The Vowles Team

Silly Me...

2012-02-03T15:31:00.002-06:00

I went to London last weekend and took my own peppermint tea bags.... Really, who takes their own tea to Britain the epitome of all things related to tea.

So, I usually put a store bought tea bag in a cup of boiling hot water. The British steep fresh mint leaves in boiling water in a pretty little tea pot with tea cup and saucer. I even had to stick my pinky out for the picture, it just felt appropriate.

Fun stuff Jen and I did: Lot's of shopping - including 2 days worth of markets (Portobello Markets in Nottinghill and my favorite Camden Markets.) Fish and Chips, an abundant amount of Indian food, plus other ethnic delights. The musical Mamma Mia. London Parks. Also met my second cousin and her family for the first time too. It was a different trip, I didn't even see the Thames, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower of London, the Palace.... none of it! No tourist sites.

However, I do need to go back. I forgot to buy a British Tea Pot, cup and saucer for when my new mint plant grows leaves fit for steeping.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-16T13:27:00.000-06:00

After spending a nice Christmas in TX we braved the crowds and spent the weekend of NYE (New Years Eve) in NYC (New York City.) We made it to Time Square 12 hours early, the crowds were already thick and frankly we just weren't adventurous enough to spend the next 12 hours trying to maintain a spot and hope no one needed to use the restroom.

So we played around the city instead. Saw lot's of police getting ready for the night, they were all over!!!!

We took a break over dinner and relaxed for a few hours before heading out for the night. We decided to head to a party in Central Park (my favorite park in the world! - and I'm not just saying that, it really is.) Emerald Nuts and NYRR were hosting a midnight race with pre race party etc. We hung out enjoying the atmosphere and dancing to stay warm.

At midnight we had the count down, did our kissing and JV, EV and I took off for the start of the Midnight Race. It was a 4 mile loop through Central Park with over 6000 runners. We had so much fun!!! Great energy and atmosphere! There were fireworks over head for the first few miles and lot's of people cheering us on. Non-timed race, however, if you are vying for the NY Marathon by running eligible NYRR races this one counts.

I tried taking pictures of us during the race on my phone, (when I wasn't talking on it - wishing people a Happy New Year.) JV ran with out a shirt, just a scarf.... the announcers had some fun commenting about the shirtless runner.

Post race, EV wasn't feeling too good. He needed to use a porta-potty pre-race but didn't.... rookie mistake.

Totally fun night! Thanks for hosting us Jen and joining us Beth.

At the end of the night every one went to bed and JV and I went to check out the after math of Times Square.

It was a mess!

Pretty much deserted, but trash and junk every where!

Amazingly the crews were out and they were cleaning up, by the time we walked through Time Square they had already cleaned up two blocks and were moving on. The entire city was like this, before and after. It was a well oiled machine with security, police, traffic control, (foot traffic and street traffic,) barricades, clean up, every thing plus all the entertainment and events on top of it all.

Happy 2012!

It's gonna be a great year.

2011-12-06T08:54:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T10:40:00.000-06:00

Thoughts this morning:

I am grateful for family, friends, relationships.

A healthy and able body.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Opportunities.

Not a Runner?

2011-09-19T12:16:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted for a long time, (I have a job now) but wanted to share about E's race on Saturday morning. This is the second year of the CASA Kids 5k. Both years E's Boy Scout troop has volunteered to camp out overnight at the race site so that the race organizers can set everything up the night prior and not worry about vandals. This year I asked E if he was going to run it seeing he was going to be there. He said "No." After staying up late, sleeping on the ground, freezing cold, (he assumed it would be hot so didn't bring a sleeping bag and had nothing but an extra shirt to cover his legs during the night,) he took off on his first 5k. Twenty minutes and fifty seconds later he finished in 5th place. Although he wasn't registered - so it didn't count. He also wasn't eligible for the 1st place, $50 gift certificate in the under 19 age group.

Regardless, there was a message on the answering machine that morning calling to tell us how he did in the race. He must have felt pretty good about himself, he called us with out any prompting from us at all!

Three Words To Exercise By

2011-07-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

Back in 1988 Nike’s advertising campaign coined an iconic slogan when they launched the Just Do It campaign. As far as I know, they didn’t receive any awards for this stroke of genius, however, in my opinion they should have won a Pulitzer price. Those three words are not only writing genius, they speak volumes. A message each of us should take to heart and remind ourselves of on a daily basis. Just Do It!

How much time do we spend thinking about the next work out we plan on doing? Or even guiltily regretting the work out we recently intended to do but missed? As a personal trainer I have probably heard every excuse in the book, (I’ve even used a few myself.) Health issues, injuries, too busy, too expensive, too tired, too hard, too intimidating, too sore, too old, I’ll go too-morrow… the list goes on.

Intellectually we know all the reasons to exercise, the benefits manifest physically, socially, mentally, emotionally even spiritually. Secretly we fantasize about our potentially strong healthy bodies. But a very small percentage of us actually achieve the level of fitness we desire. Are you motivated yet? Motivation is the force that drives you to achieve your goals; it comes as an instinct from within or as the promise of external reward. Unfortunately sometimes the excuses outweigh the motivation. We talk our way out of becoming the stronger, better version of ourselves that we potentially can be. Are we are own worst enemies?

My Challenge to you, stop thinking about what you want to do, or become. Just Do It! If you feel like you could use some extra motivation, your YMCA Personal Training staff are eager to use their expertise to help you take your fitness goals to the next level. Now is the time – Just Do It! Become the best version of yourself. Granted I won’t be awarded any Pulitzer’s for this article, and I’m pretty sure that the Just Do It advertising campaign probably didn’t get a mention at the award banquets of 1988. However, regardless, let those three simple words have an impact on your exercise regime, stop thinking about it and - Just Do It!

This Just In.....

2011-06-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

I got emotional just watching the trailer.... The final installment. I'm guessing a lot people (non HP fans) are eager for this era to end. When we leave the theaters July 14th at 2:something in the morning it will all be over.

Greasey....

2011-06-13T20:02:00.002-05:00

International travel is my favorite. Of course cultural diversity is intriguing and the stamp collection in the passport is fun, but best of all, we are too cheap for international cell phone service. Which means a week of NO PHONES. Yes, it is somewhat inconvenient, but so awesome to spend time talking face to face with my favorite people in the whole world! In case you are wondering, it's these three people (excluding the peeps in the background):

In case you couldn't tell from my previous count down, I was eager for school to end and summer to begin. So eager, we dogged out early and escaped to Greece for some quality family time. It was a super quick trip, just gone for a week as the kids needed to come back for finals. But it was a week together, with minimal tourists (take note, the last week of May is an awesome time to go to Europe,) fabulous weather, great food and the Mediterranean. Highlights included:

Ancient Ruins (lot's of em)

Racing all over the island

Volcanic Beaches and swimming in the Algean Sea

Quaint (tourist trap) Villages

Beautiful Sunsets

Small, cheap, family run (and noisy) Villas

Long Ferry Rides

We loved every minute of our trip, (well, there was a few minutes that Adi didn't love...) it was so fun to get away and be together. Greece has changed a lot since the last time I was there, 23 years ago. Obviously we only scratched the surface of places to go and things to see but we loved it! It had a European flare with a Mexico flavor.

People of Iron

2011-05-24T01:01:00.000-05:00

I was able to spectate one of my dreams on the weekend.

Ironman.

I know most people think it's bizarre but one day....

I will be Ironman.

It was so inspiring to watch the athletes and the event, it was awesome! I felt pretty pathetic being a spectator. I wanted to put a sign on my head explaining, "Health issues and hip injury," like I had to have an excuse for not competing. Registration for next years event opened yesterday. It's probably already full, I quit checking. I also quit practicing filling out the registration form all the way through to the payment page. My time will come. Patience.

This was the inaugural Texas Ironman. I feel like it was made for me. The bike course passed my house twice and the run course passed it 3 times. Well, maybe not passing the front door, but within 100 yards of it. The swim start was 1 1/2 miles away and transition and the finish line were barely 2 1/2 miles away. We road our bikes to watch the action, ringing our cow bells as we went.

In the meant time we hosted Steve and his wife Michelle. Steve was competing. Coming from the north he suffered in the heat but still clocked a great time. My excuse for neglecting all other responsibilities that day was that I needed to be a good host and support our guests, and the other 2650+ athletes. Poor Adi reluctantly had to come with me. After 10 minutes she was hot and wanted to go home. After 8 hours I finally peeled myself away and took her home.

Inspiring.

< Three Weeks To Go!

2011-05-13T15:19:00.001-05:00

And the best part is:

Adi's completely stupid, age inappropriate, 4 month long project that only an unlucky small number in her grade level even had to do, is finally over!!!!!

Band concert and end of year parties still to come.............. maybe we'll leave the country so we don't have to do them?

In case you're wondering, she got 100% on the detested project.

Man Wars

2011-05-04T10:56:00.001-05:00

PAINTBALL!

The ultimate 13 year old boy birthday party!

It came a couple of months late due to scheduling conflicts, but apparently it was worth the wait. This is a before, during and after picture.

I also have photos of bruises and broken skin, but I'm guessing if any one reads this blog, you probably aren't a prepubescent boy and couldn't careless about the war wounds.

E-gain

2011-04-25T00:20:00.001-05:00

Another year of Easter weekend tradition... camping at Enchanted Rock. This year did not disappoint. Although central Texas has had a dry spring, it made the cactus especially beautiful and the wildlife very friendly (hungry and coming into camp for food.) Thursday night had a beautiful thunderstorm, just in time to wet the Boy Scouts (Ethan included) as they packed their way into the back country. However, Friday morning was clear and dry and saw a fun day of hiking, repelling, climbing and caving.

We camped with the very awesome Amado family this year and had a great time with them! Thanks for hanging out with us guys!!!

