Poor Little Abandoned Kittens

We woke up Saturday morning to the sound of kittens outside in our yard. I had actually heard them Friday afternoon and in the middle of the night, but didn't think much of it. We were getting ready to head out on our family bike ride/run and heard them. One kitten was found inside the storage compartment in the hose cart and the other kitten was inside a cooler we had in the yard. Clearly, somebody didn't want these kittens, knew we had kids at our house, and left them to us. Not nice. Those of you who know me know I am not an animal fan, don't like cats and am allergic to them. Well, my heart broke when I saw these poor little things shivering and meowing like crazy, probably starving to death and pretty scared. We gave them some milk and a place to sleep. After our exercise we went to Pet Smart to get some advice. Steve and the boys really wanted to keep them, but I had to say no. I did, however, let them keep the kittens for the weekend and will take them to the adoption center at Pet Smart on Monday. We bought kitten food and kitty litter, made them, a home, and the kids play with them often. The kids are getting a real taste for what it takes to take care of a pet.

We gave the kittens milk right away. Poor things were shivering like crazy.

Not something you'll see too often...me holding cats. But these girls are cute.

This was fascinating to the boys.

Scott named the one on the left "Hairy" and Noah named the one on the right "Meller". He doesn't know why. They are both girls.

So cute!

The excitement was just too much for Joshua. He passed out on the chair.

Happy 6th Birthday Noah--July 17th

We celebrated Noah's birthday by going to the new water feature park with some friends, the Moorelands, who were moving to Minnesota the next day. It's too bad because Noah and Janie were great pals. We'll miss them. Our friends the Turners just happened to be there too, so it was an even bigger party. Yeah! That evening Steve and I took the boys to the Folsom Aquatic Center where they played on a waterslide and other fun stuff. We went home for pizza, presents, and cake and ice cream with Deron and Teresa and Grandpa Peres and Phyllis. Great birthday!

Noah begged to open a present in the morning.

Noah and Asher Turner

Joshua

Noah

Asher and Addison Turner with Noah

Scott

Elizabeth

ULTRA MAGNUS!!!!

Phyllis and Grandpa Peres finding out just how much fun Transformers can be.

The kids designed and helped decorate this Batman cake.

Happy Birthday Noah!

