Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Silverwood Family Trip 2009
First we were going, then we weren't, then we may have family going to meet us only for one day, then I was told to cancel the hotel, but before I could call, I got another quick call from Andrea changing yet again.
We took off on Tuesday not really knowing who would show up to join us at Silverwood, if anyone. After a rocky beginning, in which Coop tossed his cookies just out of Skagit County, we sailed right through on this leg of the journey. Ellensburg was a fabulous coffee stop for us, and John got some sleep on the boring drive through farm country. The boys lasted without complaint until about Ritzville, but after that it was work to keep them from strangling themselves with their seat belts, they were so tired of riding in their seats. Once at the hotel, we quickly changed into our swim clothes and headed for the slides, rides and pools. This year, although Cooper still did not buy into the whole sliding part, he enjoyed hanging out in the hot tub and walking around the pool area. Tommy was eager to try out all the slides, and with Cooper better able to manage himself, I was able to enjoy the slides with Tommy as well. It's always nice when the thought that "next year will be easier" actually turns out to be true!
The next morning we enjoyed a leisure breakfast before heading out to Silverwood. It wasn't the same as waking up to play with the cousins in the room beside us like we did last year, but it was nice to hear from Andrea that they were actually on the road, and only minus Billy. I had to wonder, though, if somehow something would still change plans again!
Silverwood was amazing this year! The weather on Wednesday was fabulous, and hot enough to hit the waterpark early. We camped out at the same spot we were hoping to get, and played and played until the crew arrived. Tommy and I even ventured up to the big mountain slide by ourselves, one of the first to take a ride down that early in the morning actually. Meeting up with the family was so fun! Cooper endeared himself quickly to "Papa Dare" and we were off to visit the rides part of the park. Everything was so great, at least from my end. The kids had a great time riding the rides. Tommy, Drew and John braved Timber Terror together, and Tommy and Drew agreed they would not ride it again! John was the only one brave enough to ride AfterShock, the newest rollercoaster to the park. Even he had a hard time on it, though, as motion sickness got the best of him at the end. I guess flipping through the air backwards will do that to a person! It's nice, though, that I'm not the only one feeling my age! We took turns riding the Log Ride, and Mom took one for the team and rode with us on the soaking River Ride. This time Cooper joined us for the Log Ride, which is kind of like a rite of passage in our family. If you can't ride the Log Ride, you can't be a member. Thankfully, at two, Cooper is quite the brave little beast, and although the drop is long, he didn't flinch! You could barely get him off the Planes, the Helicopters, and Grandpa had to pry him off the kiddie Train Ride after multiple rides around and around. After exhausting the day away at Silverwood, we headed back to play at Triple Play. More time in the pools and slides! It was so exhausting, but the kids had a great time together, and it was worth every moment to see them having such fun with each other.
Thursday morning we knew we had a limited amount of time together, as Andrea had to load the crew up to head home. However, we packed the morning in with play time in the arcade, laser tag, attempts on the climbing wall and go cart rides. Cooper was disgruntled that he was still not tall enough to ride the go carts, but hopefully next year he will make the height requirement. The go carts were new, so that was an added bonus to our rides as well! Again, we didn't have enough time to play mini golf or go bowling. There is just not enough time to pack that all in. Saying goodbye was hard, and as we traveled up to Silverwood for our day two of the park, Tommy kept telling us how he missed his cousins. He has so much fun with them, that it was hard for him to get excited about the park when they weren't there to share in it with him. We rode the big train first thing, and it was so fun to see Tommy interact with the "train robbers" when the train stopped in the woods to get "robbed". The actors were trying to get the train passengers to interact, and sure enough, Tommy was quick to chime in from his seat. When one of the low down dirty robbers told the passengers he was going to throw his no good brother in the well and take off with all the money, the robber looked at the passengers and asked if this was a good idea. "Yes!" Tommy yelled back, and the "robber" looked at him and said, "Looks like that fella has an evil streak in him, too!" and the passengers laughed. Tommy continued to interact and call out to the "robbers". He really got into it. When the well "blew up" with an enormous spray of water from the "dynamite", Cooper freaked out and started to wail. And off we went! Tommy asked questions through the day about the robbers. "Do they live in the woods back there?" "Will they go to jail?" "Do they live in that cabin?" He was so captivated by the whole show, and it makes me really want to take him to Disneyland now, knowing how magical it all is to him. This second day at the park wasn't as warm as the day before, so we made quick work of the water park and called it a day. By the time we made it back to the hotel, though, the boys hit their second wind, and again we made our way to the hot tub and slides. Did I mention exhausting? This time it was mom who climbed the stairs time and time again to ride the toilet bowl slide, and what fun it was to be with Tommy. At some point Tommy is going to be embarrassed by his squealing mom. Right now, he still thinks it a great thing to ride the rides with his Mom!