I also have to include pictures of this awesome girl. Check out how cool she is....

Oh, and this chic is pretty cool too....

(and check out the cute guy in the background.)

My count was off... 7 Weeks To Go!

2011-04-15T19:44:00.001-05:00

I didn't realise that the last quarter of school is a week longer than the first three quarters :-( but not to worry, usually the last week is a joke anyway, so maybe we'll skip it. Yes, I'm a bad Mom, but I am thinking of possible educational travel plans for that week. :-)

Adi and I just finished a season of YMCA volleyball. We had a great time once we learnt how to deal with each other, (poor Adi got picked on by the coach.) It was super fun, our team was young with half the girls never having played before and it was so cool to watch them learn and develop in the game. They really had a great season.

All 8 of my girls were just like Adi, quiet, polite and not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings etc. So the biggest challenge I had was getting them excited and asserting themselves in game play. During one game they were particularly reserved, I called a time out to find out what was going on. They told me they knew some of the girls on the other team and didn't want to hurt their feeling. I'm pretty sure this would never happen in boys sports.

Yeah Mystics!

8 Weeks To Go!

2011-04-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

Can you believe we are more than 3/4 of the way through the school year? I am so excited for summer!!!!

This picture pretty much sums up the year for me:

I guess you need an explanation. The leg you can see running out of the picture, that's Ethan at the District Track Meet. And that's all the pictures I have of his track season.

JERKy!!!

2011-03-09T19:17:00.001-06:00

Warning - this posting is not for Vegans!

After Ethan's successful hunting season we have had a lot of meat processing going on around here. My provident husband has been very impressive in learning how to use the meat. So far along with the steaks, we have had a lot of home made jerky. Yesterday and today he has been working with 15lbs of deer meat turning it into jerky. He grinds it, (or for the Aussie readers - minces,) let's it marinate over night and then grinds it again before it goes into the oven for 8 hours (you could use a dehydrator, but having double ovens we can do a lot more in them at a time.)

Birthdays

2011-03-07T18:48:00.001-06:00

We recently celebrated two of my favorite peoples' birthdays.

Adi is now 11 years old

and Ethan is a teenager!

FSBO 74 Marabou Place The Woodlands, TX 77381

2011-03-06T22:51:00.000-06:00

Anyone in the market for a house?

3 Bedroom / 2 Bathroom / 2 Car Garage

1361 sq ft.

Brand New Kitchen -Cabinets, Stainless Steel Appliances and Granite Counter Tops.

Freshly painted through out.

French Doors extend living area to well maintained wooden deck in a fully fenced private backyard. Automatic Sprinkler System in front and backyard.

Large Ceramic Tile throughout living areas. 2" Faux Wood Blinds on all Windows

All Bedrooms have brand new Freize Carpet and ample closet space.

Enjoy the convenience of large utility room.

The home is located on a quiet street conveniently located just minutes from The Woodlands Town Center, Grocery stores, I-45, Lamar Elementary, Wilkerson Intermediate and Knox Jnr High Schools.

Constitutional Rights

2011-02-27T20:23:00.001-06:00

This past year JV has started a new part time business. He is teaching Texas Concealed Handgun License classes. I have been taking parts of the class with different classes as is possible. I finally got to do the shooting portion of the test the other day. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous, I felt the pressure of being the instructor's wife and didn't want to embarrass JV, it also didn't help that after this group was done shooting they all stood behind and watched me shoot. Luckily it's a really basic test.

Anyway, if you are interested or know anyone interested in JV's classes you can check out his website - http://www.txconcealandcarry.com/ even if you aren't interested you can check out my attempt at making a website. I still have to figure out how to plug in all the right words to make it come up on searches and link up a check out to the class dates, but it's my first attempt at a website and a work in progress.

Just Back From NYC

2011-01-31T08:51:00.002-06:00

1000 Miles!

2011-01-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

That's the goal JV set for running this year, I'm joining him in his goal, cause I'm a good wife. He is also going to do 36,000 pushups! Marathon goals just weren't cutting it for us lately, but we seem to be renewed with logging miles. So far I'm over 6% of the way there.

I Can't Stop Watching....

2011-01-12T23:48:00.000-06:00

Brisbane:

Toowoomba:

Devastation and Devastating.

2011-01-12T16:16:00.000-06:00

This is Brisbane, my home town. Good news is that my family is safe, however, reports are that my sister's home flooded. She can't seem to catch a break in life.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T12:45:00.002-06:00

From all the crazies staying at our house.......

Happy 2011!

For Kim

2010-12-09T18:00:00.000-06:00

(First off an explaination on Ethan's stitches, the story is kind of boring, he was playing tackle football with a friend on the trampoline and ended up with his friends knee in his eye. Sorry for not explaining sooner, but he just wanted me to post pictures.)

I consider myself a blog stalker, I love looking at everyone elses blogs but am not huge on posting. However, when a friend living half way around the world told me to update my blog, I was so flattered that anyone noticed how behind I am, I decided to dedicate this to her.

I got behind this summer, I started catching up, one trip at a time, however, when I got to our Yellowstone road trip, it was impossible to condense (yes, the trip was that good!) and the enormity of it was overwhelming :-) I'm pathetic, I know. So the header up top is from Arches National Park and here's a picture from Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithful):

Some other stuff, here's me being the coolest mom ever at the Jonas Brothers concert (which incidently I enjoyed more than the kids):

An Astro's baseball game where the kids ran down to the winning row so they could get on the jumbo tron screen, even though they didn't win the gift cards, they made it on the large screen:

Justin turned 40 and took off elk hunting for his birthday, he claims it was his best birthday ever:

I ran the 10 for Texas, my time was 1 minute slower than last year, but I forgot to wear my timing chip:

Ethan made the A team for his Jnr High football team, he is #10, front and middle. As one of the smaller guys he didn't get much play time, but he LOVES football and was happy to wake himself up at 5:30 every morning to get to practice:

Adi volunteered at a childrens festival:

My sister Jen moved to New York City, so as the good sister I am I had to visit a couple of times to 'help her.' The kids and I spent Thanksgiving in NYC with her while Justin worked:

Justin took Ethan on a few hunts, after being frozen by adrenalin on the first hunt and forgetting to pull the trigger on a prize buck, they went back out and he got one:

Thanks Kim for noticing my slackerness.

Drama... oops I mean Trauma :-)

2010-11-06T18:03:00.001-05:00

Not for the squirmish.......

11 stitches total, 6 on the outside and 5 on the inside.

Summer Travels - Part B

2010-09-14T09:46:00.002-05:00

Amsterdam

What a beautiful city!
The kids and I flew here from London to meet up with Aunt Jen.... it was her Birthday after all.

Amsterdam isn't the most child friendly city... but we did find some fun stuff to do.

This is the kids waiting in line (for an hour and 15 minutes,) for the Anne Frank House.

Paddle boating around the canals:

Cruising the canals:

Eating Fritz and mayo, apparently a Dutch delicacy (we loved them.) Although we didn't have as palatable an experience with the Pancake Haus.

We managed to trick the kids into walking all over the place by searching out Gelaterieas. After a few days we actually found one in the antique district.

Happy Birthday Aunt Jen!!!!

Summer Travels - Part A

2010-09-12T23:23:00.002-05:00

London

Don't you just love this picture.... this guy could never pass through airport security with all the medal he's got in his skin. The funny thing was he had to be 50 or 60 years old.

Mid July we took off to London to visit Kel's little brother. Besides walking all over the city, some fun stuff that we hadn't done here before included: The theatre - we saw (and thoroughly enjoyed) Wicked; we found Harry Potter collectibles that made Adi drool (and much poorer by the time we left;) paddle boating; we bought fresh food at the markets and enjoyed a picnic in the park; and Mark took us to Camden Markets which is now one of my favorite spots in London and what I would personally describe as the best single representation of the city. Here's some pics:

Typical shameless tourist stuff

A phone booth (does anyone use these anymore?) and Big Ben

At Trafalgar Square

St Pauls Cathedral

Hanley's Toy Story, we had to visit the HP section more than once.

Camden Lock (where the Markets are located)

Paddle Boat races in the park where Ethan and I dominated

We had a great time staying with Uncle Mark and enjoying the beautiful summer weather.

Thanks Mark, can't wait to come see you at your new place in Melbourne!

Up Up Up and Away.....

2010-06-04T08:54:00.002-05:00

And away

In my beautiful

my beautiful

Balloon.

Happy 15!

Playing With Food

2010-06-04T08:44:00.001-05:00

After living in the South for 11 years we finally decided it was time for a Craw fish boil... so we transported 28 lbs of live Craw fish to Utah..... (well we didn't travel to UT for a craw fish boil, it was to help with Memorial Day and decorate family graves at the cemetery.... I just didn't get any good pictures of that.)

This was actually one of the funnest meals ever! I've never had the kids so involved in preparing food. During the washing process the adults were having a hard time getting any where near the Craw fish as the kids had us crowded out.

In this next picture you will see the cooked craw fish. Keep in mind that we cooked 2 batches and so had 2 of those bowls of craw fish to eat.

Some people didn't like touching them when they were alive, but surprisingly didn't mind eating them too much:

By the time we had all eaten our fill, this was all that was left:

Not a bad effort!

And of course even though I didn't get pictures of decorating family graves, we were really happy to spend Memorial Day remembering, paying tribute and being together.

4th Grade Talent Show

2010-05-28T16:44:00.002-05:00

CB&I Triathlon

2010-05-08T12:59:00.001-05:00

This race is one of my all time favorites, for numerous reasons. First, it's a mile from our home, so we can ride our bikes to the race. Second, being local there are so many familiar faces from competitors, supporters and volunteers. And third, it is so well organized! The Woodlands Parks & Rec people put on a great race!!! This year was exceptionally great because our youth at church volunteered and manned 2 aid stations. It was SOOO COOOL to have them out there!!!

