Chauncey Creek Lobster Pier

It has been years since Jason and I have managed to get back to Chauncey Creek in Kittery, Me.  We went there before we had kids and then life happens and it never seemed to be a good time.  We finally made time to enjoy this awesome restaurant and we got to share it with our kids.  It is fun to be able to bring the kids places with us and not worry if they will fall off the dock because they just learned to walk or don't understand the concept of falling into the water.  Now even if they did fall in we know they can swim.  They know how to behave in restaurants and order their own food.  They are excellent eaters and are always up for trying new foods.  We already knew they liked lobster so this was a fun place to take them.  We were heading up to Maine for the weekend and this also broke up the trip with a fun place to stop and have lunch.  The lobsters were hard shell and very meaty.  We probably could have split one between the girls and me but we all had big eyes so we each got our own along with fried shrimp and french fries.  A little gluttonous and we were all stuffed in the end and ready to get in the car for the rest of our ride north.

Bike and Run

With the girls home this summer I have had to work my running into our schedule.  Usually I can run early before Jason leaves for work but some days that just doesn't happen.  Fortunately for me I have two kids who love to exercise because it is FUN!  I went for a walk with my girlfriend in the morning so the kids got to play with their friend Abby while Abby's older brother was home to watch them.  I still needed to get in a run though so after walking with my girlfriend I loaded the kids in the car and we headed to the bike path.  It was the middle of the day and it was HOT!....in the 90's and humid kind of HOT!  I hoped that the shade of the bike path would help since I wanted to get in a six mile run.  The kids hopped on their bikes and biked along the path as I ran.  We stopped a couple times to drink since I did not want the kids to dehydrate.  They made it up the one big hill on the path without stopping or needing help.  I was impressed!  After making it to the 3 mile turn around we were all hot and sweaty.  We took a little break for some water and then headed back down the path.  I ended up walking/jogging the last mile because it was just sooooo HOT and I was out of water as I had given most of it to the kids.  I didn't want to risk getting dizzy from dehydration so I made myself pull up and go easy.  Both kids were hot and a little overheated.  We headed to the local price chopper which has a Starbucks inside and treated ourselves to cold drinks.  After being in the air conditioned store and getting fluids in us we all perked back up.  Any overheating headaches were gone and the kids kept talking about how proud they were of themselves and what they saw as accomplishments.....being tired but continuing anyway, making it up that big hill without needing any help and going the whole 6 miles.  It was great to listen to them rattle off all the things that made them feel good.

Nail Time

The girls are really at a fun age.  They are strong, fit, athletic girls who also enjoy down time.  After busy days at camp or running around outside they like to just relax.  It is nice to see them be able to relax and really enjoy it.  After camp one day they were tired and needed some down time.  I decided it was the perfect time to sit around the table and chat about their day.  To make it a little more fun I decided to add a little girly flavor and offered to do their nails.  They always like having their nails done and it is fun to do something together.  The girls each chose their own colors and designs.  Sofia's hand is almost as big as mine!  These girls are growing way too fast!!!

Blueberries!!!

This year we missed picking strawberries as the season was over before I had even thought about it but I was ready for blueberry picking season.  I had asked at the local organic farm where we had picked last year and the owner told me the week of July 4th  was usually when the picking began.  The girls and I headed over on July 6th to see what we could find for blueberries.  It is amazing the difference a year makes in the kids picking abilities.  Ali still only filled about half a container but thats about 1/2 more than she picked last year and Sofia picked a whole container worth and then helped me pick enough to fill up Ali's container.  It was much more fun for me this year since the kids were having a good time and were not complaining.  It was not too hot which was nice as well.  We ended up with 9lbs of blueberries!!  Since picking them we have made blueberry pancakes, smoothies with blueberries, blueberry muffins, and blueberry buckle.  We have loads of blueberries now stored in the freezer to last us until next year.

