Monday, June 20, 2011

no, as a matter of fact, I'm not ready...

Just got all the goods for my next ride:  The Triple Bypass.
No, as a matter of fact, I'm not ready...

120 miles.  Evergreen to Avon. http://www.teamevergreen.org/sites/default/files/tbp2011/2011TripleMap.pdf

10,000 feet of elevation gain. 3 mountain passes.  http://www.teamevergreen.org/sites/default/files/TripleBypass(BergenPark-Avon)%202011_0.pdf

No, as a matter of fact, I'm not ready...

Oh, and Loveland Pass just got 9 inches of new snow last night. 

No, as a matter of fact, I'm not ready...

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Footloose

I'm too old for sleepovers.

But we had one anyway.  Kim and I hosted a sleepover for my volleyball team we call Footloose. 

I was so ready for a pool day.  So pool day, bbq, sleepover, and a great playlist for the day....perfect. 

 We made it to the pool. 
After, literally 10 minutes, they closed the pool because of rain and lightning.  Now, I won't complain about the rain because we really need it....

But we needed a Plan B.  Especially with a group of 13 year old girls, you need a Plan B.

We had no Plan B. 
So, we tried some sand volleyball.  Which, after rain, bcomes mud volleyball.  That lasted, like, another 10 minutes.

Well, you can always eat, right?  Yes, so we'll just move the BBQ up and improvise.  Kim worked on her Mac 'n Cheese (best this side of the Mississippi--or anywhere, really, I just wanted to say that...
And I took care of the burgers. 

And the girls dug in.  Another 10 minutes.  
Side note here:  check out these adorable party favors (compliments of Kim).  Yes, we rocked them at the game on Saturday, too.
 Oh, and then, quite possibly the most important moment of the weekend: dessert.  Compliments of Kim. (Yes, trend here.  Always plan a party with Kim.  Guess who'll be planning my wedding?)

So, we came up with a Plan B.  Total hit.  Laser Tag.  
And some video games.  I may or may not have dominated the basketball game and Kim rocked Skeeball.  Yes, this was while the girls were in Laser Tag.  What, did you think we waited patiently outside?  Um, no.  But they had a chance to play too...

Dance Dance...hilarious.

Some more basketball. 
And guitar hero.  I think they liked it. 

So home, for movies, popcorn, ice cream, candy--you know, good protein and carbs for the games, followed by a good night's sleep.  Rrriiiggghhhhttttt. I said I was too old for sleepovers.

But, they were up and ready to go the next morning.
And it must have been all that protein in the ice cream....
And those rad water bottles...
Because we WON all SIX games on Saturday...
(and for those of you paying attention, yes, that is me in the photo, but the driveway IS sloping down--I'm not the absolute shortest girl there). 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

rain delay

Summer just can't pass without heading to a Rockies Game..so here we find ourselves...at the ballpark. 

I am most excited about the pretzel, hot dog, cracker jacks, shaved ice, cotton candy, and dippin' dots (in no particular order).  Oh yeah, and the baseball game too. 

Fairly sure my favorite part of every baseball game is the 5 second At-Bat song--gets me through, I tell ya (and I even like baseball!)

Carson had the right idea with the shaved ice--let's not waste time--we'll just drink it...

While Evan, naturally, takes the more reserved approach and eats the shaved ice, gracefully, savoring every bite.  He would. 
Kendall really did enjoy herself...
Take special note--Kim on her phone.  She was most likely texting me, sitting directly to her right.  We must carry on a couple of conversations at the same time, plus we gotta cheer for the boys in the pinstripes, so we can't be talkin' the whole time.
Well, I think Kendall enjoyed herself.  We split a churro, so it couldn't have been that bad.  (oh yeah, add churro to the above list).

Kim gets an additional 100 points for the best seats in the house--and under the overhang so that when the rain, and lightning, and thunder, and wind came, we just worked on the bag(s) of sunflower seeds.  Rain delay right at the beginning of the 6th inning.  We waited it out, but ultimately still had to bail early.  You gotta be in shape to last those 9 innings!

AND, yes, a decent, just decent, pic of the two of us.  This doesn't happen...like ever.  So, really, a successful day at the ballpark. 

elephant rock 2011

I came.  I conquered.  Alright, let's face it...I nearly died.  At least twice. 

Elephant Rock 2011.  Century Bike Ride (100 miles)

I feel like 574 is a pretty good number, right?  And no, it doesn't matter.

So is 6.75--and that's about how long it took me to finish-6 hours, 45 minutes.  That includes my porta-potty visits (praise the Lord) and the aid stations (where I can pick up a cookie--or 9).  Personal best.
It was 95 degrees when I finished, so before I even got back to the car, I had taken off my helmet, gloves and shoes.  Contrary to popular belief, I did not ride in flip flops. 
And I'm still standing....barely...
And i'm still alive...and ready for the next....

