Changing on Seasons

We started the day sorting Halloween candy then had egg nog and talked about the pending snow storm. We have moved on to the next big day <3 I can't wait for Christmas this year! 

Black Jack

I live that my girls beg Daddy to play black jack before bed every night! They don't even realize they are practicing math! 

Shopping

We are officially outfitted for our family photo shoot. We hit a snag or two along the way ... One of the shirts I wanted for the girls is out of stock online and in store :( AND Chris is being stubborn about shoes. In the end everything will be just fine! 

Today was a great day. Run in the morning, soccer for Doop and a trip to Freeport and dinner out with Chris. 

Thankful for my life. 

Hope Elephants

Last weekend I ran the Summer Stampede 5K at Hope Elephants.  Hope Elephants is a sanctuary for a couple retired circus elephants in Hope Maine. I had been wanting to the take girls to visit Rosie and Opal for the past two years but we never have gotten around to visiting.  When I saw the 5k advertised on facebook I decided this would be the perfect time to go see them. Karen decided to run the race with me :)  The money raised would go to education for first aid care for elephants due to the dropping number of elephants in the wild. The course was advertised as difficult, and that it was. I guess it used to be an old triathlon course years ago.  This was my fourth road race this year and no matter how many I have under my belt they still make me nervous before they start. There were 59 runners, some looked like they belonged in the Boston Marathon, and others looked like I stood a chance of not coming in last. We started on a hill, continued on hills,
and finished with a HUGE hill, then a half mile gradual incline. There were not many people at the finish line when Karen and I got back so I knew that we did OK. I ended up being the 15th person back, finishing the race with a time of 30.07. I was pretty happy with this considering I ran all hills. 

I have been doing really well with my running. I have an obsessive personality which usually makes me put in 150% for a short amount of time before completely falling off the wagon.  I have ran, lossed weight and gained it a few times now, I rarely stop to enjoy the times that I do well because I am so wrapped up in the actual process. I am up to running seven miles on my treadmill and six miles outside. I tackle hills and if given the opportunity to take the long way I always do this time around. I wish I had more time to run outside because I would like to continue to tackle hills and distance. I am not a fast runner by any means but I now can officially say that I love running. I have lost 29 pounds, and for the past month have stuck at my current weight. I think it is time to run for pleasure when I can outside during the week, plus one long run on the treadmill so I don't lose distance there. I need to find some sort of cardio type workout that will
hopefully break this plateau that I am stuck on. I still watch what I eat, I make healthy choices, I eat when I am hungry but I am careful not to splurge on unnecessary junk, I run 3-7 miles 5-6 days a week and I am stuck. Before I start to hate running I need to quickly find a way to burn calories that will actually help me continue to lose the last 10 pounds I need to lose.  So for now I am enjoying be able to run, far, and hard. I love the feeling of running in the morning, it used to freak me out to run half across town when I have to be to work in an hour and a half. I was scared I wouldn't get back in time or I would quit. Now I fuss over not having more time to go farther. Yesterday I got to town at 5:30 am, I ran 6 miles, showered at the gym and went to work. This morning I had to get the kids to daycare so I wasn't able to run outside, we leave the house at 6:30 am so I got up at 4:30and ran at 5:00 for 4.5 miles. My total for the week so far
is 16.5 miles, last week I ran 25 miles total. I would love to keep track, it's crazy to think of how I took advantage of my body for so long by not testing myself.  Here is to many more miles and pounds to go :)

10 k time

I competed (showed up to run) my first 10K a few weekends ago. It was a very challenging course. I had done the course a few days before with my aunt Karen because I was  scared that I wouldn't make it through the entire course without dying. My preparation didn't really work because I felt like I was goning to die the entire time that I was running the race. The day I ran it with Karen was so much easier.  It was really hilly and horrible and hot and I smiled when I ran by the cameraman, well I thought I did until I saw the picture but the whole situation was just a hot mess. I had three goals running this 10K one, to show up, two, to do it in under 60 minutes and three, was to not stop running the entire time. I met my two goals by showing up for the race and running without stopping the entire time. I didn't end up getting under 60 minutes, I finished the race in 62 minutes. In the end I was happy that I did it and I can't wait to sign up for it again next year. The story that was posted in the newspaper stated that runners this year thought the course was much harder than it had been in the past.  I never thought that I'd be able to run for 6 miles at a time, especially on my treadmill. I hope to continue this winter being able to run 6 miles at a time so I can increase that time in the summer next year.

Field Hockey

Ry is loving field hockey again this year. She has only been to two practices due to being sick one day and missing the first because we were late signing her up. She is doing great! I love to watch her play and come out of her shell. 

1st annual tubing event.

Randi and I participated in the first annual St George tubing event last week. We were not sure just what we were getting into plus we could use a break so we found sitters for the kids. We ended up going over 6 miles down the river in tubes. We thought there was going to be a current so we didn't have paddles. It was quite the experience. Our tube was awesome... Or so we thought. It definitely had its uses and minuses ;) We had tons of fun, lots of laughs and plenty of sun. 