Here's JV coming out of the water, his wave started 25 minutes ahead of mine.

Other random shots of each of us:

The competition between us prevails. Justin proudly claims a second place finish.... out of our family. I've managed to pull off the win four out of five times (and placed in my age group a few times,) but Justin definitely has the most consistent finish times. From most recent, here are the results for the past 5 years:

JV 1:21:20 KV 1:20:01

JV 1:21:59 KV 1:17:56

JV 1:21:50 KV 1:19:30

JV 1:18:22 KV 1:21:10

JV 1:26:02 KV 1:24:44

E is for Easter & Enchanted Rock

2010-04-25T15:36:00.000-05:00

We took our first trip to E Rock when Adi was 1 year old and Ethan was 3. Since then we have hardly missed a year. We usually go over the Easter weekend, heading out Thursday afternoon and coming home Saturday.

This year's trip was a little different. Ethan deserted us and chose to camp with the Boy Scouts in the back country. To make up for his loss the Tippets family joined our adventures. This is all of us on top of E Rock:

Some repelling pics:

Dave was a trooper with Sierra on his back the whole way, Christie was kind enough to carry water for him:

Ethan and Adi have declared that they never want to do another road trip..... boo hooo.... they don't even know what a road trip is..... yet......... (insert evil laugh.)

FUN times!

Thanks Tippets for roughing it with us.

Spring Break

2010-04-11T23:10:00.002-05:00

Updating our blog has not been my strong point lately, but I'll attempt a quick (long) catch up.

Our family went separate ways this past spring break, in a nut shell: Justin took the kids snow skiing in Utah while Kel had 3 days home alone (luxurious) before flying to Australia with her Sister, Jen for a week. As we are down to one camera it was a conscious decision who took it with them and unfortunately we made the wrong choice. Justin was too busy managing the kids and logistics of ski equipment etc to think to take pictures and Kel's sister’s camera ended up being broken so by the end of two great trips we hardly have any pictures to show for it.

Utah:
This year we had a bunch of friends skiing in Utah so Justin made a point to try to catch up with as many people as he could. They skied with the Stuarts, The Tippets, The Parkinsons and the Rascons at three different ski resorts and really had a great time. Adi had a pretty hard crash the first day, no serious injury, however, left her a little gun shy for the rest of her skiing. Justin crashed and messed up his ankle pretty severely on the last day, it's still causing him problems, (or at least giving him an excuse to not train for the upcoming triathlon.)

While in Utah they also went to The Beehive house, Joseph Smith Memorial building, Temple Square, the movies, helped Grandma clean out her basement, and of course hung out with the family. Unfortunately spring break travel was pretty hectic this year and it took them three days to make a flight home.

Australia:
Kel's family was all gathering in Australia at the same time and not wanting to miss being with everyone, she instead missed this years ski vacation. However, as much as she regretted skiing, her trip home and the time spent with family was really special. Highlights included: Travelling with Jen and laughing a lot, a lovely family dinner with everyone (almost, we missed Darren,) catching up with a special friend (Jo,) beach time, pool time, tanner skin, slumber party with the nieces and nephews (sorry kids for constantly falling asleep during that,) family time with siblings and parents, and eating wonderful food (bar-b-q's x 4, fish n chips, mangos, lamb roasts, Thai food, seafood, chocolate covered liquorice, Tim Tams & Mint Slice...) Unfortunately on the way home Kel was stuck in LA for an extra 32 hours but even that worked out great. She spent the night with friends and even got in a yoga class with Chalyce.

Kel's family from left to right: Back row- Mum, Jen, Kel, Bobby, Chris, Dad & Deb
Front row- Shaun, Mark, Dick

Left to right: Kel, Bobby (I love this picture of Bobby,) Jen, Mark, Dad & Deb

If anyone has any more pictures from either trip, please email them, I would love your copies :-)

Strangers With a Common Goal - Houston Marathon

2010-01-20T10:42:00.006-06:00

I’ve been deliberating on writing this race report all week. Although I knew my personal outcome when I crossed the finish line, the one that really mattered just came in yesterday.

Sunday’s marathon bought perfect running temperatures and a great day to run. It has been 4 years since my last Houston Marathon, and I was reminded of what a great race, expo and all round event it is. My favorite part of every marathon is the start line, the National Anthem, fly-bys, cannons or whatever it may be (in Italy it was the song, ‘The Eye of the Tiger’ – go figure,) gets me choked up. It is the culmination of preparation and anticipation. However, on Sunday I sadly missed that feeling. For starters the Airforce Base has closed down, so we didn’t get a fly by, and secondly, I realized that my lacsidasical approach (lack of training) didn’t stir the same emotional response as a best effort approach.

Despite the fabulous conditions I didn’t feel like I ever got into a good rhythm. I had expected a decent first half followed by a ‘hang in there till you hit the wall and then mind over matter it’ second half. But this marathon had a plan of it’s own. So I plodded along till I figured it out.

Usually (especially in good ol' friendly TX) I'm making friends and meeting people the entire way, passing miles with complete strangers all working toward a common goal and helping each other get there. This race was different, I only met one stranger, his name was Jerry. To my delight, my friend Pam and her family were at mile 19. Pam (was supposed to be running but tore her ACL 2 weeks prior,) started running along side of me. I was so happy for the support, but worried about her knee and leaving her family. But with her phone in pocket she was ready to join me for a mile or so. Then somewhere between mile 19 and 20 we met Jerry. First we saw him hit the pavement, and after that everything happened so fast. Jerry was unresponsive, no pulse and besides an occasional struggled attempted gasp as he was convulsing he wasn't breathing. He had gone down in a section of the course that was not popular with spectators. Half a mile in either direction the crowds were thick, but at this point it was just us runners. Immediately everyone went to action calling for medics etc. For the group of runners around Jerry our marathon goals changed, our focus shifted and now we were working for Jerry, not a finishing time. Pam and her cell phone became a vital component of the effort as she called 911 and then Jerry's emergency contact number, (can't tell you how relieved I was that he had filled out the info on the back of his race bib.)

For the past 9 years I have biannually completed my CPR and First Aid training as a condition of being current as a Personal Trainer, I have never anticipated using the skills. As I have gone over the situation in my head (a million + times since) I just keep thinking how grateful I am to have known what to do. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't text book perfect, but it was enough to keep him going until the paramedics arrived with the defibulator. They shocked him three times before his heart started again.

I don't know any of the faces or even how many people assisted with the CPR. The person across from me kept changing (after running 20 miles peoples muscles were cramping up,) one runner came along after he had a pulse, declared she was a nurse pushed me aside and had an IV in his arm in a matter of minutes. Everyone worked together, it was surreal! People keep asking me how long I was there for and I really don't know, my senses were working in a different capacity at the time. At some point, I was no longer needed. Jerry was breathing, he had a pulse and not knowing what else to do, I rejoined the marathon. I no longer cared about my finish time, I just wanted to finish. I wanted to see Justin and I wanted to be done. I did see Justin at mile 25, Pam had called him and explained why I was late. All the emotion or adrenal or whatever came out when I saw him and I burst into tears, (not advisable, it's hard to run, cry and breath at the same time.) I finally crossed the finish line with my slowest time ever 4 hours and 19 minutes.

The final outcome: Jerry suffered a heart attack due to blockage in his arteries. On Sunday evening Pam called his wife again, he was in ICU under sedation, he had opened his eyes once and squeezed his wifes hand. Yesterday I spoke to his wife. He was out of ICU and walking around etc. he has no brain damage and minimal heart damage (and incidentally no cracked ribs,) and they are hoping to go home today or tomorrow. It is such a relief to know he is OK.

Moral of the story.... Get CPR certified this is the last class I took with Ethan and his Boy Scout troop. Also if you are racing always complete the medical emergency info on the back of your race bib, I haven't done this in the past, but will from here on out.

Bringing in The New Year

2010-01-11T16:10:00.003-06:00

We joined some friends on their property for a few days over the New Year and had a great time. Justin and Ethan were particularly excited to use Ethan's new Christmas present, apparently wild hog abound where we were at.

I'm sure you can't see them, cause they are camoflauged so well, but, here is Justin, Bill and Ethan dressed for the hunt. Crazy.... not only are the outfits awful... but it was below freezing outside.... I don't get it???

The rest of us played similar games, but in normal clothing and when the sun was shining. We enjoyed some skeet shooting, (this is Sure-shot-Pam, you may recognize her from some previous race posts:)

Look how cute (and serious) David was about firing the skeet:

Target practice, (I'm thinking of making this my profile pic.... what do you think?)

Adi and Alex on the four wheelers, sharing pockets:

And of course there was also an abundance of hanging out by the fire, playing games and eating yummy food. Unfortunately (or fortunately for the hogs,) the guys didn't see any hogs and Ethan is yet to experience his first kill. Thanks Sims for a great time!!!

Finally... Christmas

2010-01-03T22:38:00.006-06:00

I am really behind on blog updates but thought it essential to add this one.
At our home, Christmas officially begins on Christmas Eve. This year we were able to spend it with, Laurie (wiseman,) Katie, (angel) Emily (shepherd) & Lucky (sheep 1.) Unfortunately Pete couldn't make it from Afghanistan, maybe next year. After attending a Christmas Eve concert we came home to dinner and the tradition of the Nativity Story. Every one played a part this year.Christmas morning: wide eyed with sleepy hair. The kids exchanging gifts from each other.

The Best surprise EVER! Have you ever seen a kid open a gift and tell you he wasn't worthy of it while shedding tears of joy?

She is ready to cruise the neighborhood with all her friends. They are starting their own biker gang.

Look: it's Ponch & Jon from the 1970's sitcom CHIPS

Ow!... Get Off My Lap:

2009-12-20T11:22:00.004-06:00

Why is it some people just never grow up? Never realize they aren't children anymore, or know when they are too big to be sitting on strange mens laps?

