Why no fishing?

Last week my dad competed in the Columbia, Maryland Olympic Triathlon with his Iron Man buddy Mike Halstead. This was his very first Olympic distance tri.

On the way to the competition, my mom said, "Do you know what sports Dad will be participating in today during the race?" "Yes," was my reply, "Swimming, biking, and running." "Wow, great job," my mom said, then she went on to explain that Tri meant three and there were three sports in this race.

While I accept this concept in theory, I had a serious question that needed an answer, "Mom, why isn't there fishing in this race?" "Fishing???" she asked. "Yes, fishing. Why don't they fish during the race?" "Ummmmm...good question....I guess," her reply. And that was it, I had stumped her.

The race included a mile swim, a 25 mile bike ride, and a 6.2 mile run. The weather was kind of misty rain, so everything was slick and we watched a lot of wipe outs, luckily, none of the wipe outs were my dad's or Mike's.

There's a little time during a tri between sightings of the

competitors because they cover a lot of ground. Luckily I found big, muddy, grassy hills to log roll down, puddles to jump in, and fields to run in. By the time the race ended, I looked like one of the competitors!

Mike is a sponsored Iron man, basically, he's only part human, the rest is of him is an indestructible fitness machine. He placed second in his age group for the entire race. My dad tore it up and finished in the top 1/3 overall - impressive, huh!

We met up with Pete and Sue, some high school buddies of my dad's and Mike's, after the race and headed to lunch. And in case there was any doubt, Olympic-distance triathletes can consume A LOT of calories too!

Gas Pedal

With such a love for golf, my parents decided it was time for them to take me to a course and pass that love on to me. The course normally only allows 6 year olds and up on the course, but made an exception if we agreed to be the last ones out on the course that day - we did. Even though it was only a short, nine-hole course, they got a golf cart so I wouldn't have to walk the whole way and to keep me safe. I've been on a course before in Cancun, but it was a while back and my mom mentioned something about there being a seven foot alligator on the course with us - so I've conveniently forgotten that round of golf.

Anyway, they set me in the passenger side of the golf cart, my dad walked down to the tee box, and my mom walked to the back of the cart to put something in her bag. Have you ever read the Curious George books? Well, I can totally relate to that monkey. I looked down and wondered to myself, how does this cart go? I bet this pedal makes it go. Only one way to find out...And I stepped on the gas pedal with all my weight and Wa-la! I was flying.

I'm too short to see over the dashboard of the golf cart so I just hung on to the steering wheel for balance. I heard my mom scream my name as I slammed into - and over - an 8" wood barrier, that led to a hill, which led to a pond. The next thing I knew my mom was grabbing my head by my hair from outside of the cart (lucky I have some crazy hair) as she slammed on the brake. That was some ride!

Lots of people came over to see who was driving the cart with such style and finesse. My mom pointed to a wood bench and said I should sit there...for a LONG time. She said something about loosing a few years off of her life and put out her hands - they were shaking like she was holding an imaginary jackhammer. Odd.

Four guys lifted the golf cart back over the barrier and I heard one say, "I definitely want to hear how THIS got here." He must have been impressed too.

I tried to talk but was shushed. Then I tried small talk - nothing. Then I cracked a few jokes - no laughs. So I said, "I'm sorry," and my banishment to the wood bench was over. A few serious-faced lectures and we were off to the tee box of the first hole - the round of golf must go on!

So I got some time on the course and learned, first-hand, the basics of golf; namely, hitting the gas pedal of a golf cart will get you banished.

Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest!

My awesome cousin Mallory came for a visit with my grandparents. When a grandkid turns eight year old, my grandparents take him/her on a special trip. Mallory picked Washington, DC, so even though I'm not eight yet, I scored with her visit! We had four awesome days to play and see the sights. We ran and ran and ran and tackled each other and ran some more. Mallory is really cool.

While she was here, Mallory taught me the art of shooting a water gun directly into someone's eyeball, how to make funny faces, how to count past twenty, and how to get better air on my jumpers! She's the best.

After their visit I got a bonus guest visit with my buddy Jackson coming over for a sleepover. We played until we collapsed - literally. We shot soccer balls, made pizza, tackled each other in football. By the time my dad started reading our bedtime stories, we both just laid their half asleep. Ah, I sure have the 

 life!

Springing into Spring

There are so many great things about spring. The weather warms up and everyone wants to get together to play - something I love! Lots of fun visits and visitors in the past few weeks, just one more sign that spring has arrived!

We celebrated my Aunt Karen's birthday with a little brunch followed by a
big water gun fight. I'm quickly learning that my head - and more specifically, my eyeballs - are about the height everyone shoots. For most people, those shots hit them in the belly or upper thighs, but for me, it's a bull's eye...in the eye! I took a lot of soaking, but thanks to my cousin Francesca who gave me some cover, I was also able to get a few shots off as well.

We headed to the park for tennis, soccer, and some tackling with the Stransky Brown family. Mitchell, Fletcher, and Francesca are awesome. They shared all of their cool toys with me and even snuck some toys to me at the dinner table - who doesn't want to have a Buzz Light Year at the dinner table!??!

Christine came over and made us the coolest dessert - rice krispie treats wrapped like sushi! She used fruit leather as the seaweed, rice krispies treats as the rice, and gummy worms as the fish inside - how fun is that!?! (Oh, and ignore the fact that my hair looks like Donald Trump's toupee in this picture)

We met up with a bunch of our neighbors for dinner at Red Rocks. And while there were ten adults and only four kids, I think the four of us kids kept the dinner exiting. We used crayons as pretend swords, raced around the table, and ultimately got a few of the dads to join us outside to run. Aren't they lucky we were there so it didn't get boring?

My mom and I also met up with Noah's mom, Lori, for lunch at Good Stuff. Can I just say I love that place. Burgers, fries, and kid-sized milk shakes called "mini moos" - total genius.

Lastly, my Nana and PopPop came for a visit this past weekend. We set up my train,

played Hungry Hippo, read endless books, and played at my cousins' house. My PopPop also taught me how to shave - check it out! (he's pretty daring if you ask me...)