Drum roll, please

They've made a return this year.  Many hours went into making them what they are, 7 hours to be exact.  That's right...my Christmas lights are back, baby.  After my scare a couple of years ago  with a burnt GFI outlet (see below), I decided to correct my electrical power issues.

This year, I had a friend of mine help me install (2) 20amp dedicated circuits for the lights.  Those two circuits, along with my existing 15amp garage circuit allowed me to put up many more lights than years past...roughly 3500 total lights consisting of the big C9 ceramic bulbs on the house and two trees and many, many 100count multi-colored minilight strands on all the bushes.  The lights on the bushes are synchronized with a music player outside, playing Christmas songs.

 



Now that I've got my power needs addressed, I'm already planning for next year.  More roof lights for the 2nd story, lights on all the windows and front door, more lights on the front porch and more minilights in the bushes.  I'll be watching the Christmas sales in the next few weeks for lights to go on sale.  And if anyone stumbles across 25ft-50ft extension cords, please let me know.  I've been told I have a personal problem with extension cords.  This year, I've used 25 extension cords, ranging from 20ft to 50ft.  Anyone who invests this kind of effort into Christmas lights never has enough extension cords...myself included!

If you're ever in the neighborhood between now and December 25th, please stop by!

Happy Holidays!

SWAC Intrasquad swim meet

On Saturday, Spencer and the rest of the swim team had an intrasquad swim meet.  Many of the kids on the team participated, with most swimming 4 events during the 4 hour event.  It was basically a good test for many of the kids, as the swim season gets underway in the next month.  Here are the videos of Spencer's events on Saturday.  We just found out tonight at his practice that he was DQ'd (disqualified) during the 100m IM.  We haven't heard the exact reason, but it may have been a wrong kick during one of the strokes or a missed touch on the wall during a turn.  Either way, he still did well and had fun!

100m IM (25m each: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVaOh4ZdDe4

50m butterfly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3e6e7d6RcQ

50m backstroke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXcJD7MYOM8

50m breaststroke:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrKUdBm0RrM

Detroit Free Press Half Marathon

Christine was able to scratch off one of her athletic bucket list items today...she completed the Detroit Free Press half marathon! That's 13.1 miles in case you were wondering. We are so proud of her and the effort she put forth today.  She was able to finish the race strong, beating the personal goal she set for herself.

Several months ago, her friend Richelle asked her is she'd be willing to do the half marathon in Detroit.  After some deliberation and thought, she signed up and began training.  She and Richelle worked hard to get to today, despite work, school and kids pulling at their training time.

We drove up to Detroit on Saturday to Cobo Hall to pick up race packets.  After getting checked in, we strolled through the hall, looking at the many vendors who were selling running-related gear.  Before we left, we snapped a photo at the race countdown timer, each holding their race bibs.

We then headed to the hotel to check in.  After getting our stuff in our rooms, we searched out a place for dinner, eventually taking in a very "nutritious" dinner at the buffet in the Greektown Casino.  Afterwards, we went back to the bar at the hotel to catch some of the Tigers-Rangers baseball game and have a couple of pints.  It was getting late and the runners needed to rest up for the big day on Sunday.

It was a cold morning when they headed to the start/finish line around 6:30am, with the race having a start time of 7am.  The 13.1 mile course began on Fort St. in Detroit, took them over the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor, Ontario, back through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and a loop around dowtown Detroit before finishing up back on Fort St.  Chris and I were waiting at the hotel for both runners, as the race course went right by our hotel.  At 10am, we spotted Richelle heading for us.  She was doing great and able to give us a smile on the way by.

Once Richelle went by, Chris headed to the finish line a few blocks away to greet her.  She finished with a great time of 2hr 42mins 7secs.  Not long after, I spotted Christine.  She also was doing well and ahead of the personal pace she set for herself.  I snapped a quick photo before heading to the finish line too.

At this point, she only had about a half mile to go to finish the race.  I quickly made my way to the finish line, weaving my way through the immense crowd to see her finish.  I then spotted her, running strong to the finish line.  It made me smile to see her finish this way after a long, grueling race. 

