Will Bike for Beer

A few months back I started thinking about how I wanted to celebrate my 40th birthday.  I wanted to do something special that was not something I would do regularly, something unique and fun that I would always remember.  Last spring we did a test bike on Urban Pedal Tours, on one of the first Calgary rides, and it was so much that it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate with 19 of my best friends.

So while I was the one to plan and organize the ride, my friends surprised me with these matching shirts!  They were perfect!  Surprisingly, Travis, our tour guide, said we were the first ride to ever wear matching shirts.  Let me tell you, us 40 year olds know how to do it right!

Sadly, we forgot to offer Travis a shirt until after the ride was over.  His shirt, I earned this beer, was pretty sweet to, and trust me, we certainly earned our beers as well.

This bike is harder than it looks to operate.  There is no motor, so if you don't pedal, it doesn't move.  The first round I sat at the back and heard Travis tell the ladies up front that being at the back is the hardest. I certainly agreed, at this point I felt like I was doing a stand up spin class and was starting to sweat.  A lot.

Next round I sat front and center because that is supposed to be the easiest, and I was still sweating.  I'm pretty sure I was the only one pedaling the bike.  Ha!  The bike does have a brake though.  When I was sitting up front and we approached the back of the car I casually asked if we had a brake, I was getting a little worried as we rolled up!

At each stop we had exactly enough time for one drink.  Or one drink that you ordered and a shooter that someone else ordered for you.  I went into the afternoon with a 4 drink limit and I think I past that after the first stop.  Oops.

We weren't having any fun at all....

It was such a great afternoon.  It was like a wedding of sorts.  It isn't very often you get to have all your friends in the same place at once.

Seawheeze 2019

I am still coming off a high of spending last weekend with these ladies and completing my 3rd half marathon.

This was my second Seawheeze half marathon which is sponsored by Lululemon.  While their running of the event was the worst I've ever seen and I told them so over the course of several emails leading up to the run, the event itself is the best I've been to.  Yes we train and run like any other run, but the swag and the non running events are top notch.  Not to mention the location... I am starting to love Vancouver.  I love the quick getaway to a city on the ocean where you can walk almost everywhere you need to be. Great food, great spas, great company equals a recipe for success.

My running history is less than ideal.  I have chronic IT band issues and had to walk close to 5 km in my last half.  It was so disappointing and I held back tears as I hobbled over the finish line to find my friends.  It is so disappointing when your body lets you down after months of training, working through an injury, stretching, rolling, and strengthening.  I was hoping to not have to relive that this year.

Early in my training, my IT band started to cause knee pain for the second year in a row, putting a halt to my training.  I didn't give up.  I went to pysio and chiro countless times all while pushing myself to continue to train.  I got custom orthotics for my shoes and started to run with them 1 month ago.  My longest training run was only 14km instead of the 19km I was aiming for.  I went into the race with my fingers crossed that I could push through he last 7km with no pain.

And I did.

At about 17km I found myself getting so emotional at the thought of running across that finish line.  Not only did I run but I sprinted the last km  I ran with everything I had left in me (which wasn't a lot!) through the cheerers and the encouraging signs.  My favorite of which read 'You Paid To Do This'.  Another favorite read 'All You Get for Finishing is a Free Banana'.

The runner's high I had running across the finish line was indescribable.  That is why I run.  Setting a goal and seeing it out.  Not being discouraged by the obstacles that may stand in your way.  Getting up at 7am and running as it started to rain because you needed to get that last run in.  That is what it is about.  Supporting your friends as they reach for their own goals and elebrating the victories together.

Sign me up for next year!

Welcome to Grade 6!

As much as Grady tried, he could not avoid the fact that the first day of school was near.  The signs in the mall pointed it out as well as the emails that started to arrive from the school last week.  Yesterday  was the first day of school and there was no looking back.

While Grady was busy dreading the day, I happily sent him back to school 2 weeks earlier than most kids in the city.  I find that the kids thrive on routine and it was time to get back into one.  Earlier bedtimes and less screen time will make all of us better people!

I stress about the first day of school now as a parent, maybe even more than I did as a kid.  I want the kids to be happy with their teachers and have a few friends in their class.  I want to set them up for a great year ahead.  Grady stresses a lot.  I thought it would get easier the more years he is at the school as he has more and more friends there but that doesn't seem to be the case.  Like his Mom, Grady doesn't like change and struggles with new situations.  He comes by it honestly.

Since nerves were high as we left the house I decided to save the first day of school pictures for the end of the day when I hoped the emotions would have settled down, and thankfully I was right.

