Brady Goes to Double Digits!

Brady turned 10 yesterday. In his words, "This birthday is a big deal, because you go to double digits, and most people don't make it to triple digits, y'know?!" He loves lots of small, special reminders that it's his day. He woke up to a gift on his bed - a Cincinnati Reds baseball cap (he really wanted a Phillies one, but we couldn't find one and this one was the right color - he hasn't taken it off since he got it!). Then the 3 kids gently woke us up at 6:45 sharp (the time we'd suggested the night before as a good wakeup time). We all went out to the kitchen where Brady opened his gifts from us - some Shakespeare for kids books and a BB gun. Needless to say, he was overjoyed! We also woke up to about 2" of new snow. Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, off to school with a box of individually wrapped brownies (that he and I made together for his classroom celebration) each topped with a gummy bear, and a lunch box with a special birthday note inside. Right after school, we took all 3 kids to "Game On," the new business in town with mini-golf, air hockey, and an assortment of arcade games. Brady's been dying to go and what better day to check it out?! Home for dinner - his request: chicken fried steak! Then cake, ice cream and time to open presents that had arrived in the mail. I asked him if he got enough sugar for the day. His response was "yeah - I'm a little jazzed up!" He's really got a quick wit and nice sense of humor, which we love. He was so happy, so sweet, so willing to share his happiness with Connor and Maggie, and so grown up. The fun continues, because he wanted Corbin's homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, "but not on a school day, there's not enough time to enjoy them," so we'll have those this weekend. Plus, this year instead of a birthday party, each boy got to choose a family adventure. Brady chose ATV riding on the sand dunes in St. Anthony - something we did in September, and he loved it! We have the ATVs reserved for next Friday, when the boys have the day off!

I spent the past few days reminiscing about the days leading up to his birth and told him his birth story, which he pretty much knows by heart now :-). Corbin and I kept saying that we can't believe we've been parents for 10 years now ... and that we can't believe that in only 8 years he might be out of our house and off to college. Wow, the thought just gives us pause ... love that kid!

Bear World .... yes, we did it!!!

OK, so Yellowstone Bear World is one of those places you'd call a "tourist trap" ... named to sound as if it's affiliated with Yellowstone National Park. In fact, it's about 10 miles south of Rexburg, about 55 miles away from us and a little more from Yellowstone National Park! I forced the issue and made it our family activity today ... Corbin was a complete trooper, though he could not believe I was making this our outing today. It was very Griswald-eske!! Wildlife in a park ... who wants to see that??? Kiddie amusement rides and candy and a petting zoo with germs galore ... really????

But just look at the smiles on our kids' faces!!! Oh my gosh - I was like a child myself as we drove through the park and saw SOOOO many bears. Corb was pretty impressed, too! That was after seeing elk, including 2 white elk, bison, deer, and mountain goats - oh and with the bears were wolves, one was a white wolf. The park has a drive-through section, where we saw all the wildlife. Then we parked and went into the gift shop, where they offered free fudge tastings :-) . We then went out into the area where there are bear cubs, a petting zoo, and kiddie rides.

Well ... the bear cubs were precious (sadly, no pics of them)!!! We were all enthralled watching the 6 cubs frolicking with each other and the handlers. They will be released into the park again once they are big enough and less susceptible to attack from the male bears and the wolves. Then we went through the petting zoo, which was cool but weird ... country music playing through speakers that looked like rocks ... deer and goats being handfed by kids ... and a moose in the park, but close to the petting zoo fence! Finally, we went to the rides ... they were really at Maggie's level ... but Connor and Brady embraced the opportunity to enjoy the moment. Brady was so wonderful as the big brother and took Maggie on all the rides the first time, helping her climb into seats, buckle seatbelts, and generally get used to the rides. Before long, she was skipping from one ride to the next and riding alone. Brady even got me to go on 3 rides with him :-) ... we had lots of laughs today ... and lots of spontaneous hugs ... ah, such joy!

Before we left the park, we went back through the gift shop and each kid got to choose a piece of their favorite fudge -- the pieces were 1/4 pound each, so they were HUGE! They ate some on the way home, and some for dessert tonight.

The day started with a trip to the dump and the library ... the day ended with us watching "G-Force" which we checked out at the library. This was definitely a family day where everyone was happy and laughing ... wow ... those are rare. Corbin and I exchanged many smiles and cherished the day together, through the kids' eyes!

