The gear has all been tracked down and organized. The bike is in the van ready to be racked for the night. My muscles are rested. My mind is racing. With every stroke during the swim, peddle during the bike, and stride during the run, I will be praying and remembering the reason I set out on this journey. My heart is ready to tackle this triathlon for the little girls in India.

Thank you to all who donated money and garage sale items.

My Meathead :)

Joshua has been playing baseball for the first time this summer. After each game the coach gives a player the "meathead". It is a gift certificate to Meatheads restaurant. The player who receives the meathead did a great job in the game or has greatly improved in some aspect of the sport. Joshua was so proud when he received the "meathead" after the last game :)

Little Mommy

Elliana is really into her baby dolls. Especially "baby Amy"- and yes I love the name she picked out. A few nights ago she fell asleep feeding baby Amy, her hand is not touching her doll. How is she keeping her hand up while she is sleeping???? That is a good mommy for ya :)

What happens when you buy a new hose...

Can you guess what their doing?

Never a dull moment around here.

If only...

Well, I have been raising money for As Our Own for months. I have been training all year. In two days I will be competing in my longest triathlon.

If you know me at all you know that I get very nervous before racing. It starts days before and gets progressively worse until I hear the horn blow and the race begins. This is actually a good thing, it gets me all pumped up and ready to do my best. But I still wish I had a relax button :)

We Couldn't Wait

This is the first summer that I have made doing school a priority with the boys. We get all of our school work done before lunch. The rest of the day they are free to be wild and crazy :)

Elliana has been mainly a bystander to our educational pursuits this summer. I keep her busy with a book about letters or practicing tracing, but nothing substantial. Well, the girl noticed and was not happy.

She kept interrupting us with pleas of "I want to do my school!" I wanted to wait and start her school year in August with the boys, but I also don't want to discourage this enthusiasm. So I decided to dive right in with My Fathers World. She LOVES it! Can you tell?

So glad to be off the bike...

115.9 miles in 8 hours and 15 minutes.

I learned a few things..

1- centuries are HARD.

2- I HATE Asian beetles.

3- after 108 miles, biking 8 miles home is like nothing.

Oh, and I LOVE ibuprofen :)

In Two Days!!!

I will be setting out on a new adventure! For three or more years Aaron and I have been riding in the Pedaling for Kicks bike ride. This year I am stepping it up a notch. Aaron will ride 40 miles with me and then I will tackle the next 60 miles alone. That's right, I am going to finish my first century!! I am so excited!!!! I really need to purchase this shirt...

And did you notice the numbers to the right ????? I am so close to $500!!!

Crazy Weekend

It has been nonstop activity around here.

We are still enjoying the baseball season. Here is Joshua as catcher...

Elliana saw her very first fireworks :)

The next day Aaron and I dropped the kids off at the grandparents and headed to Chicago. We spent the day walking on Michigan Avenue. We found "Sprinkles" and I enjoyed a double chocolate cupcake, so yummy!

We had to visit the Lego store..

After enjoying our time on the Magnificent Mile we headed to Soldier Field for the U2 concert. I should add in here that I am afraid of heights. Our seats were at the top of Soldier Field. This is me when we first sat down.

This is a picture from our seats, those little dots are people!

After a short time I was a little less nervous, but standing up during the concert, in the dark, way up high, with all the lights going, was pretty nerve wracking. I sat down whenever I could :)

The show was really cool!

Aaron and I before U2 took the stage.