Mr. Mom

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile. We have been super busy with Kyle's soccer, Clara's feeding therapy, work, training, and maintaining the house. It has gotten to the point where I find myself mowing the lawn in the dark. Thank goodness for lights on my John Deere!

Tonight, Tracey had an event at work, so Kyle, Clara, and I went to Kyle's soccer game. They are so much fun. Kyle had a few break aways near the end of the game and scored his second goal in two games! He told me that he "faked the goalie out!"

I will post more soon, but I have to give the kids a bath and get them to bed. Enjoy the photos.

First Soccer Game

Last night was Kyle's first fall soccer game. It was a blast! Kyle started the game in goal, which he doesn't care for. After about 10 minutes in goal he was moved to forward and quickly scored his first team's goal! He was so excited that he ran to the sidelines and jumped into my arms. I was so proud!!! After that he was put on defense. His team won!

As you can see by the team shot, Kyle is #1! And, he is still one of the shortest on the team. Thankfully, he has grown 3 inches since April. We suspect he will be catching up soon. And, it doesn't seem to affect his play at all.

Soccer Time

Tomorrow, Kyle has his first fall soccer game. He has had two practices so far. Since the game is at 6pm, my understanding is that it is being played "under the lights!" This will be exciting! Today, we worked on some goal scoring drills and are both excited to see if it pays off tomorrow. Kyle has grown a few inches since last season and can certainly kick the ball a lot harder. It will be interesting to see how he compares to the spring season.

Grand Rapids Bridge Run

Yesterday, was the Grand Rapids Bridge Run. This is a 10 mile run that is one of Tracey's favorites. As a spectator, I like it too as it is easy to get around with my bike and Burley. We park at GVSU and ride the entire 10 mile course, stopping to cheer mommy on along the way. And, we do have a few opportunities to play at various playgrounds along the course.

The weather was perfect and Tracey did a fantastic job! She has been training throughout the summer for this run followed by the Grand Rapids Half Marathon coming up in a few weeks. As you can tell by the pictures she makes it look easy. Whenever we saw her she was smiling and waving to us. Of course, she only makes it look easy - it is hard work. She was pretty tired afterwards and sore today. She was moving a little slower than normal today, but did have us all join her on a walk throughout the neighborhood so she could rack up some steps. She is participating in another "step challenge" where the participants wear pedometers and compete to see who gets the most steps over a specified time. She is always one of the top participants and even won the latest event in her office.

Wisconsin - Day 3 (RACE DAY)

The day of the Ironman was another early morning for us. Craig woke up at 4am in order to leave by 5am, and the kids and I got up at 5am in order to leave by 6am. We walked down to the lake early to find a good 'spot' to watch everything before the race stated. It was a beautiful morning . . . . . we saw the sun rise while we sat and waited for the race to begin. At 6:50am, a cannon sounded and about 100 professional athletes began the swim (the professionals get a 10 minute lead). At 7am, another cannon sounded and the remaining 2,000 athletes began the swim at the same time. It was an amazing sight to see!

A big THANK YOU goes out to Grandpa Bob and Grandma Marilynn for making the trip to Wisconsin to help cheer on Craig! It was great having them there as they provided much needed support to Craig and were extremely helpful with Kyle and Clara as well. Thank you Bob and Marilynn - I don't think I could have done it without you.

Craig already posted his race details for you, but as a spectator, I want to add that the Ironman is a truly inspirational event. Words just don't do it justice. You really have to be there to truly understand and appreciate what it is all about . . . . . . . at least that is my opinion. I am so proud of Craig for setting this goal and accomplishing it. The training wasn't easy on him (or me), but I am glad he did it and I am proud to call him my Ironman. :) Congratulations, Craig!

If you are intersted, Craig's official race photos are available online here.

Wisconsin - Day 2

Day two in Wisconsin started off bright and early for us. Craig, Kyle, Clara and I walked down to the lake (Lake Monona), so Craig could get a practice swim in before the race. While Craig was swimming, the kids and I fed some ducks. We also saw one of the athletes get pulled from the water right in front of us because he had a panic attack! He was alright, but what a scary thing to have happen the day before the race.

By the way, doesn't Craig look cute in his wet suit? :)

Wisconsin - Day 1

Finally . . . . . .

Here are a few photos from our recent trip to Madison, Wisconsin. We loved it there! The city was beautiful (especially the capital building) and the people were very nice . On two separate occasions, we had strangers approach us and offer to take a picture of our whole family. And, they didn't run off with our camera. :) We are hoping to return to Madison in 2009 for a family vacation.

