever else wants to go to the children's Mass (Weazy is in the choir) and then we're off to try and get up Trine's driveway. I'm in the choir for midnight Mass, so we'll (hopefully) be able to make it back to town!
Joyful Christmas Eve, everyone!
(p.s. I know Enya is a little freaky/new-agey but this rendition is beautiful!)
We're not stuck, but it's looking very White Christmas-y around here! Butch and the neighbor have been puzzling over the non-starting snowblower...no go. So, it's a group thing and we're all attacking the piles of snow together. We had Butch's family over this morning for a very successful brunch. Now, I have to put together some stuff for the Dehmer party (my family) over at Trine's.
I'm sending Analise with Butch and whoever else wants to go to the children's Mass (Weazy is in the choir) and then we're off to try and get up Trine's driveway. I'm in the choir for midnight Mass, so we'll (hopefully) be able to make it back to town!
Joyful Christmas Eve, everyone!
(p.s. I know Enya is a little freaky/new-agey but this rendition is beautiful!)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
December Confusion
Hmmm, I thought I wrote a post yesterday? Guess I didn't! I got up early, got Bocker off to school, took some of the kids last-minute shopping, babysat the rest of the day, then went to a neighbor's party with our whole family. I met some new neighbors, which was really nice.
WHEW! Today is a little bit calmer.
I woke up around 11:30 to Analise SCREAMING, "MOM!". Mari had a high fever and was feeling terrible. I brought her downstairs to try to get her to take some Tylenol and sleep on the couch. Her fever must have broke in the middle of the night because she feels just fine and perky again now. That was different.
Tomorrow is going to (possibly) be another day of babysitting, keeping the kids from driving each other nuts (it's supposed to start snowing and NOT stop), and figuring out some last minute Christmas stuff.
If I can round up my camera, I'm going to post some funny pictures later. Have a great day!
WHEW! Today is a little bit calmer.
I woke up around 11:30 to Analise SCREAMING, "MOM!". Mari had a high fever and was feeling terrible. I brought her downstairs to try to get her to take some Tylenol and sleep on the couch. Her fever must have broke in the middle of the night because she feels just fine and perky again now. That was different.
Tomorrow is going to (possibly) be another day of babysitting, keeping the kids from driving each other nuts (it's supposed to start snowing and NOT stop), and figuring out some last minute Christmas stuff.
If I can round up my camera, I'm going to post some funny pictures later. Have a great day!
Monday, June 22, 2009
What Was I Thinking? (*with updates)
(* I just realized, as I re-read this post this morning, that you will probably feel like YOU ran the marathon after reading it! Hahaha, now you don't have to go run one! Isn't that nice of me?)
Thursday night:
I've got to get this house cleaned up for Trina. She'll be here for the weekend with the kids and needs a clean slate. Plus, that way I'll know that it's not MY fault when the house is messy HAHAHA if I come home to a messy house on Sunday!
Butch needs some sort of vacation after this event. What can I do for him. Too tired to think of something so I'll have to revisit that one.
Will all the kids be safe while I'm gone? Will I remember to pray for the people I promised to pray for? Yes. I just have to believe in those things or this will all be for nothing. I have to make this be for SOMETHING.
Friday morning:
Are all the kids safe and where they should be? I hope I don't get sick on the ride up to Duluth. I'm getting a little sick on the ride up to Duluth. It was fun though! It was great to bond with Trine and have an exciting talk about what and how we would be feeling re:the race. We need to pray for Anna who is saying she has a bad head cold and will have to RUN tomorrow with that awfulness! Do we have every thing we need to make dinner tonight? Will we be able to have time to do the things we wanted to do (like see the talk by Dick Beardsley at 4 pm, watch Anna's Matt and her bff, Maggie race the 5k at 6pm) and still get to bed on time? Will we be able to sleep at all? Probably not. Nobody sleeps the night before a marathon. Too much to worry about...holycrap...did I remember to pack my SHOES? Haha just kidding...no worries, I remembered everything. We watch Matt and Maggie come in from the 5k and they do GREAT. We are so proud of them! Dang, it's downright COLD! We are shivering and a fog is rolling in. It's hard to see even a couple hundred yards away. I hope it's this cool tomorrow!
Friday night:
I can't think about the race so I'll just practice the guitar. I've got a great audience. Miss Maggie is singing along and we are having a great time. Food was good for on the fly (darn boys burnt the chicken on the grill...ate it anyway). Hope I ate enough FIBER. We ALL hope we ate enough fiber! Hope we didn't eat TOO MUCH fiber! Can't sleep. Knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. How could tonight be any different than ANY night of any week? I will just lay here and try not to think about how quiet this house is, about how sore I'll be tomorrow at this time, about how I hope they don't have those loud frogs like we do in the pond outside my window, about how great it is that the weather report we last saw said that it will be 65 and partly sunny tomorrow! PERFECT weather for a run!
Saturday morning:
I'M UP! I'm ready! We are getting dressed but I don't know if I should put my shoes on until the verrrrry laaaaaast seeeeeeecond because DANG I'll be in those things most of this day! We are taking some pictures outside before we go and over in the woods Butch spies a deer! Is that some kind of good omen? I hope so. We are all feeling pretty good but there is the ride to Two Harbors and three girls who get easily carsick...
What if we have to go pee and the start is too close? What if we have to pee during the race? Wonder if we'll see anyone we know? There are THOUSANDS of people here! Whoa. We see Andy B., Trine's old buddy from school! He wishes us luck and we wish him the same. We all go into our zones (Trine at 3:50, Anna somewhere around 4:30 and me in the back forty hahaha. I'm juuuuust in front of the "Walkers" sign. Sigh. Oh well, I know my limits. I chat with some folks who don't mind the chat. They aren't bothering to stretch or anything. It seems like I'm not the only "firster" here today. What's that over ther...WHY CAN'T THOSE DUDES SEE THAT I CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEIR JUNK WHEN THEY PEE BEHIND THOSE BUSHES? I am TRYING to avert my eyes but sheesh could you get any more gross, you guys? Those bushes are NOT opaque and do you even care? I don't think they care. People are ditching their sweatshirts ALREADY! Noelle sends a text (I am carrying my phone. I am used to it because I carry it for training, for safety so I figure that's okay...it does feel a little like I'm cheating for some stupid reason.). The text reads "83 percent humidity UGH!". Uh oh. This is NOT good. This is not according to plan. We did not train in any humidity. Wind. Yes. Extreme cold. Yes. Rain. Yes. Heat and humidity? N O
What's my plan? My plan is to scrap any plans. Just pretend it's a normal, training run and drink a little more than usual. Pray for the peeps and just GO.
I love those fighter jets and the loudspeaker playing the theme from "Top Gun" WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!
And, WE'RE OFF! It's 7:30 and most people are still sleeping in and I'm running a MARATHON! HOlYMOLY. I try not to but I can't help but text Trina to tell her we're starting. I take a picture of myself going through the starting line. It takes me a while to even get there after the gun goes off. Actually, I can't even HEAR the gun because I'm so far in the back of the line! I hear some peeps behind me talking to a very old man and asking him if he's "that guy" who ran 100 marathons or something like that. He is. They clap for him. I think, "way to go, old dude! I bet you'll BEAT me" hahaha.
It's pretty hot. No, it's REALLY hot. It will get cooler next to the lake, right, RIGHT?
Mile One:
Remember to pray. This one's for the hubs. I can't believe he's here. Wonder when I'll actually see him on the side. Wonder if I'll actually need the food in the bag they're carrying. It's REALLY hot. It's not really cooling off at all. Oh well, it usually takes me around 3-5 miles to get the legs working. Pace yourself, Laura. Pray for a while. It's hot.
Mile Two:
Oh, those balloons came up really fast! Yeah! Mile one gone! Okay, gotta pray for Trina now. Pray she's doing well with the little ones and everyone is safe and happy. Prayingprayingpraying...sheesh, it's pretty hot still. I think it's getting hotter. No, I'm getting hotter because I'm running. Keep praying. Oh, here come the balloons yay mile three already! Wow, I might have to start kicking it up a notch, because I'm doing so well already but I have to remember to pace myself yes pace myself pace pace pace pray pray pray.
