Gearing Up For The Big Drive!

We had a great time last weekend in PA with the Hormells and Shawn's family. Conner did A LOT of swimming and Grady kept us all very busy. Shawn helped his father build a much needed deck off of the back of the new addition on Saturday and Sunday, we took the boys into the nursing home to visit with Shawn's grandmother, then we all went to Hershey Park on Monday. Needless to say, Ben, Shawn, and his dad were pretty tired from all of the work but a great time was had by everyone. The kids were very good and rode some pretty exciting rides, one being The Comet - a rollercoaster very similar to The Thunderbolt in Kennywood. Conner and Grace didn't enjoy that one quite as much as the rapids ride where we all got sufficiently soaked and laughed through the entire ride. July 4th was spent heading home and included a stop at IKEA in New Haven...how I miss having that store be more convenient.

This past Friday, a friend and I took our kiddos to the beach. Despite the extremely cold water here in New Hampshire, the kids had a blast playing in the waves and digging in the sand. I got a glimpse of how this next week in Pawley's will be. Of course Grady was a wildman but he had so much fun and Conner loves the beach more this year than he did last year. They are going to have an awesome time!

Saturday brought some friends over for a BBQ and some slip-n-slide craziness. I baked my first cake from scratch for the get-together...carrot cake, and it was very yummy! (During one of the mornings Conner was in VBS, I spent a couple of hours roaming HomeGoods and walked out with a cake baking book, pans, and a cake plate.) I also used a bunch of new recipes which were also a big success. I've been tiring of the same old stuff, so I broke out a few of my Everyday Food magazines and got a new menu together.

I'm still plugging away with the "training." I suppose I could be a lot more hard core but with the two kids it's all I can do to get at least five in a week....sometimes I get that second swim in but it is rare. My first race is questionable as to whether or not I'll be able to attend - we may have a conflict, but the second race is all set. I'm registered and ready to go! I swam at the Lewisburg pool when we were back last weekend and got a feel for the area so the next step is to get out on the road and do some biking. I've been spinning a ton but haven't been out on the road yet this season. My bike is currently going through a tune-up and I'm getting some road tires put on. I'm not on the trails like I was pre-kids so I figured it's time to make the switch so I don't wear myself out on the biking portion before my 5k.

Well, we head out on Thursday morning and should roll into Pawley's on Friday. I'm going to have to invest in a couple of new movies for the boys but it's a small price to pay for an easy ride. Take care!