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

I've missed the bus completely

THIS is precisely why I started a blog...so that somewhere I can write down the things that happen to me...the stuff you just can't make up.  I think it's because there's always something, that I can't remember anything.  Enter here:  my blog

I've missed the bus.  If you're a friend of mine, you'll hear me say that often.  Because I always miss the bus.  And I'm an overplanner.  I'm a firstborn--what do you expect?  Kim can back me up.  She has the same qualifications.  And when we're together, which is almost always, it gets even worse.  The bus isn't even coming to the stop we're at. 

Tim Tebow.  I can't, and won't, say any more than that. 

He's in town for a book signing.  Kim and I, being the firstborns that we are, locate the first available book for purchase and do so.  Essentially, we had a 1 day head start on the rest of the world.  I need that head start, thank you very much. 

We know there's a book signing, but if there's one thing I don't do well, it's pay attention to detail.  So I'm just assuming we'll show up and he'll sign the book.  It doesn't even occur to me until Wednesday when Kim asks me "what's the plan for Saturday" to look up the details.  You must purchase the book from Tattered Cover and get a ticket for the signing.  Fabulous.  Please note, all family members will be getting a copy of the Tim Tebow book for Christmas this year.  Get excited.  Strike 1. 

Thank goodness I had just 3 days to plan,  or the bags under my eyes from sleepless nights would have been awful, and shopping would have been a priority for a week, finding that perfect outfit.  I may or may not have still had to hit Shepler's on the way home from volleyball before leaving on Saturday for the final touches, but between our two closets, I found something which I felt like I "could face the general public in"--well the general public AND Tim Tebow.  Because, surely, even though there was 599 other people's outfits, mine had to be planned appropriately and couldn't just be a whim. 

So Kim and I pack the boys up and leave with plenty of time to get down there, park, and get into line.  Thank goodness because, ready.....we definitely went to the wrong bookstore.  Strike 2. Please realize, this kind of stuff happens to me all the time, and even though it's really annoying, I still laugh.  Hard.  And I'm still laughing.  We drive by the Tattered Cover on Colfax, and there's not a soul outside and I remember turning to Kim saying, "I haven't seen one person with a book, Kim".  So after making 3 loops around, finding the closest parking spot (which was incredibly close--parallel parking in front), Kim says, "Is this even the right store?".  GPS's fault--I enter "Tattered Cover, Denver" and it picks 1 of 2 for me.  We'll leave it like that. 

So I drive like a bat outta hell to the other one, crank the a/c and tell the world to move it or lose it. We park and get inside only to be greeted by a woman with a megaphone.  I'm dying.  We hop into line and start moving along with the rest of the "herd".  We weave back and forth between all the book shelves, eagerly waiting, but trying desperately to not show our excitement--just trying to play it cool.  We finally reached THE ROOM...where he was...this is my excited face...
and again, just like at the amusement park--back and forth through the line formations.  We realize how impersonal it really is--and while he's taking an interest in every person crossing his face, let's just say you get about 5 seconds with him and heaven forbid your name take more than 2 seconds to say.  So I practiced saying my name as to not screw this up as well. 

The boys went first and Kim jumped out of line to get a picture--he was so sweet to them, and they lit up standing there watching him sign their book.  I had a feeling, that given the chance, Evan would have asked him to propose "to my cousin Annie"...so I'm not sure about how I feel that he wasn't given the chance.  Kim hopped back in line for her time with Tim--please do not ask why I didn't grab the camera from her--I promise, I'm a pretty good friend--and then it was my turn.  Walk up, he asks how I am and then reaches out to shake my hand and I introduce myself and thank him for taking the time to do this. Yes, his hands are twice the size of mine at least (and for you girls out there, soft, because we care about stuff like that). As he looks up, I make sure and take 1 second--really one more than I was allowed--to just look at him and smile--best 1 second I've had in a while.  That would have been the cue for Kim to fire up the camera--which she did becuase she's a great friend--but at that moment, the screen went black and we got this picture:
I'll never hold it against her and it still doesn't bother me at all, but, for the sake of the story, Strike 3. 

Kim threw a grown-up temper trantrum and stomped her foot, which I appreciated and encouraged.  We may or may not have caused a scene right up there in front of he and his 3 friends (I was semi-hoping one of them would jump up and help us get a picture with him) as I raise my booming voice.  Again, it's okay.  That was a perfect "first meeting" but there will be others I'm certain.  And I'll still be glowing...
We just won't have a photo of our "first" meeting.