The Irish Cold- Day 3

The weather man lied and said that on Tuesday there was a slight chance of rain and that it would be a little chilly.  Wrong!  It was so dang cold and it rained all day!  Our kids went to camp completely unprepared for the weather.  You could tell everyone there was desperately trying to stay warm.  No moms were to be seen because they were all in their cars (except for the crazy ones walking around snapping pictures).  Devin was so cold and cried almost the whole first hour, just like all the little kids did.  I told Lee that I didn't want him to end up hating it because of a bad experience being cold, so I grabbed him early and ran home to get warmer coats for Ethan and Lauren.  Ethan stayed for Golden Goal that day and I brought him and Paul Costa Vida burritos for lunch.  Everyone ate inside the school hallway to get warm.  I remembered I had an umbrella stashed in the van and when I gave it to Paul, he said I got the Best Host Mom Award. 

This is my favorite picture of Paul.  He hates it because he says "it makes me look 40!!"

Poor Kevin....he gave his coat to a girl in his group who was freezing.  Look at him soaked to the bone!

I picked Paul and Ethan up from camp that day, and everyone got home and tried to get warm.  Ethan soaked in a hot bath and Paul took a hot shower.  Even then I don't think they ever got warm enough!  When Cody got home from work, we loaded up and drove to Layton to get BBQ at our favorite place, Famous Daves.  That place is always super busy and any time we go, we have to wait at least half an hour to be seated. But because of the weather and because it was a Tuesday night, the place was almost empty.  We all ate waaaaaay too much.  Paul commented all week long about the portion sizes that Americans eat.  It's true!  Americans are so fat! 

Heading up to Layton for dinner. Just look at my adorable SIX kids!!

When we got home and finally got kids in bed, I went in to ask Paul if he laundry he needed to do, which he did.  I was shocked to doscover that he didn't know anything about doing laundry, or so he said!  I helped him get a load going and then we ended up hanging out and talking downstairs for what seemed to be forever, which we loved. That kid was an endless bundle of stories and interest. He was telling us about a movie that he thought was hilarious that we needed to see.  He asked if we could maybe stream it from the internet, and then I told him about this amazing thing called Red Box.  It was crazy that he didn't know what Red Box was!  He and I got in the van, even though I was already in PJs and drove to rent a movie from the Red Box machine.  He seemed to be pretty fascinated by it.  We came home, turned the movie on, and again stayed up waaaaaaay too late laughing and talking.  We were finding that it was difficult to keep up with 18 year old energy!

Pajama selfie!!

Soccer Camp & BBQ- Day 2

Monday morning came way too early.  I had already gotten up and showered and started cooking breakfast when Paul dragged himself up the stairs.  "Good mornin' Mr. Adorable," I said to him.  He was tired. We chatted as I made him breakfast, and it felt so natural.  It really seemed like I had known this kid for longer than only twelve hours.  I packed his Gatorade cooler, took his lunch order, and Scott came to pick him up (Scott is a director who was running the camp, and he happens to live right around the corner from us.  He would be Paul's ride to camp for the week.) They left the house at 7:45 and I snapped a picture.  Paul probably thought that was weird, but he would soon discover that I document EV-ERY-THING.  Poor guy was subjected to a camera in his face all week! 

I didn't take any pictures at camp on this day, or at home for that matter.  Devin was with Coach Lee, Lauren was with Coach Scott, and Ethan was with Coach Oli (who is Scott's flatmate; also our neighbor). After running back and forth between camp and running errands (the kids were all on different schedules) and taking Paul Subway for lunch, I finally headed home about 1:00 to get things ready for a BBQ we would be having with some old friends that night.  Paul was supposed to be brought home by one of the coaches, but there seemed to be some miscommunication and he in fact did not have a ride back to our house.  To make a long story short, we was supposed to be done with camp at 3:00 and he walked in our front door at 5:00.  Even though he's not my son, I started to get anxious around 4:00.  I wondered if I had heard correctly, or if I was actually supposed to have gotten him.  We had neglected to give him our phone numbers, and the prepaid piece of crap phone he got to use in the States had died anyway.

When he finally got home, he was pretty frazzled.  He told me what had happened, and he went to take a shower.  A cold front had started blowing in during the day and by the evening it was cold and rainy.  We joked that he had brought the crappy Irish weather with him!  Our backyard BBQ ended up having to be inside.  We had some old neighbors over and it was a lot of fun for US, but I think Paul felt a little out of sorts because everyone was pestering him with question after question.  It didn't help that I treated him like he was a trained monkey, telling him to say all sorts of funny things with his thick accent.  He was such a good sport, though.  On this night, we were all smart and decided to get to bed at a decent time. 