Merry Santa Claus

2009-12-20T01:16:00.005-06:00

I think this is my all time favorite picture of my kids with Santa. It may have something to do with my fear of it being the last as Mr. Too-Cool-For-School was reluctant and unimpressed with having to do kid stuff. But I couldn't resist... PJ's and all, it was perfect.

Food For Thought

2009-12-03T17:22:00.006-06:00

I don’t know about you but some of the hardest temptations I have had to face in recent years center around food. Seems so innocent, we need it to survive. However, do we need that much of it – or that kind of it?

My Christmas present to each of you this year is education - to help alleviate some of the temptation. Most of us are guilty: busy time of year, out running errands, attending kids Christmas programs – which are during dinner time, it’s a treat for the kids, couldn’t be bothered cooking cause you just need to pick up a few more things.... DON’T DO IT!

Last fall Ethan began middle school and was introduced to a new way of eating as a result of ‘swapping lunches.’ “Hey Mom, have you ever heard of a Twinkie?” This inspired conversation in our home about choosing good foods, the kind our bodies can naturally break down and get nutrients from. I explained to him the life span of a Twinkie and the preservatives required to help it last that long. We talked about what would happen if you unwrap a Twinkie and leave it on the counter for a week, month, or year; probably nothing, they are well preserved. We also discussed what happens to fruit and vegetables, fresh bread, milk products, meats etc and how these foods will naturally begin to break down on their own and how our bodies are able to absorb nutrients out of these foods because they break down. Then I began an experiment, with the Jnr. Double Cheeseburger and small French fries pictured above (picture taken today) and purchased on December 16th - last year. This burger was stored in it's original packaging in a cupboard in my kitchen.

Please note: NO breakdown, decay or spoiling of these substances. Everything has dehydrated, it's all rather hard and stale, apparently, according to my daughters friend the fries still taste the same, (only a little stale,) the pickle, meat, bread, cheese, ketchup..... no mold, no nothing - just dried up, you'll notice the reduction in size to the double patties of meat once all the moisture is gone. This stuff would make great food storage :-) You can see on the sack where I wrote the date when I purchased this - the bag has actually begun breaking down, before the food has!

Now while I was typing this I took an apple and sliced it, after 20 minutes the apple had already began to oxidize, beginning the breaking down process and turning brown. Next to it is a cucumber that has been in my fridge for over a week (miracle, they usually don't last that long with out getting eaten.) Even in the refrigerator you can see that it has started going soft and breaking down. Is this food for thought?

So next time you are busy running around resist the temptation to just stop and grab something. Think first - "Will this provide me with any nutrients?" or "Do I want this stuff still floating through my blood stream next Christmas?"

So have a healthy and Merry Christmas and enjoy your holiday feasts :-)

I'm Thankful for Yum!

2009-12-03T08:54:00.006-06:00

I only made 3 pies this year, key-lime, banana cream and chocolate coconut cream.

Sunday morning I was reflecting to Justin what a great Thanksgiving we had and I realized it wasn't that great. Don't get me wrong, we had a lovely dinner with the Amados and I got to go all night shopping with Ingrid (so fun.) I realized that I am starting to relax cause I am almost done with school. Today is my last day of class and come Tuesday I'm done with finals. YEAH!!!
Granted, this is the short stretch, (AS) I've got more to do, but that will come later. In the mean time, what a great feeling!

Rams

2009-11-15T19:53:00.006-06:00

The past weekend marked the end of Justin and Ethan's fall football season. We have mixed feelings..... 'YEAH we get our family back!' ..... and 'Bummer we'll miss the great families and associations on the team.'
Unlike last year, our team actually had a winning season, 7-3. The boys developed into a great team and have a lot to be proud of.
Justin was Assistant Coach, see him on the right:

Thanks for a great season guys!

Are We Having Fun Yet?

2009-11-14T23:02:00.003-06:00

Why do they call it a Fun Run? I don't know a single kid participating for "fun." Not that anyone wants my opinion, but here it is anyway. Let them race, they are anyway.

Now time them.

Give a time to improve upon for the next race. Adi was upset because she didn't place as well as she did last time. She won't believe that she ran faster and did better, her number was 14, three less than last time.

Masquerade

2009-11-01T22:35:00.005-06:00

What a fun night!!!! And Thank you Lauren for all your help.... YOU de BOMB!

Trouble?

2009-10-25T11:09:00.001-05:00

Take a look at this picture..... a pre-adolescent angel, right? So when the police came knocking on my door asking if Ethan lived here, why did I immediately think the worst?

"Already? I didn't expect this for at least a couple more years?"

Turns out I'm a horrible, assume-the-worst mother. A neighbor kid hadn't come home and the mom had panicked and called the police, who were then checking friends houses.

So, in the end I was right. I do have a few more years.

Stuck In A Port-A-Potty

2009-10-13T23:06:00.007-05:00

A perfect morning for a run. The first taste of fall this year happened Saturday morning, it was wonderful running weather, overcast and very cool. Given the perfect conditions we were all set for a great race. Up until the prerace singing of the National Anthem. I was toward the end of a very long port-a-potty line (that didn't seem to be moving.) With hand on my heart I hoped the line would miraculously disappear and I would make it to the start... in time.

In my dreams!! I finally heard rumor of faster moving lines (still further away from the starting line,) and decided to risk my spot in the line. I told myself it was a good warm up and ran for the next line, (which incidentally every one from the old line followed me - but I arrived first, uh huh, I won that race.) This line was fast moving, made it into the first port-a-potty only to find no TP just in time to hear the race start. Dashed out and cut the line to the next available. Essentially I began my race from here. By the time I ran to the start of the race the last of the 1700 people were just crossing the start line. Ethan and Adi were wondering why I was still hanging around and wanted me to catch up. I tried to linger a little so that maybe the slow crowd could dissipated a little, but I felt really dumb standing at the start line. Especially when the race director, who's a friend too, started laughing at me. So with elbows wide I parted my own path through the crowds (and around or across the crowds.) After mile 2 I was pretty frustrated and tiered. Apparently Justin was hanging out waiting for me and talking to everyone along the way. Seems like half the people I passed knew I was stuck in a port- a- potty, except the way he told it he claimed to have locked me in.

I figure I passed over 1000 people that day. I didn't catch Justin out there and I ended up being a little slower than I anticipated. But all in all it was a great day. Especially having the kids out there and being with friends. I love local races, it is so fun to do this stuff with friends. Incidentally, this was Gerardo's first run over 4 miles. He made it the entire way, and finished in a really good time - 1:27. Thanks Ingrid, Sofia & Stefania for taking pictures of us!

Final times:
Justin 1:16:27
Kelly 1:15:01

10 For Texas

2009-10-12T20:33:00.007-05:00

Last weekend our family participated in the annual 10 for Texas, a 10 miler held right here in The Woodlands. Ethan & Adi volunteered as pacers for the kids 1 mile fun run and then handed out water bottles to runners crossing the finish line. It was great to have our kids at the finish. I was a little concerned however, as Adi held out a water bottle to me she also puckered her lips for a kiss - she assures me that wasn't her tactic with all the runners.

Thanks to the Bryan & John for volunteering with their kids too so our kids could hang with them while we ran.

I'll update again with our official race report (I still have to get the pictures from Ingrid) so stay posted.

Office With A View

2009-09-22T21:57:00.003-05:00

I don't think the window office was a part of the job description, but really, it's not a bad perk. So he has to get up at 3am. He also gets unlimited peanuts, pretzels & coke.

Hey maintenance, maybe a little windex?

Thanks for working so hard for us, we love and appreciate you!
You're the best!

I thought I knew TX

2009-09-22T09:55:00.008-05:00

Utah State Aggies played Texas A&M Aggies in College Station on Saturday night. As Justin and I are true USU Aggies (something to do with kissing on the 'A' homecoming night?) we were excited to go and cheer on our Aggies... Apparently Adi wasn't as excited... even though we made her wear the blue and white, she bought along a maroon sweater - no family loyalty here.

So we have lived in Texas for over 10 years, we thought we knew Texas. However, we are still being educated and apparently attending a local college football game is a part of the education. The game was very entertaining, however the fans were the best!!!! Justin and I had an entire nights worth of conversations just discussing the things we overheard. The A&M Aggies fans are the most devoted and loyal fans I have ever experienced.

We were extremely impressed with the half time show, the marching band was phenomenal! Who ever choreographs their stuff deserves a raise.

One of the funniest things was how the fans kept turning around and looking past all night. Finally the guy next to Justin told him every one was watching the University of Texas game on TV in the box behind us, the only thing that mattered more than the outcome of our game was that UT got beat.

It was a full day of football, starting with Ethan's game and finishing with the Aggies. What a great night, thanks Bill and Pam!

Smile, you're in TEXAS!

Happyland

2009-09-12T19:37:00.004-05:00

We finally took our kids to Disneyland... the happiest place on earth. We decided to tackle Disney in a single day so we subscribed to an online Disney schedule called ridemax. With electronic schedule in hand we ventured into Happyland.

Ridemax gave us all kinds of great time saving tips, like how to avoid the initial crowds at opening by sneaking in a side entrance and going through the back of the shops. This worked out great, we took off for the first ride of the day.... knowing that if we didn't catch it immediately the lines would be too long, but as we were dashing off it occurred to us, we had a great schedule but no map.... we had no idea where we were going. Needless to say we ended up being 9 minutes behind schedule after the first ride.

Managed to fit the Teacups in even though they weren't on our schedule. Both the kids wanted to throw up when they were done. Spin baby spin!

Good times, great memories. Thanks for the dream Walt!

California Dreamin . . .

