Kelly Times Two

On Memorial Day, I was a spectator at the CapTexTri, searching carefully for my neighbor, Liz, and for our friend, Dave, the only two people I know who were in it. This was one of many starts and finishes. Here goes Dave on the first of two loops around on his bike during the sprint tri. More water shots. I never did locate Liz, but she was on adrenaline after finishing well. There were so many in this triathlon compared to the wimpy one I did a couple weeks ago. I wanted to see what to expect when I do the next one in September in downtown Austin. Here's Dave, in the red shirt, after he finished. There were so many spectators and it was hard to take pictures. He did great, finishing 5th out of 76 in his 35 to 39 group. And that was after not feeling very well. I squeezed in to get footage of him crossing the finish line. My voice is shrill sounding. Nice job, Dave! I'm anxious to hear how my friend, Bobbi, and her daughter, Heidi, and son, Marshall, did on their triathlo...

This morning I woke up at about 6 am and watched the season finale of Survivor Tocachins, or what ever it's called, with Kelly as he's still trying to adjust his sleep schedule from being 13 hours ahead in Taiwan for two weeks. Next, I rode my bike to Trailhead Park with Christopher where he and the Boy Scouts were having a fund-raiser to help pay for their summer camp. I rode home, then rounded up Lindsey and Kelly, then we went to the pancake breakfast at the park while Christopher had fun flipping pancakes or holding the sign by the road attracting guests to join them. We came home, I dropped off Lindsey and Kelly, then headed downtown to experience the thrill of another triathlon, but this time as a spectator. It was a huge event compared to my little tri a couple weeks ago, and it was exciting to be there and see all the talent, strength, and perseverance, of the triathletes pushing themselves to their best abilities. I cheered on my friend, Dave, again as he zoomed by on ...

After the hailstorm that hit on March 25, we finally got our roof replaced this week. The workers braved the heat and got it done in about two days. Our yard was a mess in the meantime and we couldn't park in the garage. The timing worked out fine because our garage door opener isn't working well. It's been messing up intermittently quite often, and a Home Depot employee helped me pick out a new garage door to be installed since that is where the problem seems to be originating. It's going to take a few weeks for it to be here, but in the meantime, I drove by a house today that has the door I chose. I love it, (see below). I am not having windows added since we have already have these six windows (above) in our garage and natural light isn't a concern. I just took this picture of our new roof this morning. The gutters still need to be replaced and that will happen next week. Kelly got home from Taiwan last night after midnight. We all missed him so much and the ...

Christopher had a piano recital in April that I never blogged about yet. Lindsey is taking piano lessons from the same teacher, but was on a choir field trip to Six Flags that day instead. He did well. My only complaint is that the song was quite short compared to the 25 other students who performed, it seemed. Both Lindsey and Christopher are progressing nicely since they started lessons again in January, after a nine-month gap when their last teacher moved abruptly.

Are you kidding me? A triathlon and I have never belonged in the same sentence. It must have been time for something new! (The "BEFORE" race shot, with goggles and swim cap in hand.) What an unforgettable week this was! I actually DID enter my first triathlon, with the goal of simply finishing it. Take note of the emphasis on the word FIRST, because I loved it so much, that you can guarantee that there will be more. It was a blast. Seriously. My friends Lorraine and Robin had trained and signed up to do the event, which was two days ago, on Saturday. Three days beforehand, I heard about it and basically had a spontaneous urge to join them, so I registered. The only partial preparation ahead of time that I had been doing was cycling in the neighborhood here and there on my mountain bike with some other friends. And doing some micro-laps in our backyard pool. Our friend, Dave, was also there. The three of us women appreciated Dave's encouragement and support, as he's ...

A few days ago, Kelly was napping on the couch and I took his picture, knowing that I would be missing him soon. Why? Because he's in Taiwan and will spend two weeks away from us, the longest business trip he's been on, and possibly the longest I've been separated from him. He's been learning Chinese like crazy, just for fun. He's going to town! I'm really proud of the hours and hours he's dedicated to learning this new language, which is a savvy move, considering he is now working for a Taiwanese company. Anyway, just wanted to post this picture of my husband catching a quick nap since he looks so cute. It's funny how he's kind of holding his chin. He'll probably think I am a spaz for posting this, but what's he going to do about it? He's on the other side of the world! I love you, Kelly!

The setting: yesterday after school, with only three weeks of elementary school to go, then on to middle school. Christopher: I'm so excited about next year. Mom: Why? Christopher: Well, for two reasons. I get to ride the bus AND I get to have homework! I'm posting this on my blog, just so I can remind him of what he said next fall when he starts to complain about one or both of these big moments that he's anticipating. That, and he was just so cute and excited about it when he was telling me. He's grown 3/4 of an inch in two months.

Three hundred twenty five pieces of paper.... Transformed into our little somethings to hand out at our stake women's conference on Saturday. They are filled with four different kinds of Hershey's Nuggets. The programs are cute too. I'll post them later. My talk is ready and it all is coming together after months of planning. Another member of the presidency was in charge of food, and I'm excited about it because we're having taco salad, always tasty. Our theme is One Heart, One Mind, and I'm specifically talking about being one in our families. I look forward to Saturday.