Meeting Paul- Day 1

Lauren and Paul, about fifteen minutes after he got to our house.

 When our kids did the Forza Football Club spring break soccer camp back in March/April, I was introduced to Challenger Sports British soccer camps.  We had already discussed sending Ethan to the University of Utah soccer camp in June, but this sounded more intriguing.  I also learned about an opportunity to host one of the coaches for the week that our kids did day camp.  Because we got a partial rebate on the camp price, we thought "Hey, this sounds like a deal!  Plus we get to know someone from Europe.  We can do that!"  We started the process, but camp wasn't for another three months so it got put in the back of my mind.

With school for me and a million activities for kids and Cody working very long hours at work, I started to get very stressed about having a hairy legged European stranger staying in our house, invading our space, and disrupting our element for a week.  There came a point about three weeks ago when I came very close to emailing the director of the regional program and telling him the deal was off.  I sat on that email for three days before I sent it.  And then I decided that we had already committed and it would be crappy to back out, so I girded up my loins and started getting everything ready.  I figured we could tough it out for a week and then we could get back to our normal lives.

On Monday June 9th, we got our coach assignment.  His name was Paul Ryan and he was eighteen years old from North Ireland.  Cody and I were shocked that he was so young because we had been expecting someone older and more experienced with being away from home.  Other than his demographics and a few minor details such as food allergies, we didn't know anything else about him.  All week long I had a knot in my stomach thinking that this was a bad idea.  What if we didn't mesh with him?  What if he didn't like to talk?  Our family can be loud and obnoxious and very "in your face" at times, and this poor kid was going to be immersed in it for a week, whether he liked it or not.  We supposed that if it turned out to be a bad fit, he could lock himself down in his room when he didn't want to be with us.

Sunday was Fathers Day.  On top of the already stressful event of making things wonderful for Cody, I had the extra stress of getting things ready for this stranger who would be living with us.  All day at church I felt a little queasy.  I wished all day that I HAD sent that email three weeks before, saying that we were no longer able to host a coach.  Was it too late to back out?

At 6:00 that evening, I was supposed to drive to the soccer field and meet Paul and the other coaches in the group, some who would be going in separate directions with their host families.  The fifteen minute drive to the field was bad.  I was very anxious, very nervous, and very much wishing to get the week over with.

There were three coaches in the group going with families.  Lee from England, Kevin from Scotland, and Paul.  All three of them seemed so nice, but Paul was special.  Maybe it was because he was going to be "ours" for the week so I needed to psyche myself into thinking he was extra nice and bubbly, but looking back on it, he really was.  After a brief introduction, he threw his bags in the van and the two of us made our way for the place he would call home for the next six days.

I can't really explain what it was like in the first hour we knew Paul.  He came into our home and became one of us almost instantly.  He was so nice, so personable, and so incredibly likable.  Before we even got in the van to go back to the house, I shot Cody a text that said "Oh my gosh, he's great.  I think we're going to love him!"  And it was true.  We ate dinner, we talked, and talked, and talked some more. He joined us for the traditional reading of the "Thoughts On Dad" interview book that we read every Fathers Day.  The kids took to him right away and we ended up staying up far later than we should have that night.  The kids were in bed about 10:00, and the three adults didn't get to bed until about 1:00.  We were sooooo very tired the next day, but it was worth it getting to know our new friend.  We had a feeling that the week would be fantastic. 

Shark Attack Triathlon

What an amazing morning.

About a month ago, I caught wind of a "kid" triathlon out near Herriman.  I told the kids about it and they imediately wanted in.  The girls had been very envious of Ethan doing the novice one last month.  The age cut off for this one was to be seven  years old by December 31 of this year.  Lauren turns seven in September, so she made it!   My concern was that they would be off doing the race on their own.  I wasn't worried about Ethan, but it made me very nervous to send the girls off because they are busy streets that they race down.  The race os lined with police officers and volunteers, but it is still open to traffic and some drivers are just plain stupid.  I emailed the race director and asked if I would be able to bike and run with them, and she assured me that was okay.

I callled Courtnee to ask if her boys would be interested in doing the tri, and Carson was.  Our kids were so happy to have their cousin race with them!

This morning was a very early one for me, which was hard because last night was a late one for me.  Lots to do to get ready for these things and I am always up past midnight.  As I type this, I am about to fall asleep.

We got the kids checked in and body marked, then we headed over to the pool to let them warm up.  The adult sprint tri was ending, with the last racers coming through the finish line.  The water wasn't too cold for being in the morning of early June.  They lined up and listened to the directions from the officiator, then it was time to hit the water! 