2009-09-12T09:19:00.004-05:00

We love catching up with the Lawrences and not just because they live in wonderful sunny Southern California (although that is a huge perk.) So we really couldn't go wrong, visiting our good friends, doing the Disneyland 1/2 marathon and California beaches.... it was bound to be a great trip!
Bryan & Chalyce booked a camp ground in San Diego for the last weekend before their kids were supposed to go back to school. As you can imagine we were very happy to gate crash. It was a beautiful site overlooking the beach.

Lucky for us Bryan thought ahead and has selflessly collected an ample supply of surfboards. This was the first time Ethan has felt brave enough to try surfing and took to it immediately. Jackson is a couple of years younger than Ethan and he showed Ethan the ropes, Jackson is awesome. Adi was grateful not to have to share the boogie board with him as long as he was surfing. Justin managed a few nice waves, and I caught one - which nobody even saw, but I know it was AMAZING!

The beautiful moderate temperatures of Southern California, I was actaully cold when ever I came out of the water.... go figure?

At the campsite, it's the sunscreen assembly lines.... line em up and slather em up!

Bryan, Chalyce, Jackson & Cate Lawrence (and us,) unfortunately with my crummy camera you can't see our faces and the sunset too.

Thanks Lawrences for an awesome visit!

Race Results

2009-09-11T17:26:00.003-05:00

Justin's stats:
Clock Time 1:40:06
Chip Time 1:40:00
Overall Place 322 / 11643
Gender Place 271 / 4381
Division Place 50 / 706
5K 22:57
10K 46:08
15K 1:10:41

Kel's stats:
Clock Time 1:40:09
Chip Time 1:40:04
Overall Place 325 / 11643
Gender Place 53 / 7262
Division Place 10 / 1190
5K 22:57
10K 46:10
15K 1:10:35

Running Happy

2009-09-10T20:31:00.004-05:00

This past weekend saw us at the Disneyland Anaheim Half Marathon. It was an excuse to visit Sunny Southern California, and well - hey, it was just a half, right?

We aren't into bumper stickers, but I thought these were really cool, especially Justin's (refer to previous blog entry.)

The following are still pre-race, these pictures are to save us some money, now we don't feel the need to order the official finish line shots, the ones that are way overpriced, I just need to photoshop in our finish times (???). Of course this is exactly how it looks on race day.

Years ago Justin had a passenger on an airplane wearing a marathon t shirt. They struck up a conversation, went for a run together and now we have met him in 3 different states for 3 different runs. So, when Kirk called inviting us out to the Disneyland half, we just couldn't resist. For the record, he's got 20 years on me and still finished 3 minutes ahead!

Here's the final scoop. Disneyland is a great venue for a race! We got a little lost trying to find the race expo the day before and spent too much time walking around the general vicinity, but made it there eventually.

Race day however was awesome. I've never seen so many porta-potties at a race (always a huge plus,) the corals were well managed and organized, the start with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and shooting flames was really cool. The course was awesome, running through Disneyland, California Adventureland and best of all Anaheim stadium, where we ran around the foul territory slapping hands with children in the stadium, then rounding home plate hearing our names called out over the stadium intercom and seeing ourselves on the jumbo-tron screen. Then ran back to Disneyland where we were again cheered along by every Disney character you could possibly imagine. We had cloud cover the entire way, even though the weather was a little warm we were very lucky not to have to deal with the sun.

Final thoughts: Half marathons are awesome, you can run hard and still have a great functioning day afterwards.

Final Official Times:

Justin - 1:40:00

Kelly - 1:40:04

Who Can Resist?

2009-09-02T16:57:00.003-05:00

Apparently no one. 4 gallons of lemonade later the girls have raised over $30 for St. Judes.

Must Be Love.... love - love.....

2009-09-02T16:36:00.006-05:00

Like the perfect pair of running socks, I have vowed to protect these toes identity. However, they need to be recognized for their true devotion and obvious love of the sport. I don't know many runners who would endure such pure ugliness and not to mention pain for the love of the run (and possibly his running buddy too.)

And yet these toes can tell another story. If ever one was to define true love or perfect loyalty I think this picture could sum it up for us:

Yuck!

Ready Or Not - Here We Come!

2009-08-24T08:29:00.006-05:00

A busy morning.
After a lovely long break, I relearned to pack school lunches. After a few months of no brakes, flat tires and dry chains we had a visit from the bike repair man.

After a year, (since our last first day of school,) we have two kids very eager to be on their way to find out what the year holds for them.

And me, well, I have big plans for the day too....

Rojo Ribbet-Ribbet, "Red Frog Beach Resort" Bastimentos, Panama

2009-08-20T20:40:00.033-05:00

Day 1:
Travelling from Panama City, we arrived at Red Frog marina around 9:30am and were driven along jungle paths to our villa (click here for a link to the rental site) which was situated serenely on a hillside overlooking the Carribean Sea. All the anxiety that accompanied us as we travelled that morning immediately dismissed upon seeing the amazing ocean view from the wrap around balcony of our villa. Of course the interior of the villa was immaculate, tastefully decorated, spacious and very comfortable.

We immediately got down to business, suited up and headed to Red Frog Beach with boogie boards in tow. However, we didn't make it to Red Frog that day. Along the way we discovered Turtle Beach and no amount of enticing could persuade the kids to leave Turtle Beach, not that we tried too hard, Turtle Beach was wonderful. It is a long stretch of secluded beach with rustic charm and for the duration of our visit, it was our very own.

Day 2:

We were answering the beckoning of the jungle and feeling like primal explorers as we headed out for adventure. We found a somewhat crued path that flip-flopped between beach front and jungle. It took us to 'The Point' (not exactly a creative name,) where we could enjoy beautiful views of crashing waves and offshore islands.

We continued down the beach until we were stopped by a deep inlet. Not being able to cross the water on foot we decided we had gone far enough and cooled off in the ocean from the beaches there. However, we were soon enticed by the looming offshore islands and found ourselves swimming out to explore a rocky cave and tempt the crashing waves to sweep us away.

Day 3:
An early morning boat ride took us into Bocas Del Torro for a half day Scuba diving excursion. Unfortunately the torential overnight rain left us with less than ideal conditions, poor visibility and choppy waters. Still the corals were nice and not all of the marine life was scared off by the weather. We saw a couple of sting rays, lobsters, an eel, jelly fish and various varieties of reef fish. After 2 dives and some local empignadas we shared a taxi with some other tourists to Bocas del Drago. A short walk along the beach from here took us to Star Fish Beach where star fish a bounded in plentiful measure. This was great snorkeling for the kids, the star fish were easy to find and play with. Be warned however, the star fish are enticed to this stretch of beach by another sea animal that leaves tiny fiberglass like spines (apparently from a sea worm) in the sand. The spines find there way into any fleshy part of the feet, the kids feet were especially vulnerable, the spines are very tiny, hard to see and hard to remove (and very uncomfortable.) But apparently the star fish love them.

We braved an over crowded (by our western standards,) bus ride back to Bocas, grabbed some groceries and headed back to Red Frog where we welcomed the tranquility of Bastimentos Island and our quiet villa overlooking the ocean. We indulged in our nightly ritual, a dip in the pool before dinner and a movie, topping off another great day.

Day 4:
That afternoon we were picked up at the marina for a tour of the bat caves. Our guide took us via boat to an area next to Bahia Honda where the boat engines were extinguished and paddles donned, explaining that we did not want to scare the wild life. Apparently this is a good tactic, we saw numerous 2 and 3 toed sloths, three cayman crocodiles, a 7 foot boa constrictor, spiders bigger than a mans hand and a group of white faced monkeys playing in the trees.

The boat eventually docked and a short hike through the jungle took us to the entrance of the cave where we found ourselves in total darkness, wading through water and clambering over and around rocks, while our kids trekked ahead with the flash lights and our guide exclaiming all the wonderful things they were seeing. Once we reined them back and were able to share the lights, we too were amazed by the stalactite and stalagmite formations. However, the bats were what truelly fascinated us. Hanging from the ceiling and flying around our heads were innumerable fruit and insect bats flapping so close that although we couldn't see them in the darkness we could hear and feel them near us. We had no idea what we were taking pictures of in the darkness but were pleasantly surprised at what turned out. Our guide did assure us (in Spanish) that no vampire bats lived in this cave.

Being our final day the kids were determined that we would spend time at the beach, (apparently the calm waters on Star Fish Beach did not match up to the beaches at Red Frog Resort.) So being good parents we abandoned our plans to kayak around the mangroves along Bastimentos and took the kids to Red Frog Beach for the morning.
We finished our last day back at the beach with the final few hours of sunlight and our time at Red Frog both melting away. Then back to our villa for a quick swim before we enjoyed a bar-b-q dinner at the marina with the staff and guests, hosted by Red Frog Resort.

Day 5:

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We felt like there were so many adventures for us still to discover on Bastimentos Island.... they will have to wait for our return. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

If you are interested in experiencing Red Frog Resort yourself and would like to know more, click on it for a link to their website.

Our final adventure was travelling to San Jose, Costa Rico via 2 water taxis and 2 buses for our flight back to Houston. The final picture was taken at the border crossing between Panama and Costa Rico. The bus dropped us off on one side of the bridge, then after 2 hours of immigration and a somewhat trepidous walk across this old railway bridge we were officially in Costa Rico. With out a doubt the most interesting border patrol I've experienced.

Sonny Crockett & Rico Tubbs

2009-08-16T10:36:00.003-05:00

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice on our 80's costumes. Justin loved Leah's idea of Crocket & Tubbs from Miami Vice. He and Gerardo looked great! I went for the 'Flash Dance' look, large sweater, leggings, leg warmers and stiletto heals. It was a really fun party. Looking in the mirror I was pretty sure I was 15 again.... (what happened to the past 20 years?)

What's 3/10 of a Second?