Two "Near Disasters" for Connor

First, Mom-of-the-Year here missed the deadline for baseball registration (actually I didn't even see that it was going on!). When I tried to register Connor late, I was told there might not be room for anymore kids in his age group. I lost about 3 nights' sleep over this - seriously, if there's one thing I had to make happen it was getting Connor on a baseball team!! I pulled out all the stops and went to everyone I could think of - yes, I was that completely annoying Mom advocating fiercely for her son. Yesterday morning (Wed 4/21) we got a call that Connor was added to a team roster and he should get to practice at 5pm! Phew ... happiness! He missed 2-3 practices, but games don't start until early May and for now they will practice 3 times a week. We're not too worried about him starting a little late. When I went up to thank the coach at the end of practice he said, "Oh you're welcome. He sure seems to know what he's doing out here!" My little baseball boy :-)

Second, Connor has been very excited about continuing his judo classes to earn his next belt. Last week he found out that he would be promoted and receive his yellow belt. The promotion ceremony was on Tuesday (4/20). We all went (Corb, me, Brady, Maggie, and even Gabby!) to be there for him. Now, there are about 4 judo classes, organized roughly by age group, so the Sensei (teacher) had at least 4 promotion ceremonies that day. In each class only some of the kids were being promoted. When Sensei called the names of the students to be promoted, he did not call Connor's name. Corb and I were dying ... Connor was at first confused, and then heartbroken, but he sat there stoically. I tried to get Sensei's attention without being disruptive, but to no avail. At the end of the ceremony (which only lasted about 5 minutes, but felt like forever), I was able to get Sensei's attention. He immediately recognized his mistake and had Connor's belt, with his name on it, grouped with the belts for the next class. He made a big deal of his apology and gathered the class to watch a private promotion ceremony for Connor. Connor's tears were quickly brushed away and he went through the ceremony with great pride! He then happily joined the class for some fun on the climbing wall afterward. What Connor took away from the experience was pride and joy in his newly earned belt. To watch him go through that about killed Corbin and me, but to see the resilience and grace with which Connor handled the situation made us beam with pride.

That Connor is a pretty remarkable little kid!

First Thunderstorm of the Season

Yesterday (Wed 4/21) we had our first afternoon thunderstorm ... spring must really be here. The rain washed away most of the snow in our yard, though plenty remains up in the mountains! The rain stopped long enough for baseball practice, and picked up again through the night.

Maggie and Gabby were loving the chance to run out into the rain and then take refuge together under Maggie's Dora umbrella. While Lisa is away on her Project Running Hope to America, we pick Gabby up (with Maggie) everyday from school. Most days we just drop her off at her Dad's business, but one or two days a week we bring her home with us to play with Maggie or join in the day's activity.

Beards, Braids, Beer, Bikinis ... Closing Day at Targhee!

Corb and I fit right in at Targhee today (well, any day really, but today was closing day) ... Corb with his beard, me with my braids! No, I did not wear a bikini, but we joked about wearing bathing suits before we went up, and lo and behold, there were a handful of people in bikinis and speedos! We went up as a family yesterday and enjoyed a few runs and then some french fries and sodas and beers on the deck. Today the boys did not want to ski ... they were finished for the season. So Corb, Maggie, and I went up and skied 3 fabulous runs - spring skiing at its finest. Then we sat on the plaza and enjoyed our fries and our last beers in our Trap Bar mugs. We saw many friends up there today - a nice day to feel like a local.

Closing day at Targhee marks a big "last" for us. While there have been other experiences we knew we would not have again, the end of ski season really hits home for us. We have LOVED our winter here and it's bittersweet to see it end - Corbin was on skis more than 80 days this winter! We will embrace spring and summer and all that those seasons bring to the valley ... but we are sad to say good-bye to winter, knowing that there is not another Targhee ski day in our foreseeable future.

The beard will last through Memorial Day, the braids will appear occasionally throughout the summer, the bathing suits and beer will be here all summer :-) ... closing day has come and gone.

What Happens in Vegas ...

We had every intention of blogging this trip as we went along. However, we ended up being without internet connection and are now a little behind on the blogging! One entry will have to do.