On Friday it was time to head for Seattle. After a trip around Hayden Lake, we hit the road. It was a LONG drive back, and even longer when Tommy started throwing up into our Fat Burger sack. Poor little guy! We still had to drop John off at Brad's and head up to Bellingham. Just outside of Seattle he started throwing up again, poor guy. I wasn't able to help much, and I was curious to see how our night would turn out with plans for me to hit the road early the next morning to return to Seattle. It's always hard leaving the kids at home, but I was scheduled to have Georgia for the day and Rhonda hanging out with the boys in the evening while Jenny and I went down to see the guys race the Seattle Rock n' Roll. By the time we arrived home, both boys were ready to hit their beds. I was so very grateful to see Rhonda at the door waiting for us, and so thankful for her help unloading my car with me. What a treasure it is to have a friend that is so willing to go out of their way to help. Finally, as it was nearly midnight, we made our way to bed....with only a few short hours before doing the Seattle drive all over again!
We took off on Tuesday not really knowing who would show up to join us at Silverwood, if anyone. After a rocky beginning, in which Coop tossed his cookies just out of Skagit County, we sailed right through on this leg of the journey. Ellensburg was a fabulous coffee stop for us, and John got some sleep on the boring drive through farm country. The boys lasted without complaint until about Ritzville, but after that it was work to keep them from strangling themselves with their seat belts, they were so tired of riding in their seats. Once at the hotel, we quickly changed into our swim clothes and headed for the slides, rides and pools. This year, although Cooper still did not buy into the whole sliding part, he enjoyed hanging out in the hot tub and walking around the pool area. Tommy was eager to try out all the slides, and with Cooper better able to manage himself, I was able to enjoy the slides with Tommy as well. It's always nice when the thought that "next year will be easier" actually turns out to be true!
The next morning we enjoyed a leisure breakfast before heading out to Silverwood. It wasn't the same as waking up to play with the cousins in the room beside us like we did last year, but it was nice to hear from Andrea that they were actually on the road, and only minus Billy. I had to wonder, though, if somehow something would still change plans again!
Silverwood was amazing this year! The weather on Wednesday was fabulous, and hot enough to hit the waterpark early. We camped out at the same spot we were hoping to get, and played and played until the crew arrived. Tommy and I even ventured up to the big mountain slide by ourselves, one of the first to take a ride down that early in the morning actually. Meeting up with the family was so fun! Cooper endeared himself quickly to "Papa Dare" and we were off to visit the rides part of the park. Everything was so great, at least from my end. The kids had a great time riding the rides. Tommy, Drew and John braved Timber Terror together, and Tommy and Drew agreed they would not ride it again! John was the only one brave enough to ride AfterShock, the newest rollercoaster to the park. Even he had a hard time on it, though, as motion sickness got the best of him at the end. I guess flipping through the air backwards will do that to a person! It's nice, though, that I'm not the only one feeling my age! We took turns riding the Log Ride, and Mom took one for the team and rode with us on the soaking River Ride. This time Cooper joined us for the Log Ride, which is kind of like a rite of passage in our family. If you can't ride the Log Ride, you can't be a member. Thankfully, at two, Cooper is quite the brave little beast, and although the drop is long, he didn't flinch! You could barely get him off the Planes, the Helicopters, and Grandpa had to pry him off the kiddie Train Ride after multiple rides around and around. After exhausting the day away at Silverwood, we headed back to play at Triple Play. More time in the pools and slides! It was so exhausting, but the kids had a great time together, and it was worth every moment to see them having such fun with each other.