Ironman Race Report

I thought I would send out a note to let you know that I survived and am officially an Ironman!!! I will try to summarize the weekend and race below:

- Madison, WI is a great city. The people are super friendly and very supportive.
- The support of the spectators was amazing. All throughout the race I felt like a star. Our race numbers had our names printed on them, so people were constantly calling out your name with encouragement.
- The weather was perfect. The weather people had forecasted rain, but it ended up being sunny and in the 60's.
- The swim was crowded, but manageable. Numerous times I was kicked and hit, but nothing that really caused any impact. I had to stop once to get some water out of my goggles after they were knocked loose, but that was it. I did the swim fairly relaxed in 1:10, which was better than I had expected.
- I lost my goggles when I got out of the water when the "wetsuit peelers" ripped my wetsuit off. I realized I didn't have them when I was running to the transition area. I was not about to run back.
- I took my time in the transition areas to make sure I had everything I needed to be as comfortable as possible. Heck, I even used the bathroom!
- The bike course was much more difficult than I had anticipated. There were few flat sections of road. It seemed we were constantly going up and down hills. The hills were sometimes super steep where I was only able to manage about 8mph. However, coming down, I hit 42mph a few times - coasting!
- In the city of Verona there was a festival going on. The people lined the roads and made it feel like we were in the Tour De France. Especially going up the steep hills.
- My nutrition on the bike went as planned and I felt good besides having a sore knee.
- I saw one bike accident in front of me where a guy failed to negotiate a turn at the bottom of the hill. I don't think he continued on.
- I finished the bike a few minutes beyond 6 hours. It was nice to get off it.
- The run started out really well - no aches or pains. And, I actually had a decent amount of energy.
- I think I was under 8 minute miles for the first 8 miles, then between 8 and 10 minutes per mile to mile 12. I thought I would be under 4 hours without much trouble. Then, trouble hit! I became so nauseated that I couldn't run. I felt like I had plenty of energy and power in the legs, but every time I tried to run I felt like I my stomach was going to explode! So, I walked. And walked, and walked, and walked....until mile 19. There, in front of a crowd of thousands I threw up. I quickly ran to the side of the street where the crowd parted and let me through so I could continue throwing up into a gutter. While this was happening, a few medics showed up to make sure I was OK. I assured them I was fine and continued on. I actually felt better and started running again. I ran/walked until about mile 22 where I threw up some more. I started to wonder if I was going to make it. I pulled it together and pretty much walked until about a half mile from the end where I ran it in and heard the words I was waiting for the entire day....."Craig James-Heer....you are an Ironman!"
- I finished in 13 hours and 6 minutes.
- I must have looked a little pale as some staffers took me to the medical tent where they weighed me and rehydrated me. I had lost 8 pounds and I could not keep anything down.
- After the race, I grabbed my bike and realized I had a flat tire. Thankfully, this happened after I was done with the 112!
- The experience was awesome! Several people asked if I would do it again! The day of the race, my answer was NO. The day after, I was thinking when it might be a good time to do it again. Maybe when I am 40. In the meantime, I am going to focus on shorter events.
- I will send some photos to you as soon as I have a chance.

Countdown to Kindergarten

Okay, I meant to post a 'Countdown to Kindergarten' entry on our blog a few weeks ago, but never had a chance to write anything until now. Kyle starts kindergarten tomorrow! He will be going to school all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a half day on Fridays. There have been many activities leading up to his first day of school. In the spring, Kyle and I attended kindergarten round-up, which was a more formal program about what to expect and a chance to meet the teachers. Last week, Kyle's school hosted a kindergarten visitation and kindergarten open house. The visitation was a chance to meet his teacher, visit his room, pick a place to sit, learn where his cubby is, fill out paperwork, learn about recess, etc., etc. The open house was another chance to do the same, but Kyle also met his teacher for art, computers and physical education. Since when did students in kindergarten start having more than one teacher and learn about computers?? I guess I am getting old because this is not how things were when I was in kindergarten. But, we are glad to learn about this schedule.

Craig and I are are super excited for Kyle to start kindergarten. Considering he turns six at the end of this year, he is definitely ready for school. We have been talking to him about it for a long time, and think (hope) he will do very well. Kyle went to bed at 8:00 tonight so that he would be well rested for his big day tomorrow. Craig and I will be taking him to school in the morning and will try to snap a few pictures. We will let you know how it goes.

I can't believe my 'baby' is starting school tomorrow . . . . . . .

Rubba Dub Dub, Messy Play in the Tub

We finally found a 'messy play' activity that Clara loves doing . . . . . . . bath tub finger painting! You'll see from the pictures below that Kyle enjoys it too. The kids had fun making a mess in the bath tub, and Craig and I loved how easy it was to clean up this 'messy play' activity. Most of the other activities we have tried have not been so easy to wipe down. It has been the best $5.00 I have spent in a while. I think I see a lot of bath tub finger painting in our future. :)