Mile Three:
Wow, it's friggin hot. Okay, pray for Matty now. This mile is like Matty. It started out pretty tough, got easier around the middle, and now it's getting very hard at the end (pre-teen aaaack!) but it's totally doable. Even though it's veryveryvery hot now and I really could use a drink. I can tell because my throat is dry and my gum is getting sticky already ALREADY? Wait, I'm only on mile THREE? That never happens when I train!?
I'm in trouble.
The only time that's ever happened was during the 22 mile training run where we didn't drop water and I got dehydrated and almost passed ou...NO. That will NOT happen! YEAH! There's PLENTY of water here! Here it comes right there get some water in you now NOW. Noelle said "if you drink water you just mix a little of the replenisher stuff with water, take a little when you slow down a little, then dump the rest" yeah, I'll just do that. One thing though. I can't run after I drink THREE CUPS OF WATER. Why am I drinking so much dang water? Why do I still feel thirsty after I drank so much but my stomach is sloshing around and I can barely JOG now?
I'm in trouble.
Mile four:
This is just a regular run (pray pray pray for Weazy). I should just treat this like a regular run, right? It's VERY hot. That is true. But if I just treat it like a regular run I'll be just fine. I just passed the 4:30 balloons yay! I might even do better than I thought by one, whole hour! I COULD do better...I've certainly TRAINED to do better! Yes, I really can do bett...Oh, I'm super thirsty again though and I'll have to take some water at the next aid station. Oh man, I don't drink this much water when I train. This is getting really bad, I don't know when to stop or when to pass the water and wait until the next one. What if I don't get water but I need it, then I pass out halfway through the mile because I didn't drink? Man, it's just flippin hot. I can't cool off even though I'm stuffing icecube after icecube down the front of my shirt and splashing a whole cup of water on to my body and head at every stop. I am not drying off in between. That's significant, isn't it? Keep praying, you still have to pray for Weazy on this mile, right? Or wait, is it Bocker now? I don't remember if I passed the balloons for mile 5. If I pass the balloons, does that mean I've RAN for five miles? Or, does it mean that this IS the fifth mile? I've got to keep that straight.
Mile five, or six or both:
I'm losing touch of reality. There are so many bodies around me in varying states of sweat and the sounds are getting to me. The dragging of feet, the sliding of shuffling feet, the smell of the overdose of cologne, perfume, sweat, dirty hair, ugh. It's all probably ME I'm smelling. I'm a mess already. This sucks bad. Have to remember to pray for Weazy, Bocker, or whomever. Okay, it's gotta be Bocker but I'll pray for both of them, just in case.
Mile six, I think:
Waterwaterwater. I see a bathroom. I don't really have to go but I should. I've been drinking buckets of water and a person who drinks buckets of water SHOULD pee, for gosh sakes. I wait but don't mind the wait. That's good. I'm very controlled. I really don't care that I'll have to add about 5 minutes to my finishing time. I mentally pat myself on the back for being a good sport about it. Some guy comes out of the stall on the right and says, "It's kind of a mess in there."
Talk about understatement of the WHOLE DAY.
There's poo EVERYWHERE. It looks like someone took a poo gun and it exploded right as a crap bomb went off around the time a cow took a break from chewing it's cud and shat all of the contents of her stomach in the general direction of the exploding shit bomb.
Wow. I think and SAY to the lady next to me, "Ya know, maybe TODAY isn't the time to do the 'hover' maneuver. I think that today, a person could just suck it up and go ahead and SIT when they have to do something like that!!!".
She agrees.
We use the stall on the left and leave the stall on the right for the boys who only need to STAND and don't actually have to risk touching anything other than their sweaty selves. Ugh.
I step inside the biffy and it's 200 degrees AT LEAST in there. I gasp and try not to touch anything, or breathe. I realize that I can only manage a few drops and then my stomach falls to my feet as I know what that means.
There's really no coming back from dehydration, Laura. You gave it a good go. Today is not your day. Just finish this dang thing.
I go out and start running but I know it's just a matter of time before I can't anymore. Pray. You promised you would so do it. At least you can do that. I see the bridge, buildings and town of Duluth and that is my destination. Geez it's far away! Imagine if I have to WALK there?! NO. I WILL run there. It will only take a few more hours. Pretend it's just Albertville to Corcoran, you've done that before! You can do it again! Oh, wait, pretend it's Albertville, to Corcoran...twice. In one day.
Oh geez.
Everyone around me is breathing a sigh of relief because there is a slight, cold breeze around this corner. Oh, wait. It's gone. It WAS wonderful though. It keeps us going, hoping that the closer we get to the lake and Duluth, maybe we'll get more of it?
Mile 7,8,9ish:
Praypraypray
I'm thinking very hard about my youngest three kids but the doubts and heat are getting to me. I'm trying to balance all the scales in my head at the same time. Do I push it and keep trying for my goal? Do I take it easy, knowing I'm already so parched and I will never recover or might even pass out or hurt myself? Am I needlessly worrying and should I just slow down on the water a little? The next water station comes up and I'm determined to just take a few, little sips but I end up drinking four cups of water, one cup of replenisher, and grabbing a cup of ice for the road.
I officially "give up" I start walking with the ice and give in to a moment of absolute, self pity. I start to inwardly cry for all the hard work that I believe is for naught. Something stops me. I tell myself "NO, you promised to pray for people. Remember WHO they are and why you are praying for them!!!" So, as the ice melts (so I can drink it...I'm already thirsty again). I remember that moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, brothers and SISTERS are next.
Praypraypray.
I see Butch and the boys and I try to eat half of a nutrition bar but that just depresses me. I almost feel like I haven't worked hard enough to deserve "lunch". They tell me that Anna is only about five minutes ahead of me and that Trine is about 20 minutes ahead of her and they are both suffering but Anna is really bad. (I found out later that she lost it and cried like crazy because her nose was really running and her cold was making it impossible to run with any kind of comfort). I keep going because I'm running again after the little break and I don't want to stop running because it's SO HARD to start running again after I stop to walk. Why is it HARDER to walk, but almost impossible to start running again? My muscles don't even REMEMBER how to do that dang 'walking' thing that my body is making me do.
Miles 11-16ish:
GUTTING through. Praying, walking, jogging, trying not to get distracted by evil thoughts about the annoying lady who is blahblahblahing about crap I don't even care about. Why does she have to be so loud on this road where everyone around her is panting, sweating, walk-jogging, to get to that place waaaaaaaay over there in that foggy distance? Doesn't she KNOW how long I've trained for this EVENT? I've half a mind to turn around and punch her lights out but I've no energy left.
Say the St. Michael prayer for the runners around you. You can't be the only one suffering like this. Pray nobody pushes too hard and actually dies. It could happen. St. Michael, protect us all.
I've forgotten the part about "just have fun!". I'm a double loser. Pray. Okay, I've officially "given up" for about the 5th time now. I see Elvis in white and Elvis in black and I need to get a picture to text to Trina at home. I might as well enjoy the goofiness around me instead of get frustrated with it. There are SO MANY GOOD FANS around and they are encouraging EVERYONE alllllldaaaayyyyyy. It might even be harder to be a fan than to run this thing! I take a picture with Elvis. I decide that I'm going to notice the nice things around me instead of that pavement four feet ahead of me. LOOK UP! Be glad you are not the lady who brought the whole belt full of heavy things to weigh her down. It looks HOT to carry all that stuff! I only need my phone, my gum, my lip stuff. People are handing out all the necessary things along the way (YAY SUNSCREEN! YAY ADVIL! HAHAHA VASELINE EW NO THAT'S JUST GROSS!). I need to remember to pray for the peeps. Praypraypray. Walkwalkwalk.
Mile 16 I think I don't remember: I see Butch sometime again and I tell him, "I know I can make it if I can just get to mile 18. He fans me with my "Go Laura!" sign and a nice lady fans me with a HUGEMONGOUS sign because she's all out of orange slices and I think she sees me eyeing the one she's saved for her daughter and I feel like I could grab a rind off the road and suck on it at that point. I NEED to stop. I want to stop oh how I do. What's the point of this thing again? I could just hop in the car with Butch and Matt (Anna's Matt) and drive off. It would be sooooo nice. Everyone would understand! Off I go, see ya suckers...yeah, right. Everyone would understand but I wouldn't. I would always feel like a huge bum if I didn't at least just TRY to finish. I'm not going to KILL myself, but I WILL finish! Mile 18mile18mile18...bye boys! See ya at 20!
