Badwater

Anyone interested in Badwater Ultramarathon??

School, not yet

This is the last week of freedom before school starts. D went back to work on Monday, the kids start next Monday and I have class on next Thursday.

This week, we have been getting up early, going swimming, watching movies, shopping and having one last sleepover. I have also been cleaning my house; Flylady is really a miracle.

Relay for Life

Friday night, I participated in a wonderful event to help defeat cancer: Relay for Life. In the weeks leading up to the event, team members raise money for cancer research. On the day of the event, each team sets up a "home" area with a tent, decorations and a fundraiser. The event was held at a middle school football field and it's surrounding track.

Our team was called Hope Floats and we had a nautical theme. From 7pm on Friday till 7am on Saturday morning someone on your team must be walking on the track. I decided to run during my time on the track and I was able to complete 13 miles. Running on a track at 2am with a dj playing music is a very surreal experience.

I want to say a special thanks to everyone who purchased goodies during my fundraiser bake sale at Twist.

Mall Madness

On Friday night, before Vegas on Sunday, S and I participated in the annual madness of sleeping over at the mall with the Girl Scouts. S has been saving her money for months for this event. She bought some school clothes (JCPenny's had a good clearance sale), jewelry and hair clips from Claire's (the line to checkout was out the door) and of course, candy.

Most of the shops close about 1am, then Radio Disney pumps up the volume til 4 am. The moms sit in their lawn chairs and try to stay awake (which is easy since the music is so loud) and the girls sing, dance around and play games. At 3am, S was feeling tired and we decided to pack it up and go home.

These are some the moms, looking scared, before the event started.

More Vegas

We didn't take many pictures in Vegas but here's a couple more I wanted to share.

The Rock at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

It's Vegas Baby

Dennis and I spent the last 4 days in Las Vegas on vacation. We haven't been on vacation alone since the cruise six years ago. We had an amazing time, here's a quick overview of the highlights.

We bought tickets to The Blue Man Group on our Allegiant flight. For $99 each, we got Blue seating (11 rows from the front, in the center) and a VIP meeting with a member of the Group in the VIP lounge. We figured there would be a bunch of people in there but it turned out to be just us and another couple. The "Blue Man" was very nice and answered all our questions and took pictures with us. It was strange to hear him talk because they are silence through the entire show.

We didn't rent a car so we took the Deuce (double decker bus), taxis and walked all over the strip. They are opening a Hard Rock Cafe on the strip in the fall but we took a shuttle over to check out this one. We also went to the House of Blues and ate at Dick's Last Resort (Dennis has been wanting to eat at one of those, forever.)

On the second day we saw our favorite show of the trip, The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil. It was so cool. The music was wonderful and I was in awe of the athleticism of the performers.

On the third day we saw three shows Mystere (the original Cirque du Soleil), The Price is Right, and Phantom (The Phantom of the Opera, Vegas style.) It was a very full 4 days, we don't know how to do it any other way.

Rocksprings

Leadership course. I trust you.

The girls liked to take "professional" pictures. Some girls modeled and some girls posed.

Canoeing.

S's canoeing skills are very good and she can get the canoe to go just where she wants it.

Busy Week

We had such a busy week, last week. Monday through Wednesday we were in Topeka at volleyball camp. S learned a lot and I could see the improvement at the end of the camp. I learned a lot, also. They had great drills and progressions.
On Wednesday afternoon, we went to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. TT and D rode every roller coaster, TT was fearless. S was scared of the roller coasters but loved the spinning rides. We stayed till the park closed and fell into hotel beds at 11:30pm. Thursday we drove home.

On Friday, S and I left for Rocksprings 4H camp with our Girl Scout Troop. There were 10 girls and 8 moms. We had archery, leadership course and a night swim on Friday.

Friday night, the moms were up late laughing and talking. I think most of the girls only got 3 to 4 hours of sleep because we woke them up at 7am for breakfast. The Rocksprings staff provides all the meals and they are wonderful.

On Saturday, we went horseback riding and canoeing. The girls were wonderfully behaved, no crying or fighting. I am so lucky to have this group of girls and have this time to make memories with them.
I highly recommend Rocksprings for family reunions, scout troops, or retreats.

Painting and Crafts

This week we spend a couple of days painting the walls in T's room. It was pink with a fairy border, now it is a bright blue with a couple of skulls.

We also did a fun rice craft. We dyed the rice with food coloring and then used glue to make pictures. We also made a I Spy bottle with the leftover rice.

Week 3 Training

I finished week 3 of "4 month to a 4 hour marathon" with an 11 mile run, yesterday. It was a good running week overall, except I missed one day of cross training since I was very tired from the 6 hours of driving to and from KC on Monday and Tuesday.

I was lucky to have Laura run quarter-mile repeats with me on Thursday. We did 8x400, which was challenging but I know it will make me faster and stronger.

I also booked the hotel room for October. It's a suite with a fireplace and full kitchen and enough room for my friends who are running the relay.

14 weeks to go.