Nice Toy!!!

3:35am Awake to strange noise....roll over and look at the clock.....roll over again and try to sleep but realize that a toy of the kids decided to start playing a nice "sing song" on its own.
PAUSE...think to myself? "Should I wake Anne and tell her to turn it off" PAUSE decided that I would like to stay married, and swing my feet over the bed. Not quite awake I wonder why this toy is so loud and realize that I am getting mad. Does this toy know that I am getting up at 4:30am to catch a flight. Does this toy even care? Obviously not, or it would keep quite until I was in the shower and wake Anne up!!!!
Make it down stairs and, pick up the toy and try to think of the best way to break it. Walk calmly to the garage and contemplate throwing it on the cement and then decided that I might hit a car and set it down.
Walk back to bed proud that at 33 I am starting to be able to control my anger when I am forced to wake up to a Stupid, piece of crap toy making song sounds that really don't sound like a real song. In fact, I would not hire this toy to sing that song anywhere. Yep I am getting better.....
Off to bed and then realize that I am just a little mad and spend the next 45 minutes thinking of why I let this "NICE" little toy get to me.....
Beep, Beep, Beep.
Crawl out of bed, shower and head to the airport.....
Open the garage and kick the toy as I am leaving.......That will teach you....Toy now has feelings!!!

9:34pm arrive home, open the garage and pull my car in. Get my bag, start to walk inside and see this nice toy. Many hours later I feel that I have calmed down to be reasonable and try to walk by the toy on the ground.....NOPE not yet (I pick up the toy and toss it in the garbage and say to this toy whom I am sure now has feelings "that will teach you") YEP I AM GETTING OLDER AND SMARTER.

T

Wild Colorado and Anne's First Triathlon

The last 4 days it has been raining non-stop. Loveland pass had snow on Friday and we had no need for the first time to run our sprinklers for 3 straight days. On Saturday the weekend started with the Olympic distance of the Rattlesnake Triathlon and I went to support some friends. I was freezing and did not wear the proper gear. The weather was kind of raining when they started the swim start and by the time all the swimmers were out of the water it was a full on down pour. Of course the race continued and they would have kept going but a lightning storm caused the race officials to cancel the race and everyone was told to turn around and head back. I tell you this because we looked at the weather report every 30 minutes to see what the next day would hold. 5pm came and they decided to hold the Sprint race the next day and so Anne made the decision that she was racing. Saturday night we packed her Transition bag and we packed all types of clothes for her to race and keep warm in. We put the bike stuff in a bag and sealed it and the put her run stuff in another bag and sealed it and we headed to bed.
Race Morning:
We woke to the same dark sky and rain. We loaded up the kids and headed to Aurora Res for Anne's first race. We were a little late and they closed transition just as we arrived. Anne set-up her gear and we ran down to the race start. Rattlesnake is fun because they do a time trial start which means that a racer starts every 3 seconds not a group start. Anne found Michelle, Chelsea and said hello and a few minutes later she was off.


Anne said "I would have not done the swim but felt warm in my wetsuit. It took me 100 yards to get comfortable and then I was rolling at a good pace. I felt good all the way and was not scared at all." She dashed out of the water and I missed the exit pic. Trying to watch 3 kids and run the course as a cheerleader was tougher than I thought. (Props to all that do support and yell loud)

We were able to make it to T1 as Anne was putting on her 3rd shirt, paints, shoes and socks. She said that the slow transition time was worth it because she was warm on the bike.
Anne says: "I felt good on the bike, I was glad that we did the course this week so I knew when to push and when to hold back. I worked on my pedal stroke and felt really good with my bike. I even was passing people". For the 5th time on a road bike she did great, the ground was slick and hard to ride in. Anne did great.
Just as she passed us on her bike we ran to where she would run out of T2. When she came out of transition we yelled and she was off to the run. She looked great and was really truckin. She was back in no time and finished the race with a 8:12 5K pace. BOOO YAAAA. She finished in 1:30:38 and rocked her first race.


Anne said: "The run was hard the first 1/2 mile and then it felt good. I was able to get into a good pace and felt really good all the way to the finish. I felt I had more to give and will on my next race. I really enjoyed the race and can see why people really like tri's, I am excited to do more".
Anne and the kids were great, We had fun cheering on the PC athletes that raced. Michelle B finished her first race and did really well. Anthony and I had fun watching our wives rock the course. Good job to all that raced this weekend. As I am writing the weather looks to be breaking a little. The rain has stopped and we might get back to normal August weather. What a great day, I am very proud of Anne and really excited that she had fun.
Great surprise: Anne gave me a special surprise on Thursday night. I came home to a new Wetsuit and I am very excited to give it a try, I think that I will be able to go a lot faster. Thanks for the surprise Anne. I love you!!!!!
T

Kids Triathlon weekend

This weekend was the Highlands Ranch Kids Splash Mash Dash Triathlon. Ever since Josh saw Jackson race last year he has been asking if he gets to do one. The week leading up to the race we were practicing swimming, riding and running so they would feel good about the race. I was very impressed with the kids and really started looking forward to the weekend.