2009-08-13T22:47:00.005-05:00

What is a polite kid supposed to do? They changed the triathlon this year to a staggered start, (each kid starting at 10 second intervals,) so the kids didn't know who they were racing against or how they were performing. I immediately knew this wouldn't be good for Adi and tried to tell her it was OK to pass people. I think they assigned numbers by last name and then started them according to numbers. So Adi was 91st to start. She had a great race and looked really strong. I was proud of how hard she went. Today she found out that the girl in front of her finished 3/10 of a second faster..... fun race, unfortunately the staggered start times didn't allow for any dramatic races at the finish line, the 3/10 split would have been a great race to the finish.

You'll notice in the back ground of the picture some kids were already finished before Adi was even starting the run.

Good job Babe!

Fashion Crisis.... HELP!

2009-08-04T14:17:00.004-05:00

Remember back in the days when we had places to go but nothing to wear? As opposed to how I am now, with no where to go and nothing to wear. Well, we are going to an 80's costume party on Saturday night.... dilema! What shall I wear???? HELP!

And if you can help with me then maybe you can figure something out that Justin would be willing to wear?

Hi Ho...

2009-07-21T23:10:00.002-05:00

Hi ho, hi ho

To Panama we go.

An island trip

We'll take a dip,

Hi ho, hi ho

Hi ho....

Out Cast!

2009-06-16T23:00:00.004-05:00

We recently enjoyed a weekend of camping with Ethan's scout troop. Although we intended to hang out with the scouts, we discovered that when they left the pond after a short time of fishing, Justin and Adi weren't quite ready to leave....

So here is Adi fishing into the night, catching bigmouth bass. At first Justin was really proud of her, but 3 fish later, he still hadn't had a nibble and the competition began.

So he did what any good dad would do, snuck out early while she was still asleep to try to catch up. By the time Adi woke up, discovered Justin's fishing pole gone and made her way to the lake he'd caught 2 fish. When he finally caught #3 and while he was hollering across the lake that we could go on to the other activities (such as breakfast,) Adi snagged #4. So frustrated dad, kept on and in the same breath of him catching #4, Adi pulled in #5. The inner turmoil he experienced that morning, he was beaming with pride at his little girl, yet out fished by her too.

For the record, I was perfectly content with my 1 fish.

Get Em While They're Hot

2009-06-16T22:29:00.004-05:00

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince

I realized with the release of the 7th Harry Potter book that the Harry Potter phenomenum will probably, for the rest of my children's lives, be an association of their childhood. So I decided to create some memories with them.

On the eve of the release of that book we found ourselves in Borders Book Store enjoying the crazy people in their crazy costumes and eagerly anticipating midnight when everyone could buy their copies of the book (that we bought at Walmart a few days later for a fraction of the price.)

I played a nice trick on Ethan. He assumed that like the last two movies, he wouldn't be allowed to watch it in the theatre as they were rated PG13. So I made a deal with him that if he reread all the books before the release he could see it on the big screen, with out me fast forwarding intense scenes. Last week he found out it is rated PG. OOOPS, did I forget to mention that? Too late, he's half way through book 5 and can't put it down. But to make matters worse, he misses the release because he is stuck in the middle of no where on scout camp that week.

So you can imagine our excitement with the release of the new movie (and announcement for 2 - yes not one but 2, more in the next 2 years.) Today we purchased our advance purchase tickets for the midnight showing (at Market Street, if anyone wants to join us, of course anyone but poor Ethan,) and now the countdown has begun. We are so excited!!!!

Happy 11 1/4 Bday!

2009-06-12T17:19:00.001-05:00

Better late than never! :-)

Slapped With A Penalty

2009-06-10T21:58:00.002-05:00

This race should have been worse than it was. Ah, who am I kidding, it was pretty bad. Our trip to Belize threw off my training big time and with the last week of school (we all know how hectic that is,) the 2 weeks I had between the trip and the race saw zero training (plus Belize = 3 weeks of zero training.)
The 2 days before the race were spent birthday partying and boy scout camp-outing. This contributed to some really bad prerace nutrition and bad race day stomache, (btw: ketchup is not a vegetable.) Also major exhaustion with 8 hours of sleep in the 48 hours previous to the race.
When it was all said and done I was content with my 4th place age group finish.... until the official results were posted and I was slapped with a 2 & 1/2 minute penalty!!! I have a few guesses what it may have been about, each one of them is the result of a very narrow course and having to fight to get through the clydesdales and athenas who start 2 waves ahead of mine. USAT rules have my age group starting last so I find that I spend the majority of my race yelling "On Your Left" or "Left" or "MOVE OVER!" Either way, it's probably not OK to be so competitive when I have zero right to be trying to compete.
So when it's all said and done.... here's a proof of crossing the finish line.

Final time:

Prior Penalty- 1:06

Post Penalty- 1:08:30

My Favorite Song:

2009-05-24T12:49:00.002-05:00

On an island in the sun -

We'll be playin having fun,

And it makes me feel so fine

I can't control my brain.

We'll run away together

We'll spend some time forever,

We'll never feel bad anymore.

Imagine The Theme Song To 'Jaws'

2009-05-24T11:41:00.001-05:00

Belize it or not....

duh-dup, duh-dup, duh-dup...........

Who Gets The Kids?

2009-05-17T22:55:00.005-05:00

Does any one else do this? When you finally have that rare chance to get away on a no kids, romantic just you and the spouse trip, no matter how hard you try to repress it the thought keeps coming back.... 'What if something happens???'

So Justin and I are heading to Belize (cause our plans to sail in the British Virgin Islands didn't work out,) and I find it so silly that my excitement is squashed by two things. 1. Fear of orphaning our children and 2. How much money we'll spend. OK two and a half things, the half being that Grandma survives the week and that the kids aren't too disappointed when we get home :-)

And just in case, our Living Will Document is stashed in my Statistics Text Book, I figured that's a good place to put horrible things.

Stay tuned for Caribbean updates....

Sail Away With Me....

2009-05-10T18:10:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we had the opportunity to help out with a sea scouting sailing activity which culminated in Zephorah taking the kids and I out for a sailing lesson. It was the first time we got our boat out on the lake this year and generally it was just a great day!
After this, Ethan and I commandeered a kayak and I gave him 'kayaking 101.' He soon got the hang of it and decided he was going to paddle to a buoy he could see in the distance. Which he did and wouldn't stop till he got there. Luckily I had a tail wind for the return portion, when I was paddling. The highlight of my day was the conversation Ethan and I enjoyed while paddling on our little kayak. We talked about growing muscles (specifically biceps), getting girlfriends and growing muscles to get girlfriends in the 8th grade, which we eventually decided could wait until the 10th grade. He also told me about how his friend's teacher is on steriods for a cold, but she doesn't have any muscles???? I can only imagine the conversation that occurred between these 11 year old boys....
I am pretty certain that this was one of my all time favorite conversations... ever. Yes, I look at old pictures and miss my little children, but I love getting to know them as people and look forward to experiencing more opportunities like this with them as they grow.

My Kids Don't Believe It!

2009-05-10T17:35:00.006-05:00

Can you believe they don't believe it? Check out this link:

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=VRGGa.XTY4V8dhJcY33cnDEzNDA1NTM3&referred_by=16198887-_Uygntx

Oh well, at least the tatoo was cool.

Trophy Wife?

2009-05-04T14:45:00.011-05:00

In my dreams! I had to leave the race before the awards so when Tiffany called and told me I got 3rd in my division, the other friend I was with at the time said, "Wow, now you can get a shirt that says 'I'm a trophy wife.'" However, 'I'm a water bottle wife' just doesn't have the same ring to it..... lame!

So, Saturday was the CB&I Triathlon, it has become an annual event for Justin and I. Not exactly at an exotic location like Rome, in fact it's local - so local we ride our bikes to the race. It is one of our favorite races as we get to race with friends and neighbors and see so many great people. This year, thanks to Ingrid, Ethan and Adi even got to come out and cheer us on.

I am happy to report that after maliciously hiding all of the supplements and energy drinks from Justin (yes, he believes I sabotaged his race.... and maybe I did?) I beat him for the second year in a row. Now, I'm totally playing this one up and acting pretty snooty, but the truth is he didn't actually get to train for the race. Poor guy has been so busy this past year, he hardly gets to work out much anymore. But, never the less, I must bask in my victory as I am certain it will be short lived.

This is a picture of me with my friend Pam. She started working out with me back in October, it was her first tri and she did a really great job, despite all her nervousness.

Final times:

Justin 1:21 (matched last years time)
Kel 1:17 (took 2 minutes off of last year)

Spring time in Houston

2009-04-30T21:47:00.003-05:00

We haven't actually made it out on the boat yet this year, but Justin was begging me to pull out the kneeboard (that happened to be in the back of the car) and let him pull me down the road.

Needless to say we've had some rain lately, driving home on Tuesday the freeway was so backed up (cause it was flooded too,) we took the feeder road. Luckily we were in the SUV you'll notice all the stalled out cars we passed behind us.

Some where along the way our front license plate was washed away.

Surprise... Adi is a Vowles after all!

2009-04-22T09:02:00.003-05:00

She found it! It's buried deep down inside but it surfaced for a brief moment yesterday.

Adi usually opts out of the school fun run, instead she cheers on Ethan and her friends. When Adi decided to do the spring fun run I realised that it was merely because her friends were participating and I didn't give it much thought. Don't get me wrong, I know she could do great... but she generally couldn't careless about putting forth the effort. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw her finish in 11th place yesterday (there's aprox. 40 participants,) - she was really working hard! I made my way over to tell her how proud I was andboy did I get an ear full... "I wanted to be in the top 10!" and "I wanted to catch Emma!" WOW, she does belong to us after all! Turns out, if you catch her in a moment of weakness, she is a little competitive and not as easy going as we all thought. Way to go Adi, you make us all proud!

BTW Emma came in 10th place.... Congratulations Emma!

