BISHOP'S CHALLENGE

TRIATHLON

Six months ago, our bishop decided to give the youth a little bit of a challenge.  He came up with 3 areas in which he wanted the youth to improve themselves.  Financially, spiritually and physically.  He challenged them to earn money and learn the law of tithing, read the Book of Mormon and train for a triathlon.  Let's just say the enthusiasm for the last one was highly lacking.  But, we told them it was happening one way or another and it would be wise of them to train.  A few of them took it seriously and trained really hard. Others...not so much.   He also opened it up to anybody in the ward that wanted to do it.

He tried to involve the entire word and asked the members to be mentors for the youth.  To help encourage them, read with them, train with them, whatever they could do to help.  There were several people who jumped in and really helped whom they mentored. 

Pulling off this triathlon was not an easy task.  Thankfully we had a lot of people working on it for 6 months.  The week before was a little hectic with last minute craziness, but when race morning arrived it really came together.

Saturday morning we hustled and got the courses and water stations set up, the finish line decorated and everyone registered.  I was a little sceptical as to how it was all going to play out...

For some strange reason, about a week before the race, I decided to participate.  I was super nervous about the swimming part and how it would effect my increased dizzy spells.  I should have been more concerned with how it would effect my legs.

We opted for a controlled swimming environment instead of open waters.  We started out at the Chehalis pool.  There were only 21 people doing this, so we all jammed into the pool at once.  It was pretty funny actually and thankfully no one got kicked in the face.

This was pretty dang exhausting.  I actually haven't swam sense before the accident and my body was a little shell shocked.  I honestly gave it all I had and had to flip on my back a few times to rest a little.  But when I did that, my brain spun and I almost had to stop.  But, thankfully it went away and I was able to fight my way through the rest of the swim.  When I went to get out of the pool and headed for my borrowed bike, my legs stopped working.  I actually couldn't lift my feet off the ground and ended up dragging the tops of my toes across the concrete.  What's a little blood spill during a triathlon anyway?  I got to my bike and Doug asked why I was walking so funny.  I had to explain it to him and just felt silly.

It took me a pretty long time to transition to my biking gear.  But I didn't really care...at all.  I was lucky to be moving.  I had to stretch out a little before hopping on the two wheeler and felt everything tightening back up as soon as I started to peddle. 

The ride went over the freeway passing Stan Headwall Park and then back.  It went smoothly though and was a pretty flat course.  Which I was grateful for.  I stopped a few times to check on a few of the young women and made sure they were doing OK.  When the running portion started I almost couldn't do it.  I was more shuffling than running, but still...I was moving.  The course was a little behind Penny Playground through the neighborhoods back there and the back to the park. It took my legs a few minutes to get rid of the heavy sensation that comes when transitioning from a bike but eventually I got into the swing of it and just went for it.  I walked a little ways and it was really hard to make the mental effort to start running(shuffling) again, but I did.

Somehow I was able to muster up some last minute strength and sprint to the finish.  At least I felt like I was sprinting but really anything would have felt fast in comparison to the speed I was going.

And then, I finished...with my head cocked to the side (that's just how I run I guess).  I was super happy to see that amazingly decorated finish tunnel!  Doug was relieved to see me cross that amazingly decorated finish line tunnel.  I guess he was a little worried about me after seeing how much my legs were not working after the swim.

I think this picture represents my enthusiasm when seeing my Young Women cross the finish line pretty well.  I seriously was so stinking proud of every single one of them!  This was not an easy thing to do and I was just happy that they showed up to do it at all!!

I was insistent that we get medals for everyone.  Who wants to do something like this and not have something to hang around their neck?  Not me!  So I ordered medals from a little store in town and I think the majority of the participants were proud to wear those things around their necks.  I know I was!!

We ended with a big 'ol ward potluck including some delicious BBQ chicken!  I hope that everyone walked or hobbled away with their heads held a little higher.  In my eyes this was a huge success!  I was glad that I decided to do it and that I was there to see my beautiful Young Women cross the finish line one by one.  Hopefully they all can believe in themselves a little more now that they have accomplished something that most of them didn't think they could do.

Some have even asked if we are doing it again next year!  That answer is YES!!

A WEEKEND AWAY

It's kind of pathetic to say...but we haven't really done anything this summer.  I mean, we have done little day trips to the lake and a friends pool here and there (weather permitting), but as a whole family...nada!!

BUT...We have had these rewards certificates from Doug's work for about a year.  2 nights at a Marriott...expiring on September 1st!  Yikes...we had to use those babies fast.  Couldn't waste free hotel stays!  It was just gonna be Doug and I, but I went soft and decided we needed some quality 'family' time.  I wanted to take the kids to the coast.  Unfortunately all the coastal towns are lacking in Marriott accommodations.  So we found one as close as we could get that would handle all 6 of us.  Wound up in down town Portland.

(Man!!  I LOVE THESE KIDS!!)

We had to make sure that wherever we were staying had a pool...of course.  That was the first thing the kids wanted to do when we pulled in at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.  It was an outdoor pool and I was grateful that it had been a nice day.  They had a blast!  While we were there we met a nice little Italian family.  Daniella and her 2 year old daughter Julia.  They are moving here next month for the husbands job and were here finding a place to live.  Daniella was so sweet and we communicated as best we could with her little English and my NO Italian!  I totally understood what she was saying when I told her I was pregnant with my 5th child.  No translation was needed for that!

