Crazy Busy

When will I remember that life doesn't slow when CC is over for the year? School definitely slows down (almost non-existent at this point), but life doesn't. Andy and I have taken on the outreach side of CC for the state of Colorado this year and it's a bit more time consuming than we had anticipated. We love it all and enjoy sharing CC with so many others, but it takes much time throughout my day. I am often on the computer for several hours each day, dealing with emailed questions, making spreadsheets, making flyers (having lots of fun with this creativity), attending online trainings, etc. I rarely want to get back on to update this blog.

This past weekend we had our second 3-day parent practicum. The first one was two weeks prior. That made for a very busy two weeks. The boys were a huge help at both, setting up many tables and chairs, hanging signs, alphabetizing name tags, etc. I am the coordinator and Andy is the speaker. We work well that way, as I love to organize and stay behind the scenes, while Andy is all about holding the mic and entertaining others. Give him something he's passionate about and he could go on for days and days. As it was, he only had three days at each practicum to inspire and encourage the parents attending (about 130 total) and he did a great job. They all had opportunities to laugh, ponder, and ask questions. The boys helped in the children's camps at the first one and got to attend the camps at the second one (they all agree that they like helping better). We had over two hundred students in the camps at the first two, so it was a lot to keep track of. We have one more practicum in mid-July, but we have a bit of a breather before then. I'm happy for that, while Andy is so sad the last two have to come to an end. He would love life on the public speaking circuit.

Summer has definitely arrived along with all its allergies for three of us. We are training diligently for our "family challenges" set before us this summer, but it always gets tough when our allergies are at their worst. I pretty much have a full team to train this year and it's been quite fun. There is definitely more accountability when others are involved. Three children from our CC group and who live across the street join us each morning for training and will do the Tri and 5K with us.

So, our summer family challenges for 2011 are:

Jul 16 - Moonlight bike ride: A 10 mile bike race through downtown Denver that begins at 10:30 pm. The promised food, party-like atmosphere, and late start time really appealed to Conner when he picked this event.

Jul 23 - Loveland Little Sprint Tri: They all had fun at this last year and are looking forward to it again. Tegan thought the snacks at the end were pretty good so this was worth another go around for him to pick it.

Jul 30 - Parker Family 5K: This is the same 5K we did last year and it was such a great family event. The snacks (notice a theme here) are not what they would be at a larger event, but they were enough to entice the boys and I love the cause that this race supports (perinatal hospice for families with babies with trisomy-18), so this was my pick.

End of Aug - Hike Pike's Peak: This will definitely be our biggest challenge of the summer with a 6000 foot elevation gain during the 13 mile hike. This will be the boys' first 14er to climb. Riley picked this event and he doesn't even like hiking, but I think he's decided if he's going to do it, it's really going to be worth it. There is a goal and he's out to accomplish it, not just walk around some little lake or through another forest just to end up where we started. This will take the most planning and be a very long day, but a great end to our family summer challenges.

Andy still hasn't picked one, but he may not at this point. We have quite a schedule laid out already and we're all on board. Our 'team' has certainly made the workouts much more enjoyable as they all like it more with friends. We run three days a week and then swim and bike two days, with the weekends off. Seven of us inundate the Bennett rec center pool on Tues and Thurs mornings and they have been so wonderful trying to accommodate us. They aren't quite used to that many people showing up at once for lap swimming, but it's working out and the whole rec center knows about these guys (actually, 5 gentlemen and one lady) training for a triathlon and they are all behind them. They want us to bring back video and pictures to show the rec center employees :). Gotta love small town!