The Woodlands' Got Talent

2009-04-18T12:33:00.007-05:00

Susan Boyle has nothing on this kid!

This is Ethan branching out and trying the interschool Solo and Ensemble competition. I'm really proud of him for stretching out of his comfort zone and trying different experiences. This naturally isn't his cup of tea, but he has decided to do it through middle school.

BTW if you haven't had the privilege of seeing Susan Boyles audition for Britains' Got Talent, I highly recommend it! In fact, I'll even do a You Tube link.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Sorry... I just played this from the blog and realized that I've messed something up getting it from my phone and you can't hear it. Next time I won't be so lazy and I'll take the camcorder with me..... who am I kidding, I probably won't. And in the mean time, no one has to feel guilty for not watching.

E is for ???

2009-04-12T21:45:00.006-05:00

Easter Weekend:

Enjoyable

Elevate

Elemental

Environment

Excuberant

Extraordinary

Extreme

Enchanted Rock
(AKA E Rock)

THE WINNER IS: (finally)

2009-04-08T08:28:00.006-05:00

Sorry about the sleepless nights Tiffany! The results are in and the winners are: (drum roll please...)

Actual gelato purchased: 65 Closest guess: Dad with 71

Money spent in Euros: $120 Closest guess: Anna $130

Money spent in US$: $155 Closest guess: Sylvia $120

Congratulations! You have each won a bucket of Blue Bell Ice cream! (The next best thing to Gelato.) Let me know your flavor preference then you can pick your prize up at my house. (Yes, Dad, this was a scheme to get you to come visit us.)

For the record, we were 3/4 of the way through our trip when we realized how much we were spending on ice cream, and then it became a big joke. Next time we plan to budget for it. Not for sure why I bothered reading so many Italian guide books, not a single one suggested budgeting for gelato. Seriously, who writes these books?

Maratona de Roma 2009 - Race Report

2009-04-01T18:10:00.006-05:00

The day before: At Marathon Village, we picked up our race #'s, chips, t-shirts and cool back-packs then signed the runners wall. Of course I wrote, "It's my Birthday today!" on the wall.

Justin activated his chip - I'm not sure why everyone was so excited to take their picture with their name on the TV?

The morning of: Don't be fooled by the jeans, we really were about to run a marathon. Five people travelling for ten days means 'pack light' and be versatile with your 2 pairs of pants, hence wear jeans to the race.

This is our cheer squad, my sister Jen, Adi, Justin's mom Beth, and Ethan. While we were doing our 42.2km they did a 4km fun run, with 65,000 other participants. By the way, who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? This was Beth's first time doing anything like this, we were really proud of her!

So after their race they claimed a length of fence and settled in to wait for us. Unfortunately I snuck past them unnoticed (must be the brown hair again,) but they did see Justin. It was a huge boost to see them. Justin and I got separated early in the race when I had to make my first port-a-potty stop (yes, there were multiple - after 3 years of not marathoning I forgot all about taking preliminary Imodium.... darn it!) So being in a non English speaking race with out each other made it really lonely, it was great to have familiar faces cheering us on - or so Justin tells me. I know I was looking for them and hoping to see them.

On our walk home from the race we stopped for McDonalds. I thought some fries and a coke would taste soooo good. I was very wrong. Talk about nasty! So this is me with my medal, outside of McDonalds, with the Pantheon in the back ground.

The low down on the race: At the start line I suddenly became sad because I remembered my favorite part of the marathon is when they play the National Anthem prior to the start. I realized that wouldn't be happening in Italy. However, instead they played the theme from Chariots of Fire and that was really dang cool too. (I'm not sure why I get emotional just before the start??)

This was with out a doubt the best organized race I've ever participated in. The expo was awesome, the aid stations were awesome, (a little too far apart for my liking - every 5km,) but still really good. Everything was very fluid, considering they had 80,000 + people between the marathon and fun run, it really didn't feel like that many. I didn't love the actual course. It looks good on paper, running through all the tourist spots, but the actuality of it is lot's of cobblestones, lot's of hills and lot's of tourists looking at attractions.... and not cheering me on!

Marathons are definitely a psychological race and I found that tracking it by km really messed with my psychi. I am used to tracking 26 splits and being prepared for the mental state of mind for each split, I know when to expect the wall and how to mentally overcome it. However, switching to 42 splits completely messed me up! The first half of the race was really fast, and it seemed every time I looked up I was passing another marker. However, when the second half came (and I was starting to feel the effects of improper training,) there were still sooooo many markers and I couldn't gage where I was at. When the sign said 31km, I knew that meant I still had 11 more, but I really didn't know how far that was or what mental games to use at that time. Either way, I spent a lot of time looking for port-a-potties, (which by the way, they have much cooler port-a-potties than we do.)
Here's our final times:

Me: 3:56 (first half 1:46)

JV: 4:15 (first half 1:46)

Not sure how we manage to have the same half time split as we had separated before then.

All in all... way cool and an entirely different experience than running locally, (the Europeans were a little intense, I've never witnessed such exuberance for marathon warm ups before.)

Two thumbs way up!

Cup Cakes for Dinner?

2009-04-01T17:07:00.006-05:00

I think I'm so clever.... actually Truth be told I stole this idea from another website, however, my kids (and their neighbor friends) think I'm cool and can't wait to eat cupcakes for dinner. Justin doesn't know that the cup cakes are really meatloaf with mashed potatoes..... HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!

We all knew it was coming.....

2009-03-26T08:34:00.007-05:00

Pictures!!!
For the record, I have over 600 pictures of the trip - so be grateful this is all I posted. I neglected to add the breath-taking landscapes of the Amalfi Coast, naked statues, us pretending to be not naked statues (more pictures of that than necessary,) exquisite artwork, amazing architecture, quaint villages, haunting ruins, rugged landscapes etc etc etc..... There was so much beauty to capture - but we all know the only thing worse than hearing about other peoples travels is having to sit through the pictures.... sorry!

Just for the record, we really try to book our overseas travel according to space availability in First Class.... and it's worth it!!! Our 2 happy campers that don't even acknowledge us during the 10 hour flight:
We spent our first 4 nights on the Amalfi Coast.... amazingly beautiful and everything you would imagine of a small Italian fishing village, (although I have a suspicion that during tourist season it may not be quite so quaint.)

We were fortunate to stay right next to a church, (not actually this one,) the bell tower rang every 15 minutes - 24 hours a day.... so calming and peaceful.... I don't think so! Actually by the last night we started getting used to it and didn't lay in bed counting the chimes all night to make sure we hadn't fallen asleep and missed one of them.

This is in the "Grotto Esmeraldine" pictures don't really do it justice - It's a cave who's source of light comes from an underwater cavern. It colors the cave a beautiful emerald hue.

OK, so I lied. I did include one breathtaking picture of the Amalfi Coast.

Atrani is the small town we stayed in right next to Amalfi. It was lovely! This is it in the background. Our apartment was through one of the arches behind us. They have a pizzeria (not fish & chips, as one might think,) along the water just behind where we are standing.

Another breathtaking view..... Notice the fishermen in the boat in the back ground? We didn't see any big fishing boats with GPS locator's, depth gauges and fancy electronics, in fact not even room for a cooler on board.... just little wooden hulls with a couple of paddles - no way more than 2 men could fit in them.

I really did lie about the breathtaking views - but it's hard not to have them over there. This is from the Isle of Capri. We spent the night in Sorrento and took the ferry over, rode a chair lift to the top. The view was breathtaking beyond description.

yeap... cheesy. It's so gorgeous up there - you can't help but like each other.

This is at Pompeii - apparently we think it our personal duty to support all the columns of the world.

More Pompeii

And another-

Rome:

The Colosseum -

A beautiful street near our apartment. We were right by the Piazza Navona, the neighborhood was Old Rome, complete with cobblestones, antique shops, boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and gelaterias. It was the epitome of Italian- didn't feel touristy at all. We loved it.

Oops- out of order - this is another Colosseum shot.

Throwing coins in the Trevi fountain.... securing our return to Italy! (hopefully sooner than later.)
One of the highlights of my trip was having my sister, Jen fly in for the weekend - Thanks Jen, loved spending time with you!!!

For the record I really did spare you all a lot of the tourist shots. We made a point to see everything in Rome - but I also figured just because we did you didn't need (or want) to see it on here.

I'll throw in one more post for the marathon and then I promise I'll spare every one from enduring more, except to say - it was wonderful, we loved it and had a great time!

Oh - and thanks Jeff & Anna for staying at our place and feeding Jade and Maui - when we got home, they both told me they like you guys better than us.

Prizes!

2009-03-20T15:18:00.007-05:00

OK, so we are a little competitive. We thought we might combine one of the favorite parts of our trip to Italy with the spirit of true competition. So here goes.... and good luck! There will be 3 opportunities to win.

1. Closest guess to the number of Gelatos our family purchased and consumed while in Italy. (Hint, we purchased one more than we ate as Beth dropped one on the ground and we had to repurchase it.)

2. Amount of money, in Euros spent on Gelato.

3. Amount of money, in US Dollars spent on Gelato.

Good luck, and may the best guessers win!!

BTW: Because we are nice and selfless people we took the liberty of trying numerous Gelaterias to find the best one, this was it: http://www.frigidarium-gelateria.com/

Gone to Rome.....

2009-03-20T15:02:00.004-05:00

Hi Friends!
This is my first internet access in the last week so I'm a little giddy. We are LOVING Italy, doing all the fun, shameless tourist type stuff. We spent 5 nights on the Amalfi Coast, went to Cari, Pompei and Sorrento. Having our3rd night in Rome tonight.
The kids are awesome!!! And I truelly mean it. I honestly expected some 'I'm bored' and lot's of complaining etc. Today we had the entire day at Vatican City doing the museum and chapels etc and they were totally into it!!! Asked more questions than the adults on our tour.
The race is still 2 days away and I am only half sorry to say that we are totally exhausted... half because it's from walking all over the place and seeing as much as we can fit in.... unfortunately though having tired legs before you run 26.2 miles isn't considered a 'good thing.'
Will post more details and a few pics when we get home. Just wanted to brag about how awesome it is here and how much we are loving this opportunity.