UPDATE:  Here's the link to a video of Christine finishing, around the 20sec mark in the video.

As you can see, the finish line timer reads 3hrs 42mins 24secs.  However, at the start of the race, the runners were started in waves and Christine's wave started about 25mins after the first runners at 7am.  As a result, her actual finishing time was 3:18:04, much better than the goal she had set for herself!  Click here to see the race results. Once finished, the runners had a long area for cooling down, stretching and getting some food and drinks.  We met up and made the 3-block walk back to the hotel.  After relaxing for a bit and packing our bags, we grabbed lunch with our friends at the bar and finally made our way home. 

Christine pushed herself and completed something alot of people could never do.  The kids and I are super proud of her and can't wait to cheer her on in her next race!

One more Jib Jab...

I decided to make one for my kids too!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Another Halloween Jib Jab

It's that time of year again.  Thanks to my cousins Mike, Melissa and Jim (Rory too) for lending me their...heads.
Hope everyone has some great tricks and treats!

Be sure to have your sound turned up and click on the bottom right of the video to go full screen for the best viewing.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Spencer went for a little run today too....

Spencer competed in his first triathalon today!  It was the Southwest Sprint Triathalon, sponsored by TriFort Triathaletes.  Click on the link for more information about the event.  The race consisted of a 25 meter freestyle swim (at the pool where he trains now...nice to have homefield advantage!), a 1 mile bike ride and a 1/4 mile run. 

He was one of 27 kids in the 7-8 year old group.  He did very well in the swimming, getting out of the pool second in his group.  Then he got dried off and changed quickly for the bike portion.  He sprinted to his bike, got his helmet on and took off. 

Here's a video of him finishing up the bike portion and getting ready for the run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIkpZ31VDUk

Once he hit the track for the 1/4 mile run, he started off strong.  Then he ran into the strong headwind, at which he had to start walking.  But then he picks it back up and finishes strong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1PcgNpAtHE

There were lots of kids in the event, including some of his SWAC swimming buddies and kids from his school.  He was pretty excited to see his buddy Max and his brother Jake competing too.  Here's a picture of the three boys after the race. (Spencer in back, Max and his younger brother Jake in front)

And here's Spencer.  We're not sure exactly what place he finished in, but it was pretty high, if not first for his age group.  We're very proud of him and can't wait for next year's triathalon.  We're hoping Syd will join in too!



Christine goes for a little run

Forrest Gump:  "That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.  So I ran to the end of the road.  And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of the town.  And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County.  And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama.  And that's what I did.  For no particular reason, I just kept going."

On Saturday, Christine decided to go for a little run....her first 10K.  Maybe she didn't go as far as Forrest, but we're proud of her anyway.  She ran in the Fort4Fitness race in downtown Fort Wayne.  You can click on the link to see her results, just search by last name.  She and friends Richelle and Michelle did the race together and all did really well.  Next up, the Detroit half marathon next month.  We'll be cheering her on at that race too!

It's been a while since we've updated, so I'll give a little snapshot of what we've been up to.  Besides Christine's running, the kids are also doing athletic extracurricular activities this fall.  A couple weeks ago, Sydney tried out and made the SWAC swim team.  This is the same competitive team that Spencer is on.  Syd is in the Betta Fish group and Spencer has moved up to Barracuda (there are difft levels of the team, each getting higher in the food chain...see the link for info).  They both love it and are very good swimmers.  We'll be sure to update the blog with their swim meet results this fall.

Spencer will also be doing a kids triathalon next weekend.  It consists of a 25m swim, 1 mile bike ride and 1/4 mile run.  He's looking very forward to it, especially the swimming and biking.  The run is just one lap around the track at the local middle school, so he should be okay.  We'll try to update after that one too.

Along with swimming, Spencer is also playing flag football again.  His team, the Jets, is struggling this year with a record of 1-2, but this week's win showed lots of improvement and we're hoping more wins will come.  Next year, he'll be eligible to play PAL football, the tackle league for 4th grade and up. 

