The Leadman

 My Daddy is amazing.  This last week he showed us all what he is really made of.  And that would be lead. He officially claimed the title of leadman.  To become made of lead a person has to run the leadville marathon one week, do the silver rush 50 mile bike or run (he did the bike) the next week, then a few weeks later race the leadville 100 mile bike race.  WELL, that is not all.  The day after the 100 bike, which is one of the most grueling bike races that starts at 10,000 feet  and just goes up from there, you then have to run a 10k.  No big deal, right?  Oh wait.  Six days after the 10k when you are still recovering from the 100 bike you then go and do the leadville 100 trail run.  Run 100 miles? Who does that? Not me that is for sure.

Well last Sunday he finished the 100 trail run and now is a leadman.  I am so proud of him.  His road was not easy at all.  Early on in the race, when it was still early enough in the morning to be dark, he took a good fall and tweaked his IT band.  He still ran through the pain for over 80 miles, and through that whole time he had a strangely optimistic outlook.  He was even cracking jokes.  I would stop cracking jokes around mile 8.  My whole family, me and my 6 siblings,  were all there to cheer him on, crowd him at feed zones, and pace him.  At mile 60 I saw him and started to cry a little.  I was so worried about what he was doing to himself, and was worried he wasn't going to finish and be let down. But he never gave up.  The cutoff to finish was 30 hours.  He finished in under 29 and got second in his category (did I mention that he is 57?).  Well I have taken this time to brag because it really was one of the greatest things I have ever been able to witness being done.  I love you Dad!

about a mile from the finish.  Do you like how his legs are wrapped in bandages?  They were pretty hurt.

My family took the week between the bike race and the running race and turned it into a family reunion.  We stayed in at Copper Mountain Ski resort in Colorado and had a blast.  Here are some of the things that we did:

"Hot tubbing"  in the jacuzzi bath and playing in the "splash pad" aka  amazing huge shower

We got passes to all of the fun things at the resort.  My favorite was riding the chair lift to the top of the mountain and then mountain biking down.  Thanks Melissa for letting me ride the Jekyll.  It was awesome.  here is Brinley on the bungee trampoline.  Aren't glad I am not posting a video of me on the trampline?  You should be.

Bumper boats

Go cart racing

The climbing wall.  Brinley was brave to try it.

Three of my brothers and my brother's fiance and I hiked Mt. Elbert.  At 14,440 feet Mt. Elbert is the second highest mountain peak in the continental U.S. It was my first time hiking a 14,000 ft mountain, and it was hard.  Although not very long in mileage, it goes straight up making it pretty difficult.  Especially when you are out of shape.  I was sore for days after.

Anyway, my brothers built this cairn.  It is unofficially officially the new highest point in Colorado.

 We went on a beautiful drive up mt. Columbine.  My family thought the most beautiful part was their cars.  haha.  Well mostly we just thought it was funny that all 5 cars are Toyotas and three of them are 4runners.  We were raised well. 

 

Three generations of 4runners with Mt. Elbert in the background.

We had fun. And I liked that everyone came close to me for a change. Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful week!

Elsie is ONE!

I can't believe this little munchkin is one.The past year went by way way too fast. I know I say that all time, but it is always proving to be true.  My baby is gone and is well on her way to becoming an independent toddler.

At age one Elsie is an amazing little girl.  I have never met a baby with so much energy all the time.  Everything she does it is like she does it in fast forward, and manic mode.  She has to be a part of everything and thinks she is just as old as Brinley. She loves to be chased, loves to snuggle (as long as she can head bang you a couple of times first), and LOVES to eat.

She says a few words and makes the animal sounds of snake, cat, lion/tiger, and giraffe (sticks her tongue out).  Her 4th word was taco, which she first said after stealing a taco from Brinley.  She blows the sweetest kisses and if you ask her to give you a kiss she just wont stop. She just started walking last week and boom, today she is walking all over the place. She has figured out how to get off couches and beds by herself, which I am liking because it makes my life a little easier. This girls brings so much light into all of our lives.  You can't help but smile when she looks at you with her big toothy grin.  

For her birthday we had a fun little family party complete with plenty of cousins.  I was a little bit in denial that she was going to be turning one and put off planning the party we had already invited people to until 10 the night before.  Not smart.  But it turned out great, and more importantly Elsie loved all of the attention, really loved the food, and was a little overwhelmed by opening presents.  

Brent did a great job planning the activities.  Dads are definitely more fun than moms.  If it were me planning the activities I would have just given the kids a hose and let them go at it.  He set up an obstacle course through balloons and water that ended in a slip and slide.  He also made little marshmallow shooters for everyone.  The kids had an absolute blast.  The grass didn't.  It was pretty sad after being slid over all day.

Elsie loved her cake and loved getting her own spoon even more.

Oh my goodness I love this girl more than anything.  Happy Birthday baby girl.