Fishing

It was a testosterone fest on the Ms Lee II this weekend. It was a trip filled with junk food, male bonding and, unfortunately, lots and lots of rain. Other than sunshine, also missing from this trip was mom.

I had a little more than 24 hours to myself. ( I guess I wasn't completely by myself, I had Ruby to keep me company, but she is pretty low maintenance.) It's amazing how the time flew. I worked on my scrapbook and got caught up to the summer of 2007, I'm only 3 years behind now. Ruby and I watched a chick flick, When In Rome, which definitely didn't dissapoint. Saturday was filled with a facial, Pilates class and a long slow reading of the paper over coffee.

Michael called on Saturday around 6:30 to let me know they came in early and would be home in a couple of hours. By then, I'd had enough "alone" time and was glad to see my family come home. With them home, the house felt cozier and I was thankful for their safe return. I think they were thankful too, but Trent was a little sad it was the end of his Fluffy Stuff.

Mt. Marathon, done!

I survived. 3022 feet and I must say, I think I even did it with a little grace. It's a little surreal to look at the mountain and know I climbed it.
There is something really inspiring in lining up with 300 women to climb this peak. Everyone crowds in at the starting line but within seconds of the gun, they spread out along the streets of Seward and and head for the mountain.
After the initial half mile running on pavement, a single line of climbers formed and began the roots at the bottom of the mountain. While I was climbing, someone above me lost their grip and came tumbling down the hill, stopped only by a tree sticking out over the edge of the hill. I had a hard time keeping this image out of my head as I climbed. Later, I heard she ended up finishing the race.
Overall, I felt strong. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I took just a few breaks going up the hill.
There is nothing like finishing Mt. Marathon. The crowd is huge, and my favorite part of the crowd is right in front of the white church.... my whole family was there, cheering me on and I used their cheers to help push me to a strong finish of 1:40:50.... not my fastest finish, but definitely not my slowest either.

Fourth of July

America's birthday is quickly approaching. For me, it means I'm stressing about another attempt at Mt. Marathon. My stressor #1 right now is the weather. There's a lot of rain in the forecast, which means potential for an extremely slippery and messy climb up that mountain.
I think I need to take the focus off my self and my own selfish worries and instead focus on the point of the day.

These pictures are from a tour to Pearl Harbor. The boys are standing in front of all the names of the bodies entombed on the USS Arizona. The flag shot was taken looking up from the memorial to the flagpole that is attached to the ship.
Rather than stressing about what I'm going to wear, what the trail might be like, how I'm going to do, I'm going to think about how great it is going to be to see that flag at the top of the mountain and remember the true point of the day.

Hawaii

It's a dreary Monday morning. My usual view of the mountains and the inlet is replaced by a white wall of gloomy clouds. The driveway is wet from a night full of steady sprinkles. Going out today will surely involve a raincoat and pants that can withstand splashing through puddles.

I'd rather think about the view in this picture. It was taken sometime during the last week of December on Waikiki Beach. The boys are showing off just one of the many sand creations they made during the week. Right now, some other family is setting up their chairs, scattering sand toys and trying to round up children for another application of sunscreen.

First fishing trip of 2010

It's official, fishing season has begun! What originally was going to be a boys weekend on the boat turned into a family fishing excursion. I had made plans for a "mom only weekend", packed with chick flicks, shopping and maybe a spa treatment but instead accepted an invitation to spend the weekend aboard the Ms Lee 2.
It was the first trip with the new engine, and both Michael and Bob were happy with the recently replaced engine. We made an attempt to relieve the Prince William Sound of some of its halibut, but only managed to pluck out 6 fairly small fish. We also managed to get one silver salmon.
After fishing, Michael and I climbed Mt. Marathon in preparation for our July 4th race. The weather was gorgeous, but the trail was a little slippery after a week of rain in Seward. We climbed, crawled and pulled our way up to the top.
Despite my initial disappointment of being denied my weekend to myself, I ended up having a great time. There is something comforting in snuggling up on the boat, being far away from our day to day life and spending time together.

Welcome to the world, Baby Jackson

Cole is proudly showing off his brand new cousin, Jackson Woodrow Hollon. At the time of this photo, he is right around 24 hours old. Both boys just couldn't get enough of holding him. 2 years ago, a 6 year old Cole was scared of Jackson's big brother, Jayden. His "tiny little hands" freaked him out. It took him almost 2 weeks until he was brave enough to hold him.
This time around, he wanted to hold him as soon as he saw him.
It's amazing to think this photo marks the beginning of a lifetime of "cousinhood" for them. They'll be sharing seats at the kids table, commiserating about the strange and obnoxious behaviors of their parents and spending countless future holidays together. When Cole graduates from high school, a 10 year old Jackson will be squirming in his seat as he waits for Cole's name to be called as he walks across the stage. A four year old soccer playing Jackson may have his 12 year old cousin cheering him from the sidelines. Who knows where this relationship will go. There's something special about a cousin.

Back again

Has it really been almost 2 years..... One of my goals for the summer is to expand my writing. I've been keeping a daily journal, and I thought this would be a great next step.
Not exactly sure what I'm going to write about, but I'm sure the usual blabberings about kids, training, weather and so forth.
I'll probably throw in a little reading as well. We'll see how it goes.