Team SuJu at Muddy Buddy race Phoenix.
Why isn't Sue so muddy at the Muddy Buddy??? Weeny!My first official race...ever, was the infamous Muddy Buddy. My friend Anna DeVito encouraged me to sign up for it as she was going to do it too, but then didn't. (Thanks Anna!) It was a run/bike team relay sort of thing and you had to go through obstacles throughout the course. It was very fun and a great motivation for training. For the last couple of months I had been spending my time either running or biking local trails while the kids were in preschool. Lately I haven't been biking and have taken to the treadmill at the gym as it's not very fun to run in freezing weather - at least not when you're used to 50-60 weather. I know, I'm a wimp. Sue on the other hand is amazing. I swear something clicked last year when she turned 40. She just finished a half marathon with a 9 minute mile average - that's pretty stinkin' good in my book. She's in training for a San Diego half marathon and then she's going on for a full marathon sometime in the next 6 months. She runs at 4:30am 5 days a week. Crazy! I admire her greatly and am very encouraged to think that at 38 and a 4 & 5 year old that I am just hitting my good years. In regards to the race, we came in pretty much dead center, (including the men's races) for which I'm as pleased as puddin'. Next year we're thinking of making the boys compete with us, they even have a mini-buddy for the kids, which I'm sure Sam would love.
Let's see...not much else happening in the Strickler household. This Christmas season is probably the most laid back one I've ever had. I decided not to do cards - sorry if it disappoints anyone. Most people are just sending out a card these days with nothing personal in it, so I figure if you want to know about us or see pictures you can check out our blog. It did help to slow down the preseason and I am thankful for it. The other thing that has helped slow things down is both sides of our extended family have decided to just get gift for the kids and not the adults. That has saved time and energy, though we did have the kids each get a little something for all the adults. We're trying to keep the kids presents on the low down, but there is always present creep towards the end of the season and hence they get more presents than we planned for.
We checked out Sam's school for next year today and received a tour. I think I've talked about it before - it's an alternative school that is based on Multiple Intelligences and project based learning. We are very excited to be going to Skyview and are hoping that Sam will be just as excited. We start school the last week in July so it'll be a bit of a transition for him this summer, but with Balin's work schedule (usually busy during the summer) it might work out for the best. Veremos. (we'll see in espanol) We've been working with Sam and Perrin at night on reading and spelling. It's interesting to see how difficult it is for Sam compared to Perrin. She picks it right up and will probably be reading by next year. (maybe a slight exageration.) Sam has a bit more trouble connecting the sounds and concepts, but we're trying to just make it fun and not frustrate us or him. I have to say I'm glad I'm not homeschooling. At this point in the game I think Sam and I would have a rough time of it. I think in the future it might be an option, particularly if we choose to live out of the country while they're still in school, but for now we'll keep him in public.
After the school visitation, I picked up Perrin, Sophie and Sam for an afternoon play date. We were almost home when Balin called to ask if the dogs were missing. I said, "No, why?" I guess our neighbor had called Balin and said he saw Stretch and Stanley running around the neighborhood. Great. So we started driving around looking for them. We first found Buddy right near my sister's road so we snatched him, took him home and secured him inside the house and as we were leaving to look for the other dogs, Stretch came running back through the gate with her tail between her legs. Two dogs down. Now to find Stanley. We drove around another 5 minutes calling his name before we headed home, thinking he might be there. Sam started to get really sad at the prospect of losing Stanley. As soon as we got home Tim my brother-in-law called and said Stanley was in his garage. What? I guess Stan was in their front yard and as soon as the garage door was opened Stanley ran for safety. Dang dogs. 3 preschoolers, 3 dogs running amok. Yikes. So, at home the girls started playing in Perrin's room and Sam was playing spy on them. I decided to lay on Perrin's bed and watch them play. I must have been really tired because I woke up to Perrin saying, "Brrr Sam shut the window and go through the door." Sam had taken the window screen out, opened the window and was crawling through the window. Nice. I was wondering why her screen was bent. Just wait till she's a teenager.
Then....oh the excitement continues, Balin came in and said, "Do you know what the kids were doing?". Innocently I said, "What?". I guess the kids were in the RV barn and had grabbed Balin's new climbing rope (a big, thick, hemp rope like the one's in elementary school gym class) which he uses for Crossfit, and had pretending to be Tarzan with it. Yikes! We had to set some ground rules for that one. Knowing Sophie she'd climb to the top of the rope (which is about 20 feet) and start howling.
We ended the evening with a nice trip to the YMCA for an hour of swimming for the kids. Sophie came with us and is having a sleep over tonight. Currently at 8:12pm her and Perrin are chatting away and Sam is sound asleep. Just wait till morning Sophie...
This weekend we're celebrating Christmas and birthdays with my parents and sister's family. The kids are thrilled to be having "TWO CHRISTMASES", especially the early one. We going to have an adult dinner at my house with just the 6 of us while Peter and Jack serve/watch the kids at Sue's house. Then we'll move to Sue's house for cake/ice cream for my dad's 66th birthday and we'll finish it up at my mom's house for opening presents. A progressive Christmas if you will. It's nice as no one person has to do everything, just their part.
Wednesday we head to Southern Oregon for the week to celebrate Christmas and Perrin's birthday with the Strickler's. We're looking forward to it as the whole family will be there. From there we head to Spokane for a friend's wedding, with a birthday stop on the 30th in Prescott for Perrin and Sue. Tis the season. Meanwhile I think I'll log off, grab my cup of tea and enjoy the book Ben Hur by Lew Wallace. A must read for any of you interested in the times of Christ.
Feliz navidad!
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