I am tanked. There is a really skinny, older woman who is walking the same pace as me. She's super tanned and looks like "a runner". I chat with her a little and then a lot. She's got a son who lives in Africa who runs a mission for children of AIDS and they have 6 children. I find out also that her husband had spinal stenosis or something like that and we walk and walk. We talk about our training and our goals and she's pretty much in the same boat as I am and that makes me feel better. She mentions after mile 18 (yay! we made it!) that she's glad she has someone to talk to because she's not really feeling all that good. I really look at her and decide to slow down even more because she's not really LOOKING all that good. I ask her what she needs and she is quiet for a bit. We walk and chat some more until we hit the next water station and she perks up a bit and says "if you feel good, you should just go when you feel like running" and I say that when I see Butch at 20 miles, I might just do that.
Mile 20-24:
No Butch. It's okay, we're in town now and the fans are getting closer together and louder (but it sure seems like there aren't as many as last year...that must mean something). Still praying but it's getting hard to concentrate with obnoxious music all around but I promised.
I start jogging again but stop when I get to the water. WATERWATERWATER why do I have to drink so MUCH of it??? I am totally screwing myself every time because it SLOWS me down and I have to walk for about a half mile and it's SOOOO hard to start again after that!? UGH! I am frustrated, sore, my knee hurts (NEVER happened BEFORE) and my hands are swollen to twice their normal size. I alternate being hot and feverish and being cold and shivery with goosebumps and everything. I am angry because if my knee didn't hurt so bad, and if the humidity would die down a little, I could actually RUN the last, few miles. I really try but there's the dang bridge and there's NO WAY I'm running up that thing. Some time ago, the balloons passed me for 5:30 and I'm waiting to get passed up by the six hour balloons. I figured maybe they passed me when I went in for my second, futile bathroom break sometime in there? Whatever. I'm in town now. I'll just take it easy and jog when I can...or not.
Mile 25:
All along, I'm thinking about how it's "just ___ more miles" but this idiot guy says something like "It's only .2 more miles!" HA, I think and I say "you are a liar!" because I remember that jackass from LAST YEAR and I know where I am. It's ONE point two miles 'til the finish you jerk. How dare he get my hopes up like that? Especially now, so close to the end and me at the back of the line anyway???
oh yeah
PRAYPRAYPRAY that I don't have enough energy to go back after I've finished the race and poke that guy in the eye with a stolen fork from Grandma's restaurant.
I hear him protest that "I'm not lying...somethingsomethingwhateverwhatever" and a lady looks at me funny as if to say, "WHY would you call that guy a liar?" but then she looks ahead to how much more we have to run and she doesn't say anything. One mile after 25 sure is a lot harder to manage than one more mile after 12, I'd just like to state that one for the record.
Mile 26...point two:
I bump into a group of women who are wearing the gear belts with all the bells and whistles. I hear one of them say to the group, "lets just stop and walk for a bit then we'll jog strong around the next corner!" they all agree and I say, "Yeah, I'm in for that plan." We walk for a bit with me, feeling a little like the 5th wheel lame-o girl picked last for the kickball game and I mention something about should I have these goosebumps and should I actually be cold? One of the ladies grabs a gu packet and hands it to me saying something like "Oh, you must be (insert runner lingo for "you need some nutrition of some sort" here) do you want raspberry flavor?". WHATEVER lady. I take one just to be polite but then realize my mistake as it goes sliding down my throat and gums up the works. ACK! There are no water stations and I'm too polite at that point to ask her for a swig of whatever water she might have on her cumbersome, yet oh-so-handy, saddlebag laden belt. Yikes. We hit the next corner and I say something super dorky like "Yeah, lets do this thing!" (oh my Gosh, did I just say that? I MUST be going loopy!) so we jog really strong for about 2 blocks then fade like a bunch of losers when we realize just how far we are from the finish. We say to each other "The NEXT corner...for SURE!" and laugh at how stupid that sounds this late in the game. I let them jog away from me and figure I'm just going to have to end this "race" the same way I started...all alone.
HEY! There's MAGGIE! Right there on my left, screaming and shouting "LAURA!". I feel happy that I'm jogging and not walking because she's there cheering me on and that is so nice of her! I whip out my phone and film myself crossing the finish line for Trina and see Butch and Trine's Matt on the right. They say "good job" and fill me in on where Trine and Anna are. They are in the restaurant, trying to keep cool. Don't you know it's 91 degrees? I've waited SO LONG to go get some food and strawberries and all that good stuff...
But
I'm cold, and shivering, and thirsty, and tired, and wet.
Someone puts a heavy medal around my neck and I wait for the handing of the water and the wrapping of the mylar that I was so surprised by last year after the half marathon.
NOTHING
I cough...ahem, sir, could I please have some water? This kind man with a huge tub of Aquafina bottles hands me another CUP OF FREAKIN WARM WATER and I just about lose it. I don't even have the time to grab a bottle of that nice stuff so I ask him for more when he sees that I gulped the whole thing down in .2 seconds, didn't he realize that I would need another...
Oh whatever.
I go to pick up my T-shirt and think it's a nice shade of green but can't they see that I'm tired and where can I change my sopping, wet clothes?
I go pick up my race bag and practically collapse on the table where I dared to lean on it, waiting for the man to get my bag for me.
I forget that Butch told me to go to the "C-D" sign to meet him and Matt and I go to the changing tent. I give myself a wipey bath with my winnie the pooh wipey container that I had put in my racebag, change every stitch of my clothes, put my wet junk into my racebag and put the whole works into the really neato backpack-like thingy I bought at the expo the day before. That was a good idea to pack that thing in the racebag. ONE good idea for the day, anyway, right? Heh heh. I'm feeling a little perkier now that I'm out of my icky clothes. Some lady starts chatting with me from across the tent and I don't feel like chatting with a naked lady when I have this mixed blessing of a photographic memory so I won't get the sight of her nipples out of my mind forever so I gather up my stuff and see a black pair of shorts that are really sweet, but not mine. I snatch them (they were abandoned) and think "Yay, sweaty free shorts!". I figure they would be just fine after they were washed with all my icky stuff. Wow, I'm pretty much losing any kind of germophobia I may have had before all this, aren't I?
I hobble over to Grandma's restaurant and find Trine and Anna dazed and confused on the floor. They try to get up and we all try to make a plan of what to do next but none of us knows. We eventually (after Butch and Matt come and find me and yell at me for not meeting them at "C-D" hahaha) decide to just sit down and eat like normal people and we all re-hash what we just went through.
I ate a rueben sandwich in about 3 bites. Also, a plate full of french fries sopping with ketchup.
There. Whew. That was kind of hard to do. I can tell you more (especially if you ask me specific questions), but that was basically it. I left out a lot of the details of the people watching that I was doing and a lot of the emotional stuff I kind of stuffed to the background or was overcome by the prayer. It was a HUGE learning experience, that's for sure.
The end was so...anticlimactic, I guess. I was expecting it to be a little more like last year where I felt so GOOD after the race (...emotionally. I felt a lot worse, physically last year so I know the training worked well this year!) and people were so attentive. This year, I had to go up to some guy and say "Hey, I have the SHIVERS!" before he wrapped me in some mylar and said something like "There ya go! That oughtta do it!" and he acted like I had the plague or something. I didn't expect confetti, or fawning accolades, or anything but sheesh!
Alrighty, it's late and I gotta go to bed. It feels good to get the whole story out there, though. Your story will/would be different and mine would probably be too, if I ever tried this again. There can only be ONE "first marathon" though! This is probably the longest post I've ever posted. I'll try to post the pictures that go with the story tomorrow.
(*I can't believe I forgot to post my final time! As I came up to the finish line, I saw the clock read just under 6 hours so I thought my final goal could be to "beat" that six hour mark and that's when I tried to push one, last time.
