Tough Mudder

Micah and a group of his buddies finished Tough Mudder on September 23rd at Northstar (a ski resort just north of Lake Tahoe and close to Truckee, CA).  The course was 12 miles long, up and around a mountain, and included a bunch of crazy obstacles.  It took them a little over 4 hours to finish.

Go Honey Badgers! Getting ready to start.

Throughout the course, obstacles included: multiple mud crawls, 15 foot high jump into muddy water, swimming through a tank full of ice water, monkey bars, carrying logs up the mountain, carrying a teammate, muddy tunnel crawls, climbing tall wooden walls, electric shock, and getting over a half pipe.

Just after a mud crawl

The Muddy Mile

Gladys and I purchased spectator tickets for the event and took the kids to cheer on their dads.  We didn't get to see very much of them, but the atmosphere was great and we were able to watch the last 2 obstacles at the finish!

I took Owen, Adler and Ethan up the chair lift see see a couple of other obstacles.  We had already missed Micah though.

Owen and Ethan supporting their Tough Dads!

Here's Micah coming into the final obstacles.  After waiting a long time and searching for him, we were thrilled to see him (un-injured).

Micah had no problem climbing/jumping up the giant half pipe.

Here's the Honey Badgers working together to get Steve over the ledge!

View from the top of the half pipe.

One obstacle left to go!

The Honey Badgers right before the final obstacle, the electric shock.

Micah protecting his head from the electrical wires.

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE!!!!

We were so proud of Micah for finishing such a crazy, challenging event!

Owen & Ethan getting their sugar-high on!

Micah all cleaned up and ready for a big meal and a nap.

Iron Girl Triathlon

I competed in my third sprint triathlon on September 16th in South Lake Tahoe.  It took me a little over 2 hours to finish, which was longer than I had hoped for, but that's the way it goes.

Enid and me getting ready to swim!

I was cold before even getting into the water and then the water literally took my breath away.  It was a quick swim, only about 400 meters, but not a good swim for me.

In the water with about 100 other women in my age group.

So glad to be out of that water!!

The bike ride was about 17 miles long, around a portion of Tahoe.

The run was a 5K and I struggled the entire time.  It was definitely a challenge for me.  My legs were like jelly after the bike and my feet were still numb from the cold swim.

Finish line in sight!



 

I had a nice cheering section with my mom, Micah and the kiddos there, as well as the families of my friends also racing.  I'm pretty sure my mom got her excercise that morning as she was running all over the place trying to find me and cheer me on!  It was great seeing her face in the crowd.

Glad we were still able to smile after the race!

Charity, Kelly, Brenda & Enid



My biggest fan!

Sporting my Kaia tattoo and Iron Girl medal

Brenda bought this cute t-shirt for Adler's birthday.  Love it!

Future Iron Girl

Even though my time wasn't that great, I did enjoy the challenge.  Now I need to plan my next event for 2013.  I've finished triathlons in Sacramento, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe.......where to next???

Adler is THREE!

It's hard to believe that's she's been in our lives for three years, but it's true.  Adler is officially a three year old.

Her birthday was a few weeks ago, but we did have a little party for her at the "Big" park here in town.  She spent about half the time swinging, her favorite park activity.

My mom flew here for her birthday weekend, which was a treat for all of us.  We are also so blessed with wonderful friends in Nevada who helped us celebrate Adler's birthday!

Going down the crazy slides with her Daddy!

"Me three now"

Adler loves her Grandma!

On Adler's actual birthday, which fell on a Monday, my mom and I took the kids to Reno's Build a Bear Workshop.  They had a blast, of course!

Adler picked out a pink bear and Owen a puppy dog.  They better love them for a long time, because I don't see us going back there for a while.  Those are the most expensive stuffed animals I've EVER purchased!

Thanks for coming here for another birthday, Mom!  The kids just loved you being here!

Texas, Our Texas!

After the wedding, went spent about 6 days traveling to see family in College Station, Brady, and finally a couple days in Austin with friends.  As always, it felt great being back in our home state. 

We did lots of swimming in warm, outdoor pools.  Ahhhhh, that's one thing I miss in Nevada.

They spotted a BUG!

Poolside snacks

Owen and his Papa Yawn

Jeep rides are highly anticipated on our Texas trips.  What's better than riding in the jeep to the neighborhood pool???

Micah still looks good in his old jeep!  Although it looks a bit different than it did in college, with 2 kids in it with him!  :o)

We had to pull Owen out of Kindergarten for a week, so he had some homework to do while we were there.  We decided to take him for a visit to Texas A&M and start brainwashing him now.  Here we are at Kyle Field, just a few days before the Aggies first football game in the SEC.

I don't know why this photo is so yellow, but here we are visiting my 96 year old Grandmother in Brady.  It was quite a treat for her to spend time with her great-grandkids!

We spent one night at the ranch and Adler fell asleep on a late-night truck ride to see the stars.  So FUN!

Owen got lessons on how to shoot a BB gun from his Uncle Brian and Dad.  Of course, he's hooked (and has a pretty good shot too)!



Owen, Brian and Micah swimming in the reservoir

Riding with Grandmom at the ranch!

Our last stop was Austin, where we had a great time with the Anderson Family......especially with Lake Austin and a boat involved!

Kira, Kai, Owen & Adler

No concussions!!!

Enjoying the breeze!

Owen at the Reno airport, after a very late evening of traveling.

Matt & Jami

I'm about a month behind on the blog and it's been a really busy month!  I'm going to attempt to catch up.  On September 2nd, Micah's youngest brother, Matt, got married to a beautiful woman, my new sister-in-law, Jami!  We flew to Dallas for the wedding, where Micah was the best man and both kiddos were in the wedding.  They looked adorable all dressed up and I hope the wedding photographer got a few good shots of them because I hardly took any!!

Adler waiting in the Bride's room right before the wedding ceremony.

All dressed up!

The kids finding something to do on the floor before the ceremony.

Matt and Owen at the reception.  They had a photo booth that Owen LOVED!  He spent most of the reception taking his picture in there.

 

Owen and Jami's nephew pulled Adler and the other flower girl down the aisle in a decorated red wagon.  It was adorable!

Matt and Jami during the ceremony

Congratulations, Matt and Jami!  You make a beautiful couple and we look forward to making many memories with the two of you.