Carb Loading

This weekend I did the Midwest Mayhem Triathlon (my first tri). I was dreading the swim, but I survived and it actually felt pretty good. Hopefully this will be the first of many tri's in my future. I've already got my eyes on the Jackson Country Triathlon, and I'm expecting Randy and Tracy to join me.

Of course, it's difficult to do a triathlon without some big-time carb-loading. Luckily Linda's been digging up potatoes in the garden. It's exciting to dig around in the dirt and discover real, edible food. There's also corn and bean plants that look like they might be providing dinner for us soon.

Summer Vacation

Last week the family took a much-needed vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado with Mary, Randy, and Everett. We packed a lot of fun into our four days there - one of the highlights was a ride on the Georgetown Loop Railroad's authentic, 1900's era steam train. The train itself was awesome, and the trip through the valley (about 1/2 hour long - perfect for preschoolers) was beautiful.

Scott and Randy took one morning to climb two of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks. They summited both Gray's and Torrey's peaks, and this now makes three "14'ers" for both of them. Mary and I spent the morning visiting the local donut shop and taking the boys to an old gold mine, where they got to pet real, live mules.

We also took advantage of Breck's new (free!) gondola. At the "top" (which is actually the base of the ski resort) Scott and Lincoln went down an alpine slide at Breckenridge's Peak 8 area. Much to our surprise Lincoln loved the chair lift (a prerequisite for this winter's ski trip) and the slide. Lincoln wanted to go again, but since it was *not* free, we appeased him with another trip on the gondola.

The biggest surprise of the trip was that we made the 10-hour trip from Denver in one piece. We made some stategically-timed stops to let the boys run off some steam, and were home in our beds a little after midnight.

4 years later...

It’s hard to believe, but our little baby is now four years old! While Lincoln's actual birthday is today, we had a birthday party last Sunday to celebrate. Luckily our family room is large enough to hold a lot of people, because almost everyone we invited was able to attend. We had seven 4-year olds, plus parents and assorted family in attendance. Overall it was a success!

We started off with a couple of semi-organized games – pin the tail on the cow and limbo. It worked pretty well, considering that there were 4-year-olds involved. Most of the game time, though, was spent playing with trains and determining who was best friends with who.

The highlight of the party was the cake and presents (of course!) Lincoln helped me bake white cupcakes the day before, and I added “Mickey Mouse” heads to them – ice cream scoops with two chocolate cookies for ears. At Lincoln’s request (or insistence, as it were), we also had a small round cake for blowing out candles.

As for gifts, Lincoln received some pretty cool stuff – including lots of car stuff, motorcycles, and games. Here he is wearing another of his gifts – a superhero cape customized with an “L”. After he put it on all of his friends asked him if he could fly. He can’t yet, but he’s still trying!

Tour de Grandparents

While Scott was off having fun bicycling, Lincoln, Guy, and I went on our own tour - first to Grandma and Grandpa Kings, and then on to Grandma and Grandpa Hauner's. To add to the fun (and chaos) we were joined by Everett and Mary. The boys had a great time together, and the adults had an interesting time trying to keep up with three very active boys.

At Grandma and Grandpa Kings, we spent our first evening at the pool where Lincoln, Everett, and Guy all had fun floating and kicking. Guy proved to be our water baby by wading out until he was up to his chin in water. We originally had hoped to visit the Loup River the next morning, but were met by rain. When we finally made it to the river, it was too high from the rain to wade in, so we played on the swings and headed to Jenner's Park (where there is an actual, old bear cage from when it was a zoo).

We headed out to Grandma and Grandpa Hauner's that evening so we could get an early start the next morning at the Lincoln Children's zoo. The weather cooperated this time, and we had a fun morning with Grandma Hauner visiting the animals and (of course!) riding the train.

It was an exciting weekend overall, and now we're ready for a vacation to recover from our vacation!

BRAN 2010

We're back home, unpacked, and dried out from BRAN 2010. Tracy, Randy, and I did 230+ miles during the last 3 days of the week, and Dad, Aaron, and Kyle did the full ~500 mile ride, 7-day ride across Nebraska.

The weather was pretty crappy with rain, wind, and thunderstorms almost every night and a few of the days, but in the end good times prevailed.

I've posted a few other BRAN pictures from the start and finish - but I didn't have a camera during the ride. Aaron took some great riding action shots that we'll try to share later.

Summertime, Here we come

Summer is not officially here, but it's getting close - and it certainly has felt like it lately. With Summer approaching Lincoln recently finished his first year of Little House preschool, and he got to sing in their annual end-of-year concert. The Little House kids did a few patriotic songs to open the show. Lincoln had been practicing the songs at home for days, and he did good under the pressures of the stage. It was fun to see him in his first "school program."

