Captain Underpants Lives On

An old picture of Little Ryan with Elder Young and his companion!

Our little Ryan is full of personality and funnies but today I really got a couple of good ones out of him. He spent most of the day with me, Kami was at a play date and we were running lots of errands. He was really excited to check out at Walmart because he had found an old gift card of Baili's that he was positive had money left on it that would cover his "guilty pleasure" Yep, you guessed it - CANDY!!!!! So he asked the lady if there was money on the card, she scanned it and told him "NO" Well being the great kid he is and an optimistic soul, he said to her, "well at least I got a receipt." HA - I mean, only an innocent little one could find the receipt showing the zero balance of a gift card, a good thing.

So sweet!
On we went with our chores and I took him to school. He was telling me about a kid in his class. I started asking, "is it the kid with the spikey hair?" and "oh yeah he comes to school with this other little girl from class" and then I said "and his mom......" when Ryan finished the sentence, "has a long neck!" I cracked up.....I could hardly drive.

So funny!
So the majority of my running around was shopping for supplies for our 72 hr Emergency Kit. I had been talking about it and making comments the whole time with Ryan. I was telling him that we were putting them together tonight and just generally mentioning "72 hr kits." So it was the funniest thing, when Ryan vented his annoyance about the kits when he said "so what's with these 15 year old kids?" Laugh Out Loud!!!

So cute!

Rage 2009

ENTERING LAKE MEAD @ 6:47 a.m. - YES A.M. People.......

The kids ran through the finish line with me and are in this picture


I finished my first triathlon, Rage 2009 in 2 hrs 11 mins. It was incredible. The swim was by far my hardest and I did a lot of self-talk out there. I did however find some sort of "stride" midway so as I swam from buoy to buoy I was able to breath well and even talk to some ladies around me. I breast-stroked most of it, with a little sidestroking in between. It took me 32 mins, which actually beat my training time. I was exhausted when I got out of the water and couldn't even find my zipper pull when I stood up (eh ya that is the above picture - haha). My transition time was way too long (4:42) but I was pretty disoriented and couldn't imagine biking. Seriously?
Off I went, carrying my bike instead of wheeling it (eejit) and finally hearing the guy on the loud speaker making a joke about me I put it on the ground, told the official I was taking the penalty for using my IPOD and off I went. The ride was good, tough in some spots but overall was pretty good. I was singing on some of my ride - hilarious - I thought it was probably weird for the "hardcore triathletes" speeding past me to hear me la la-ing along with my music. My spin classes seriously paid off on the hardest hills and I passed 3 of my teammates. I came in at 58:38 which wasn't too bad, for my first go round. Oh btw, I did rent a road bike and it was awesome and they didn't give me the penalty for the IPOD! Transition 2 was great (1:28) and the 5k was pretty good too. I ran the whole way with my sister in law Kati, which was pretty cool. The terrain was rough, it wasn't paved, rocks everywhere (hence, RAGE IN THE SAGE - we do live in a desert) but after a few minutes, I found a zone and stayed in it. I ran the third leg in 34:32 which also beat my training time. At the very end, I asked Kati if she wanted to sprint to the end and before I even finished asking she took off - HECK NO - she didn't.......so all the adrenaline left in me kicked in and I beat her by 3 seconds...whoop! Team Bainbridge.......it was awesome! I'll definitely do it again and when I do I will beat my own time.

I'm gonna TRI

Ok people, Im not going OC on blogging but Im so antsy right now, im vegging on the computer! I would normally go to the gym to work it off but tomorrow is my triathalon and I have to admit I cannot think of anything else......putting on the wetsuit, swimming without drowning, getting off the wetsuit (FAST), will i see fish?, getting on the road bike Im only picking up in 4 hrs, riding the 13 miles without falling off or wrecking, should I take the time penalty for wearing my Ipod on the ride? Coming back and heading off on a 3 mile run (which is my best leg) but I only have done it alone, not after two other endurance legs - WHAT WAS I THINKING??? What if I need to pee or worse - ya, not gonna use the portapotties! I've held it before, for a long time - oh yeah I'll be fine!!! I know it'll feel great to complete it (ahem if I do, no I will) but im so nervous and anxious - ok I admit it - a bit excited now that it's almost here. Gotta eat those carbs tonight but Im not even hungry - sick yes, hungry no! How in the heck am I gonna get up at 4 in the morning? I dont care about my time, I just want to be able to do my best and finish before Sunday morning....haha! Boy, Im glad I lost almost 20 lbs or I would have to carry that up and down those hills. Positive thinking from here on out......I am woman, hear me roar! lol.......it'll be great!