Mid week Anne and I decided that you could not have a good race without the carb dinner so we invited all participants, friends and family over for a pasta and smore dinner. We had a good time and the kids played until it was time to go home. Some stayed later and we watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I was so impressed and have enjoyed watching all the events each night.


Saturday morning was fun getting the boys all ready. We loaded up the bikes and headed off to the rec center. Jackson was not feeling well the past few days but decided that racing while feeling bad was better then not racing. What a Stud. We were able to get them set up in transition and walked the course so that they would feel good and know where to go. We then headed to the pre-race meeting and then to the race start. Josh was the 3rd person to start and when the starter told him to go he jumped in the water and was off. His swim was good, he was all smile coming out of the water and was headed to T1. I helped him in T1 and then it was off to the bike. He looked good and was headed out on the course. A few minutes later he was back insight and coming in to T2. He dropped the bike, helmet off and he was running for the Run Exit. He looked good on the run and was all smiles as he came into the finish shoot. I was very proud of Josh, he looked really good on his first triathlon and now he is a triathlete.



They had a quick break and then it was time for the 7-9 year old to go. Jackson was about 10 back from the start and when it was his turn he took off and looked good. He had a 50yd swim and then was out of the water just like Josh, all smiles. He did well with the bike course and on the second loop his sickness and energy level hit him. He came into T2 and was really tired, but wanted to finish. He did really well on the run course and ended up running to the finish line. I was very proud of him for doing as well as he did.



Anne and I had a good time watching our kids and felt good about the family day. I really enjoyed this weekend, my training was not as big and so I was able to concentrate more on being a Dad. I love the kids and I am very proud of them. Here are some shots from the weekend.

Where does the time go.

As I was driving in to work this morning something was said on the radio that triggered a flood of thoughts and memories over the last many years. July has come and gone and I somewhat miss it and want it to come back and stay for just a bit longer. I was thinking that time really does go faster than you want it. Trying to slow is down is not really possible so I am left here wondering if I am making the most of the time I have.

******WARNING subject matter may get a little pathetic read on at your own risk********

This year marks ten years of marriage to Anne and I somewhat feel that we are just starting our life together. I know that in real time this could seem like a long (some would say very, very long) time but when I look back, calculated by good memories I feel that the time is flying by. We have lived in 4 states, 12 locations and owned 5 businesses. We have 3 kids and they are growing up like weeds. I remember the first few months with Jackson and now he is almost 8 and I now I have a Josh and Lexi.

A lot of my daily life seems to get me closer to "much to do about nothing" and only a small part really matters. I get to play catch with Jackson as dinner is being made and I spend twice that amount of time driving just to work. Josh and Lexi love baths, books and songs and that only last 10-20 minutes a day. I might get to sit and look at my wife with the ciaos gone to bed for just a few minutes and then the day has really gone to night. I get my hugs and kisses from everyone as I am running out the door in the morning. I get a few calls during the day to say "hello" but seriously I spend 90% of my time doing things that are not apart of the memories that I cherish and hold near to my heart. Am I the only one that feels that this rat race is pushing us down a path we feel is taking us further away from our dreams and joys and closer to a black whole that will give nothing in the end. I am not sure I am want to run in that race, maybe a DNF (Did not finish) due to wanting to go to the park for lunch all day long is a better way. Maybe even throwing down a DNS (Did not start) would allow me to go and get lost at Lake Powell for weeks at a time. Want to talk about opening up the fire hose on the memory bank go to where phones, cars and watches mean nothing and see what you can do on a daily basis with three kids and a wife that have no real off button except for when sleeping. I love lake Powell and only find myself with my family their 5-10 days out of the whole year. I wish I could pull back just a little more time every day and do something that will really matter. The joy of a big sale just does not stand up to the look on my kids faces when I tell them we have enough time to go and get ice cream tonight. I feel that after 10 years I am just starting to get what this life is really about and trying to steal time back to do what matters most. If asked what I would consider one of my greatest accomplishments in life would be I would have to say this. "I hope that when my kids are grown they look back and can see Dad in the picture of their funnest memories. I hope that I can be that guy." And I make you this promise today, I will continue to fight for it because it's worth it to me!

A little deeper into Tyler's mind than most would care to dive!!!!!

BOOOO YAAAAAA

Love you Anne,

T