His nervousness didn't surface until the morning.  The drive to school I nattered about everything from his favorite moment this summer to James' birthday dinner that night.  Should we or should we not make his Dad wear the traditional birthday hat....  Anything to take his mind off waiting to see his class list.

As an aside, I wish that his school released the list a few days early.  Cooper's school does it and I love how it takes the pressure off the kids the morning of.  The kids already know their teacher and also which friends are in their class.  It makes waking up on the day so much easier on both kids and parents.  I just can't understand why you want a bunch of parents and kids standing around a paper posted on the wall trying to see where they belong.  That's just my 2 cents.

We arrived, checked the list and we wondered into his new homeroom. He once again, did not see the friends he hoped for but he did see a few familiar faces.  I could tell he was disappointed but there was nothing I could do.  I left him there and thought of him often throughout the day wondering how he was doing.

It is so hard as a parent to watch your child show signs of distress.  There was nothing I could do to change it, all I could do was give him the support he needed.  Its a good life lesson really, we don't always get what we want but the way we handle it is just as, or more, important.

He came home and told us that the 2 friends he had in his class were not in fact at school the first day which wasn't easy on him.  The good news is he came off the bus smiling because they have a new bus driver and she missed all the turns on the route and they had to yell at her to stop the bus so they could get off.  I have the feeling we are going to miss Don, our retired bus driver in the weeks to come....

Despite a less than perfect first day I have no doubt that he will overcome whatever obstacles are thrown at him. 

Grady, I wish you a wonderful year in Grade 6! 

Roughing It: Wilderness Village, round 3

When James and I first started dating almost 20 years ago, James pretended to like camping to wheel me in. After we got married we never camped again. We just didn't put a priority on it and we lost all our confidence in.  I lost all my confidence and our camping career died.

Until we had kids.

Three years ago, my friend convinced me to buy a tent and to enter back into the camping world.  Good thing I kept all my gear.  It was actually James that convinced me we should try it again.  All I saw was lots of work for 2 nights sleeping in a tent.  So three years later, here we are, still going once a year and actually enjoying it.

While I am in charge of the packing and organizing James is in charge of tent set up and take down.  i try to offer my help but honestly I am not very much help at all in this department.  I am also in charge of setting the inside up so I save my energy for that.

Before the tents were even up the kids were roasting marshmallows.  The older ones were able to get the fire going on their own this year which was terrific!  All we needed was to dig out the marshmallows from the trunk so they could spend the next hour roasting them.  Well... trying to roast them and instead burning and tossing most of them.  I think the final toll was 6 bags of marshmallows over less than 48 hours.

Every year, we've stayed at the same campground and even on the same row, however this year, we couldn't get the same spots.  We changed sites and our set up this year was even better!  It was like one big site that we shared.  It wouldn't be so great if we didn't know our neighbors....  What you can't see is the 4th tent just to right of the red one.  Our site was huge and great for kick the can.

It was actually surprising the camp ground was so busy since the forecast was crap.  We watched the weather network all week and as the weekend approached, the rain covered all 3 days.  It said 60% or 40% chance of rain depending on the day.  I could have been convinced to cancel and stay home BUT that would mean no camping trip this year and that made me sad.  So, we took the plunge and we decided to give it a try and head to the local motel if we needed to.  I am so glad we did.

To say that it didn't rain would be a lie.  We managed to get to the site and get up the tents before we had a short downpour right before supper.  It didn't last long and we set up a temporary tarp over the tents and attached to the vehicles.  The rules say you can't tie rope to the trees.  Insert eye roll.  How are tenters supposed to survive in the rain???

After that, it didn't rain until 1030pm at which point we called it a night.  It rained all night and until about 11am when it finally tapered.  We all put on our rain jackets and boots and continued on getting breakfast ready while getting wet.  After we ate, the men headed to town to get supplies to build a shelter in case it rained again.  They did a fantastic job but we didn't see another drop of rain.  After seeing their handy work I won't ever cancel based on the forecast again.  Well, unless it shows snow.  If it snows, I'm out.

When the men came back, not only did they bring plywood, but also Tim Horton's.  #roughingit

If you ask Grady what his fave part of camping was, he would tell you it was the arcade.  Yes, the arcade.  I would have guessed kick the can.  I, on the other hand, loved the campfire.  The kids decided to join us the second night for a few camp fires games. Telephone was an epic fail with certain kids changing what was said every time.  Then we played a different memory game that was a hit with kids and adults, though it did get offside.  That's what you get with a bunch of pre teen boys.  Any chance to use words like p3nis and s3xy.