The room we ended up with was more like an apartment.  The upstairs loft was a huge bedroom and full bath, another huge bedroom downstairs with a full bath as well, and a full kitchen (regular sized oven, dishwasher, microwave and fridge).  The kids thought it was amazing and said they could live there.  The whole place was really more like an apartment complex, with different areas for dinning outside with nice grills and they even had a garden you could help tend to if you were staying a while.

We happily ate the free (very tasty) breakfast the next morning and then headed to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry).  We have never been before.  The kids seemed to have a pretty fantastic time.  Lots of different things for them to do and look at.  Payton was in heaven when he found out that one of the exhibits was GAME ON...the history of the video game.  They had every game imaginable that you could play.  It seems like we can't get away from these electronic things, even on our get-a-ways!!

Testing jump roping skills.

And Doug...testing his push-up skills.  Let's just say that he is far above average!!

Payton and Savannah (after standing in a ridiculous line) got to do this virtual game.  They both thought it was awesome!

I was pretty beat after being there for 6 hours.  We didn't even see everything.  Maybe next time.  We went back to the hotel and did some more swimming.  The girls made yet another friend.  This time a little 4 year old girl named Sarah from Japan.  It was like she was famous or something.  The rest of the time we were there the girls got all giddy every time they saw her and would hug her.  It was really sweet to see how quickly kids can connect and bond to one another even if they don't speak the same language!

After dinner we took a little evening walk over to the Lloyd Center.  Huge mall with an ice skating rink inside.  We only splurged on some ice cream though, much to Savannah's disappointment.  She wanted to skate so bad! 

The next morning we packed up, filled up on another fabulously free breakfast, and headed out to the coast.  It just so happened that it was Payton's 11th birthday.  He thought that this weekend was a sweet way to celebrate!  I thought so too!

We arrived in Cannon Beach around 1p.m. (because of a detour we had to take to a dirt bike store) and could barely maneuver through the streets!  There were people everywhere.  When we finally parked the kids forgot about their starving tummies that we heard about for a half an hour and just wanted to get to the beach.  The weather wasn't terrible.  About 68 degrees and mostly sunny.  The water was incredibly cold though but it didn't stop the kids from getting in.  They came out with bright red legs and arms...and loved every minute of it...until they couldn't stand it anymore!

Waiting for our food...

I was happy when the kids decided they were done.  My pregnant belly needed some grub!  After using the back of the car as a changing room we went down the block to a little crepe eatery.  Lets just say, it was an experience.  Although the different crepes were good...they were too much money and not enough substance. 

On to Seaside.  This place was even busier that Cannon Beach.  We wanted to do something we hadn't done, so we rented this little street bicycle.  It looked fun, but was was more work than we anticipated.  It was basically just Doug and I pedalling all of us and this metal contraption for an hour around town.  Our legs were mush afterwards. 

We found out why it was so busy...a huge beach volleyball tournament was going on.  It looked like a beach in California. 

Totally wiped out...looks comfy!

Although it was getting pretty late in the day we ventured on.  We tried to go to Fort Stevens but found all the cool museums and historical sites to be closed.  So we continued to Astoria.  It was their Regatta weekend.  I wish I would have known that before.  We would have just been there all day participating in the different festivities.  Maybe next year.  The Coast Guard boat was parked by the Maritime Museum (which, of course, was closed). The dock there was being taken over by people in cocktail dresses and tuxedos.  They were attending the Mayors Ball on a cruise ship.  Looked like so much fun.

We did find one thing that was still open this time of day.  The Astoria Column.  I have no idea how many stories this thing is but we guessed around 12 or 13.  There is just one long spiral staircase to the top.  Holy legs on fire batman!!!  If our legs weren't dead from the bicycle built for six, they sure were now!!  When we got to the top, Payton had turned around with fear and tears in his eyes.  Him and heights apparently don't mix.  I coaxed him back out for a few pictures, but he was terrified. Poor guy.  And don't tell him I told you! ;)

View from the top.

From where we were in the tower we could see the Coast Guard helicopter showing off for the crowd.  It was pretty cool.

Payton hid in the bushes after because he was feeling like a 'wuss.'

So I made everyone join him to lighten his spirits.  I couldn't have him being sad like that on his birthday!

Along with a few paper airplanes that people had tossed down from the top of the column, we saw a deer...really close to us on the drive back down to town.  He wasn't scared of us at all.  Just kept eating away.

We got on the road again to come home.  We surprised Payton with a dinner stop at one of his favorite places to eat...IZZY'S in Longview.  We had one of the best waitresses we have ever had.  Beatrice was her name and she was just lovely and super friendly and even gave us all a discount because it was Payton's birthday. It's all you can eat buffet, so you don't get to take anything home of course. But she loaded us with the cheese bread that was left over after our last minute request before the kitchen closed.  I love good service!

We got home and carried very heavy, sleeping children inside.  It was a busy, fun, fantastic weekend that the kids will probably talk about for a while.  We didn't do anything too grand...but the little things count too and mean just as much because of the time spent together.