Beach to Battleship!!!

After all the excitement of cheering for the 2012 Ironman World Championship the week before, this week we headed to Wilmington, NC to participate in the "Beach 2 Battleship" 70.3 race!

 

Ironman 2032

 Rylan says "Watch out, Ironman World Championship 2032!  I'm coming for ya!"

T’was the night before Kona, and all through these parts… A sense of excitement was growing in our hearts!

Will it be “Macca” or will it be “Crowie”? In 8 short hours, soon we will “knowie”!

Triathletes were nestled, all snug in their beds, while visions of glory danced in their heads!

When out on the beach, there arose such a clatter! I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter!

Out on the lanai, to be quite specific,  I stood overlooking the gorgeous Pacific!

Then what did my wondering eyes soon see?  People with surfboards out in the sea!

Waiting for the “King” of triathlons to start, with all of the athletes looking the part!

The cannon is shot and the athletes start swimming.  Each of them with their own big dreams of winning!

Then faster than race cars, their cycles they mount, for in the Ironman, each second counts!

After the bike course the athletes all strive, to be the first one down Ali’i Drive!

Will it be Macca?  Raelert or Bell? Potts, Alexander, or Rapp?  Who can tell?

Regardless, the Ironman brings us together.   All kinds of people, in all kinds of weather!

Till we hear the last call at the stroke of midnight…  “You are an Ironman!” and to all a good night!

Doing Disney for Nana’s 60^th birthday!

 All 13 of us at the Magic Kingdom!  (Some of us are happier than others to be there!)

 Rylan’s first set of “Mouse Ears”

 Rylan’s first ride on “Dumbo”

Aaron enjoying the “Extra Magic Hours”. This picture was taken at 12:30 am!

A New Endurance "Race"

Anyone who thinks that a Disney vacation is not an endurance race has obviously not been to Disney lately!  Gone are the days of a casually strolling around the park, hopping on a ride when you feel like it, and just walking into a restaurant to eat.  Disney now is an extreme competition of miles of walking, fast passes and dining reservations!  Trust me; it is not for the faint of heart!  

It is always embarrassing to have to call the paramedics because your child did something stupid!  Especially, since he had been told repeatedly to stop doing it!  While horse-playing with his cousin, Aaron smacked his head on a bench and had a huge lump!  With a big lump on the back of his head, I wanted to make sure he

 was alright.

The Disney paramedics were great!  They listened patiently to Aaron’s story of what happened and did a good job checking him out.  They gave him an ice pack and sent him on his way! 

 Patriotic Mickey at the Shades of Green Resort

 Aaron was excited to finally be at the Magic Kingdom!

Rylan was so excited about his Mickey Bucket!

Our trip to Disney was in celebration of my mom’s 60^th birthday.  One of the things she really wanted to do was one of the “character meals”.   So, on her birthday, we all put on our matching shirts and headed off to the most expensive 

breakfast we had ever eaten!

 Aaron enjoyed meeting the different characters!

Rylan, Lindsey and “Chef Mickey”!

One thing I do not understand about the Disney experience is why people pay extra to stay at a certain resort, and then never take advantage of the resort activities! 

 Visiting our “sister” resort, “Port Orleans-French Quarter”.

 We stayed at the “Port Orleans-Riverside”.  From roasting marshmallows to a movie under the stars, to the water slides, we tried to enjoy all the resort had to offer!

Our Little Jedi!

Aaron LOVES “Star Wars”! 

 When he discovered that he could attend the “Jedi Academy”at Hollywood Studios, he was beyond excited! 

 

Rylan’s 2^nd trip to an Ironman race was to Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake, in Lubbock, TX. 

 Rylan with a model of the world longest longhorn horns! 

 Sweet little baby could not take it anymore.  He fell asleep in the packet pick-up line!

 With Daddy, overlooking Buffalo Springs Lake

 Meeting Sister Madonna Buder!  The “Iron Nun”!

The family after the race

In honor of the “Iron Baby’s” 2^nd birthday, we are going to take a look back at all the Ironman races he has been a part of!