My half marathon time was only slightly longer than it was last year, which is pretty good, considering how hot it was and how I was trying to go a LOT slower to pace myself for the whole thing. It was 2:34:12. Last year, it was 2:22:40 WITH an 8 minute bathroom break. My final chip time was 5:48:05. It took me seven minutes to even reach the start line so my overall time was 5:55:12. My pace for this race was 13:33/mile. My training pace was between 9-11 minutes per mile, depending on snow/wind/ice/length of run.)
Thursday night:
I've got to get this house cleaned up for Trina. She'll be here for the weekend with the kids and needs a clean slate. Plus, that way I'll know that it's not MY fault when the house is messy HAHAHA if I come home to a messy house on Sunday!
Butch needs some sort of vacation after this event. What can I do for him. Too tired to think of something so I'll have to revisit that one.
Will all the kids be safe while I'm gone? Will I remember to pray for the people I promised to pray for? Yes. I just have to believe in those things or this will all be for nothing. I have to make this be for SOMETHING.
Friday morning:
Are all the kids safe and where they should be? I hope I don't get sick on the ride up to Duluth. I'm getting a little sick on the ride up to Duluth. It was fun though! It was great to bond with Trine and have an exciting talk about what and how we would be feeling re:the race. We need to pray for Anna who is saying she has a bad head cold and will have to RUN tomorrow with that awfulness! Do we have every thing we need to make dinner tonight? Will we be able to have time to do the things we wanted to do (like see the talk by Dick Beardsley at 4 pm, watch Anna's Matt and her bff, Maggie race the 5k at 6pm) and still get to bed on time? Will we be able to sleep at all? Probably not. Nobody sleeps the night before a marathon. Too much to worry about...holycrap...did I remember to pack my SHOES? Haha just kidding...no worries, I remembered everything. We watch Matt and Maggie come in from the 5k and they do GREAT. We are so proud of them! Dang, it's downright COLD! We are shivering and a fog is rolling in. It's hard to see even a couple hundred yards away. I hope it's this cool tomorrow!
Friday night:
I can't think about the race so I'll just practice the guitar. I've got a great audience. Miss Maggie is singing along and we are having a great time. Food was good for on the fly (darn boys burnt the chicken on the grill...ate it anyway). Hope I ate enough FIBER. We ALL hope we ate enough fiber! Hope we didn't eat TOO MUCH fiber! Can't sleep. Knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. How could tonight be any different than ANY night of any week? I will just lay here and try not to think about how quiet this house is, about how sore I'll be tomorrow at this time, about how I hope they don't have those loud frogs like we do in the pond outside my window, about how great it is that the weather report we last saw said that it will be 65 and partly sunny tomorrow! PERFECT weather for a run!
Saturday morning:
I'M UP! I'm ready! We are getting dressed but I don't know if I should put my shoes on until the verrrrry laaaaaast seeeeeeecond because DANG I'll be in those things most of this day! We are taking some pictures outside before we go and over in the woods Butch spies a deer! Is that some kind of good omen? I hope so. We are all feeling pretty good but there is the ride to Two Harbors and three girls who get easily carsick...
What if we have to go pee and the start is too close? What if we have to pee during the race? Wonder if we'll see anyone we know? There are THOUSANDS of people here! Whoa. We see Andy B., Trine's old buddy from school! He wishes us luck and we wish him the same. We all go into our zones (Trine at 3:50, Anna somewhere around 4:30 and me in the back forty hahaha. I'm juuuuust in front of the "Walkers" sign. Sigh. Oh well, I know my limits. I chat with some folks who don't mind the chat. They aren't bothering to stretch or anything. It seems like I'm not the only "firster" here today. What's that over ther...WHY CAN'T THOSE DUDES SEE THAT I CAN ACTUALLY SEE THEIR JUNK WHEN THEY PEE BEHIND THOSE BUSHES? I am TRYING to avert my eyes but sheesh could you get any more gross, you guys? Those bushes are NOT opaque and do you even care? I don't think they care. People are ditching their sweatshirts ALREADY! Noelle sends a text (I am carrying my phone. I am used to it because I carry it for training, for safety so I figure that's okay...it does feel a little like I'm cheating for some stupid reason.). The text reads "83 percent humidity UGH!". Uh oh. This is NOT good. This is not according to plan. We did not train in any humidity. Wind. Yes. Extreme cold. Yes. Rain. Yes. Heat and humidity? N O
What's my plan? My plan is to scrap any plans. Just pretend it's a normal, training run and drink a little more than usual. Pray for the peeps and just GO.
I love those fighter jets and the loudspeaker playing the theme from "Top Gun" WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!
And, WE'RE OFF! It's 7:30 and most people are still sleeping in and I'm running a MARATHON! HOlYMOLY. I try not to but I can't help but text Trina to tell her we're starting. I take a picture of myself going through the starting line. It takes me a while to even get there after the gun goes off. Actually, I can't even HEAR the gun because I'm so far in the back of the line! I hear some peeps behind me talking to a very old man and asking him if he's "that guy" who ran 100 marathons or something like that. He is. They clap for him. I think, "way to go, old dude! I bet you'll BEAT me" hahaha.
It's pretty hot. No, it's REALLY hot. It will get cooler next to the lake, right, RIGHT?
Mile One:
Remember to pray. This one's for the hubs. I can't believe he's here. Wonder when I'll actually see him on the side. Wonder if I'll actually need the food in the bag they're carrying. It's REALLY hot. It's not really cooling off at all. Oh well, it usually takes me around 3-5 miles to get the legs working. Pace yourself, Laura. Pray for a while. It's hot.
Mile Two:
Oh, those balloons came up really fast! Yeah! Mile one gone! Okay, gotta pray for Trina now. Pray she's doing well with the little ones and everyone is safe and happy. Prayingprayingpraying...sheesh, it's pretty hot still. I think it's getting hotter. No, I'm getting hotter because I'm running. Keep praying. Oh, here come the balloons yay mile three already! Wow, I might have to start kicking it up a notch, because I'm doing so well already but I have to remember to pace myself yes pace myself pace pace pace pray pray pray.
Mile Three:
Wow, it's friggin hot. Okay, pray for Matty now. This mile is like Matty. It started out pretty tough, got easier around the middle, and now it's getting very hard at the end (pre-teen aaaack!) but it's totally doable. Even though it's veryveryvery hot now and I really could use a drink. I can tell because my throat is dry and my gum is getting sticky already ALREADY? Wait, I'm only on mile THREE? That never happens when I train!?
I'm in trouble.
The only time that's ever happened was during the 22 mile training run where we didn't drop water and I got dehydrated and almost passed ou...NO. That will NOT happen! YEAH! There's PLENTY of water here! Here it comes right there get some water in you now NOW. Noelle said "if you drink water you just mix a little of the replenisher stuff with water, take a little when you slow down a little, then dump the rest" yeah, I'll just do that. One thing though. I can't run after I drink THREE CUPS OF WATER. Why am I drinking so much dang water? Why do I still feel thirsty after I drank so much but my stomach is sloshing around and I can barely JOG now?
I'm in trouble.
Mile four:
This is just a regular run (pray pray pray for Weazy). I should just treat this like a regular run, right? It's VERY hot. That is true. But if I just treat it like a regular run I'll be just fine. I just passed the 4:30 balloons yay! I might even do better than I thought by one, whole hour! I COULD do better...I've certainly TRAINED to do better! Yes, I really can do bett...Oh, I'm super thirsty again though and I'll have to take some water at the next aid station. Oh man, I don't drink this much water when I train. This is getting really bad, I don't know when to stop or when to pass the water and wait until the next one. What if I don't get water but I need it, then I pass out halfway through the mile because I didn't drink? Man, it's just flippin hot. I can't cool off even though I'm stuffing icecube after icecube down the front of my shirt and splashing a whole cup of water on to my body and head at every stop. I am not drying off in between. That's significant, isn't it? Keep praying, you still have to pray for Weazy on this mile, right? Or wait, is it Bocker now? I don't remember if I passed the balloons for mile 5. If I pass the balloons, does that mean I've RAN for five miles? Or, does it mean that this IS the fifth mile? I've got to keep that straight.