Ethan's start

Carson's start

Hailey's start

Lauren's start

Hailey and Carson

Ethan

Lauren had a rough time in the water.  Although she is a very good and strong swimmer, nerves got the best of her and she "choked" right before her start.  It set of a chain reaction that she had a hard time over coming while swimming.  She panicked a couple of times and ended up in dead last.  But that was okay...she just needed to finish!!

When she touched the side, all of the officiators went nuts cheering.  Those 100 meters almost did her in!  But she busted out of that water and she and I hit the transition station at full speed.  Bike time!!  Ethan and Carson were already out of transition when we got there, and Hailey was getting her shoes on.  The three of us headed out to the road together.  Lauren was so happy to be done with the swim because she said "that was the hardest thing she had ever done."  Quite a feat for a tiny six year old!!  Because we were last, the Sweeper followed us out on the course.  The Sweeper is a volunteer who brings up the rear and signals to the officiators that the last racer has come out.  His name was Gene and he was such a nice old guy.  He would turn out to be very useful for me, because not even half a mile into the bike, this women officiator with a serious ax to grind started yelling at me that I couldn't be on the bike course with my child.  She was stark raving mad!  I was very confused because I had been told BY THE DIRECTOR that it was okay.  I had been told that weeks before!  But this woman would NOT bend and she made me go back.  Gene kept following Lauren and Hailey and I watched them until they were out of sight.  My heart was scared.  Lauren had no idea I had been turned away and I feared that when she realized I was gone, she would freak out.

When I got back near transition, Cody was waiting with the little boys and the cameras and I was almost in tears as I told him about the crazy Nazi officiator.  I went and put my bike and helmet back at camp, and then we waited there for our kids to come down the bike course.  Carson and Ethan came through very quickly, then Hailey a little while later.  It was Lauren that I was very worried about.  She was so tired and already emotional when she got done with the swim.

We waited.  And Waited.  And waited.  Still no Lauren, no Gene.  My heart was pounding and I was scared.  What if something had happened to her?  What if she fell off her bike?  Minuted had passed since the last biker came through, and there was no sign of Lauren.  I said "screw it" and I got my bike back out of transition and headed back out on the course.  Finally I spotted Lauren's bright pink shirt, and Gene's blue shirt close behind her.  "She has a flat tire!!"  Gene yelled.  Lauren had tears running down her face, but she was pedaling hard and focusing on the task at hand.  "Her tire popped two miles ago!"  He told me.  

Moments later I heard police sirens and looked behind and saw six police cars following us.  They were giving Lauren an escort!  I asked her if she wanted to get off her bike so we could walk out bikes the rest of the way.  "No way!"  She said as she cried.  "I am finishing it on my bike!"  Her poor back tire was completely flat.  No air in it at all.  Her little legs pushed and pushed and she was shaking.  She had ridden like that for two miles!

We got back to camp and I quickly hung our bikes on the rack and we started running to the race course.  Lauren was shaking so much that she stumbled and almost collapsed.  I picked her up and put her on my back and ran through transition with her like that as tears fell down her face.  The cheers from everyone around us was unreal.  Everyone heard that her tired had popped.  People had been wondering where the little tiny girl in the pink was, and here she was on her mama's back.  I ran with her on my back for about 1/8 a mile, then she said she needed to run on her own.  She ran, and walked, and ran, and walked.  She was so incredibly tired and weak.  When we hit the halfway point, we came to a water station and the officiator asked if she was the last one.  I apologized that we were so late, but I explained about the bike.  He was blown away that she had ridden on a flat tire for two miles.  He said "That is every triathlete's worst nightmare!  That, and getting hit by a car."  He went on to tell Lauren how amazing and inspirational she was. 

"Mom, I want to run the whole way to the finish line."  I think her adrenaline took over and she picked up the pace.  "Do you think anyone is still there, or do you think they all went home?"  I told her I didn't know, but we knew that our family would be there.

As we got closer to the finish line, we could again hear the music booming from the speakers and we could hear the MC talking into the microphone.  We rounded the last corner and I guess everyone spotted her pink shirt and the crowd went CRAZY.  I cried, and she just smiled.  So so so many people, adults from the sprint even, were hanging around just to see her finish.  "This is the absolute best part of the entire race!!"  The MC said into the mic.  She said I got the mom of the year award, but I don't know about that.  I was just so happy for Lauren, and for the other kids, that I didn't care about anything else. 

