Moving On Up

James and Jacob both moved up from their current swim levels to the next yesterday!

Jacob has mastered all of the Octopus skills and is now and Lobster. His coach was going to move him up last month, but the Lobster class was full and she knew I had three kids in the water that would make it difficult to move things around. She has had him swimming all Lobster level stuff since then.

James graduated from the Lobster level to Hammerhead I for the second time. He graduated last year after completing swim team, but I put him back in Lobster after taking a year off of swimming so that he could get a refresher.

I'm excited that they will BOTH be on swim team next year!!

Marathon Training

With the Marathon only 13 days away, I had my final long run today. I was supposed to run 20 miles. I was hoping to run 22. But with the long runs increasing like they have been, I did not anticipate the sheer exhaustion I would be experiencing. I did not run all weeks in hopes to rest, but now I know how useful those midweek short runs really are. It was a mental battle this morning that stopped me at just barely 8.5.

I feel ok with my distance. I know I'm ready for 26.2. I gave my new shoes the test run I needed to before the big race. they were like a glove. Not a single blister or other discomfort.

The run was beautiful. I ran down cotton lane to try to mimic Montana as much as possible. The desolate streets and houses few and far between with lots of beautiful land to keep me company.

I passed the corn fields. I was amazed at how tall they are up close and was grateful for the shade they provided. It literally felt 10 degrees cooler running between them and their irrigation canal. I felt as if I better get used to the bugs flying too.

I passed many dirt fields fertilized with manure. That took my mind off the run for a short period of time. My favorite part was waking up with the horses. No up and around but them and me. I thought about which of the kids I coach I could trade gymnastics for riding time :). It's in the works.

Because my run fell short, Josh came and picked me up 6.5 miles from home. It's time to taper now and enjoy running for the sheer joy of it. I will be in Montana in 6 days. I can't wait to put some miles on my new shoes there!

Jacob

I Love Them!

Jacob: Part 40,513

After waking up too early and still being tired, "I can't walk. My feet are cranky."

Big Day For Jacob

First we went to the eye Dr and got his eyes checked. They confirmed for us that he is in fact color blind. There is nothing that can be done. Teachers just need to be made aware so that they do not expect him to adapt and know that he cannot see the difference in colors. He experienced his eyes being dilated for the first time so he got to wear the glasses they gave him as we left. He was not very happy about it... he would not smile for me until I told him I was just going to use the picture to show him what he looked like... he did not realize that I meant on the blog in 10 years... not completely a lie.

It's also his Baptism Day! Family tradition calls for brownies on this special day as my mom always made them for us. The Baptism child gets to lick the bowl. He would not let me take a picture until I convinced him his face was not messy. OK, I did lie about that one. ;)

James Wrestling Practice

Here is a video of James during his wrestling practice. He absolutely LOVES wrestling!! He is in the center of this video in the orange shirt. His wrestling partner left practice early so he had to wrestle on of the High School aged coaches. Hopefully I can get a video of him doing a wrestle off very soon! It is very fun to watch him doing something he cannot get enough of!

James

Jacob: Part 40,512

Me: Jacob you are going to have to eat your ice cream faster because it's going to melt.

Jacob: Why? The sun is way over there.

Jacob: Part 40,511

"We are not cleaning. We are making a bigger mess because cleaning is too hard."

While watching a movie in the van on the way to Vegas, "oh, I forgot that the movie was on because I can't hear it!"