Memories made 

Tubing event, raft that kept us soaked 100% of the time, squirt gun wars with two random kids (we totally won), taking A paddle to the head, swimming, beverages secured in life jackets, A REALLY LONG RIVER, sunshine, lots of people, relaxation, helping someone into the water to pee and in return being towed by their canoe which we were hooked onto by a rope and radio that just happened to play Notorious big and Sublime, pit stop at a random dock....., realizing we were not in deep water anymore but are now bottoming out, finding the current when we were almost done. Randi forgetting dry clothes, then her keys!!!!!! SUCH a good day. Memories that will last forever. Pretty sure we will make it back to that river before next year for some fun. Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, the lady with the granted miscarriage and so many more. We can't wait for next year!! 

Here is the article from Penbay Pilot 

I thought I was coming to the party with a big two-person flotation device with a built-in cooler. But, when I got to Warren’s boat landing this past Saturday for a loosely organized rafting/tubing party down the St. George River, Roy Schneider’s famous line inJaws came to mind, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

The public event was put out on Facebook to more than 1,400 people in the Midcoast with more than 273 people planning to come. In the end, it was estimated about 150-170 people actually participated; but what a hilarious sight on the river it made.

This was a floating community block party. Some folks opted for the simple inner tube, jerry-rigged with a floating cooler roped behind them. Some took kayaks, rubber rafts, giant industrial pools and more than a few of Sam’s Club’s green monster party rafts with room for eight. A few enterprising guys made a homemade raft floating on barrels a la Tom Sawyer, with a wooden structure and roof, music and a big industrial cooler. Heck, that’s all anyone needs, really.

Members of Thomaston’s Fire Department were on hand the whole day, making sure everyone was safe. If there were some adult beverages in the cooler, there wasn’t a big stink about it, which made it super cool. But then, this wasn’t a mad free-for-all that Saco River seems to attract. On that note, the rafters were extremely careful not to let trash float in the river. “Pack it in, pack it out” seems to be the Maine way, which is something you can’t fully appreciate unless you’ve been down a trash-strewn river in Baltimore.

The participants ranged in age from older kids (although few and far between because the trip was so long) to people in their 60s. Once we got underway, the beers came out and the boom boxes began playing country songs, Madonna and Three Non Blondes.  One minute, you’d be on your own, the next, up against a flotilla of rafts, saying “Sorry!” But, there was no reason to be sorry for clinging on like a barnacle. Soon, we were floating somewhere else....and bumping into a new crowd of people.

A lot of people didn’t think to bring paddles (and were envious of the ones who did.) There was a lot of “Next year, I’m going to bring a paddle” conversations overheard. In between, people just laughed and talked with their floating neighbors, ate their snacks, drank some beers, and watched the day just slowly slip by against the pristine and undeveloped banks of The St. George River.  When we seemed mired in a non-moving area, we took turns saying “Here, hold my beer” and swimming, pulling the floaty behind us. Others developed systems by using their Tevas as paddles or coaxing kayakers to tow them along.

By about hour four, when it was predicted we’d all be close to the Thomaston Landing, most of us were nowhere near the end of the 6.2 mile journey.

“The tide kicks up just around the bend!” said the guys in the Thomaston fire department as they zipped on by with their outboard motor.

Just around the bend seemed like a laughable concept. Between head winds and the tide pushing back, many folks took about six and a half hours to get to the final boat ramp where T

the Slipway was packed with spectators. But, what an ideal summer day in Maine, followed by a nice cold Dark and Stormy at The Slipway.

Here’s what I learned on the inaugural river trip and what my recommendations would be for next year.

1. Bring a paddle. Scratch that. Bring two.
2. Bring enough water, sunscreen, and food to last approximately six hours.
3. Bring river shoes. And a change of clothes in your car waiting at the end.
4. Don’t bring your phone or camera unless it is in a waterproof bag (not a Zip-Loc) and secure it to your raft.
5. Bring a separate floating cooler with ice in it for adult beverages. Don’t put the ice in your floaty’s cooler; the river temperature will melt it within a few hours. Use your floaty cooler for all of the essential items you’ll need. See above.

Family Day

Family days should happen far more often but due to crazy schedules they are pretty rare. Today we had a great day! Mini golf, lunch, shopping, pool time, visiting Nanny and ice cream. Today was heavenly! 

Strawberry Muffins

A favorite of ours! 

Bald Rock

I have been wanting to try hiking again with the girls. We tried in the past and the experience was not so pleasant for anyone involved, lots of crying, whining and complaining. 

This time things were perfect. We hiked Bald Rock. I had done this hike a few times as a kid with my stepfather. Bald Rock is still one of his favorite places to visit. 

The hike was the perfect terrain. At the summit we had lunch, explored and even picked some blueberries. 

To the Lake We Go

The 4th this year was pretty much a bust. SAD, it is my favorite Holdiday. It brings back so many fond memories of my childhood, and beyond that, IT'S NOT MATERIALISTIC. However this year it rained. We still enjoyed the day.

This beach day was a few days after the 4th and was just perfect :) Lake St George = BEST LAKE.

Happy Birthday

The girls told me the other day it was Bolt and Rogers birthday and they wanted to celebrate <3 So we bought cupcakes and party hats. When they love their stuffies it brings back many memories <3 #boltthenighthunter #rogertheraccoon