It was an unbelievable day.  I had to get a picture of Lauren with Gene, her savior on the bike course.  Lauren said he was like her guardian angel.  Oh man, I am crying again!  I love these events more than I can say and I am so proud and happy for these kids of mine.  We went to IHOP after we finally got everything loaded up, and I asked each of the kids what the hardest part of the race was.  Ethan, Hailey, and Carson said the swim was the hardest.  Lauren said she wanted to tell us what the best part was instead.  She said the best part was coming through the finish line and seeing the hundreds of people waiting there for her, all cheering and calling her name. 

Ethan's First Triathlon

In between my triathlon in August and my foot surgery in September, I KNEW I wanted to compete in the South Davis Tri in May.  That gave me eight months to fully recover, rebuild flexibility and strength in the foot (and atrophied leg muscles as a result of being rather stationary) and train.  I knew it would be tough coming back from that, but I made it a goal.

My foot healed and I got back to running.  Then swimming, then cycling, and by February I was feeling pretty good about things.  However, I didn't want to do this race alone, because there is something to be said for having a partner with you through the entire race.  Not just at the start line and the finish line, but someone running along side of you, suffering with you, and enduring it.  But as much as I pestered practically everyone I knew, no one wanted to do the race.  I can't say I blame them because it's kind of scary and it's a huge commitment.

One day in early March, I had an idea.  What if I could get Ethan to do the race with me?  Yes, my barely ten year old son.  What if?  So I talked to him about it, and it scared him to death.  And then I remembered that this particular race had a novice level, so I suggested that and he said "Hmmm, I'll think about it."

I pestered him for the better part of a month.  One evening I even bribed him with a DQ Blizzard to just drive around the course with me.  He agreed, and when he saw how "easy" the novive course was, he agreed to start running with me.  So we started running together, and I was blown away by that kid's drive.  We went out one day in April and bought him a very good pair of running shoes, and after that he started begging me every night to take him running.  The rest is history!

Shortly after I told her Ethan was doing the tri and that we were doing the novice level, my good friend Audrey said that she and Samuel (her ten year old and Ethan's good friend) would like to do it too!  I was super excited, to say the least!  Audrey felt pretty intimidated by it, but I kept assuring her that it would be SO AWESOME and that she would have a great time!

My real fear was the weather, because May in Utah is very unpredictable.  One day it will be 80 degrees and sunny, and by that weekend it will be in the 40s and raining or even snowing.  Unfortunately, the forecast for this particular Saturday showed the latter.  No biggie, we would make it through!!  On Friday night our families gathered at Audrey's for a carb loading party, which is kind of the best part of any race!  Takes me back to my swim team days!

5:15 came mighty early the next day, after being up til almost midnight getting everything ready for TWO racers, plus everything set to go for a day of soccer games.  Oh yeah, soccer life didn't stop just because we were doing a triathlon that morning!  Saturday May 10th took a lot of coordination, from getting bikes to the venue, to getting everyone to games on time later that day.  We all met up at the Rec Center and Audrey was pretty nervous, but I kept telling her not to be.  It was going to be incredible, and such a cool thing to share with our boys!  We got all checked in, got numbered up, got our camp set up at transition, found Jay (who was also doing the race) and then headed into the Nadatorium to wait and wait and wait for the waves of swimmers to go.  Because we were doing the novice, we had to wait for everyone else to go first.  The waves took an hour and fifteen minutes.  The longer we sat in the bleachers, the more butterflies grew in our tummies. 

The race was completely amazing, albeit pretty darn cold.  It was super windy when we ran out of the Nadatorium to transition, but adrenaline carried us through so it didn't feel "quite" as cold.  We got rained on quite a bit during the bike.  That leg made me very nervous because I rode ahead of Ethan and had to trust him to not get hurt and to look out for cars.  Even though police and volunteers try to keep you safe, you still have to be on constant alert. 

We saw Enos on the bike leg taking pictures, and then we saw Cody on the running leg taking pictures.  I'll tell you what, even though it was by no means a difficult race for me and even though I was a little disappointed that I wasn't doing the difficult level that I had originally set out to do, there is nothing better than crossing the finish line holding the hand of your son.  It.  Was.  Thrilling.  I brought that boy into this world, and he did a triathlon with me as my equal.  When it was all over (or maybe it was the next day after he wasn't so tired from doing a triathlon in the morning and then playing soccer that afternoon) he said that he couldn't wait to do another triathlon.  I am so excited to take him down this road.  He wore his tri shirt to school that Monday and got to tell his class about the race.  Not many people can say they did their first triathlon when they were only ten years old.

Ethan, Hailey, and Lauren are doing a kid triathlon next month on June 7th.  I can definitely see this becoming a family activity for the long run!  Who knows-  Maybe I'll do the IronMan with my kids one day.