February 28 - March 1, 2009

2009-03-08T20:43:00.006-05:00

March 1, Happy Birthday Ethan

Somewhere between 11:59pm on February 28th and midnight on March 1st, we wished Adi a Happy 9th Birthday.

Tiiimmmberrrrrrrrrr!!!!

2009-03-08T12:34:00.005-05:00

Set the scene: 9 o'clock at night, Justin walking in the door after a long 4 day trip, still in his uniform and dragging his luggage.

Ring-ring......ring-ring....

Justin: Hello
Tenant at our rental house: Hi this is ******, I'm just calling to tell you that a tree just fell on the house!

It was gearing up to be a busy weekend anyway, what, with Adi having a birthday on Saturday, Ethan having his birthday on Sunday, and the need for a long run some where.

So why not throw in a fallen pine tree (with a 2 foot diameter,) an insurance adjuster, a garage repair and a car repair too.

Can You See It?

2009-03-08T12:23:00.005-05:00

Running a marathon seemed like a good idea at the time we signed up. In the meantime however, while trying to get 4 months of training in a 2 week period an old ankle injury has flared up. In my desperation to get it better before the marathon I have been applying the I.C.E method. Except all I've succeeded in is burning my leg on the ice. Now I'm positive my legs hate me!

For My Birthday????

2009-02-23T21:45:00.007-06:00

OK, so it's just a coincidence, but I'm claiming it for my birthday. I turn 35 on the 21st of March and on the 22nd Justin and I are going to run a marathon..... in Rome...... not Rome, TX either. Rome, Italy! I am sooooo excited! Unfortunately deciding to run a marathon 4 weeks out isn't really cool for training - as I'm a strong believer in the 2 weeks of taper rule, which leaves 2 weeks of training... mmmmm? However, we are doing it! We ran our first of 3 long runs today, 15 miles. I was surprised how good I felt, (although it hit me this afternoon.) 20 minutes after the run I had a client come who is starting triathlon training so I rode 18 (easy) miles with her and then ran another 3/4 of a mile. I'm pretty sure my legs hate me - I know my toe nails do.

If your interested check out the website:
http://www.maratonadiroma.it/

We are going to spend the prior week in Italy doing the tourist thing. My sister, Jen is flying in from Scotland for the weekend and she is going to do a 4km race with the kids during the marathon. We are so excited to see her and Italy and to run in such an exotic location. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! (the luckiest girl ever.)

Chinese In The Rain

2009-02-19T10:23:00.003-06:00

When we initially thought about eating takeout along the river we had images of grassy picnics with scenic back drops and playing catch with the football. After picking up our food and walking out to a rain storm, the images quickly changed to a concrete bench under a bridge. What a fun Valentines day!

Have You Ever Laughed So Hard?

2009-02-19T09:59:00.007-06:00

That you literally fell over?

Or lost control of certain body functions?

If not, we recomend a game of multi-generation Twister.

It was Adi's turn to organize family night and this is what she came up with. When we were all done she said, "There's also a lesson.... when you sin a lot, you get all tangled up."

I wonder if you fall down a lot and loose control of certain bodily functions too???

The Arrow of Light

2009-02-19T09:09:00.015-06:00

After 5 years of Cub Scouts (with the best Den ever!) Our sons have moved on to Boy Scouts. Of course this could not be accomplished with out a solemn ceremony...
Pack 772, Den 1:

The Arrow Of Light alludes to an American Indian tradition of a boy progressing toward manhood. Appropriately the ceremony took place in the woods, on a cold winters night and was started when a flaming arrow was shot at a fire pit lighting a large bonfire (very dramatic - and cool.)

It was a nice night for the boys around the fire..... the rest of us were FREEZING!

The boys each crossed over the bridge - signifying crossing over to Boy Scouts, and were accepted by their new scout leaders.

and finished it all off with a candle lighting ceremony.

Cub Scouts was an awesome experience for Ethan and our family, thank you to the amazing, awesome, great families and kids involved in making every aspect of our Den work and work well. We love you guys!

Ring - Ring

2009-02-07T01:30:00.010-06:00

Me-Hello
--Hi Mrs. Vowles, this is *****. Can I talk to Ethan please.
pass phone to Ethan
(btw ***** is a girl who swims w/Adi but goes to school w/Ethan.)
Ethan-Hello.... yeah, I'm cool with it. ...... this has happened to me before, we can still be friends ..... OK, bye.
Ethan hangs up phone.
Me-So? What'd ***** want.
Ethan-She had told Adi to tell me that she likes me and she was just calling cause now she's embarrassed that I know.
Me-(teasing & trying not to laugh outloud) You know you could've had a girlfriend for Valentines day.
Ethan-Yeah, but then you have to deal with the break up.

First Adi is shaving - now Ethan's getting calls from girls.... I'm not prepared for this!!!

Set the Scene....

2009-01-30T19:20:00.003-06:00

Adi home from swim practice, showered (in my shower) and brushing her teeth for bed.

Adi: My leg hurts
Me: (thinking she may have done something at swimming) Where does it hurt?
Adi: (pulls up her PJ's to expose scrape on back of leg) There.
Me: What happened?
Adi: (nonchalantly,) I did it with your razor.
Me: Oh?

Did I miss a memo about 8 year olds shaving their legs?

Hot Tubbin It

2009-01-17T22:13:00.004-06:00

Heat up in the hot tub... jump in the pool. Heat up in the hot tub... roast marshmellows and eat smores. Heat up in the hot tub... jump in the pool. Heat up in the hot tub... roast marshmellows and eat smores......
Why did Adi go to bed with a tummy ache?

Fun With Nan

2009-01-17T22:02:00.004-06:00

In honor of Nan being here and having a long weekend we are trying to holiday at home and do things we wouldn't normally do. So here is our dinner of Crab legs and shrimp.

We lost track of how many times we had to remind the kids to quit playing with their food.

Our first time riding the Town Center trolleys...

Breakfast at IHOP. The challenge was who could eat the most... all you can eat pancakes....

Ethan ate his eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns and then went on to win the challenge with 4 more pancakes... complete with whipped cream and fruit.

Needless to say he didn't eat again until dinner time.

That night we braved the cold weather and went to the drive in movie theatre for a double feature of 'Hotel For Dogs' and 'Bedtime Stories.' Fun day!

Dorothy Hammel & Scott Hamilton?

2009-01-17T21:43:00.005-06:00

We would like to take a moment to introduce Style and Elegance. Expect to see them at the next winter olympics.

Does a Change Really Do You Good?

2009-01-11T21:57:00.008-06:00

They're Sheryl Crowe's lyrics, not mine, but I thought I would try them out. Maybe next time I should just 'Soak Up The Sun.' My mum says I look like my eldest sister, Bobby-Jo, the only brunette in the family.
If nothing else this has lead to some interesting conversations. Of course a popular topic being who has more fun? So take the poll blondes or brunettes?

20 Degrees & 20 Inches

2009-01-09T19:47:00.005-06:00

So the numbers aren't hard and solid but it felt really cold and the final day of skiing definately had a lot of powder (knee deep.) It was way FUN! Unfortunately it was such a quick trip we missed catching up with everyone, but it was great to see the Parkinson's on the ski slopes.

Did I mention it was COLD???

The Big One!

2008-12-30T09:18:00.004-06:00

Justin and Ethan were able to head out with some friends to the country and do some shooting and fishing on Saturday. Ethan LOVED it! In his own words... "Papa, we should do this everyday!" Say goodbye to the bright lights of the big city... someone wants to move out to the country.

Tis the Season.....

2008-12-28T17:16:00.007-06:00

To be car sick? Just kidding. Tis the Season for Christmas lights. For driving around destinationless, without headlights or seatbelts, poluting the environment with emmissions and allowing the kids to hang their heads out the window with the dog.

Tis the Season for celebrating our Saviors birth. I was grateful when the Ivanovsky family stopped by our home on Christmas Eve. I had worried all day how to pull off the traditional Nativity reenactment with only 2 kids. With their 6 we had a complete cast.

Dear Santa......

2008-12-23T17:45:00.006-06:00

Mixed emotions at the Santa visit. #1 is feeling a little old, but doesn't want to risk not communicating his Christmas wish to Santa. #2 had mixed emotions as to which outfit to wear.... scarf or no scarf???
Ethan asked for an AK47 assault (air soft) rifle, can't imagine what Santa thought of that. Adi asked for a new bike, (instead of her 2 front teeth.)

Another Side of Ethan

2008-12-18T11:48:00.004-06:00

In middle school music is mandatory. The options are band, orchestra or music. I strongly encouraged band (I wanted Mr. Sports & Athletics to have an appreciation for reading music.) He chose the clarinet for it's size, (easier to pack to school on his bike.) He performed in their Christmas concert on Tuesday night... and surprise.... not only did they sound pretty good, but Ethan was genuinely enjoying himself.... bow tie, cummerbund (sp?) and all!

Another One Bites It!

2008-12-18T11:40:00.006-06:00

Dear Adi,
I am tired, could you please keep the rest of your teeth till the new year. You're wearing me out kid!
Love,
The Tooth Fairy

Go Houston Rockets!!!

2008-12-09T23:40:00.004-06:00

So, I probably should of turned the flash on for this picture but it's a self portrait of four people in the stands before a basketball game... so I think it's perfect. We are aproaching 1o years in Houston, this was Adi's and my first Rockets game; Justin and Ethan's second. Sadly, it was only my second time at the Toyota Center, the first time being last week for the Eagles concert, (which was awesome!)