Missing Abbey

(This is one of my favorite pictures of Abbey.)

It's been almost 4 years since Abbey passed away. The 4-year anniversary of her passing is October 14. I've been missing her a lot lately, and I'm sure it's due in part to the time of year. But, I can't help but wonder what she would be doing now.

I feel like we are in a totally different phase of life than most people our age. Most people our age have school-aged kids. Their kids are playing sports, going to school activities, playing with friends, getting baptized, and doing other "big kid" things. Those are the types of things Abbey should be doing now. Instead, we're here to wonder what life would have been like if she were still here. Would she be taking dance lessons? Would she be the littlest soccer player ever? Would she like school? Would she be excited to be baptized? I guess I just feel a little "out of the loop" because I don't know what it's like having to tote kids all over town, or try to get to 3 different games on a Saturday afternoon. I often feel like we don't have a lot in common when it comes to parenting. (I know, it's totally silly.)

Don't get me wrong, I am so happy for our friends and their kids, but I can't help but envy their stage in life just a little. I am so totally in love with Hannah and Brooklyn. They are the light of our lives, and make us incredibly happy. But, we're just not to the place where we were supposed to be. I know that the time will go by so quickly between now and then, and I'm not trying to wish it away, but I am definitely looking forward to getting our girls into some extracurricular activities. I can't wait to watch them grow up and get interested in some activities. Hannah and Brooklyn are going to be going to a weekly playgroup starting on Wednesday. That will be something we can all enjoy together. I will definitely have to update about that.

Sorry for the downer. I just had to get that off my chest.

Lotoja 2008

Well, Greg and Chris rode in Lotoja again this year. They did great, although it wasn't without incident.

You see, about 10 miles into the 206-mile ride, some riders crashed in front of Greg, and he landed funny on his left arm. He called me and asked me to bring along the tool kit and some ibuprofen. I, being the mean person I am, was secretly hoping that someone besides Greg or Chris was the one who needed help. Well, unfortunately, the injured party was Greg. His left arm was swollen around the elbow, and he wasn't sure whether he'd broken it or not. However, after all the training, he decided to forge onward. Jenn and I hurried over to a pharmacy in Preston just as it opened, and I bought all the elbow support I could find. At the next stop, I put a tennis elbow strap on his arm, and off he went. Greg rode the rest of the 196 miles on an injured arm. What a trooper!

Greg and Chris finished the race in 12:40, which includes stop times. They did great!! Here are some pics:

Greg and his "baby"

Greg and Chris ready to race

On the road

Coming in for a food break

At the finish line!

Every letter makes a sound!

My girls LOVE this video. (Did I just say video? What is a video? I don't think those even exist anymore. LOL) In case the picture is too small, it's the Leap Frog DVD called "Letter Factory." It's a great teaching tool for little ones to learn the letters of the alphabet and their sounds.

Hannah and Brooklyn have watched this about a gazillion times, but they are learning so much from it. They can usually tell you the sound that every letter of the alphabet makes. And, now they're even starting to recognize the letters and point them out. Tonight, Greg had a shirt on that says "Maine" on it. Hannah pointed to the letter "A" and said, "The A says aah." I am totally blown away by what sponges young kids are. You go to teach them something new and they soak it up like crazy. If only our brains would work so well as adults. (hehehehe) Because of their new-found interest in the alphabet, I went and bought some alphabet posters to put on the walls of their playroom so we can start helping them recognize all the letters better.

Oh, on another note, my girls really do love each other. Tonight, Brooklyn went over to Hannah and said, "I love you!" and gave her a big old hug. Aw, how sweet! Then they wrestled around on the ground and giggled at each other. I love to watch the interaction and friendship between the two of them. Wherever one goes, the other is sure to follow. Most of the time when one of them asks for a snack, she asks for a snack for her sister, too. They really look out for each other.

I'll post later on about Lotoja. We had a good weekend up in Jackson. Let me just say that I'm so proud of Greg for finishing the 206-mile bike ride for the second year in a row. What a champ!

A rainy day 5K

Well, this is about what we looked like running the Hooper 5K yesterday. (All except for the fact that I'm not a middle-aged balding man.) :)

So, the 5K was set to start at 8 AM. When we got there around 7:30, the weather was pretty clear. I thought that we would be just fine. The weather stayed clear for the start of the race. Yay!!

Well, I started off pretty well. I did my first mile in 8 minutes, so I was ahead of schedule. About halfway through the race, I was running against a fierce head wind, which I hated. About 2/3 through the race, it started raining. Hard. I kept pushing and pushing to get through the race. I finished in 27:23, which ironically is my best time ever. (lol) Thankfully, I was safely in my car before the hail started. Yikes! Funny enough, I actually finished in 3rd place for my age division. It was a pretty fun race all around.

After the race, we went to the Hipwells for a waffle party. They were super yummy! (Thanks, Jamie.)

Now, the rest of this week will be focused on getting Greg ready for Lotoja which is on Saturday. I'm trying to carb-load him up for the big race. A biker burns approximately 40 calories per mile on average. So, I figure that Greg will be burning about 8,000 calories on Saturday alone!! We need to bulk that boy up with some major carbs before the race. I'm pretty excited to go up and follow along with Jenn again. At least this year we have a better idea of what we're doing as their support crew. Plus, we get a little weekend getaway in Jackson Hole. Shopping, here I come!!