Cool Boy Stuff

I got to sleep in again yesterday morning. When I woke up, the kids were playing in their bedroom and Andrew said he'd take care of them while I went out to train. Even with that perfect setup, it was so tough to get out of bed...this past week of training has really been getting to my tired body. But I'm almost there: only 5 days left to go, and this week I get to taper-down the workouts. That'll feel nice.

I went out and "block trained--" that means blocking activities together, such as biking a little then running, or swimming some and then getting on the bike-- the way that I will during the race. So I biked a seven mile loop, then ran for two, making sure to stop at a bike store along the way to get a saddle bag and patch kit for the race (can't believe I overlooked getting those last time I did a tri!).

By the time I got back, Russell was already laying down for his first nap--had I really been gone that long?? Looking at the clock, I realized my workout had taken 2 1/2 hours.

I quickly pounded a protein shake, showered, and then the fam and I walked across the street to our neighbor Vanessa's house, who weeks ago had invited us over for a special lunch. She was unbelievably sweet to us for this meal: She had borrowed a picnic table from a friend and set it up outside with her nice dinner dishes, and she had a fabulous meal on the menu-- Steak shishkabobs, baked potatoes with homemade pico and shredded cheese, and fruit salad AND garden salad, with a new bottle of one of my favorite dressings--light raspberry vinegarette. She really went the extra mile for us. She's such a sweet lady.

We lingered a while at Vanessa's, then hustled to pack the car and drive to Colorado Springs to meet up with our good friend Chad from our BYU-I days, who now lives in Hawaii with his family but is staying at Fort Carson for a couple weeks for flight training (he flies helicopters for the army! Pretty cool!).

Our boys were pretty tired by this point in the day. With no time for naps and their stubbornness in not being willing to sleep in the car, they didn't get much shut-eye and were SO cranky on the drive south. The drive seemed eternal...I thought my head was going to explode!

But all ended well because when we arrived, my boys got to do really cool boy things:

How often do you get to sit in the cock pit of a Black Hawk?

Uh...NEVER.

Chad was cool enough to take us up close and personal with the medivac helicopters he gets to fly every day.

Until yesterday, I had never been on an army post or in a helicopter.

My guys (big and small) especially loved the experience.

Taylor's little motor-mouth kept telling me that he wanted to be a helicopter pilot when he grew up (and that he would fly to our house...and that I would fly with him...and he would go so so high in the sky....and....).

By the end of the day we also realized how much we miss Chad and Kelly. They're full of life and always up for an adventure. Andrew still hasn't found another buddy who loves to "adventure race" and mountain bike with him the way that Chad did!

Any takers? :)