We ended the annual weekend with ice cream cones and a group shot of 3 out of 5 families that stuck it out under less than ideal weather conditions. 

Sign me up for next year!

Kelowna 2019

This was our 8th consecutive summer spending our summer vacation in Kelowna.  I remember it was the summer after I went back to work and we didn't take a winter holiday so I really wanted a beach summer vacation.  Little did I know that we would make it an annual tradition for the foreseeable future.  We loved it that much.  It makes me feel almost as happy as Hawaii.  Almost.

On to the details.

For me boat day is always a favorite for James and I.  It is slowly growing on Grady. My usually anxious child has ventured out of his comfort zone and been quite brave on the tube and jumping off the top level of the pontoon boat.  This kid loves the water and I am so happy to see him try (and enjoy!) new things.

While Grady is in his element on the lake.  Cooper is less thrilled.  The boat scares him.  Good thing the pontoon boat doesn't go that fast.  On the last tube ride of the day Cooper finally went on at a coasting speed with his Dad and Nick.  Personally, I liked that speed way better.  It was a start and I was proud of Cooper for conquering his fear. It is a start. Literally, a slow start.

After skipping a year of the watersides in Vernon, we made our way back this year.  The best part was that the kids didn't need us to slide with them.  I didn't get in the water once which, for me, was a win.  I'm certainly glad that didn't need us because that day ended up being freaking cold and it eventually rained on us.  I was using the towel as a blanket and huddled under the umbrella at one point.  That led to an earlier departure which I was totally okay with.  Cooper will tell you this was his favorite day.

For the second year in a row, the ladies booked a wine tour.  We extended the length of of the tour and visited 6 wineries and added a stop for lunch.  It was a full day affair.   No one can visit that many wineries and survive on crackers only.  Rookie mistake last year.... Over the years I've come to really enjoy visiting the wineries and buying a bottle or two of wine at each stop.  My favorites are Volcanic Hills for red and Rollingdale for white.  I managed to come home with 2 cases this year and am enjoying a glass as I type.

While we were out tasting all the wine, the Dad's took the kids to the Wibit which is always a favorite for the kids.  This year only the kids went in since it was too cold for the Dad's.  Another victory in my books.  There are some really good things about the kids getting older......

Don't feel too bad for the Dad's, they got their day of golf in the next day.  I love that each of us get a day to enjoy kid free.  This is a tradition I could get used to!

Last year we did a 24k bike ride that resulted in a large slurpee bribery and Cooper in tears as we finished.   This year, our leisurely hike turned into a hike straight up a mountain with great views and grumpy kids.  Seriously, look at that view.  Worth every injury the kids nursed on the way down.

Personally, my favorite part of the vacation was the morning I spent with my girlfriend (or on my own exercising).  Sherry and I ran every second day with our longest being just over 10k. The other days I walked solo and listened to podcasts or my favorite running play lists.  There is just something about the BC fresh air and scenery that makes me want to (gasp) set an alarm!

Grady will tell you that the zipline morning was his favorite.   When I was uploading these photos, I thought the one below was of Grady.  Ooops.  This was a new find this year and was essentially a  wooden structure with jumping decks and some floating docks.  Once again, I took pictures and stayed out of the water.  Are you seeing a trend??

We are so fortunate to travel with this group for the second year.  I don't think the kids will ever let us travel alone again!

Kelowna, I love you.

#forty

This week I turned 40.  I wasn't looking forward to it.  I like the sound of 39 way better than I like the  sound of 40.  Yet, I've watched many of my friends join the club this year, what is the big deal?  Forty sounds old.  I don't feel old.   Until I look at my wedding picture. But as I've told many people in the past month, it is just another day.  I was officially one day older than I was the day before.  Not a decade older like it sounds.  

As the big day approached, I found my attitude looking up.  It is a milestone.  Not every one lives to see their 40th birthday and mine came and went.  I spent the morning with my Mom who surprised me with a weekend visit and the rest of the day with my birthday twin celebrating us.

Over 40 years I've accumulated a husband and 2 kids.

I have 40 years of memories.

I have 40 years of friendships.

I have 40 years of accomplishments.

I have 40 years of health.

I have 40 years of happiness.

Over these 40 years I've learned a lot.

I've learned it's okay to say no.

I've learned to not care what others think.  Wear the red lipstick, buy the mini skirt.

I've learned who my real friends are.

I've navigated parenting with some success.

I'm working hard to just be me. Because the me that I am is not so bad.  Even at 40.