Mile five, or six or both:
I'm losing touch of reality. There are so many bodies around me in varying states of sweat and the sounds are getting to me. The dragging of feet, the sliding of shuffling feet, the smell of the overdose of cologne, perfume, sweat, dirty hair, ugh. It's all probably ME I'm smelling. I'm a mess already. This sucks bad. Have to remember to pray for Weazy, Bocker, or whomever. Okay, it's gotta be Bocker but I'll pray for both of them, just in case.
Mile six, I think:
Waterwaterwater. I see a bathroom. I don't really have to go but I should. I've been drinking buckets of water and a person who drinks buckets of water SHOULD pee, for gosh sakes. I wait but don't mind the wait. That's good. I'm very controlled. I really don't care that I'll have to add about 5 minutes to my finishing time. I mentally pat myself on the back for being a good sport about it. Some guy comes out of the stall on the right and says, "It's kind of a mess in there."
Talk about understatement of the WHOLE DAY.
There's poo EVERYWHERE. It looks like someone took a poo gun and it exploded right as a crap bomb went off around the time a cow took a break from chewing it's cud and shat all of the contents of her stomach in the general direction of the exploding shit bomb.
Wow. I think and SAY to the lady next to me, "Ya know, maybe TODAY isn't the time to do the 'hover' maneuver. I think that today, a person could just suck it up and go ahead and SIT when they have to do something like that!!!".
She agrees.
We use the stall on the left and leave the stall on the right for the boys who only need to STAND and don't actually have to risk touching anything other than their sweaty selves. Ugh.
I step inside the biffy and it's 200 degrees AT LEAST in there. I gasp and try not to touch anything, or breathe. I realize that I can only manage a few drops and then my stomach falls to my feet as I know what that means.
There's really no coming back from dehydration, Laura. You gave it a good go. Today is not your day. Just finish this dang thing.
I go out and start running but I know it's just a matter of time before I can't anymore. Pray. You promised you would so do it. At least you can do that. I see the bridge, buildings and town of Duluth and that is my destination. Geez it's far away! Imagine if I have to WALK there?! NO. I WILL run there. It will only take a few more hours. Pretend it's just Albertville to Corcoran, you've done that before! You can do it again! Oh, wait, pretend it's Albertville, to Corcoran...twice. In one day.
Oh geez.
Everyone around me is breathing a sigh of relief because there is a slight, cold breeze around this corner. Oh, wait. It's gone. It WAS wonderful though. It keeps us going, hoping that the closer we get to the lake and Duluth, maybe we'll get more of it?
Mile 7,8,9ish:
Praypraypray
I'm thinking very hard about my youngest three kids but the doubts and heat are getting to me. I'm trying to balance all the scales in my head at the same time. Do I push it and keep trying for my goal? Do I take it easy, knowing I'm already so parched and I will never recover or might even pass out or hurt myself? Am I needlessly worrying and should I just slow down on the water a little? The next water station comes up and I'm determined to just take a few, little sips but I end up drinking four cups of water, one cup of replenisher, and grabbing a cup of ice for the road.
I officially "give up" I start walking with the ice and give in to a moment of absolute, self pity. I start to inwardly cry for all the hard work that I believe is for naught. Something stops me. I tell myself "NO, you promised to pray for people. Remember WHO they are and why you are praying for them!!!" So, as the ice melts (so I can drink it...I'm already thirsty again). I remember that moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, brothers and SISTERS are next.
Praypraypray.
I see Butch and the boys and I try to eat half of a nutrition bar but that just depresses me. I almost feel like I haven't worked hard enough to deserve "lunch". They tell me that Anna is only about five minutes ahead of me and that Trine is about 20 minutes ahead of her and they are both suffering but Anna is really bad. (I found out later that she lost it and cried like crazy because her nose was really running and her cold was making it impossible to run with any kind of comfort). I keep going because I'm running again after the little break and I don't want to stop running because it's SO HARD to start running again after I stop to walk. Why is it HARDER to walk, but almost impossible to start running again? My muscles don't even REMEMBER how to do that dang 'walking' thing that my body is making me do.
Miles 11-16ish:
GUTTING through. Praying, walking, jogging, trying not to get distracted by evil thoughts about the annoying lady who is blahblahblahing about crap I don't even care about. Why does she have to be so loud on this road where everyone around her is panting, sweating, walk-jogging, to get to that place waaaaaaaay over there in that foggy distance? Doesn't she KNOW how long I've trained for this EVENT? I've half a mind to turn around and punch her lights out but I've no energy left.
Say the St. Michael prayer for the runners around you. You can't be the only one suffering like this. Pray nobody pushes too hard and actually dies. It could happen. St. Michael, protect us all.
I've forgotten the part about "just have fun!". I'm a double loser. Pray. Okay, I've officially "given up" for about the 5th time now. I see Elvis in white and Elvis in black and I need to get a picture to text to Trina at home. I might as well enjoy the goofiness around me instead of get frustrated with it. There are SO MANY GOOD FANS around and they are encouraging EVERYONE alllllldaaaayyyyyy. It might even be harder to be a fan than to run this thing! I take a picture with Elvis. I decide that I'm going to notice the nice things around me instead of that pavement four feet ahead of me. LOOK UP! Be glad you are not the lady who brought the whole belt full of heavy things to weigh her down. It looks HOT to carry all that stuff! I only need my phone, my gum, my lip stuff. People are handing out all the necessary things along the way (YAY SUNSCREEN! YAY ADVIL! HAHAHA VASELINE EW NO THAT'S JUST GROSS!). I need to remember to pray for the peeps. Praypraypray. Walkwalkwalk.
Mile 16 I think I don't remember: I see Butch sometime again and I tell him, "I know I can make it if I can just get to mile 18. He fans me with my "Go Laura!" sign and a nice lady fans me with a HUGEMONGOUS sign because she's all out of orange slices and I think she sees me eyeing the one she's saved for her daughter and I feel like I could grab a rind off the road and suck on it at that point. I NEED to stop. I want to stop oh how I do. What's the point of this thing again? I could just hop in the car with Butch and Matt (Anna's Matt) and drive off. It would be sooooo nice. Everyone would understand! Off I go, see ya suckers...yeah, right. Everyone would understand but I wouldn't. I would always feel like a huge bum if I didn't at least just TRY to finish. I'm not going to KILL myself, but I WILL finish! Mile 18mile18mile18...bye boys! See ya at 20!
I am tanked. There is a really skinny, older woman who is walking the same pace as me. She's super tanned and looks like "a runner". I chat with her a little and then a lot. She's got a son who lives in Africa who runs a mission for children of AIDS and they have 6 children. I find out also that her husband had spinal stenosis or something like that and we walk and walk. We talk about our training and our goals and she's pretty much in the same boat as I am and that makes me feel better. She mentions after mile 18 (yay! we made it!) that she's glad she has someone to talk to because she's not really feeling all that good. I really look at her and decide to slow down even more because she's not really LOOKING all that good. I ask her what she needs and she is quiet for a bit. We walk and chat some more until we hit the next water station and she perks up a bit and says "if you feel good, you should just go when you feel like running" and I say that when I see Butch at 20 miles, I might just do that.
Mile 20-24:
No Butch. It's okay, we're in town now and the fans are getting closer together and louder (but it sure seems like there aren't as many as last year...that must mean something). Still praying but it's getting hard to concentrate with obnoxious music all around but I promised.
I start jogging again but stop when I get to the water. WATERWATERWATER why do I have to drink so MUCH of it??? I am totally screwing myself every time because it SLOWS me down and I have to walk for about a half mile and it's SOOOO hard to start again after that!? UGH! I am frustrated, sore, my knee hurts (NEVER happened BEFORE) and my hands are swollen to twice their normal size. I alternate being hot and feverish and being cold and shivery with goosebumps and everything. I am angry because if my knee didn't hurt so bad, and if the humidity would die down a little, I could actually RUN the last, few miles. I really try but there's the dang bridge and there's NO WAY I'm running up that thing. Some time ago, the balloons passed me for 5:30 and I'm waiting to get passed up by the six hour balloons. I figured maybe they passed me when I went in for my second, futile bathroom break sometime in there? Whatever. I'm in town now. I'll just take it easy and jog when I can...or not.