The kids have also started French lessons after school one day a week.  They had the option of Spanish, French and Chinese.  So happens that the French was offered at their elementary school  right after school and we wouldn't have to cart them somewhere else for the other languages (the other languages were each at a different elementary).  It's only been one week, but they both seem interested.


That's all for now.  We'll try to stay on top of updates a little more often.  We know the summer came and went without many updates, but who wants to sit inside and type on a computer anyway!

Sunday Night Fever

Don't worry, none of us is sick.  Instead of Saturday Night Fever, the kids did a little dancing today, Sunday.  We went to one of Christine's co-worker's daughter's graduation party today.  After some initial shyness, the kids finally wanted to play Just Dance on the Wii.  You pick a song and then you have to follow along with a person on the screen and dance to the song to score points.  Both of them had a blast.  Each of the kids danced with one of the girls attending the party.  Then Syd cut a rug with Miss Beth.  Miss Beth and Syd share a close bond.  Not sure what it is, but to quote Forrest Gump, "they're like peas and carrots".  Anyway, enjoy the dancing!

Syd:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as0tHJ1BYks

Spencer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz8WFx21Uo8

Syd and Miss Beth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLqGCSrkV7U

More swim meet videos

It's been a couple of weeks since Spencer's second swim meet June 11-12.  He swam in 3 events on Saturday and 3 events on Sunday, adding the breaststroke and butterfly to the freestyle and backstroke he swam last time.   Here are videos of his 100m freestyle, which he got 1st place in his heat.  The other video is his 50m breaststroke. 

100m freestyle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t86DjsNKpuk

50m breaststroke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0HYuctlCXM

Even though there are no more meets until the fall, he still has practice Monday-Thursday afternoon.  It's a nice break during the hot afternoons!

Spencer's First Swim Meet

As some of you know, Spencer is now swimming on a competitive swim team.  It's called SWAC, SouthWest Aquatics Club.  His group is the Piranhas, which are 8 and under boys and girls.  He started around the second week of April.  Its been a big change from his once-weekly lessons through our YMCA.  Once he tried out and made the team, its been a bit of a whirlwind ever since.  He's got practice 4 nights a week for 45 minutes each.  His strokes have improved, as well as his endurance.  But he enjoys it so far. 

This weekend was his first swim meet.  SWAC hosts 4-5 meets a year.  There are many other meets around the area and you can choose which ones to partipate in.  This particular meet, the Spring Splash, was the last SWAC meet of the season.  It was up to Spencer's 3 coaches (Coaches Amber, Brittany, and Kelly) on which events each swimmer will do.  They try to pick the strokes the kids are best at and make them stretch themselves distance-wise.  Spencer is definitely strongest in freestyle and backstroke.  As such, he swam both in this weekend's meet.  On Saturday, he swam the 50m backstroke and 100m freestyle.  Today, he swam just the opposite, 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke.  Here are his results:

50 backstroke:  14th overall (out of 21 swimmers), time 1:03.65 (minutes, seconds)

100 freestyle:  9th overall (out of 20 swimmers), time 1:50.27

50 freestyle:  8th overall (out of 20 swimmers), time 0:50.25

100 backstroke:  10th overall (out of 16 swimmers), time 2:13.34

Not bad considering this was his first competitive meet!  Here's some video from the meet.  The first video is the 50m backstroke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pA5v5zvqBM

This next video is the 50m freestyle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKJfb3QKxRU

I'll try to keep posting new videos as he competes.

SURPRISE!!!

Some of you know that both Christine and Spencer have a birthday coming up this week.  As a result, I decided to throw her a surprise party this past weekend.  Makes sense since she would totally not be expecting it.  I invited a few of her teacher friends and their spouses, our friends Chris and Richelle and our neighbors Doug and Lyla.  It was a bit of a stressful afternoon, getting everything in place and making sure all the logistics of her arrival were in place.  Luckily, my mom and sister came down from Michigan to help wrangle the kids while I did some last minute running around, getting the cake and party food. 

Everyone showed up at 5pm for the 5:30 surprise.  The surprise went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time on Saturday night.  Now, I'll just have to try and top it next year for one of the biggest birthday milestones!  (you guys can ask Christine which one when you see her next!)