We also welcomed Summer with a trip to Jiggle Jam this weekend. It was fun (as usual), and this was Guy's first trip where he was old enough to enjoy it. Everett (and Mary and Randy) were also there, and the big boys really liked the "train" ride.

And lastly, next weekend Linda's months of training finally pay off - she's running the Hospital Hill half-marathon. We'll have pictures and stories to post after she's done. We wish her luck!

And, just because no post is complete without a cute picture of a toddler wearing sunglasses - here you go.

Our Busy May Days

Last week we were in Nebraska for the Lincoln Marathon. The kids got some good Grandma and Grandpa time, and I ran the 1/2 marathon on Sunday - it was a great day for running, and Lincoln always puts on a great race. After the Trolley Run the previous week and the Corporate Challenge 5K this weekend that makes three races in three weeks for me. Now I'm ready to get out my bike and take a little break from running.

The finish line of this year's Lincoln Marathon was on the 50-yard line inside of Memorial Stadium and included a brief appearance on the HuskerVision jumbo screen (that's me on the right of the screen about to enter the stadium). The second picture is me and Kevin post race (this was Kevin's first 1/2 marathon).

This weekend was the annual Spirit of Mission Days festival, which includes a parade, a carnival, and local vendors. Everett and Madeline (and their parents) watched the parade with us, and while I think they liked the rescue/police vehicles, bands, and the other attractions, our boys mostly enjoyed the candy. Afterwards we had fun riding a couple of the carnival rides.

The BIG DAY

After weeks of training, the Big Day finally arrived today - the Trolley Run. It's a family tradition for us - Scott and I have both run the 4-mile race for several years, and Lincoln has participated in the Kid's Trolley Run for the past two years. Guy got to enjoy his inaugural "run" this year - although I'm not sure he understood why I was dragging him across a small patch of grass. Scott and I both were both happy with our times (a PR for me and Scott was only 15 seconds off his Trolley Run PR), but the biggest "event" was watching Lincoln run all by himself - with no hand-holding by me (sniff, sniff).

As usual, this was a big family event. Scott's parents watched the boys and Madeline during the regular run and joined us for the Kid's run. Joni and Tracy both ran, and while Madeline was too small to run this year, I'm sure she'll be running circles around the boys next year! Everett also did the Kid's run, and did a fabulous job.

Overall it was a great (and tiring) weekend - we all took a two-hour nap today!

Zoo trip!

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day, and we took advantage of the nice weather to take our first trip to the zoo. Lincoln was mildly interested in the Tigers and Orangutans we saw, but he was mostly interested in taking as many train rides as possible. Luckily we bought a season pass this year with unlimited train, tram, and carousel rides. After two train rides, Lincoln had his first-ever carousel ride.

As Scott mentioned in his earlier post, we are trying our hand at gardening this summer. So far I have pepper plants sprouting in egg cartons in the kitchen, and the boys have helped me plant lettuce, onions, and potatoes in the back yard. I am now anxiously waiting to see what will grow.

A Garden Party

This weekend we took advantage of the nice weather and started prepping what will become Linda's first-ever garden. We're not totally sure that anything will actually grow there, but we're going to give it a shot anyway.

So far all that we've accomplished is confirming that Guy is afraid of the tiller and creating the boys a new, dirty place to play.

Running Around

There's been a lot going on with us the past two weeks - so much that we've not even had time to blog about it.

Two weeks ago I ran my first 10k at the very first Rock the Parkway. The morning started out cold and wet (41 degrees and drizzly) and it started pouring rain around the time I got to mile 2. I still managed to finish the race in about an hour and 4 minutes, and I was rewarded at the end by my own personal cheering section - Scott brought the boys out to watch my big finish. Lincoln and Guy stayed stayed warm and dry in our running/bike stroller.

Last weekend for Easter we ran down to Lincoln to visit grandma and grandpa Hauner. Both of the boys' daycare were closed on Friday, so we had a long weekend. Lincoln had fun hanging out with Everett and they decorated eggs on Saturday. That night, he told me that he wanted the Easter bunny to turn the "real" hard-boiled eggs into eggs filled with candy. That would explain why, on Sunday morning, he refused to collect the real eggs in his basket.

Easter was not quite so fun for Guy - or for Scott, who was up all night with him. He came down with a case of bronchialitis and spent Saturday night wheezing (when he wasn't crying). Luckily he seems to have recovered and spent today after daycare running around the house.