After our ski day with Gary and Sue on Wed 4/7, Corb and I began our long drive. We got in a good few hours and spent the night near Salt Lake City. On Thursday, we took a scenic route, through Mount Pleasant, UT, where we seriously considered taking jobs at Wasatch Academy right before we got married! It was fun to revisit the area, which hasn't changed much and makes Driggs look like a regular metropolitan area! We made it to our hotel, South Point, in Vegas Thursday evening.

After a morning visit to scope out the race course, Friday was spent exploring the hotel (casino, restaurants, etc) and chilling at the pool. There were 6 of us planning to race on Saturday - 3 (Tammy, Sharon, Corina) doing the marathon, 2 (Susy and me) doing the 50 miler, and 1 (Heather) doing the 100 miler. Only Heather and I had our husbands along for support. We all gathered Friday evening for dinner and then it was an early night to bed for all of us.

Friday also brought the sad news that Uncle Ted passed away. While I felt far away, I was able to text and talk with my family. It was a day (and weekend) filled with many emotions!

Saturday morning we all started our races at 7am. Tammy rocked the marathon and won her age group. Sharon and Corina ran comfortably and finished (Corina was to return later to help pace Heather during parts of the night and early morning). Susy and I had not planned to run together, but since we run about the same pace, had the same race plan and were on an out and back course, we ended up running about 43-44 miles together. The morning was relatively cloudy and not too hot. By mid-day the sun was out and temps were in the 70's. The wind picked up and was strong for most of the afternoon. All in all, the race conditions were not bad, even pretty good considering what they could have been! Unfortunately, I did not feel very good for most of the run. I had stomach issues throughout the day, and I felt the energy draining faster than usual. I tried to increase my fluid intake and was able to stay right on my eating plan, but I finished the race pretty drained. In general, I found myself feeling more negative than I usually do running or racing. I had to make great efforts to turn my "self-talk" from negative to positive, something that is rarely a struggle for me! At about 43 miles I had very little energy left and slowed way down. Susy went on and had a great finish and won her age group! My last 7 miles were pretty slow with more walking that I'd planned. However, I did manage to get back onto my race plan and run most of the last 3 miles. I was hoping to finish in close to 10 hours, but realistically gave myself a window of 10-12 hours. I ended up finishing in 10 hours, 51 minutes ... not too bad! Plus, the real goal was to finish and be able to recover well. And, although I felt really lousy on Saturday evening, I woke up Sunday feeling great and was able to return to help pace Heather through her last 6-7 miles! She was the real hero of the group, out running and walking for over 30 hours straight ... with terrible blisters all over her feet!! I attribute my quick recovery to a number of things, none as important as Corbin's post-race support - he pushed recovery liquids and fuel, brought me ice and made sure I iced a ton, and just generally catered to me completely!

Sunday afternoon Corbin and I ventured to the Vegas Strip - neither of us have ever been there. We enjoyed exploring, people watching, eating dinner at Cabo Wabo, and riding the gondolas in The Venetian!! Monday morning we began our drive back. We visited Sundance and then spent the night in Park City, with a fun dinner at the Wasatch Brewery. Once inside, we remembered eating there with Corb's aunt and uncle, Barb and Pete, during our 1997 spring break! Tuesday we picked up our new kitchen island cabinets in Idaho Falls and then made it home to Driggs.

All in all, it was a good trip. Corbin and I shared some nice time away alone, I shared a special experience with my running friends, and I accomplished one of my big goals. As a post-script to the trip ... I gathered with my running friends on Friday (4/16) and Heather shared the news that she just found out she's pregnant! Yikes, 100 miles without knowing that ... I can't even imagine!

Farewell to Uncle Ted

Last Friday, 4/9/2010, our dear Uncle Ted passed away, surrounded by his family. Corbin and I were in Las Vegas at the time (yes, we need to backtrack and blog that experience!), and Gary and Sue were here in Driggs with our kids. When Corbin and I returned to Driggs on Tuesday night (4/13), we shared the sad news with the kids. Maggie was mad that she hadn't gotten to call Uncle Ted one more time. Connor had some very sad moments. Brady was stoic, but had lots of questions.

Joe and Ruth and Maribeth were able to be at Ted's wake and funeral in New Jersey on Tues (4/13) and Wed (4/14). Jay was in NC, awaiting the birth of his 4th child!