Our family’s first “Ironman” race was the Ironman Texas 70.3 in Galveston, TX.  What an adventure that was!  The Iron Baby was in my tummy, so he did not actually get to see the race. But, he was there!

By now I feel like an old pro, but all you Ironman racers will know what I am talking about when I say the first few races are a learning experience!  Everything from the travel, to the food, to the bedtimes are different when you race!  

 One of the great things about these races is that there is often something for the kids to participate in, also.  Aaron ran in his own race and received a medal.  He kept saying “Why is it called a medal?  It’s not metal, it’s rubber!”  Luckily, he did not confirm our fears of him telling someone he got a “rubber” from his race!

 James and Aaron showing off their medal and “rubber”!  Ha! Ha!

Aaron and I were rocking our “Go Daddy Go” shirts!  

We are so excited about the new Ironman 70.3 Raleigh on June 2, 2013!  This will be our “hometown” race.  Make plans to come to the inaugural race and enjoy some good o’ Southern Hospitality!

296 Days, 9 hours and 45 minutes until race day!

Happy Birthday, Rylan!

The “Iron Baby” is 2!  I guess now he is the “Iron Toddler!”

Watching the Olympics on tv is bringing back so many memories!  During the summer of 2004, I was blessed to travel with 7 other wonderful women to Athens, Greece, to participate in “hospitality ministries” to the athletes and spectators of the Olympic Games.  I was pregnant with Aaron (who is now 7 ½).  We were housed in a church in the “shadow” of the Acropolis, across the street from Hadrian’s Arch.  It was a prime location, both for Greek history and the excitement of the Olympics!

From this prime spot, we were able to see the torch carried in for the opening ceremonies.  It passed right in front of me, close enough that I could have tripped the carrier (I didn’t, obviously, but I could have!  That’s how close it was!)  We were also able to watch the cycling from our church “home”.   It was an amazing experience! 

My Olympic Protest!

I have to voice a protest against the Australian Olympic committee!  As you probably know (or you know if you read my blog…), Chris “Macca” McCormack is my favorite professional triathlete.  He is a 2 time winner of the Ironman World Championship, but he had a dream of racing in the Olympics!  Much to my disappointment, he did not compete in Kona last year as he sought his dream to be in the Olympics.  Yet, when the time came to choose the team, he was not put on it!  He will not be racing in the London Olympics.  So, to the Australian Olympic Committee (or whatever you are called!) I say a big resounding “BOO!”   

The Olympics!

As all eyes look toward London and the opening ceremonies tonight, our family is excited about another one of our favorite sporting events!  The Olympics!  The Olympics are something that we hold near and dear to our hearts.  I have been on mission trips to 2 different Olympic Games.  Both times I was pregnant!  You will notice that I am writing this from home this year!  Tee hee!  Over the next few days, I will be sharing from my Olympic experiences and maybe even sharing some Ironman/Olympic comparisons!

A look at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece in 2004!

 Cycling in Athens!  This was right in front of the church we were staying at! 

 Handing out water to Olympic spectators!

In front of the Olympic Flame!

Happy Birthday, James!

Today we celebrate our favorite Ironman turning 38!

 The boys and I got him “A Life Without Limits” by Chrissie Wellington as a birthday present.

 Rylan and Daddy shared a “Reuben” at the Hibernian Irish Pub and Restaurant

Ok folks, here we go!
12 weeks and counting to B2B 70.3
Time to get training!

I recently took the boys to pick blackberries.  Rylan, especially, had a good time!  He ran up and down the row, a blackberry in each hand, yelling “bla bewweey!  Bla bewweey!”

What a difference a year makes!  Last summer, we could barely get Aaron in the water.  Now, we can hardly get him out of it!  He now loves to swim and will even “dive” into the deep end!

We don’t want to pressure him, but his Daddy would really love it if he grew up to be a triathlete.  Now, if we could just get him on a bike…

 Aaron “diving”, July, 2012

 Here’s Aaron trying to drown James at the “Dip-N-Dash” in Kona, October, 2011

I find it highly ironic that the reason for my blog (my family), is the same reason I cannot blog as much as I would like to!

 Aaron enjoying his Aunt Alicia and Uncle Kevin’s pool!