Grandpa

The King family had big a loss last week when my (Scott's) Grandfather, Bob King, passed away. Grandpa had a good 85 years of life - traveling the world with the Navy during WWII, raising a great family, and truly making his mark on the country through his work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

We were lucky enough to have him meet and get to know both Lincoln and Guy. They're probably too young to really remember him, but we will be certain that they know he was a great father and grandfather.

(P.S. This picture is a bit dated, since it seems that Guy can hardly hold his head up, but it's the best I could find right now.)

No blogging for busy parents

Okay, it's been weeks since our last post, and we don't have a good excuse. It basically comes down to being busy and forgetting about the blog. We haven't been busy with anything in particular - just work, kids, running, and trying to stay warm/dry in this lovely "Spring" weather.

Lincoln is still enjoying his preschool life. As summer approaches, he's getting excited about his daycare's summer program. They have plans for field trips, swimming, and some visits from Wayside Waifs. He's also thrilled to have "frosty treat Monday" back - that's when the ice cream truck stops by daycare each Monday and the kids get to pick a treat.

Guys is doing great. He's approaching 15 months and is walking, "talking," and wrestling with Lincoln all the time. He loves going outside, so we're loving the extra daylight in the evenings.

Linda has her first big race coming up this weekend. She's running the 10K at the inaugural Rock the Parkway race. The kids and I will be cheering her on.

I'm getting ready for the Lincoln 1/2 Marathon and a slew of Corporate Challenge events. I'm also again planning to do parts of BRAN (Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska), and this year we may have a much bigger crew - including Dad, Tracy, Randy, and my cousin Aaron.

Weekend weather advisory

Mother Nature finally gave us some nice weather this weekend. The temperature got into the upper-50's, so we got the family outside to burn off some pent-up winter energy. Making the weekend even better, we also got a special visit from Grandma and Grandpa Hauner and Mary, Randy, and Everett.

After a hard day of playing outside, there's no better way to relax than on your Grandma's lap with a good book.

Race Season

It's rumored that spring is coming sometime to Kansas City, and with it comes racing season for our family. I'm starting the season off with a double first: I'll be running my first 10K at the first annual Rock the Parkway run at the end of March. I've been training for the past couple of weeks, and even ran five miles for the first time last Sunday. If all goes well, I'd like to run my first 1/2 marathon later in the summer at the Hospital Hill run.

The big event that our whole family looks forward to, though, is the annual Trolley Run. Scott and I have both done this 4-mile run for a couple of years, and two years ago Lincoln started doing the kid's Trolley Run (in which the littlest kids run about 50 feet in the grass). Last year Guy wasn't walking and didn't participate, but this year the whole family is registered. To ensure that we all post good times, we've been training hard on the treadmill. Guy's pace isn't quite up to par yet, but as you can see in this video Lincoln is helping to coach him along.

Thank-you, Mr. Presidents

Scott and I are at home today for some rare R&R. President's Day is a holiday for me (part of the joy of working for a bank), and Scott is taking a vacation day. We dropped both of the boys off at school/daycare and spent the day exploring some of KC's local shops. We bought a new can opener at Pryde's Old Westport, ate lunch at Lulu's (one of my favorite restaurants), and visited Planters Seed and Spice (in the River Market) for the first time.

Over the weekend we celebrated both Valentine's Day and Scott's birthday. Since it was cold and rainy the boys didn't get much outdoor time, which is unfortunate since Lincoln had a bowl full of candy from his school Valentine's parties (yes - plural) to burn off. So in lieu of our typical driveway photo, I present a picture of Lincoln and Guy taking a trip in their "train".

...proving once again that all you need to entertain kids is a couple of empty boxes...

Snow...again

We woke up on Saturday morning to yet another white wonderland. I had to run some errands, and when I returned home I found a massive showman guarding the front lawn (the photo below only shows his bottom half - he actually towers above Scott). I also discovered, via the photographic evidence, that Scott had allowed Lincoln to push Guy around in the dump truck over the icy, snowy driveway. As the video shows, this involved a few harrowing moments...

ps. Despite what you've been seeing in the blog lately, we do actually leave the driveway sometimes. In the past few weeks we've gone to the library, Fritz's, Science City, and several other places...sans camera.

Dear Madeline, Welcome to the family

On Monday morning, around 6 a.m., the King family grew by one small, dark haired person when Tracy and Joni's new bundle of joy, Madeline, finally arrived. We're all very excited for them, and you can learn all about her at Tracy and Joni's blog.

The boys have not been able to meet Madeline yet because the hospital doesn't allow kids (they're concerned about the H1N1 virus), so we're still waiting to get Lincoln and Guy's reaction to her. We'll post pictures of the whole crew as soon as we have them.