Camp Camp Camp

This summer we decided to put the kids into different camps to keep them entertained.  Last summer we arrived too late to get into any camps and by the end of the summer the girls were so ready to start school and make new friends.  I wanted to balance out their activities with down time as well because summer is all about being lazy and relaxing.  We decided to give the girls something to so every other week.  We kicked off the summer with golf camp.  The girls went to camp for a week from 9:00 to 12:00.  They loved going to play golf.  They made some new friends and really enjoyed playing the game.  We took them out on the course after their week of lessons and we could really see the improvement.  It was nice to know it was money well spent!  When we play with the kids we play best ball so that they get to hit the ball but we don't spend hours just getting to the green.  On the 9th hole though we let Sofia play through since it was late and there was nobody on the course behind us.  She did amazing!  She shot an 8 on a par 4.  Her drive off the tee was around 100 yards.  Ali also did well but she was very tired by the 4th hole so we still played best ball with her.  Pretty soon I'm going to have Sofia play through on every hole or she will start beating me!

After a week off over the 4th of July the kids started the town camp.  This camp goes from 9am-4pm Monday through Friday.  The girls are in two different groups as one group is ages 5-7 and the next group is 8-12 (I think 12 is the top).  It works out well so the kids get some time away from each other and can play with their own friends.  They have a blast all day at camp and it has been great for them to be exposed to many different sports.  The older group is more focused on sports and the younger group mixes sports with arts/crafts and time to play on the playground.  Sofia has decided she wants to play softball in the spring because she has really enjoyed playing baseball and tennis racket baseball during the camp.  The other difference in activity is that the older kids get to go to a water park.  Sofia was so excited to go. She kept asking if she could go since her friend had told her about it before camp started.  I had heard nothing about it so I didn't want to get her hopes up but she was right.  Apparently every week the camp goes to the water park.  I was a little nervous as it would be the first time Sofia would be with a group away from me where "stranger danger" lurked!  I started grilling her on what do to in different situations...."what do you do if you get separated from the group?", "what do you do if someone tells you they are there to pick you up?", "what do you do if you don't want to go on a slide because it is to scary?"....I'm sure she thought I was crazy but I wanted to make sure she would be safe.  She was!  She had a great time and only declined one slide because it was too scary.  She was going to go on the slide this week during camp but unfortunately the line was too long and the group skipped it so she didn't get the chance to see if she would be brave enough.  Maybe we will get the chance to go there as a family this summer so she can have her chance and Ali will get a chance to see the park that Sofia has had so much fun at.

The kids have a few week off and then will start a week of mornings at gymnastics camp in August.  I'll post about that when the time comes.

Cohasett Triathlon

Last fall we were at a friend house for dinner and after a few drinks another women at the dinner party started talking about how she does a triathlon every year for juvenile diabetes and she wanted people to join her group.  After a little encouragement I agreed (note: after a few drinks)!  I tried to swim a couple times over the winter but driving the 15 minutes to the pool to change and swim for 20 minutes hardly seemed worth it.  I put off any training until the spring time.  I continued to run every week but given it was winter I didn't ride my bike either.  I managed to make it to a spin class as the club a few times but the schedule for that often didn't fit with my schedule.  As the tri got closer I decided I needed to actually start to do something or I might just drown.  The bubble came off the pool and suddenly swimming seemed so much easier.  Swimming in the sunshine is very different to swimming indoors.  Sofia finished her swim team for the spring and Ali started the swim prep team.  I decided to swim twice a week just before Ali's prep team practice.  I enlisted Sofia to swim with me becuase 1. she needed to keep up her endurance over the summer, 2. It allowed me to swim while keeping an eye on her, 3. She could set my pace and make it fun for me.  I withstood her mocking me with things like, "only 18 legnths mom? that should be for kids!" and "what is wrong with you? why are you breathing like that?".  Of course she didn't realize she was mocking me since to her swimming up and down the pool for an hour is normal.  She probably swims at least 36 lengths of the pool during practice and probably it is more than that.  She doesn't realize what great shape she is in and what a good swimmer she is.  I raced her one length of the pool and beat her by one stroke.  Had I known she was going to be so fast I would have swam harder the first half of the pool (not that I was going easy but I wasn't sprinting) but as it was a sprinted for the second half of the pool to beat her.  At the end she wasn't even breathing hard!!  It was great to swim with her though.  She made it fun for me to do laps and I'm looking forward to a sport we can do together.  Anyway, I started getting some swims in a month before the triathlon.  Better late than never I guess!  I got my bike tuned up and managed to get two rides in before the race.  I made she one of the rides actually had me ride and then get off my bike and immediately go out for a run.  I'm glad I did that becuase it gave me a chance to see what my legs would feel like during the race for that transition.  It is not a good feeling so it was great that I was prepared for it and knew it would go away after the first mile.  The week before the race I signed up for a triathlon clinic at the race site.  I wanted the chance to swim in the ocean in my wetsuit before race day.  It was awful!  The white caps were out there and the waves were rolling in.  Instead of giving me confidence for the race it made me very nervous.  The night before the race I was a wreck and looked at last years race times.  That didn't help my confidence either becuase I felt like I was going to come in near to last!  I tried to calm myself down and accept that this is my first triathlon and the goal was to finish.  Anyone who knows me though knows I have a competitive streak inside myself that can't accept that.  I got everything ready and went to bed. 


