The Triathlon

So I've been keeping a secret...sort of. Just a secret in the blogging world, but if you know my in real life or on Facebook then you know. BUT, I've been training for a triathlon...sort of. I haven't said anything on here before because I have never done a race of any sort ever, and I was scared if I put it in writing then somehow I would jinx myself. So I didn't blog about it.

Anyway, the last three months I've been semi training - meaning that I started to run (which I am absolutely terrible at), I continued with my swimming, and decided to ride my bike a bit more. Nothing hardcore that's for sure. I did make sure to get a good bike, run, or swim in every day - so I guess that's hardcore to some. Anyway, my sister Sarah and I have been training together/separately for this and although we were very very nervous about it all, we're SO glad we did it! We both came in under 2 hours! Neither one of us was last or even close to it...which I think is VERY impressive for two girls who don't run at all...aren't used to open water swims and haven't owned bikes for years. We kicked BUTT! And we're definitely going to do it again!

Here are a million pictures from my moms camera:

Me...getting suited up

Sarah and I ready to go

Sarah and I and Sarah's friend Mikyla

Me in my swim cap glory

Waiting for instructions

Waiting for the horn

More waiting

And we're off

Me finishing

Sarah and I getting ready to bike (I'm fighting with my shirt)

Sarah ready to go; Me doing up my shoes

Sarah taking off
Me taking off

Finishing the bike portion

Starting my run...I had some serious jelly legs and could barely even move

Me finishing the race...sooo happy!

Sarah finishing the race!

Our cheerleaders and us

Mom and us girls

The triathletes

And that's it! It was way better then I expected! The people were amazing and it was really a ton of fun. By the way...if you're curious, my times were: Total - 1:43; Swim (500m)-17 min; Bike (20km)-55min; Run (5km)-31 min

Paigey...how old are you?

"Two" (with one finger held up of course)

So did ya know?

Did you know that my little baby went from this one day:



To this the next year:


And then this just this last week:





Can someone please tell me how that happened? How did she turn two?


Well she did...so I guess I have to accept it.

In an effort to show my acceptance to this unauthorized growing up, I decided to celebrate her Birthday. Her real Birthday was spent in BC with friends...but the next day we gave her some presents, let her open them, play with them and we let her lick her icing off her cupcake. Fun right?








Two seems to be a good age for Paige. She's talking a LOT more...she's playing a LOT more...and she's using the potty a LOT more. I like it...no I LOVE it! I just adore this little girl!

It's an early Birthday...sort of

So Hailey's been wanting a 'real' bike for quite some time...and we thought that since that's just what parents were made to do, we would get her one. And since her Birthday so conveniently falls in the beginning of summer we'd get her one for her Birthday. But...we're cheap, and I have a hard time paying full price for anything. So we spent a LOT of time on kijiji looking for the perfect bike for our perfect child! We were lucky and we found a good bike for next to nothing...BUT we found it a bit before her birthday and this posed to be a bit of a problem. How could we hide this exciting purchase from her? Or how could we deny her the wonder of owning her own big girl bike for that long? So we just gave it to her early and decided to give her some small presents for her real Birthday. She really doesn't care anyway....especially since she's having so much fun!

We're really glad we gave her this bike when we did, because the very next day we went camping for our family reunion and all the big girls decorated their bikes and had a bike parade (in the rain). I can only imagine how devastated Hailey would have been if she didn't have a big bike to decorate. Thankfully I didn't have to imagine that....instead I got to see with my own eyes the pure joy of riding a newly decorated bike in a parade of other kids (with the help of g-ma who got all decked out in her poncho to battle the rain).

You've had a Birthday....shout Hurray!

Ben had a birthday last week. So naturally Hailey and I put our heads together and decided to plan a REAL party for this special guy. Because what would a Birthday be without a party? So we made our guest list (Hailey, Paige, Ben and I), we bought the presents, we planned the menu and we organized games. And then we were lucky enough to have few surprise guests (i.e. the Allred's who popped in very last minute).

We started the evening with some delicious food - Parmesan chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, potato skins, garlic shrimp, steamed broccoli, Caesar salad and bread sticks.

Then we played a little pin the clothes on Daddy...who got very involved in the process. (p.s. do you like Hailey's artwork...his Hair? Very cute hey?)

Then Dad opened his presents...with a little help of course

Then Mom tried one present on...

Then we ate cake...and mom sang a amazing rendition of happy birthday. A performance that may never be seen again!

Paige attended the party in her own style (i.e. naked) which meant she wasn't in any pictures. But it also meant she was spending a lot of the time on the potty...and may have been successful in that area. Go Paige!

Okay...the winning outfit and prices!

So to honour my only guaranteed commenter's (Christine and Caroline..well and my mom too - oh and Laura as well) I'll re post the pictures again...but with prices so you can recreate the look yourselves cause I KNOW everyone wants to look like me (Sarcasm intended). Really, it's so you can see how cheap I am with my my clothes - I hardly pay over $10 or $20 for anything (except a few solid basics). Also the winning outfit will be identified (i.e. the outfit I ended up wearing that night). I know you're dying to see!

Enjoy

Ok...this was fun. I think I should post pictures more often and let people help me decide what to wear to all my big events...like trips to the park, the library, or the grocery store. I really do hope to be the most stylish lady in the canned foods aisle.

The big Ol' High School Reunion

This weekend was my high school reunion! I've been dreading this day for some time...and honestly I'm not even sure why. I wasn't miss popular in high school, so why did I suddenly think people who didn't care back then would suddenly care what I looked like now. But I was sort of worried that people would look at me and think "oooooh, so that's what you look like when you have kids." And not in a good way. One thing I am very grateful for is that one of my long term best friends (Laura) also graduated that year and we went together with our husbands. She was definitely my crutch for the evening and I needed one! Who knew all my high school insecurities would return for the night!

I was also a little bit worried about my identity...as in the answer to "what are you doing with your life?" I know that what I'm doing is important and amazing and oh so fun! But it really doesn't sound that glamorous. "So...I'm just staying home with my two kids - potty training, wiping little tushes - that kind of thing". Yeah, not so cool.

I also sometimes struggle with giving up my career. I mean it was a no-brainer to decide to give it all up for my kids...but I still wanted people to know that I did go to school, I got a business degree, worked for a few years in a pretty awesome career and was definitely going places. But how do you bring that up in a conversation 3 years after you gave it up? I didn't quite figure that out... so instead I just whipped out my phone and proudly showed the pictures of my amazing daughters. Because they're what matter right?

I was reminded of this very important lesson though:

Even though sometimes I feel like I'm struggling to figure out who I am and were exactly I belong in this huge world...one thing I do know without doubt is where in belong in the world of those two daughters of mine. Right smack dab in the middle of it! And that's just where I want to be!

Oh..and just for fun. I thought I'd share with you a little project I worked on this week. I wasn't really sure what to wear to the reunion, so I took a picture of myself in a million outfits (these are just a fraction of them) and emailed them to my mom and a few friends for advice. Have fun laughing at them at my expense. Also, be prepared for a few funny faces, a lot of blurry pictures and a few guest appearances by my talented photographer (Hailey).