New skills....

Ha...I just learned how to do this (thanks Cherise). It will be my new favorite thing until I find a newer favorite thing! We took these pictures on one of my not so great days a few weeks ago. Kami and Ryan were "trying" to behave as I got new glasses. They did pretty good! Don't ya think Kami looks like SUPERNANNY in the last picture on the right?

TKD Advancement

Ryan finally advanced to his Yellow Belt in Tae Kwon Do. He has been very good in class and learned a lot of discipline with the help of Master Allen (5 time Black Belt). Ryan was very nervous to pass off his forms and didn't even realize he also had to break a board. He tried a number of times and the board didn't break - my heart was in my throat for him - and I just wished he could break it. Then the following video happened. I so appreciate Master Allen and his encouragement to our kids over the years. He truely cares about his students and I'd like to think has a special place in his heart for our kids (we've been with him over 3 yrs now). Im so proud of Ryan for "believing in himself" and pushing through the pain of his little foot - You're Awesome "Yellow Belt" Ryan~!!!

The House That Love Built

Over the last three years Baili has been collecting Pop Can tabs [yeah the ones off soda cans]. She has been diligent about keeping them, picking them up off the street or saving them from Sam's soda. Nana had told her to save them for the Ronald McDonald house and to donate them for children on dialysis. It's taken us so long to get these down the house that they've since changed the program and turn them in for recycling, for money, which in turn they use to help families with food or other needs. It was exciting to finally turn in 2 gallon zip lock bags of pop tabs. I think Baili felt really good about herself and the other kids were excited to be involved also.

They took us on a tour of the house and told us about this non-profit organization. I had no idea how much good they do. Basically the house is set up for out of staters who find themselves "stuck" in Las Vegas due to a car crash or other unforeseen reason [usually medical]. They have 14 rooms that act like hotel rooms where families can stay for a $10 donation or for free. They have a huge kitchen stocked with food, pantries full of cereal and canned goods. They try to create a home-away-from-home atmosphere with playrooms, TV rooms, and an awesome backyard to help make these stressful times more bearable for the families.

Who cuts your hair?

I cut the boys and Sams hair on sunday morning. Now - because I am not [nor ever have been] a hairdresser or barber....they always get the same hair cuts. The boys always get it entirely buzzed with a #2 guard so they're not completely bald. So this time was slightly different because Ryan wanted to try having the top a little longer so he could spike it. I did my best and thought it looked pretty good. WELL......we're sitting in church and ryan happened to be sitting with someone else, after a while he came back over and sat with us. "OMGOSH - what happened your hair", I said to him. It was hideous. Turns out that he took the razor just before church and shaved one little part right in the front of his head - GHETTO!!!! Seriously it was really funny looking though and Sam and I were trying as hard as we could not to laugh during church but seriously - he looked so funny!

We tried to take pictures of it but they dont do it justice. Then we got silly taking pictures of the kids and the hair [exibit A - Jacob taking a bite out of Ryans hair.....lol]

Happy Birthday Sammy Jon!!!

Baili made a cake [from scratch] for Sam's birthday. She is very creative and loves to cook and bake. She found the recipie online [by herself] and I just really watched her measurements. I have to say it was really moist and yummy and I was IMPRESSED! Sam loved it.

.....and I promise Sam didn't turn into Homer Simpson over the last year - hahaha - just kidding.....I caught him mid-blow in this picture! We had some family come over for dinner and the celebration. Now that Sam's half a century old, he's getting wiser by the day - haha! jk