race pics and oh so much more

The boys enjoying a lovely afternoon in our backyard
Swim!
Bike!
Run!
Post race exhaustion

I swear, I'm not always as super-happy looking during my races as I am in these pictures! I just always get really excited when I see the boys & Chad cheering me on. Brandon really screams for me! Plus, I want them to see me enjoying myself.

One thing I forgot to mention from the race was that the Hoyts were also competing, which was very inspirational. In fact, there was a major Brazilian show (the equivalent of our "20/20") at the race, doing a piece on the Hoyts. If you are not familiar with them, the elder Hoyt is probably in his 60's and has a 30-something son who is severly disabled. The Dad competes in marathons and triathlons while pushing his son! It's really amazing. I've seen him do the Boston marathon quite a few times, pushing his son in a converted wheelchair. For the triathlon, he actually dragged his son behind him in a little boat, and then pushed him through the bike and race portions on a specially built bike and wheelchair. In interviews, Dick always says how his son really inspires him and how much his son loves being able to participate in athletic events any way he can. Really, really cool to see them there. Here's an article on them if you are interested: http://www.teamhoyt.com/history.shtml

To make up for yesterday's poop-fest post, I'll end by discussing something more appetizing... summer's bounty of fruits. How much do you love all the wonderful fruits available right now? I'm in heaven. I always make the boys a bowl of fruit to snack on first thing in the morning, and one day last week, we had nine different kinds of fruit in there! They munched on that one throughout the day, as it weighed about three pounds. And the other night, I wanted something sweet, so I made Chad and I bowls of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and watermelon. I mean, does it get any better than that for a snack? I so wish that all these amazing riches were available year-round, but then I guess I wouldn't appreciate them so much.