We decided to declare today (Friday 4/16) "Uncle Ted Day." Today there was a Memorial Mass at St. Patrick's in Lawrence, MA for Ted and then he was laid to rest with his parents, Winn and Ed Kelley. Since my children were sad not to be there for the funeral, we decided to have our own "funeral" here ... a little memorial service of our own.

After school, the kids gathered all the things that reminded them of Uncle Ted (most were gifts from Ted). We put them all on a table, then hung pictures of Ted above the table. Connor made a "Good-bye" sign and hung it with the pictures. Maggie, Connor and I got dressed in "fancy clothes" because "Uncle Ted liked to dress fancy!" Mags and I were wearing jewelry from Ted! The whole family sat around in a circle and shared our favorite memories of Uncle Ted, what we will miss about him, and what we'd like to say to him. Then we got out the phone and called Heaven "432836." Maggie had a nice long chat with him (she told me tonight that she could hear him, he was just whispering!) and Connor and I each talked with him briefly Connor closed with, "And, Uncle Ted, would you please take care of Huck up there?!" After some prayers, we all listened to 2 versions of "Danny Boy" (on youtube!!). Our service was concluded with a blessing of a piece of bread and bottle of sparkling grape juice (all completely Connor's doing). We shared the bread and juice and toasted Uncle Ted and then each had a piece of Priscilla candy in his honor!

What a special way for us to celebrate Uncle Ted's life and say a proper "good-bye" to him ... even far away from the rest of our family.

And in the amazingly wondrous ways of the world, Sara and Jay welcomed their daughter Remy Genevieve Trepanier at about 4am today. Remy is adorable and all 6 of the NC Trepaniers are doing well!! As Maribeth reminded us all today ... The Good Lord Giveth and the Good Lord Taketh Away ...

Gary and Sue Arrive

Gary and Sue arrived on Tuesday afternoon and surprised the kids by getting a hotel room in town ... with a pool. So Sue and Corb took Connor to Judo, then we all had an early dinner, then ... off to town for an evening swim! It was a very fun mid-week treat for all of us. On Wed, we pulled all of the kids out of school so we could all ski together up at Targhee. In spite of the fact that Maggie was very grumpy and the boys argued more than we've typically seen on ski days, overall it was a good day. Connor took Poppa down Chief Joseph Bowl, and Poppa promised to tell the story of Chief Joseph sometime this week. Grandma Suey cruised down TVT, and all the boys even checked out Sacajawea, which was ungroomed! Maggie ended up having a little fever, so we're all forgiving her crankiness!

After skiing, Corbin and I began our journey to Las Vegas (my 50 miler is Saturday) and are enjoying a relaxing drive alone. We made it almost to Salt Lake City last night and will continue our drive today. We will take the scenic route and drive by a school where we almost took jobs when we were first engaged. Ahh ... the road not taken ...

Powder Hounds!

Our Easter morning started early, with an indoor egg hunt. Our Easter Bunny left plastic eggs filled with coins and candy. He also left a note that in lieu of baskets this year, he'd hidden a gift for each child. The end result was that the kids got some candy, but also some pocket change and a springtime gift -- for Brady, a ripstick; for Connor, a new baseball mitt and gear; for Maggie, a scooter! They were very excited to get out and try out their new toys!

Although the kids were more in "spring mode," the weather and conditions prompted us to get up to Targhee. With all the recent snow, there was still some powder - the conditions were great. We brought Brady's friend, Leah. The two of them are so well-matched for skiing that they were allowed to take runs alone and check in with us (about every 2 runs!). They skied "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The EastWoods" mostly ... they balanced playing in powder with getting speed on the groomers. After a few runs on Shoshone, Corbin and I got bold and took Connor and Maggie over to Blackfoot (today was the last day this lift was open this season!) and skied Chief Joseph's Bowl. The kids have improved all season ... and today the powder hounds emerged. Connor was comfortably cruising in and out of powder up to his knees. After finding some pretty deep stuff (almost waist deep) and struggling, Maggie was still looking to blow through some 6-8" powder on the sides of the groomers. The two of them were searching for places they could make their own tracks (they so take after their dad :-) !!).

Even I found a moment to test my skills ... see pics ... I must admit that I did lose a ski (found it though)! I'm still a novice in this snow, but a very happy novice.

It was a happy Easter here. And we send our love and thoughts to those for whom this Easter brings more challenges than joys ... mostly we are thinking of our Uncle Ted.