We woke up at 4:30am to be out of the house by 5am to get down to the race.  We arrived with no problems and now that race day was here I was feeling a little better but still really nervous about the swim.  I had to ride my bike 1.5 miles to the transition area which was a nice warm up and served to relax me a little bit.  I found some friends and as we prepared for the race we all gathered together on the beach.  It made me feel better to know that I had friends around me.  The race started and into the water I went.  I was glad for the tri clinic now b/c the water was calm and seemed so much easier.  I swam freestyle out to the first bouy with out any problem and didn't feel to crowded but did have to swim around some people.  Once around the bouy I was all about breast stroke, back stroke, and side stroke.  I swallowed a few mouthfuls of salt water and went to mainly back stroke as it is probably my faster stroke and it meant I didn't have to worry about getting enough air.  Once I reached the next bouy and turned for the beach I pushed hard with my freestyle to bring it home.  I ran up the beach and transitioned to my bike. 
I was one of the few people there with a mountain bike but I didn't want to spend the money on a road bike for my first race.  I knew I would have to push hard to be competitive so off I went and never coasted.  I pushed it hard the whole way and made it back to transition, ditched my bike and started running. 
Once I started running I was golden.  I know that this was the easiest leg of the race for me and I just needed to get past the first mile to work out the stiffness in my legs.
 I forgot my hat so had to accept that I probably looked horrible but what the heck...it is a triathlon after all and not a beauty contest!  As I rounded the first bend in the running race there was a photographer wo I gave him some goofy smiles to which he responded, "You're the first happy person I've seen all day!".  That made me feel good since the only reason to do these races is for fun.  If I can't enjoy myself then there is no point to doing them.  I know that sounds contradictory to my competitve streak but I do enjoy the competition and I enjoy being outside and essentially playing.  Anyway, I continued the race and came in to the finish and was shocked at my finish time.  I thought surely I would be over two hours but my clock time was 1 hour 40 minutes!  I was so excited!!  I crushed my expected time.  I went and checked my official time and came in at 1 hour 32 minutes and 12 seconds!!  I swam the 1/4 mile in 12 min 32 seconds, I biked 12 miles in 46 min 11 seconds and I ran 3.2 miles in 28 min 35 seconds.  I was pretty excited and still am!  I'm not hooked on triathlons but would not rule out doing another one at some point.

Pool Time

School is out and it has been HOT!  We have been heading to the pool every chance we get.  The girls love just being able to play in the water.  Their friend Mia has been at the pool as well which has led to endless entertainment.  It keeps the kids having fun and in the water endlessly and gives me a chance to relax in the pool and chat with my friend Stacey.  I have done my laps of the pool as soon as we get there so I can feel like I'm still actively training for my triathlon and then I can lounge about guilt free!  This week I have given Sofia some time off from swimming laps with me since it is her first week of summer vacation.  I had been making her swim with me under the guise of keeping up her endurance over the summer for swim team but really I was just utilizing my eight years swimming ability to set my pace and to make it more fun for me! She humors me and swims with me when I tell her I want her to set my pace but really I could have used her in the ocean last week when I went for my tri clinic!  The kids will both be swimming laps this summer to ensure that they are ready for swim team in the fall but I plan on taking advantage of having some swim partners to make my swimming better as well.  I'm looking forward to a fun summer at the pool!  Her is a video of the girls with their friend Mia having fun together.