Mile 25:
All along, I'm thinking about how it's "just ___ more miles" but this idiot guy says something like "It's only .2 more miles!" HA, I think and I say "you are a liar!" because I remember that jackass from LAST YEAR and I know where I am. It's ONE point two miles 'til the finish you jerk. How dare he get my hopes up like that? Especially now, so close to the end and me at the back of the line anyway???
oh yeah
PRAYPRAYPRAY that I don't have enough energy to go back after I've finished the race and poke that guy in the eye with a stolen fork from Grandma's restaurant.
I hear him protest that "I'm not lying...somethingsomethingwhateverwhatever" and a lady looks at me funny as if to say, "WHY would you call that guy a liar?" but then she looks ahead to how much more we have to run and she doesn't say anything. One mile after 25 sure is a lot harder to manage than one more mile after 12, I'd just like to state that one for the record.
Mile 26...point two:
I bump into a group of women who are wearing the gear belts with all the bells and whistles. I hear one of them say to the group, "lets just stop and walk for a bit then we'll jog strong around the next corner!" they all agree and I say, "Yeah, I'm in for that plan." We walk for a bit with me, feeling a little like the 5th wheel lame-o girl picked last for the kickball game and I mention something about should I have these goosebumps and should I actually be cold? One of the ladies grabs a gu packet and hands it to me saying something like "Oh, you must be (insert runner lingo for "you need some nutrition of some sort" here) do you want raspberry flavor?". WHATEVER lady. I take one just to be polite but then realize my mistake as it goes sliding down my throat and gums up the works. ACK! There are no water stations and I'm too polite at that point to ask her for a swig of whatever water she might have on her cumbersome, yet oh-so-handy, saddlebag laden belt. Yikes. We hit the next corner and I say something super dorky like "Yeah, lets do this thing!" (oh my Gosh, did I just say that? I MUST be going loopy!) so we jog really strong for about 2 blocks then fade like a bunch of losers when we realize just how far we are from the finish. We say to each other "The NEXT corner...for SURE!" and laugh at how stupid that sounds this late in the game. I let them jog away from me and figure I'm just going to have to end this "race" the same way I started...all alone.
HEY! There's MAGGIE! Right there on my left, screaming and shouting "LAURA!". I feel happy that I'm jogging and not walking because she's there cheering me on and that is so nice of her! I whip out my phone and film myself crossing the finish line for Trina and see Butch and Trine's Matt on the right. They say "good job" and fill me in on where Trine and Anna are. They are in the restaurant, trying to keep cool. Don't you know it's 91 degrees? I've waited SO LONG to go get some food and strawberries and all that good stuff...
But
I'm cold, and shivering, and thirsty, and tired, and wet.
Someone puts a heavy medal around my neck and I wait for the handing of the water and the wrapping of the mylar that I was so surprised by last year after the half marathon.
NOTHING
I cough...ahem, sir, could I please have some water? This kind man with a huge tub of Aquafina bottles hands me another CUP OF FREAKIN WARM WATER and I just about lose it. I don't even have the time to grab a bottle of that nice stuff so I ask him for more when he sees that I gulped the whole thing down in .2 seconds, didn't he realize that I would need another...
Oh whatever.
I go to pick up my T-shirt and think it's a nice shade of green but can't they see that I'm tired and where can I change my sopping, wet clothes?
I go pick up my race bag and practically collapse on the table where I dared to lean on it, waiting for the man to get my bag for me.
I forget that Butch told me to go to the "C-D" sign to meet him and Matt and I go to the changing tent. I give myself a wipey bath with my winnie the pooh wipey container that I had put in my racebag, change every stitch of my clothes, put my wet junk into my racebag and put the whole works into the really neato backpack-like thingy I bought at the expo the day before. That was a good idea to pack that thing in the racebag. ONE good idea for the day, anyway, right? Heh heh. I'm feeling a little perkier now that I'm out of my icky clothes. Some lady starts chatting with me from across the tent and I don't feel like chatting with a naked lady when I have this mixed blessing of a photographic memory so I won't get the sight of her nipples out of my mind forever so I gather up my stuff and see a black pair of shorts that are really sweet, but not mine. I snatch them (they were abandoned) and think "Yay, sweaty free shorts!". I figure they would be just fine after they were washed with all my icky stuff. Wow, I'm pretty much losing any kind of germophobia I may have had before all this, aren't I?
I hobble over to Grandma's restaurant and find Trine and Anna dazed and confused on the floor. They try to get up and we all try to make a plan of what to do next but none of us knows. We eventually (after Butch and Matt come and find me and yell at me for not meeting them at "C-D" hahaha) decide to just sit down and eat like normal people and we all re-hash what we just went through.
I ate a rueben sandwich in about 3 bites. Also, a plate full of french fries sopping with ketchup.
There. Whew. That was kind of hard to do. I can tell you more (especially if you ask me specific questions), but that was basically it. I left out a lot of the details of the people watching that I was doing and a lot of the emotional stuff I kind of stuffed to the background or was overcome by the prayer. It was a HUGE learning experience, that's for sure.
The end was so...anticlimactic, I guess. I was expecting it to be a little more like last year where I felt so GOOD after the race (...emotionally. I felt a lot worse, physically last year so I know the training worked well this year!) and people were so attentive. This year, I had to go up to some guy and say "Hey, I have the SHIVERS!" before he wrapped me in some mylar and said something like "There ya go! That oughtta do it!" and he acted like I had the plague or something. I didn't expect confetti, or fawning accolades, or anything but sheesh!
Alrighty, it's late and I gotta go to bed. It feels good to get the whole story out there, though. Your story will/would be different and mine would probably be too, if I ever tried this again. There can only be ONE "first marathon" though! This is probably the longest post I've ever posted. I'll try to post the pictures that go with the story tomorrow.
(*I can't believe I forgot to post my final time! As I came up to the finish line, I saw the clock read just under 6 hours so I thought my final goal could be to "beat" that six hour mark and that's when I tried to push one, last time.
My half marathon time was only slightly longer than it was last year, which is pretty good, considering how hot it was and how I was trying to go a LOT slower to pace myself for the whole thing. It was 2:34:12. Last year, it was 2:22:40 WITH an 8 minute bathroom break. My final chip time was 5:48:05. It took me seven minutes to even reach the start line so my overall time was 5:55:12. My pace for this race was 13:33/mile. My training pace was between 9-11 minutes per mile, depending on snow/wind/ice/length of run.)
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Minnesota Nice!
There is a teeny-tiny window of niceness in spring. It comes after the rains and bloomings and before the nasty bugs. It's not as great as the autumn, but it's very wonderful after a snowy, cold winter and it's what keeps us living here after years and years of being punished by the harsh winters!
I haven't had a ton of time to post anything but we've been super busy, as usual. We have done some landscaping, put up a porch swing, re-arranged things around the front yard and porch, built two gardens (thanks to my bro-in-law, Matt, my hero, I love you, Matt and Butch who whipped them up in about an hour!), planted flowers and gardens, went to the Capitol and the Cathedral with Paula and her kids, went to the tax rally a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm trying to gut the house and purge it of all things unnecessary (for the city-wide garage sale...my poor, poor garage!). We have a bunch of re-do things to do around here. I'll take some good before and after photos. Follow Trina's blog for more updates, she's better at getting things posted fast than I am!
We visited our favorite spot for May Flowers (in the woods by where I grew up). Mari picked me a big bunch of them.
Mari got a hold of the camera and took a few pictures of things at the baseball game. We had to do something to keep her amused. Baseball is NOT her favorite pastime.
I took this shot of Matt to illustrate how ginormous he is in comparison to the other kids on his team. It's rare, when he's with his peers, that he is NOT the tallest one in the bunch. He and Bocker both were assigned the number 13, isn't that a funny coincidence?
We filled the sandbox with fresh sand but I have since moved it from the front porch (where the sand would make it's way right into the house) to the back yard where the gardens are. It makes a great container for Tommy while I am watering the garden and dreaming of the day when it provides wonderful herbs and veggies for the family...? We'll see!
I thought this was a funny picture of the van in front of the Cathedral. I think I'll title it "Pile In!" or maybe "Catholic Clown Car".
