Turkey Troting

Can I say brrrr.... Really..brrrrrr freezing! 

I got out of my car at 7:55am for the start time of 8:00am because it was so flippin' cold! 9 degrees mind you! I had on 4 shirts, 2 pairs of tights/windpants and it took me a 1.5 miles to start to feel my toes!

I really had a fun race. I had NO expectations other than I didn't want to come in last! I know my training isn't at top notch considering my recovering. I wasn't stressed out or psyched out! This whole "I just run what I run" attitude is awesome! I think I run so much better because I don't care as much!

It was a family running event!  Tim (who is really starting to get fast....I need to keep an eye on him), Mandy and Mike!  Everyone ran great times and had fun!

Free Give Away

Ok friends!  Here is a gal that knows how to design darling childrens clothing!  I'm lucky enough to sew a few of her sample for the international quilt market (really.....I SO hit the jack pot!!).  Pink Fig Patterns is giving away a few of her quilts in her NEW fabric line.  Check it out:

http://www.pinkfigdesign.blogspot.com/

Jumping Annie

I think the "rite of passage" into first grade is learning how do to the monkey bars and learning how to jump rope!  Our girl Annie has been a monkeying and jumping queen.

She asked Tim if she could use her hard earned cash to buy her very own jump rope.  She and Tim looked online.

They only sold her style of jump rope in packages of two.  She declared that she only needed one.  She didn't understand why she had to pay for shipping or tax.

So she and Tim made the deal that she would only have to pay $5 for her jump rope and Tim could use the other rope for $5, shipping, and tax.  What a deal!

She hasn't stopped jumping since it came in the mail!

Carter's "Not So" Sports

I'm a bit late at getting around to Carter's soccer  and basketball season.

Soccer was definitely not a sport we will pursue!  Carter was constantly making goals for the opponent and goofing around with team-mates.  He was a good goalie thought!  But he did have fun!

He is playing basketball right now and Tim is his coach.  According to our son, sometimes it is good to have Dad as coach and sometimes it is not.  He had to dribble a basketball everyday down to the stop sign.  Slowly, but surely he is getting the hang of it.  He is more interested in what kind of treats they will be getting after the game!

Pumkin-licious

Halloween definitely went out with a bang this year!

First we decorated cookies and carved pumpkins.  The kids each got to carve their very own pumpkin this year (with help from Dad):

Next we went to Gardner Village to check out all the witches:

Abby chose to get her face painted instead of getting a treat.  MAN ALIVE, this girl was excited:

Trick or treating was damped by big rain showers, so our time was cut short.  But it was still fun!

The candy was promptly thrown into the garbage on Monday night by Mom.  The kids just can't handle the sugar.  Oh well!

My First Mini Sprint

My attitude going into this race was SO completely different than any other race I've ever done.  I'm usually a stress mess - I let the race get to my head and I psych myself out.  But this is why it was different:

1.  This is my first race since December 31 - Beat the New Year.

2.  I've been battling this stupid stress fracture since January 2010 and consequently haven't run a consecutive 3 miles (I usually have to walk a bit in between each mile to give my ankle a rest).

3.  I've never done a triathlon before.

4.  I felt like I really didn't "train" that hard for this race (these past few weeks I've been so preoccupied with getting a gazillion articles of clothing sewn).

 I had an open house last night for all my children's clothing ans Scentsy, but was able to get to bed by 9:00pm.  Oh....it was so nice to sleep!

I went and picked up the babysitter at 7:00am and Tim and I headed off to the Orem Rec Center.  Though it was warm, there was still a bit of chill in the air.

We dropped off our bikes in the transition area, picked up our race packets, timing chips and got our arms and legs numbered (that by far was the coolest part of doing a triathlon!  I felt totally official).



We went back to our bikes and I started watching all the "PRO'S" hang out by their gear.  I felt like such a fish out of water - I had NO idea what I was doing!



 We went for a quick potty break (having to take off all the layers of clothes over a swim suit was a PAIN).

We took a quick spin on our bikes.  It felt good to warm up, but then I started to think how out of shape I really am!  How slow I am on a bike and what a terrible swimmer I was.

My main goal during the run was to help Tim run a consistent race.  But silly me, I didn't bring my Garmin and they didn't have mile markers.  I felt OK during the run, but I could feel that my lungs were sucking air.  Definitely need to bump up the miles.

As I rounded the corner to the finish...I kept thinking "I still have to bike and SWIM".  But quickly took off my shoes, put on my helmet and swore because Tim was already gone.  So I ran through the transition area and clipped into my peddles.

When I train on my bike, I am SLOW SLOW SLOW!  But today, I was a lot faster.  I consistently passed people.  We had to go up this GIANT hill on 400 south in Orem.  Though it was hard and I was really sucking air, but I didn't die and was able to recover quickly.  That was a real confidence booster.  We had to do the bike loop twice.

 I quickly dismounted from the bike, threw my gear down and headed to the pool.  Running in a swim suit to not fun! That swim was the STINKEST thing I've ever done.  There were so many people in the lanes and I kept getting kicked and hit.  In the shallow end, I ran faster than I swam.  My goggles were constantly foggy and my contacts were getting messed up.  I just kept thinking, 5 more laps to go, 4 more laps to go....But then I was done.

 Tim was at the finish with his parents. He finished 3 minutes ahead of me.  I'm so competitive, who cares if he is my hubby, it made me mad he beat me!  I told him to was "GO TIME" at the next tri!

We dried off and got dressed.  They had posted the results and I had to do a double check.  I placed 6th in my AG - but there were 3 of us that finished at 1:13:00, so if I would have been 2 seconds faster, I could have come in 4th!   Given my training for the past several months, I feel ok about the race (I can definitely run and bike faster).  I definitely want to do another tri!

Run:  25:35
T1:  1:54
Bike: 34:04
T2:  1:17
Swim: 11:03

Total:1:13:55

Hotels

One of our favorite things to do as a family is to stay in a hotel in Salt Lake.  Thankfully, Tim has oodles of hotel points and we are able to do this fun adventure.

The kids had fall break awhile ago, so we headed up on a Friday afternoon.  We took a tour of the Conference Center.  Carter was quite confident in his asking questions to the tour guide (we need to work on our tact though!!).

We had a picnic dinner at the park and even played with one of the Utah Jazz players and his family.

We swam in the pool and fully participated in the hotel's "happy hour" of popcorn and soft drinks.  We rented a Red Box and watched a movie.

An "all-you-can-eat" breakfast is definitely a favorite.  I think Abby ate 5 bowls of Fruit Loops - she kept saying how yummy they were.

I love how we leave all the work behind and 100% focus on being a family.  No dishes to do, no toys to pick up, no taking out the trash, just playing and having fun.

Then it was home to do yard work :)

Order

This post is dedicated to Tim.

I guess you could call Tim and I a bit obsessive about being organized.  Everything has a place and it that place it should be.  Not to say we don't make messes or that there aren't piles in our house (those piles would belong to me and they drive me nuts), but in general there is order flowing through the house.

While I've been sewing, I've let things go.  Breakfast dishes will sit in the sink until dinnertime.  Folded laundry sits on top of the dryer waiting to be put away.  Shoes need to be put up on the shelf in the garage. That little piece of paper on the floor needs to be picked up.  All the bits of thread and fabric need to be vacuumed up.

Though I've been getting a lot of sewing done, my life feels a bit out of order.

I've had to stop several time and just get a few house things done.  I can't concentrate when things aren't where they are suppose to be (I know...just let it go...but I can't).  I love the scripture about having a house of order.  I truly believe that everyone (in the Barlow family) is happier when we have order.