Slicin' and Dicin'

Cut cut cut.
Slice slice slice.
Preparing food for CJ
Is always nice!
But for hours on end
I chop chop chop
This food prep thing
Just does not stop!

Race day!

Despite the fact that today was a million degrees (at least!), I decided it was a good day to race. I participated in the Octomax sprint distance race at Hillsdale Lake in Hillsdale, Kansas. Crazy right?!?! Hillsdale, Kansas. It was such a cute little boonie town with an old school saloon from 1912 in the middle of it. Anyway, when I checked the temperature before I left, it was 81 degrees out and that was 5:30AM. We knew it would be roasting today and I'm glad I did the short course, not the long one (very long! too long!). My fan club arrived a bit after I did and the boys were cheering in full force!

The race went well. I have to say that as I was swimming through the choppy waters of Hillsdale Lake, the thought running through my head was "You know, I really dislike the swim." It is my worst discipline of the three and I seriously do not enjoy getting kicked in the face/chest/shoulder or getting grabbed on both ankles while navigating cold, rough waters. I'm glad that the swim comes first so I can get it over with. The bike portion rocked! I felt so fast, aside from the wind pounding at me in the face. Why is it that the wind is always against me when I'm going different directions throughout the race? Finally, the run was awesome. It was completely on sandy, beach-like trails with the exception of a small portion toward the finish. By that time, it was really hot and the first 1 1/2 miles were directly in the sun. At least I got to work on my tan! All in all, the day was great and I placed 3rd in my age group. The prize: a sweet bottle of wine. Because the overall women's winner was in my age group, I actually got a second place prize which was cool. Meanwhile, Daddy did a super job managing our little buds who got to play in lots of dirt! Maybe one of these days Kasey will once again get to join us for a triathlon.

My prize

Flexing like Daddy

Snuggles

This morning, Christopher and I were busy playing with one of his toys when I noticed Kasey walking over to the couch, which she usually does when she realizes we are not going to pay her any attention. I noticed the pillows moving around a bit and when I went over to check out what she was doing, this is what I saw:
Ah, what a life. No one knows how to look more comfortable than Kasey Moe Woglom... BTW (that's "by the way" for all of the technologically-challenged folks out there; don't worry, I'm there with you), take note of the Yankee throw blanket behind our comfy dog. Even from out here in the middle of nowhere, we are very proud of our Yanks who, according to espn.com, destroyed the Sox in a 13-6 rout. I love it; nothing better than a rout to start your Friday off right!

The Scrapbook

Okay, everyone. This is my final announcement about the scrapbook being put together for Christopher's first birthday. (Yes, I know his birthday was three weeks ago!). I have begun working on the layout for the scrapbook and I have many pages still to be filled. If you have already sent or given me your piece of writing, thank you. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me fill you in... As part of Christopher's birthday gift, we are putting together a scrapbook of things his family and friends have written, about either his first year or just a simple birthday wish. I would ask that you write something on a paper 8 1/2 by 11 or smaller and please write only on one side as I will be gluing it into the scrapbook for him to see. I know there are a lot of you out there who read the blog that I might not have sent an email to about this before his birthday. We would love to include something from you too! I want this to be a very special gift, something that Christopher can read and enjoy throughout his life so the more people, the better. Hopefully you know our address already, but if not just write a little note in the comment section of the blog and I'll let you know what it is. Thanks!

Curious George

Now that Mr. Christopher can walk, excuse me, almost run/motor/fly, he is into everything! And I mean everything. When he first started crawling, people would say to me "Well I guess you have to really close everything up and keep things out of reach now, huh?" While I thought that would be necessary, it really wasn't that bad. I had to make sure he didn't fall down the stairs but aside from that, he stuck to some usual places. Now, however, it is as if the world has opened up for him and he discovers a new haunt nearly every day--no, every waking moment. For example, Chris has taken it upon himself to rearrange our cabinets and he also enjoys placing objects in new locations. You know, the blocks don't really need to be in one specific location. There should be some in each room. (Geez, Mom, why are you trying to be so organized?) Also, CJ has continued his scientific experiments (see "Drop it like it's hot" post) and now likes to place objects IN, well, anything. Yesterday, he wanted to see what would happen when he placed his pacifier in Kasey's food dish 18 times in a row. The other day (and Grammy told us this would happen), I was in the living room and saw him go into the bathroom with a puzzle piece. Next thing I know, I hear "plop" and, no he is not so advanced that he's potty trained; the puzzle piece somehow found its way into the toilet. Mmmm... lovely. The cool thing about his exploration happens when we go outside. I'm a big one for being out in nature and it seems to be rubbing off on our little man. Yesterday he was totally looking at these five different colored leaves I put in front of him in our yard. He was just examining them for 20 minutes straight. It was so cool! I can't wait to see what he thinks to check out next.

A new toy

Should we get this for Christopher?

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Our weekend

There are three reasons why I have not been entering posts on the blog as much as I used to. First, it is getting close to impossible to get a good picture of Christopher because he is moving too fast to catch on film. In the picture to the left, he was just about to start walking toward me and I was lucky enough to capture him in a non-blury sort of way. Second we've been just so busy on the weekends between Brian's mega-workouts in preparation for a half-ironman, my semi-mega-workouts, and then everyday life with a one year-old. (Plus, I was captured by a fabulous book that I just had to finish this weekend during CJ's nap times--hence no blog posts during those times). And now I can't remember the third reason... Anyway, in between workouts, we took Christopher to a local place called Ernie Miller Nature Park which has lovely hiking trails and a nature center with owls and hawks and fish tanks and observation rooms. After checking out Ernie Miller on Saturday, we had a lovely pizza dinner with Dan, Mary, Tristan and their two dogs, Oliver and Coco. Tristan was showing Chris how to be a big boy and Chris was a major fussy pants due to his three molars that have officially emerged. Kasey was in heaven because her two best doggie friends were there to play with her and it distracted her from the fact that we pay more attention to Christopher now. In between naps on Sunday, we took our little man to the neighborhood pool which was freezing! Chris didn't seem to mind as much as Mommy and Daddy did though. Later in the day we met with a young woman named Kristen who is going to babysit for us once a week (and then maybe on weekends every now and then so Mommy and Daddy can have date nights). She was very nice and Christopher seemed right at home with her. It was a busy weekend and a fun one too!
(See! I have to take pictures of Chris when he is restrained in his high chair. It's the only way!)