The whole reason for our field trip to St. Paul was to visit the replicas of the state capitol and cathedral in Legos. We got so much more than we bargained for! We got in on a bill signing with the governor! Paula's rep happened to be at the capitol that very morning to be there for the (ceremonial) signing of her first piece of passed legislation and she was so excited! We toured around the building for a while and even got a private tour of the Senate floor (thank you, senate information office dude!) then we met in the hallway with a whole bunch of my favorite people...old guys and soldiers! OLD SOLDIERS EVEN! DOUBLE BONUS! Apparently, it was some kind of veteran's funding bill thingy...whatever, I was in hog heaven, I tell you! The kids were really angels all day (especially in comparison to the unruly, loud, obnoxious groups of school kids who were there that day)...until the bill signing. Uh oh.
I already felt a little awkward horning in on their special day, but RIGHT when the governor came in to speak and pose for pictures, THAT'S when Mari and Bocker decided they'd had enough of acting niceynicey and started whining "I want to go home!" and "He's touching me!" and "AAAACK!" (that was Tommy, still in the backpack, realizing that his voice echoes nicely in that high ceilinged room!). We were in the far back of the crowd, and were hardly noticed, but if I had superpowers, my kids would be fried by the doom rays that were shooting out of my eyeballs at them. Oh well, we bolted from the room, ASAP but the bigger kids got to shake hands with the governor and Paula's kids got a picture with him!
OH, and there was a sign at the Cathedral that clearly stated "Do Not Touch". It was not an interactive sculpture. Do you think that would stop Matty from going into Lego Zen Mode and trying to fix something he saw was broken on the model? We had to stop him before he morphed the Cathedral into some sort of weaponized, death star, galactic, robot monster, with wheels, and detachable fighter jets.
I'm captioning this last one:
"Yeah, Right!"
I haven't had a ton of time to post anything but we've been super busy, as usual. We have done some landscaping, put up a porch swing, re-arranged things around the front yard and porch, built two gardens (thanks to my bro-in-law, Matt, my hero, I love you, Matt and Butch who whipped them up in about an hour!), planted flowers and gardens, went to the Capitol and the Cathedral with Paula and her kids, went to the tax rally a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm trying to gut the house and purge it of all things unnecessary (for the city-wide garage sale...my poor, poor garage!). We have a bunch of re-do things to do around here. I'll take some good before and after photos. Follow Trina's blog for more updates, she's better at getting things posted fast than I am!
We visited our favorite spot for May Flowers (in the woods by where I grew up). Mari picked me a big bunch of them.
Mari got a hold of the camera and took a few pictures of things at the baseball game. We had to do something to keep her amused. Baseball is NOT her favorite pastime.
I took this shot of Matt to illustrate how ginormous he is in comparison to the other kids on his team. It's rare, when he's with his peers, that he is NOT the tallest one in the bunch. He and Bocker both were assigned the number 13, isn't that a funny coincidence?
We filled the sandbox with fresh sand but I have since moved it from the front porch (where the sand would make it's way right into the house) to the back yard where the gardens are. It makes a great container for Tommy while I am watering the garden and dreaming of the day when it provides wonderful herbs and veggies for the family...? We'll see!
I thought this was a funny picture of the van in front of the Cathedral. I think I'll title it "Pile In!" or maybe "Catholic Clown Car".
The whole reason for our field trip to St. Paul was to visit the replicas of the state capitol and cathedral in Legos. We got so much more than we bargained for! We got in on a bill signing with the governor! Paula's rep happened to be at the capitol that very morning to be there for the (ceremonial) signing of her first piece of passed legislation and she was so excited! We toured around the building for a while and even got a private tour of the Senate floor (thank you, senate information office dude!) then we met in the hallway with a whole bunch of my favorite people...old guys and soldiers! OLD SOLDIERS EVEN! DOUBLE BONUS! Apparently, it was some kind of veteran's funding bill thingy...whatever, I was in hog heaven, I tell you! The kids were really angels all day (especially in comparison to the unruly, loud, obnoxious groups of school kids who were there that day)...until the bill signing. Uh oh.
I already felt a little awkward horning in on their special day, but RIGHT when the governor came in to speak and pose for pictures, THAT'S when Mari and Bocker decided they'd had enough of acting niceynicey and started whining "I want to go home!" and "He's touching me!" and "AAAACK!" (that was Tommy, still in the backpack, realizing that his voice echoes nicely in that high ceilinged room!). We were in the far back of the crowd, and were hardly noticed, but if I had superpowers, my kids would be fried by the doom rays that were shooting out of my eyeballs at them. Oh well, we bolted from the room, ASAP but the bigger kids got to shake hands with the governor and Paula's kids got a picture with him!
OH, and there was a sign at the Cathedral that clearly stated "Do Not Touch". It was not an interactive sculpture. Do you think that would stop Matty from going into Lego Zen Mode and trying to fix something he saw was broken on the model? We had to stop him before he morphed the Cathedral into some sort of weaponized, death star, galactic, robot monster, with wheels, and detachable fighter jets.
I'm captioning this last one:
"Yeah, Right!"
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Just Some Clean-up
1. We are not moving to KC, Butch just might be working there for an extended period and we might go to live there for a short time to be with him (1-3 months), sometime in the next six months. We're not even sure that he'll be sent, just want to find out if there are any blog friends out thatta way, just in case. (Someone responded and we are super excited to have a built in community of people that we already know through the blogs. A good church and homeschool community is there for the taking when/if we do go to KC!) This is still a big MAYBE and if we did go there, it would just be like a long vacation and maybe only for a couple of weeks at a time.
2. I got the BEST CD from Trina for Mother's Day and didn't have a pic of it for that post...so here it is:
It is very adorable and I listen to it nearly every day. I love how they are married and their love for each other comes through in their music.
3. I hurt my leg running on Sunday. The day before, I ran 10 miles later in the day and it felt great so I ran pretty fast but I think it was too much to do another 14.5 the next day. I didn't even try to run the 5 for Monday because I just thought I needed a rest, but when I tried to run on Tuesday, a pain shot from my right knee all the way up the outside of my thigh to my hip/femur joint and it HURT! I couldn't manage more than a fast walk for a couple of miles and every time I tried to jog, it was horrible. I'm taking today off and every day until I can run without feeling like I'm breaking my bones with every step. It's depressing but I know I'll be right as rain in a couple days.
4. Thomas says "Mama" now. It's a conditional arrangement where he only says it in moments of distress, when he thinks no one will notice. He never repeats it around me. If I am in the room, he says "Dada!" and laughs his head off. Just now, I told him to say it and he said, "Tractor" and also pointed to the tv to distract and confuse everyone. He's a smart little dickens.
5. Butch hurt his back. He was reaching down to help Mari in the bathroom and his back went "POP!" and his muscle bulged out. He is old. He is getting slowly better and taking it easy (he is the foreman and his guys are taking care to make him NOT do things he shouldn't) at work. We are quite the pair, huh?
Okay, I'm off to watch Trine's kiddos while she gets to run. I'm not really jealous because the wind is 35mph and it's HOT out there. I'm going to rest and have some tea.
What do you do when your 11 year old won't eat conventional breakfast foods and drives you nuts because there's nothing he likes to eat for breakfast in the house? He crabs and rants and raves and becomes a total lunatic (very unlike his normal behavior) if he doesn't get some food in him. He refuses cereal (is he adopted???) and I am at my wit's end when I have to get to the grocery store. "There's nothing to eat!!!" is what I'm hearing right now and he's raging in the kitchen. My head is going to explode.
The thing is, if he eats something, he's perfectly normal and obedient. I know it's a blood sugar thing but I'm about ready to sell him to the circus freak show.
2. I got the BEST CD from Trina for Mother's Day and didn't have a pic of it for that post...so here it is:
It is very adorable and I listen to it nearly every day. I love how they are married and their love for each other comes through in their music.
3. I hurt my leg running on Sunday. The day before, I ran 10 miles later in the day and it felt great so I ran pretty fast but I think it was too much to do another 14.5 the next day. I didn't even try to run the 5 for Monday because I just thought I needed a rest, but when I tried to run on Tuesday, a pain shot from my right knee all the way up the outside of my thigh to my hip/femur joint and it HURT! I couldn't manage more than a fast walk for a couple of miles and every time I tried to jog, it was horrible. I'm taking today off and every day until I can run without feeling like I'm breaking my bones with every step. It's depressing but I know I'll be right as rain in a couple days.
