Our IronMARM

On Sunday my mom competed in her first Ironman competition- that's 140.6 miles of swimming, biking, and running in one day!  We woke up bright and early to catch the start of the swim.  It was a beautiful morning (well a little chilly to be swimming) and amazing to see nearly 3000 competitors jump into Tempe Town Lake with their green and pink caps on just as the sun was starting to rise.  Since we know how much my mom hates the cold, we were a little worried about her finishing in time, but she did finish the 2.4 mile swim just before the 2 hr cutoff.

We found a spot along Rio Salado to watch her come by on her bike, but we were surprised at how long it was taking her to come out of the transition area.  Later I found out that she had actually gotten hypothermia from the swim and they had to keep her in the warming tent before they would let her continue.  She was a little out of it and her coach was worried that she wouldn't be able to continue, but she quickly recovered and started her 114 mile bike ride.  We kept trying to spot her in black and yellow, but it was really hard make out a face until I saw a woman in black and yellow waiving to the spectators as if she were in a beauty pageant- that was her all right! 

The next time we saw her was at the start of her 26.2 mile run.  Again, she was in good spirits and jogging along eating an apple for dinner.  We found the perfect spot right by the Tempe Center of the Arts that allowed us to see her on the south side of the lake, then take the pedestrian bridge to the north side and catch her again over there.  Since Anthony had to be at work very early the next morning, we only stayed until her second loop around (and had one more to go).  Later we heard from my brother that she had finished just before the midnight cutoff.  By the time she had hit mile 15, her body was giving up and tired, but she still finished!  She is now offically an IronMARM and now it's just time to decide where to get the tattoo! :)

We love you Marm and are so proud of you!

Anthony's 30th Birthday

I had been planning for over a month to take Anthony to the ASU vs U of A football game the Saturday before his birthday.  Going to college football games is something we have enjoyed doing together and we hadn't yet gone to an ASU game together so I thought it was perfect timing.  When we woke up Saturday morning, I had him open his gift and that is when he found out about the game and his new Pat Tillman ASU throwback jersey.  He was so excited to try it on (it fit him perfectly) and get to wear it to the game that night.

It was a very exciting game since the score was pretty close the whole time.  We decided to leave with a few minutes left in the 4th quarter to beat the crowd.  Since we were up by 10 we didn't think it would be a big deal, but by the time we reached our car, U of A had scored two touchdown which left ASU trailing by 4 and they ended up losing the game :(  We still had a good time, but it was a late night for us! 

Since my mom's Ironman was on Sunday, we spent Anthony's birthday running all over town.  We headed home in between her swim and run to spend some time with Anthony's family.  We had them over for Del Rio Tortilla soup and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that Marian made.  It was nice just to hang out with them, but we were exhausted!  Must be that old age creeping up. Speaking of old age, ever since Anthony has turned 30, I have noticed the following things:

• He keeps saying he needs to have "man-strength" now
• Just as soon as he says he needs to have "man-strength", he says he is giving up on working out
• It takes him a little longer to get out of bed in the morning
• He has turned into a lumberjack
• I offered him peanut butter cookies and he wouldn't take them (this has NEVER happened)
• He gets more handsome everyday

To sum it all up, Anthony said "I am married, have a baby on the way, a homeowner, and I have a beard"...guess it doesn't get any more "30" than that! :)  I'm sure I will hear all about it next year when it's my turn, but I am looking forward to growing old with Anthony!

Infant Care and Breastfeeding 101

Last week Anthony and I started our childbirth classes.  It was a long and information-filled night, but well worth it!

Some things we learned:
-We should have a pediatrician before the baby is born
-Kids need to be in a booster seat until they are 4'9' and 85 lbs (this means Nana needs a booster!)
-There are MANY variations of poop and each one means something different
-Breast feeding is not as easy as it appears
-One of the triggers for "let-down" could be just looking at another baby
-Milk doesn't come out in one stream, but more like a shower head
-Anthony likes to pick the "dark" babies for practice :)
-I'm not as big as I feel
-I will have to "pump and dump" for 13 hours after having just one alcoholic drink
-Eating spicy or acidic foods can still update the baby's stomach while breastfeeding

We'll keep you posted with all the fun things we learn! :)

Halloween 2011

Tennessee Vacation

After an early morning starting with our 5 am flight, we arrived in Knoxville (in the smallest commercial plane ever made) around 1:30 pm and headed straight to Brandon and Penny's house.  We had a wonderful evening spending time with the girls, catching up with Brandon and Penny, and enjoying Penny's cooking!

During our stay in Tennessee, we stayed in my Aunt Gwen's Farm House in Townsend- just about 30 minutes from Brandon and Penny.  I loved showing Anthony around and telling him some of the stories from when I used to visit here has a kid.  After settling in, we went to bed and got to hear the rain all night long.  I don't think I have ever heard it rain like that anywhere!

In the morning we enjoyed a quick breakfast before heading to Cades Cove.  I wasn't sure how much we were going to see since it had rained all night and was still pretty wet out, but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to see two big black bears eating in one of the open fields!  It was so exciting!!

We were hoping to catch a sunset at Clingman's Dome, but since it was a cloudy day, we decided to do sunrise the next morning instead so we took it easy for the rest of the day.  We went into town to grab lunch and get some UT gear for the game the next day and then headed back to the Farm House to relax.  It was just what we needed since we were going to have to wake up extra early.

My favorite blanket I always remembered from the Farm House

We woke up especially early to start the hour drive to Clingman's Dome.  We slowly started to see the the sky light up and made it to the lookout just in time to see the sunrise.  I didn't realize that there would be a 1/2 mile walk up a steep road to the lookout and I didn't expect the freezing temperature, but it was worth it!  We were the only ones at the top and it was the best view I have ever seen!!

We then made the long drive back to town, but it was a beautiful drive with all the turning leaves.  We made it into Knoxville just in time to catch Kenna's soccer game.  She played goalie for most of the game and did a great job!  After the game, we had lunch and hung out at Brandon and Penny's house with the girls.  Watching them play Just Dance 2 was hilarious and Anthony enjoyed playing basketball and four square.

Our time with them was short since we the UT game was that evening.  We said our goodbye's and headed to the game.  We did a lot of walking downtown and I was a little discouraged at first, but we ended up having a good time and it was a fun college football experience.  It was awesome to be at the third largest college stadium and we just happened to be there for their homecoming game.  There wasn't much competition since they played a division 2 team, but since it was Middle Tennessee it created a little extra rivalry.

Just as we started to get settled in, it was time to head back to Arizona.  Our trip felt short, but it was so much fun to experience a real Fall.  We are looking forward to future trips to Tennessee since my mom will soon be moving there and since Chris's mom lives there, we are hoping we could do a family trip with Chris and Gina once the babies are here!