Shots Again :(

• 6 month shots today
• Weight: 16 lbs, 15 oz.
• Height: 25.5 in.

Cutie Patootie

Yum...

It's getting MESSY 'round here...

Don't you want some kisses now?

Well I Finished...And I Didn't Die...And I Didn't Come In Last

This is me after the 1/3 mile swim. I am raising my arms in victory...
not because I'm telling them "I surrender"...really. The blue swim hat was mandatory...it was tighter than a chigger's rear end stretched over a boxcar on my head and
I couldn't wait to rip it off. And yes, those are people BEHIND me.

This is me after a grueling 13 miles on the hills outside of Forrest City. So why am I smiling?

Somehow during the swim I pulled or strained a muscle in my right leg, so the 3 mile walk/run turned out to be a 3 mile limping Bataan death march. This smile is real...I was done and I had finished a triathlon!

So I knew I could ride 13 miles and that I could run/walk 3 miles...the only thing was the 1/3 mile swim. On the Monday before this contest, Carmen and I went to Horseshoe and timed it. I was surprised that it only took 20 minutes and that I didn't give up and die.

However, on race day, it didn't look like the guys planting the marker buoys were all that concerned about precise distance so their 1/3 of a mile was farther than what we had measured. No bother...I did it in 19 minutes and 6 seconds.

I then limped up the ramp (my leg was screaming) and got on my bike (after it took 7 minutes to get dry and put on my socks and shoes). My muscle didn't hurt on the bike so the only thing was to get out of Village Creek and ride the hills of the highway for 13 miles. Along the way I passed some people who were out of the race (gave up or had a bike malfunction). I even passed a couple of bike racers (they later passed me in the 3 mile run). So the bike race went very well for me; however, I was surprised to see that my time and average speed were not what I thought they would be. (1 hour and almost 8 minutes)

The walk was not great, but I was bound and determined to finish the thing. I couldn't jog at all (I could barely walk...my time was 52 minutes and change--almost a freakin' hour). When I got to the end I was greeted by the supportive cheers of fellow racers but not of my loving and supportive wife--who chose to sleep in that morning and miss by "big FAT" finish. Oh well, the friend of mine who had talked me into doing the race was there...even though he didn't race himself (wrecked bike).

So, I got a medal for finishing and I feel good about having done that. A lot of folks started but didn't even finish the swim and some finished the swim but then stopped. I'm glad I took it easy in the water. Now, I am currently training for next year so that I can shave off 30 minutes from this year's time...boy, if I could only run that 3 miles!!!

Also, I am gearing up again for the 32 mile Tour de Heart in October. My butt is gonna hurt until Thanksgiving for that one.

Wish me luck. :)

Full race times and results are here... http://www.besttimescct.com/results/Mightymite08.txt I was in the beginner division (three or fewer official USAT races) and I am at the bottom of that. I was 263 out of 265 finishers (I beat two women, so nah). This race was really cool because I wore an RFID (Radio Frequency Tag) on my ankle and it tracked me when I crossed finish lines and transition gates. I would do this race again definitely and I had a lot of fun even though it was hot and I was hurt. Oh well, even Lance Armstrong only has to carry one person's body weight across the finish line...so he's a wuss.

2nd Camping Trip

Sittin' pretty...

Chewin' on Blue

New Toy...

First ride...

This horse ain't nuthin' but an old grey mule...its slow pace put her right to sleep!

And again the next night...

Compliments of Logan and Mason :)

Happy Fourth of July

Welcome to Ellie's Rib Haus...

She doesn't have enough hair yet to tie
that bone in her ponytail...a la Pebbles
from the Flintstones

Outside on the quilt with Logan (left) and Mason (right)

Waiting on the fireworks...

A "Healthy" First Food

Enjoying a french fry at the Flying Fish Restaurant

Baby Girl...

June 30th

At the Hotel...During Kitchen Renovation

Last Days of Summer School

Welcome to Dramaville...

All of our summer fun started when....

Casey had puppies at the end of May. She continually dug out of the yard...and well...she got knocked up. She had 7, and there are 6 left.

Then, Jason's car was hit by our neighbor. That minor damage cost $700.

Then, the KITCHEN nightmare. See post below!!!

I am taking two classes at the community college here in WM...and they aren't too great. The instructor for one of them resigned because she was horrible. But now, we will have a new instructor for the last two or three classes. Ummm....not really sure how that is going to work. With the original professor, the last day of class was July 17th. So, Jason and I booked hotel reservations for Chicago starting on the 21st. Now, the college is saying that we must attend on the 22nd...that the instructor was wrong...but we have already paid for the 4 nights in Chicago and it is non-refundable. :( So....I am waiting until next week to see what the new professor is going to do....

Of course, Jason and I both worked this summer. I managed the Extended Year program again, and Jason worked for Library Services completing inventories at various schools. Because they changed the promotion policy, the number of students available for the Extended Year program was drastically reduced. So, they cut my hours.

And guess what? The air conditioner is not working in my car. Hehehe...

I promise that the next posts will be happy, happy, joy, joy...Ellie :)

Whew...

We are FINALLY back home. We have been at the Ramada since last Wednesday.

We had what we thought was a minor water leak in the kitchen. On June 22nd, Jason tore the floor up by the sink.


Well, the damage was much more extensive. The floor behind the washing machine was also very waterlogged.


So, we called the insurance company to see if this was covered. Fortunately, the majority of it was. We would only have to pay for the cost of the pipe. The adjuster came out to inspect the damage and brought a plumber and a contractor.

On Wednesday, June 25th, they tore up the kitchen floor, pulled the cabinets, and cut into the sheetrock. Using a jackhammer, they drilled into the concrete and found TWO leaks at the wall...one near the sink and one near the washing machine.

SORTA BEFORE

AFTER

The plumber repaired the leaks and installed new pipe. He also snaked a camera down into the pipe to see if there was any other damage. When they started this job, they had told us that it might be damaged all the way to the hall bathroom or even to the half bath in Ellie's room. Needless to say, we were a bit freaked out...they were talking about maybe $20,000+ worth of damage. Anyway...they didn't see any other damage with the camera. It was just localized there at the wall in the kitchen.

By Friday, they had installed new flooring and new sheetrock.

We had already picked out new linoleum and were waiting for it to be delivered. I also had to pick out new cabinets. The contractor damaged one of them when he was removing it...it was just as well...because it was going to need to be replaced anyway because it had mold damage.

They installed the new linoleum on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, July 2nd, they set the cabinets, installed the countertop, and reset all the contents. They came back Thursday afternoon to put a second coat of paint on the cabinets and install the hardware.

So...$9000 later...out of the insurance company's pocket...we are back home. The only immediate expense on our part was for the pipe...$150 worth of the plastic pipe.