4. Thomas says "Mama" now. It's a conditional arrangement where he only says it in moments of distress, when he thinks no one will notice. He never repeats it around me. If I am in the room, he says "Dada!" and laughs his head off. Just now, I told him to say it and he said, "Tractor" and also pointed to the tv to distract and confuse everyone. He's a smart little dickens.
5. Butch hurt his back. He was reaching down to help Mari in the bathroom and his back went "POP!" and his muscle bulged out. He is old. He is getting slowly better and taking it easy (he is the foreman and his guys are taking care to make him NOT do things he shouldn't) at work. We are quite the pair, huh?
Okay, I'm off to watch Trine's kiddos while she gets to run. I'm not really jealous because the wind is 35mph and it's HOT out there. I'm going to rest and have some tea.
What do you do when your 11 year old won't eat conventional breakfast foods and drives you nuts because there's nothing he likes to eat for breakfast in the house? He crabs and rants and raves and becomes a total lunatic (very unlike his normal behavior) if he doesn't get some food in him. He refuses cereal (is he adopted???) and I am at my wit's end when I have to get to the grocery store. "There's nothing to eat!!!" is what I'm hearing right now and he's raging in the kitchen. My head is going to explode.
The thing is, if he eats something, he's perfectly normal and obedient. I know it's a blood sugar thing but I'm about ready to sell him to the circus freak show.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Put Off 'Til Today
We have a very busy day today. Today is Analise's First Holy Communion. I will post pictures later.
Suuuure I will. I still have a monster post of the pictures I took outside the farmhouse. They are so nice, I can't wait to post them. Yes, I can.
I think I have Swine Flu. I have had a runny nose and aching everything for four days. It's slightly better today but it hurts when my eyeballs look sideways.
I am going to try to get Trina over to St. Paul later this afternoon to visit with an author who will be visiting a bookstore there. I would hate for her to miss that.
It's going to be tricky.
I was supposed to go for a long run today but the running has been on hold, due to complications of swine flu, of course.
I haven't run since the 8+ miles on Tuesday, or whatever day that was.
Oink.
Suuuure I will. I still have a monster post of the pictures I took outside the farmhouse. They are so nice, I can't wait to post them. Yes, I can.
I think I have Swine Flu. I have had a runny nose and aching everything for four days. It's slightly better today but it hurts when my eyeballs look sideways.
I am going to try to get Trina over to St. Paul later this afternoon to visit with an author who will be visiting a bookstore there. I would hate for her to miss that.
It's going to be tricky.
I was supposed to go for a long run today but the running has been on hold, due to complications of swine flu, of course.
I haven't run since the 8+ miles on Tuesday, or whatever day that was.
Oink.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Duluth
I love Minnesota (for about 4 months of the year).
I may have mentioned before that Butch works out of town a lot. I don't advertise when he does (for obvious safety reasons) but lately, on and off, for the last few months, he's worked mainly in and around Duluth, MN. He works most of the week (sometimes all week) when he gets a job "out of town". He typically comes home on the weekend but on occasion has worked out of state and has had to stay for a weekend.
Last year, we went to Alexandria, MN when he had a job there. That was very nice and it introduced the kids to the idea of the "mini-vacation". It's great because we get to go to rinky-dink little museums where there aren't hardly any people (everyone's in school!) and the volunteers there love to spend extra time with our little group.
We've been promising the kids all summer to visit Duluth but I'm so glad we waited until last week! The weather was PERFECT. School was in session so we were the only kids around. We got to walk from Canal Park right up to Butch work site and take pictures and video of his crew in action! It was a little weird for Butch to have his worlds collide like that but he really enjoyed having us there to break up the boredom.
He stays in a hotel across the HUGEST bridge in Superior, WI (which is decidedly a NOT fabulous town) because it's a whole lot cheaper but very close to Duluth. We stayed in a suite so we didn't drive each other nuts and we all fit in there just fine.
I planned only one night and to visit the zoo but we ended up NOT going to the zoo and staying two extra nights.
Here are some pictures of some of the things we did.
HOTEL
(I had to buy a cheapy camera, another Kodak Easy Share, on this vacation so my pictures are a little blurry but as I was trying it out, I took this one of Bocker and Matty eating continental breakfast. Matty looked up and said, "No pictures on my vacation!" sorry Matty, no can do)
Mari started playing with the "kissing bears" she brought in her "packpack" to the hotel. They were REALLY gettin' it on, and the kids and I were completely shocked at the sound her bears made while making out. We asked her where they could have possibly learned that behavior. I still don't know.
I may have mentioned before that Butch works out of town a lot. I don't advertise when he does (for obvious safety reasons) but lately, on and off, for the last few months, he's worked mainly in and around Duluth, MN. He works most of the week (sometimes all week) when he gets a job "out of town". He typically comes home on the weekend but on occasion has worked out of state and has had to stay for a weekend.
Last year, we went to Alexandria, MN when he had a job there. That was very nice and it introduced the kids to the idea of the "mini-vacation". It's great because we get to go to rinky-dink little museums where there aren't hardly any people (everyone's in school!) and the volunteers there love to spend extra time with our little group.
We've been promising the kids all summer to visit Duluth but I'm so glad we waited until last week! The weather was PERFECT. School was in session so we were the only kids around. We got to walk from Canal Park right up to Butch work site and take pictures and video of his crew in action! It was a little weird for Butch to have his worlds collide like that but he really enjoyed having us there to break up the boredom.
He stays in a hotel across the HUGEST bridge in Superior, WI (which is decidedly a NOT fabulous town) because it's a whole lot cheaper but very close to Duluth. We stayed in a suite so we didn't drive each other nuts and we all fit in there just fine.
I planned only one night and to visit the zoo but we ended up NOT going to the zoo and staying two extra nights.
Here are some pictures of some of the things we did.
HOTEL
(I had to buy a cheapy camera, another Kodak Easy Share, on this vacation so my pictures are a little blurry but as I was trying it out, I took this one of Bocker and Matty eating continental breakfast. Matty looked up and said, "No pictures on my vacation!" sorry Matty, no can do)
Mari started playing with the "kissing bears" she brought in her "packpack" to the hotel. They were REALLY gettin' it on, and the kids and I were completely shocked at the sound her bears made while making out. We asked her where they could have possibly learned that behavior. I still don't know.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Post Snatcher
I thought I'd take a break from posting about politics and post some pics of the kids and I and some things we've been up to. Thing is, I still don't have a camera so I'm at the mercy of my daughter's Polaroid digital point and shoot and whether she's generous enough to download the pictures so I can use them (insert teenager eye-rolling here).
So, to get her back for being such a stingy sharer, I stole the post she just made on HER blog bwaaaaahahahahahahahaha. I'm the "cool" mom on the block for sure now (as if I wasn't before).
HERE IT IS!:
We went to Beebe lake (It was too cold to swim, but we walked in the sand, on the pier, and in the woods surrounding the lake):
For some reason, Tommy couldn't take his eyes off of my camera...
"Must get camera!!"
"Man, I wish I could chew on that thing!!"
Tommy started sitting up on his own:
Me and Weazy learned how to install doorknobs in the basement. ( And we got the second coat of paint done in my room! Won't be long now...)
...And I got a haircut... Again :)
So, to get her back for being such a stingy sharer, I stole the post she just made on HER blog bwaaaaahahahahahahahaha. I'm the "cool" mom on the block for sure now (as if I wasn't before).
HERE IT IS!:
We got our things ready for school:
We went to Beebe lake (It was too cold to swim, but we walked in the sand, on the pier, and in the woods surrounding the lake):
For some reason, Tommy couldn't take his eyes off of my camera..."Ooh shiny...."
"Must get camera!!"
"Man, I wish I could chew on that thing!!"
Tommy started sitting up on his own:
Me and Weazy learned how to install doorknobs in the basement. ( And we got the second coat of paint done in my room! Won't be long now...)
...And I got a haircut... Again :)
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