Thursday morning we knew we had a limited amount of time together, as Andrea had to load the crew up to head home. However, we packed the morning in with play time in the arcade, laser tag, attempts on the climbing wall and go cart rides. Cooper was disgruntled that he was still not tall enough to ride the go carts, but hopefully next year he will make the height requirement. The go carts were new, so that was an added bonus to our rides as well! Again, we didn't have enough time to play mini golf or go bowling. There is just not enough time to pack that all in. Saying goodbye was hard, and as we traveled up to Silverwood for our day two of the park, Tommy kept telling us how he missed his cousins. He has so much fun with them, that it was hard for him to get excited about the park when they weren't there to share in it with him. We rode the big train first thing, and it was so fun to see Tommy interact with the "train robbers" when the train stopped in the woods to get "robbed". The actors were trying to get the train passengers to interact, and sure enough, Tommy was quick to chime in from his seat. When one of the low down dirty robbers told the passengers he was going to throw his no good brother in the well and take off with all the money, the robber looked at the passengers and asked if this was a good idea. "Yes!" Tommy yelled back, and the "robber" looked at him and said, "Looks like that fella has an evil streak in him, too!" and the passengers laughed. Tommy continued to interact and call out to the "robbers". He really got into it. When the well "blew up" with an enormous spray of water from the "dynamite", Cooper freaked out and started to wail. And off we went! Tommy asked questions through the day about the robbers. "Do they live in the woods back there?" "Will they go to jail?" "Do they live in that cabin?" He was so captivated by the whole show, and it makes me really want to take him to Disneyland now, knowing how magical it all is to him. This second day at the park wasn't as warm as the day before, so we made quick work of the water park and called it a day. By the time we made it back to the hotel, though, the boys hit their second wind, and again we made our way to the hot tub and slides. Did I mention exhausting? This time it was mom who climbed the stairs time and time again to ride the toilet bowl slide, and what fun it was to be with Tommy. At some point Tommy is going to be embarrassed by his squealing mom. Right now, he still thinks it a great thing to ride the rides with his Mom!
On Friday it was time to head for Seattle. After a trip around Hayden Lake, we hit the road. It was a LONG drive back, and even longer when Tommy started throwing up into our Fat Burger sack. Poor little guy! We still had to drop John off at Brad's and head up to Bellingham. Just outside of Seattle he started throwing up again, poor guy. I wasn't able to help much, and I was curious to see how our night would turn out with plans for me to hit the road early the next morning to return to Seattle. It's always hard leaving the kids at home, but I was scheduled to have Georgia for the day and Rhonda hanging out with the boys in the evening while Jenny and I went down to see the guys race the Seattle Rock n' Roll. By the time we arrived home, both boys were ready to hit their beds. I was so very grateful to see Rhonda at the door waiting for us, and so thankful for her help unloading my car with me. What a treasure it is to have a friend that is so willing to go out of their way to help. Finally, as it was nearly midnight, we made our way to bed....with only a few short hours before doing the Seattle drive all over again!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tofino 2009
Tofino Marathon Relay 2009 was our second attempt at this race, and yes, for the two of you that may be curious about this event this year, we did complete it-with two teams this year! I will have to say, though, that despite assurances by running guru, Hal Higdon, walking breaks are a joke in competitive running. As I started out on the five miles, I looked around. Who will be taking their first walk break? Surely the larger lady with the purple running tights will get tired soon, right? What about the girl beside me, puffing a bit harder than I and maybe just a tad bit more red in the face? And then, as the miles came on, I realized that I may have been the only one in this entire race that prepared with Hal Higdon's walk breaks in place.
It's not a good feeling, let me tell you. Watching everyone pass you by...looking behind you and seeing no one trudging along slower than you. Running in the sand of Chesterman Beach, you would think that I would have been amazed at the beauty of the crashing surf steps from my running shoes, rallying with the salty breeze in my face. NO! I was mentally retiring from running, done, finished, completely spent. Not going to lace up again! Done.
And so it was...I think I am done with this running thing. John may be training for his Iron Man, and for that I will continue to be his bigger cheerleader. Tofino may see me again, in some form or another, because it is a breathtaking place. I just won't be heading there with a sick stomach and an overwhelming feeling of dread in my heart.
And then again, I told cousin Brad last night....you just never know...I may pull a Favre after my leg muscles have recovered enough for the good memories to outweigh the pain!
It's not a good feeling, let me tell you. Watching everyone pass you by...looking behind you and seeing no one trudging along slower than you. Running in the sand of Chesterman Beach, you would think that I would have been amazed at the beauty of the crashing surf steps from my running shoes, rallying with the salty breeze in my face. NO! I was mentally retiring from running, done, finished, completely spent. Not going to lace up again! Done.
And so it was...I think I am done with this running thing. John may be training for his Iron Man, and for that I will continue to be his bigger cheerleader. Tofino may see me again, in some form or another, because it is a breathtaking place. I just won't be heading there with a sick stomach and an overwhelming feeling of dread in my heart.
And then again, I told cousin Brad last night....you just never know...I may pull a Favre after my leg muscles have recovered enough for the good memories to outweigh the pain!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
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