An Ironman Kind of Day...1/2 Ironman that is!

Yesterday (Sunday, the 18th), Chad and Jeff took on the challenge of a 1/2 Ironman and they did great!


I had the weekend trip planned out nicely...found a resort with a 2 bed/2 bath condo, water park, boat rentals, etc...only problem was that the weather didn't play along...it was pretty chilly and rainy on Saturday. The boys did all their checkins, meetings, etc while we hung out. Saturday night we cooked, numbered everything and headed to bed early.

Chad's age (above) and number (below)

Jeff's number (below)

Alyssa numbering Chad's bag

Alyssa is so good with Olivia...she let her brush her hair for the longest time and unfortunately Olivia doesn't have the "gentle" part when it comes to doing this - yikes!

Sunday we woke up bright and early (5:20am) and dropped Jeff and Chad off at Moonshine Beach for the 7:35am start. Alyssa, Oliva and I headed to pick up Chad's parents, park on The Landing and head to the beack on the world famous "Ducks".

Somewhere in this mass of purple caps are Jeff and Chad

Jeff in the transition (above) and Chad heading up from the swim (below)

Chad making his way into the transition area

The guys did great...Chad finished right where her wanted and Jeff did great too...There was a large enough gap between them that we missed Jeff heading out onto the bike and thought we'd missed Chad, but ended up seeing him too. Thankfully the beach area had a playground for the two girls while they were simming their 1.2 miles.

Next was on to the bike. For those of you not familiar with Southern Missouri, it's ALL HILLS...when I say HILLS, I MEAN HILLS! The plan was to be at the high school, but they had it all blocked off...thankfully I'm resourceful and ended up surprising Chad and Jeff at 425 and 248. They shut down the interstate for the ride and we got to see Chad 3 times, Jeff 2 times...they said they were so glad to see us...we were right at the top of to large climbs and they said they knew if they got to the top we would be there. We left them at mile marker 49, leaving 7 miles left to finish up. Jeff heading up the ramp and on to the final 6 miles (above), Chad making his way up, below
While Olivia was waiting for both of them to get back around and on the up ramp she was just chillin' with Grandma Wrinkle, eating her M&M's!

Conversation at that point...Mike: Chad, do you want a bannan? Chad: No, do you have a cig I can use? (No, my husband does not smoke!)

After leaving the bike I got both the girls lunch and then Alyssa told me that Olivia had fallen asleep...I was worried because I didn't know how I'd get her out of the car during her nap, but the weather had other things in store for me...all of the sudden the skies let loose...IT POURED! The storm was horrible and finally I decided it was time to brave it. Chad's mom stayed with Olivia (sleeping in the car) and his dad, Alyssa and I headed to Main Street where we thought we'd see them...sure enough, we saw Chad on his last loop and then headed to the finish line to wait for Jeff...Chad followed after. In case you want to know why there aren't any photos...it was still pouring and I didn't want to risk the camera...I took video on my phone. Both boys finished under what they were hoping....Jeff just under 6 hours and Chad at 6 hours, 25 minutes.

This is the only photo I have of the run course (taken before the rain, clearly!).

The girls snacking while waiting for the boys to pack up the bikes

We were all so proud of both of them! They couldn't have done a better job!

Outside Fun --- Washing the Car

This morning before lunch time Olivia suited up to help Daddy wash the car (s).

Can't forget the hat!

We've had a terrible heat wave in St. Louis...more than two weeks of around 100 degree temps (with additional heat index on top of that), so Olivia hasn't gotten outside much...it's just too hot. Today it's a tad cooler and there was water involved so we thought it would be fun for her to wash her car while Daddy washed my car!

I love this next sequence of photos...Olivia is standing on the side of my car...Chad has the hose (that's what she's looking at)...

Now time to wash Olivia's car...she thought this was great, but I think she might have been more entertained by the bucket of soapy water :)

Backyard Pool Diva!

Friday afternoon I decided it would be a pool day in the backyard...Tyler asked Olivia what simming suit she wanted to wear and after going through all of her suits about 10 times I went in there to "help" her make the decision. No, I didn't make it for her, we just held everything up and let her pick to avoid what happens when I choose the WRONG outfit...a very unhappy little girl!. Apparently it's much easier for her to pick the suit when they're all out at one time for her to see...THIS is the WHOLE outfit she decided to wear swimming!

Please notice the bangle bracelets in each hand

Upclose with the bracelets...

Whoops...I dropped one!

Cookie Monster!

Yes, I have a cookie eating machine on my hands! Sorry to say, she comes by it naturally!!!

Disney Day 2 -- Animal Kingdom and Epcot

We started the day with Animal Kingdom...how great is this place? We were there about 4 ours and only made it through Africa...I don't even know if we made is all the way through Africa.

The safari ride was fantastic! Olivia loved riding and seeing all of the animals...needless to say so did John and Cash!

The train to the petting zoo area (affection area as Disney so nicely puts it!) was great and Olivia was really into it...I can't wait to take her to the zoo in St. Louis so she can enjoy the children's area...last year she still wasn't quite into it, but this year is going to be different...she LOVES animals.

Walking around and seeing all the other animals was wonderful and Disney does such an amazing job with anything that I didn't expect anything less than the best at Animal Kingdom, but I was still a little apprehensive about what it would be like.

That afternoon the kids took naps at the condo while the adults took a little break as well....by 5pm we were back on the road, heading to Epcot. Note to anyone wanting to go to Epcot...there are pluses and minuses to go after 5pm...plus...no one is there...minus, most of the rides close between 7-7:30...plus, the line to see all the characters is less than 20 minutes...this was HUGE!

Speaking of characters...look at how proud John is to be with all the characters...he loved it and it was worth waiting to see him with them. Olivia is a little shy/scared when it comes to characters...she didn't want to get too close, but was so excited to see them that she couldn't stop blowing them kisses. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is her favorite show on TV and to see them in person was something else for her!