4th of July in Idaho

Over the 4th of July we were in Idaho. We took with us our neighbors, Danny and Becky, and we had an absolute fabulous time. The 4th of July is special to Chad and I because that was the beginning of forever with us. Twelve years ago we watched our first Coeurd'Alene firework show together and since then, it's been a tradition to be in Idaho over the 4th of July (generally at Chad's parents' cabin on the Spokane River in Post Falls). There is so much fun to be had...boating, tubeing, wakeboarding, swimming, eating, drinking, playing cards, and just enjoying great family time. Evening boat ride....Thanks Sonja for the photo.

Chad loves his mom.

Bob on the boat.

"Shoot'n" guns.

Chad and Danny on the tubes.

Danny strapping on the wakeboard.

Chad, mid-air, on the wakeboard.

Family Reunion

A couple of weekends ago we went to Prosser, WA for a family reunion on my Mom's side of the family. We had a great time meeting new family and seeing others that we hadn't seen in a while. There were about 35 people that showed up for the reunion, the farthest coming from Oklahoma. We had a great time playing ladder ball, horse shoes, eating and drinking (a lot) and just enjoying each other's company. I'm determined to attend the reunions more often, rather than waiting 15 years.

The pies came and we were ready to dive in.

I love my Granny so much.

It's not too often that all three of us are together. I miss my brothers a lot.

Every little kid loves Uncle Chad, but especially his niece Jade.

New cousin, Gary, from Oklahoma. He was such a blast!

My brother's family...Rolan, Kira, Jade and Raiden.

My grandparents mean the world to me. I wish we saw them more often.

Hurts So Good

I'm addicted...to the pain apparently. Since my first triathlon the end of June, I've recently signed up for two more triathlons (and there are a couple more I have my eyes on). After the triathlon I took a little break and allowed for my body to recover; not only from tired muscles, but also from a sinus infection that I had battled through. It amazes me how quickly my body can get out of shape and then how hard it is to get motivated again to get back in shape. It's rather discouraging, so I try to remember that feeling of "great health" because it is definitely an amazing feeling.

So, this week has been the start of an 8-week training program for my next triathlon, the Seattle Danskin. After not working out consistantly for the past few weeks and jumping right in again my body is sore, tired and just plain weak. Again, rather frustrating. However, the pain of having to hoist myself onto the toilet with my hands or practically rolling out of bed onto the floor because I cannot move is AWESOME. My muscles are working again, my cardio is getting a boost and I'm looking forward to the mental and physical challenges ahead of me.

(The pic is from my cardio training to the top of Tiger Mountain with my tri-partner, Danielle. It was an intense and fast paced hike that I'm quite proud of.)

Fishing Trip in Alaska

A couple weeks ago Chad took a fishing trip to Alaska with his dad and family friends. And although their trip was filled with great memories, many of the memories are not of catching fish. The idea was to go to Alaska and to bring back salmon and halibut; however, that didn't happen. Their trip was filled with drinking, great food, early morning boat rides, tangled fish lines, eagle watching, moose sightings, and evening river cruises. Fishing? Yes, it existed, but without the fish.

The picture is of Chad's catch...of the trip, which was thrown back.

Do You Know Where God Is?

I recently took a trip to Oregon for a girls weekend with the MacDonald family, also known as Kamp Kurt--Teagan's husband, Kurt, was the only male around for the weekend. On my way down to Eugene, I stopped at the Nike outlet store to see if there were any good deals. As I am about to walk into a dressing room I notice two blonde headed, cute as buttons, littlle girls that were about 5 years old standing oustide of another dressing room door. As I'm about to exit my dressing room, I over hear one of the girls say, "Do you even know where God lives?" As I open the door, I notice the other little girl standing very proudly with hands on her hips and she says, "Duh, of course I do." She continues, "He lives up there (pointing towards the sky) and He is looking down on us right now." With hands still on her hips and getting much in the face of her little friend, she then says, "Did you know God loves everyone?" The other little girl retorts sarcastically, "Of course I did!"

If only it was this simple. If only everyone could believe in God. I absolutely adore the innocence and purity of children. This little scenario definitely made my day.