I Tri'd and I Did: My 1st Triathlon July 11, 2009

My 3rd place plaque

On July 11th Steve and I began a new adventure and are now hooked. We'd always wanted to do a triathlon and found the perfect one to start with. The Rancho Seco Park Tri for Fun Sprint Triathlon. It consists of a 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and 3 mile run.
We got the kids up at 5 a.m., had a quick energy-filled breakfast, and headed out the door at 5:40 a.m. We arrived at the park at 6:30 a.m. Rick, our brother-in-law, had already picked out a great spot for our transitions. He had trained Anne (Steve's sister) and Rebecca and Elizabeth (daughters) to time us on our starts, transitions, and finishes. They were equipped with spreadsheet, clipboard, and stop watches. Quite the 0peration. We quickly got ourselves set up in the transition area and then picked up our packets and t-shirts and then had our numbers written ALL OVER our body. Hands, shoulders, and thighs had our race number, and right calf had our age.
We went back to the transition area and got wetsuits on and started stretching. I was a little nervous, but pretty excited. Steve said he was really feeling the nervousness/excitement which excited him even more because most races he did like the 5K, 10K, and half marathon didn't really have the same effect on him. He felt totally different this time. Rick was nervous too.
We headed over to the lake where they were getting ready to start. A quick little warm-up swim and check on the goggles and we were good to go. The water was so warm. It was like a bathtub. So nice. I don't like cold water, not even a little bit. Graeme, Rick's friend and training partner, was in the first wave. Five minutes later Steve started, then Rick started, and 10 minutes after Rick was my start. Since I am NOT a swimmer I chose to start in the back on the side, hopefully far away from the thrashing masses. Two people already had to be rescuted just yards away from the start, I'm assuming from getting kicked in the head. Fellow swimmers saved them, not the people on the kayaks. My fellow swimmers and I didn't like that at all. There were clearly not enough safety people out on the course. Makes one a bit nervous. At the start I waited a few seconds for people to get going and then started swimming. Right away I could see bubbles everywhere, which meant people kicking, which meant danger. Nope. Not doing that. Stopped and waited a little more and then swam more over to the side. I had read that it was a good idea to do the catch-up swim stroke to protect your head in the beginning. It worked like a charm. Once I got through all the yucky seaweed stuff that was trying to grab me and the visions of dead bodies floating up from the bottom, I was good to go. It was a little tricky trying to swim and sight ahead, but I got it down pretty quickly. I occasionally got kicked or nudged by somebody from the side and I would just move over a little more. Once we reached the first buoy it was like a bottleneck. I started getting kicked and pushed over by this lady next to me. I kept thinking "Hey, it's a big lake. We can share. No need to get pushy." I just swam a little faster and got past her. I settled in and before I knew it I was finished with the swim. According to my trusty timers, I did the swim in 14:52...much faster than I anticipated. I jumped right up and started running out of the water. I felt really good. Much better than the time I swam in a 50+ degree lake in the mountains and was so dizzy and disoriented I could barely walk to the edge of the lake and sit on a rock...not to mention all the teeth chattering and uncontrollable shivering. Nope, this time was great.
I ran out of the lake, put my goggles on my head, pulled my wetsuit down halfway, and ran to my transition area. Rick was there getting ready to head out on his bike. My wetsuit came off quickly and easily, thanks to the Body Glide stuff I put on, and my transition went smoothly. Yes, I put socks on. I know lots of people bike and run without socks, but, I'm sorry, socks bring comfort. I need comfort in times like these. I can be pretty fast putting socks on anyway. Not a problem. My transition was 59 seconds. Not too bad for the first time. Apparently, I beat everyone by 11-50 seconds.
I ran my bike through the transition area, trying not to slip in my road biking shoes, and hopped on my bike as quickly as I could muster. I really didn't feel like jumping and landing on the seat like a lot of people do. You could really hurt yourself down there if you're not careful. I took off quickly and started passing people right and left. There were speed bumps all through the park until we got out to the highway. I thought it was silly that everyone was slowing down to go over the speed bumps. It's a race, people, and, yes, your bike can handle it! I was going so fast that I caught air on every one of those speed bumps. Probably helped that I've been mountain bike racing recently. Just before I left the park I passed Rick. Told him good job and good luck and was on my way. I tucked into my aero bars and flew. I passed hundreds of people and passed them quickly. I didn't get passed by anyone. I was getting more and more excited with each woman I passed who had a number between 35 and 39 (my age group) on their calf. I started to realize that I had a real possibility of placing in this race. Not something I even dreamed of. I was just there to do my best and finish and not embarrass myself too much. I saw Steve on his way back on the bike. He was cruising. I was so proud of him. I pushed hard, but not all out. I knew I had a run ahead of me and was unsure how that was going to go. I got to the transition area, hopped off my bike, ran a little like a drunken sailor for a bit until I could get control of my legs, and got to my transition area. I did the bike in 46:44.
This time my transition was 40 seconds. It was so fun to see the boys right there on the other side of the fence yelling and screaming for me. Graeme's girlfriend, Ashley, who was doing the duathlon instead, was getting ready for the run too. We were both a little confused about where to go. It took a few seconds to find the sign that said "Run" and then once we found the signs we still couldn't figure out where to go. It was weird. Finally we see a lady waving at us and found the chute we were supposed to run through. Ashley took off and was ahead of me in a hurry. I didn't care. I really am not a runner. I do okay, but with all of my knee surgeries I am happy just to be able to run again. I just plugged along and got passed by some people including a woman in my age group, but that was okay. Just finish the race, I kept telling myself. I waved at Steve as he ran by and Rick high-fived me when I ran by him. Towards the end of the race I picked up the pace and passed a bunch of people who had passed me earlier. I ended up sprinting the last minute or so right with these two other guys. I think they were worried about being passed by a girl. I was kind and let them cross the finish line first, but I was right on their tail. I did the run in 26:03.
My total time was 1:29:18. It was a great feeling to finish my first triathlon. Steve was there to welcome me and Anne, Rebecca, Elizabeth, and my boys were cheering me on at the finish.
We figured I placed somewhere in the top three so we hung around for the awards ceremony which was so long and so hot. Why they couldn't do ladies first I don't know. I ended up taking 3rd place in my age group. Steve took 11th place in his age group. He did great and was so excited to have done as well as he did and knew he found something he could really be good at. He was one of the first guys out of the water, had a great bike ride, and an okay run. He tripped and fell on the run, but was okay. He beat me in the swim, but I had him on the bike, the run, and the transitions. He still beat me overall with a time of 1:27:47 because he rocked on the swim!
It was funny. After the race a woman who was in my age group came up to me to congratulate me and tell me she decided she was going to follow me in the swim, but couldn't stay with me. Apparently, I just took off. I thanked her, but laughed, because I would never describe my swimming as fast at all. It made me feel like a realy swimmer when she said that.
It was such a fun experience that we are going to do another one at the same place on August 8th. I guess the training never ends...

