Overdue Blog Posting

It's been ten days since my last update! Man, I'm such a slacker. I just haven't been able to find the time lately. But, it's around 6:30am, nobody but Brandon is awake (and he's playing in his room)... so here I am! Got to grab some computer time before the rest of the house comes alive. Here's some highlights from the last ten days...

Brandon finished kindergarten!! I can't believe that I am the parent of a first grader. That sounds so old! He had a really good year, but he told me that he's also excited for summer vacation. He also told me that the best part is that he gets to spend more time with Parker... awww! Anyway, he had an exciting final day, as the class also celebrated his later-in-the-summer birthday and that of a couple other kids with summer birthdays. So, he went to class laden with goodie bags (we sent in jump ropes and glow bracelets for all the kids... food is not allowed) and then came home with goodie bags from other kids, plus a sand bucket filled with all kinds of little toys (like bubbles, a beach ball, chalk, etc) that the room mothers put together. He could barely carry it all off the bus! I hope he doesn't think that the last day of school every year will be filled with so many toys cuz I imagine things get more business-like as he gets older.

One of my favorite days lately has been Wednesday, when I somewhat spontaneously took the boys into the city for the day. Chad was volunteering at the Scooperbowl, which is a fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund. Basically, you pay at the gates to get in, and then inside, there are about ten different ice cream companies there with booths, giving out 3 or 4 different flavors of ice cream each. So, there's a lot to choose from! You just walk around and grab cups of ice cream off the counters and eat as much as you want. It's heavenly. So, the boys and I took the train into the city in the morning, walked around Back Bay for a bit, went out for Thai food for lunch, walked around some more, rode the Swan Boats in the Gardens, and eventually made our way to the Scooperbowl, where we pigged out. I started out with my favorite flavor, peppermint, and after that, I just couldn't go on to anything else. It's just so right. So, basically, I just haunted the Brigham's booth, eating peppermint ice cream until I could eat no more. When Chad finished up his work, he came over and met up with us to do some ice cream eating of his own, and then we all went back to his office to get his stuff and take the train home together. Such a fun and relaxed day because we didn't have any hard and fast plans and were just able to go where the wind took us. I really enjoyed it.

Another exciting development in our lives is that the kids are old enough now to spend alot of time in our yard with little supervision. This makes life so much easier! Our backyard is really open and just sort of merges together with our neighbor's yards... in fact, I'd be hard-pressed to point out any property lines. Anyway, when they were younger, it was sort of a pain not to have a fenced in yard to keep them reined in, but now it's just the opposite. They run outside in the afternoons and evenings and meet up with the neighbor kids to play... it's so nice to be cleaning up dinner and look outside the window and see the boys running around with their friends... it's just what I hoped this house and neighborhood would be when we moved here. In fact, another neighbor just gave away their swingset and one of our backyard neighbors got it and put it up around where our backyards intersect so that the kids can meet up there and play - fun! The only downside is that they keep staying up later and later because Chad and I hate to interrupt them when they are having such a good time! I'm okay with them staying up later now that it's summer, but it definitely means that I get less time to myself in the evenings. Oh well, they couldn't go to bed at 7pm forever.

So, it's only SIX days until my half ironman. I can't believe it's here already,even though I've been so focused on it for the last six months. I'm so anxious to get it done! Last Saturday, I went to T-ball with the family in the morning and then I did my workout... bad idea. It was something like 90 degrees and super humid and sunny by the time I left the house. I did a 41 mile bike ride and then a 5 mile run, and I felt like I was going to keel over. At least on the bike, I get a breeze from my own wicked fast speed, but on the run... it was just sweltering. So, I was a bit concerned after that workout, although for the record, I never have good runs in the afternoon... I'm a morning runner for sure. Anyway, yesterday, I decided that I would get up early and get in my workout before T-ball. So, I biked 35 miles and ran 7.6 miles to the baseball fields to meet up with the fam. This workout was so much better!! It was around 60 degrees and overcast and what a difference that makes! So now I feel much more optimistic. Unfortunately, the forecast for Saturday is look hot and sunny... first time in my life, I think I've ever been rooting for a cloudy, cool day. I'd even take rain showers over full sun and heat. But, I'm so excited to take on this race! And goodness knows, I'll probably never be in this kind of shape again.

Check this space next Sunday for a recap of my race!!