Elizabeth and Steve getting ready for the swim.

Graeme, Ashley, and Elizabeth getting ready for the start.

Rick is ready to go!

The swim start.

Rick's transition. Where are the pictures of the rest of us, girls? J/K.

Joshua is so tired of waiting. Poor little guy.

Rick's big finish.

Elizabeth and Steve after the race.

The Triathletes: Graeme, Ashley (Duathlete), Rick, Elizabeth, and Steve




Elizabeth on the podium for 3rd place.

After the race the kids got to play in the lake. They deserved it. They had to be VERY patient with us. It was a long morning.

Rebecca and Noah

Elizabeth R.

Rebecca, Noah, and Joshua

Elizabeth R. and Scott

Noah

Joshua, the mad scientist.

Clever Boy

Joshua came to me after his nap yesterday and wanted to watch a movie. He said "How 'bout this. (Big sigh) You bike ride and you run. Okay?" This was his way of getting rid of me so he could watch the movie.

A Fun Outing to the Park...Or Not.

The kids had done their jobs early and wanted to do something fun with mom. I suggested we make a picnic lunch and ride bikes to a different park they hadn't been to before. Everyone was very excited. Scott and Noah were ready well before I was because I was still making lunches. They took off on their bikes to "warm up" for our ride and promised to be right back. Scott made it back and just as we were getting ready to leave Noah comes down the street crying and holding parts of his helmet. Yes, parts. The other parts were held by a very nice man who was carrying Noah's bike and escorting him home. Apparently, Noah wrecked a little ways down the street and this nice man came to his rescue. We cleaned up his arm, gave him some medicine, and he informed us that he didn't want to go anymore. He crawled into bed and Scott started reading him stories. So cute! Scott said he would stay with Noah to make sure he was going to be okay. I suggested we have our picnic inside and watch a movie. They thought that was a great idea. Oh well...the outing was a nice idea. Maybe tomorrow.

Joshua finally graduated to the tandem! He was totally freaked out about it and did NOT want to ride with Mommy, but once we got him on there and started going he thought it was great. He kept saying "I'm really good at this, huh? I'm not a scaredy-cat!" The tandem works great with my new bike. Don't we look cool?

Poor Noah. As you can see, he had just removed two band-aids yesterday from a previous owie. Now he's going to have band-aids back on again.

Picnic and a movie.

The 4th of July

We invited the Turner family (no relation), Mary Maher, and Teresa and Deron Rodriguez over for a BBQ and fireworks in the street. We had lots of fun. Too bad Steve had to work. We sure missed him.

Joshua, Noah, Bryden, Addison, and Asher

Scott, Rachel, and Elizabeth

Rachel, Mary, Addison, Elizabeth, Deron, and Teresa.

Bryden and Addison

Joshua and Noah

Aaron and Rachel Turner, Mary Maher, and Elizabeth.

Scott, Addison, Joshua, and Noah

Noah

Addison, Bryden, and Aaron

Scott

Asher, the ninja!

Joshua

Elizabeth, Deron, Scott, Aaron, Teresa, and Joshua.

Teresa had to take Elizabeth's new bike out for a spin.

The excitement!

Checking out the strobe light effect.

Craziness! Scott thinks showing off his underwear is what we do when we have a 4th of July party. This is what he said when I asked him about it.