Best birthday ever

On Saturday, Aug. 4, Trent and I had the pleasure of visiting Carol and Tom's home for a delicious and nutritious birthday brunch, prepared by Carol and Honor. 

Not only did we enjoy strawberry scones, zucchini/chocolate chip muffins, mini egg souffles, watermelon, and chicken and egg salad sandwiches, there was also a light and flavorful orange cake with fresh strawberries and cream.

After bike riding with Jessica, it was time to cool off on the watering bucket.  Carol did the sprinkling honors.

Now there's one happy camper.



On August 5, we woke at 4:00 a.m. to participate in what we expected would be an amazing and uplifting triathlon held in honor of Trent's cousin Matt Mason, a Navy SEAL whose Chinook helicopter was shot down by an RPG in Afghanistan on Aug. 6, 2011.  Matt was a husband and father and an avid triathlete. 

As we arrived at the lake in the cool darkness, we drove under and enormous American flag, hanging from a fully extended fire truck ladder.  And we could hear the heart thumping music as we got closer to the race start.



Margaret, John, and  Sharon.  Pre-Race.



 John's all marked up, ready to rock 'n roll.

 Two-thirds of the relay team.

Andy and me -- getting ready for the swim.

 

 

Before the swim, the honor guard raised their flags and fired their guns after the a cappella group sang the national anthem. This was followed by a Chinook helicopter flyover. Right before the race start, the announcer reminded all of us that when the swim got a little rough, or the hills got too difficult during the bike portion, or when we didn't feel like we could take another step on the run, that we should listen to Matt's voice, whispering in our ear, Cowboy up.

The run from the swim to the bike transition felt pretty good. American flags were displayed throughout the route, as were words of inspiration and encouragement via posters and chalk messages on the trails.

Here's Trent's finish, as he grabs a water from my aunt Sharon. His relay team finished in an hour and 14 minutes (500 yard swim, 10 mile bike, 5K run). I finished in 1 hour, 18 minutes. Woohoo!

Check out the hot pink shirt! It was easy to find Trent's mom every time she cheered for us!

My mom and Aunt Sharon volunteered to hand out packets the Friday before the race, and they handed out water at the finish line.  Pretty cool way to participate, if you ask me. :-)

David and Betty Mason (Matt's parents) handed out medals, which were made to look like dog tags. Very cool.

My parents whooped and cheered for us and all the competitors. Even the atheletes cheered for one another--during the race, after the race. It was an amazing race environment. My dad cheered so much, he lost his voice.

Andy, who did the swim portion of Trent's relay, with Aunt Margaret, who helped get John ready for the race. :-)

Matt's memorial was placed at the finish line.

Proud mama. :-)

 

 

The relay team: Trent (runner), Andy (swimmer), and John (cyclist). This was a first triathlon for Trent and John. John trained on the hills outside his home in Kearney, with Margaret's encouragement, riding up to 20 miles a day.  Margaret often joined him on his rides.  Inspired? I am.

Photobomb, by Andy Ellis



Mason Family photo at the finish line.



Betty and David, along with Matt's cousin Jennifer and her husband Wes, both of whom were first-time triathlon participants. My understanding is that Matt consistently encouraged people to try triathlons; he loved first-timers. Jennifer and Wes did a great job, and I'm sure Matt was smiling down on their efforts.



After a quick pit stop at McD's, we enjoyed some tasty post-race barbecue at the Wabash in Excelsior Springs, MO. Mmmm, good.

All in all, a pretty fabulous and motivating way to spend the morning of my 34th birthday. :-) The race organizers said that they're planning to open registration for next year's race pretty soon (it filled up this year!). So, all you blog readers out there, get ready. Matt would love to see some more first-timers out there ... as a relay team, or an individual participant. Let's do it!

 

After the race, several of us enjoyed steaks on the grill and delicious cakes from Three Women and an Oven, where Andy's girlfriend Leigh works.  So good.

Andy, Leigh, Sharon, Trent, Dad, Trent's mom, and Mom :-)

Last, but not least, we have finally captured a photo of the Giraffe Tree, so named by me after I moved back to Kansas in 2010.  It's just south of the Flint Hills marker on the right side of the road as you drive south on I-35 out of Emporia.  There's a fallen branch that looks like a giraffe nibbling on the leaves of the rest of the tree.  Look for it next time you drive down to Wichita for a visit.

You've Been Trumped

You've Been Trumped is a film made by independent fiim maker Anthony Baxter.  It is a documentary about Donald Trump and a golf course he built on the coast of Scotland.  The documentary explores the tactics Trump used to attain his goals.  The golf course affects a sensitive ecological area, the sand dunes of Scotland.  The dunes' importance and uniqueness are comparable to that of the rain forest.  The people of Scotland have protected the area from development, that is, until Donald trump came along.  His name is like a magic wand that opens all doors.  The government gave him permission to build his golf course in hopes that it would bring economic development to Scotland.  The golf course has been built and the economy has not improved.  Change has occurred though.  An important ecological area has been altered.  Scientists do not believe the damage done can be repaired.  The Baxter documentary tells the story of how local people fought to preserve the dunes, and what they experienced at the hands of Donald Trump.  Trump verbally abused anyone who got in his way and called the locals a national disgrace to Scotland.  The film opens today in select cities.  Anthony Baxter had to finance the documentary himself because no one in financial circles was brave enough to go up against the Donald.  You can read an article about the film in the New York Times, August 9th, 2012 in the environment  green blog section.  The post is by Joanna Foster and is called "Golf Course vs. Dunes  A Rebellion That Failed.  Please give it a look.

If anybody is interested in alpacas there is an alpaca farm at,

Willowbrook farm
 24365 Pflumm rd.
Louisburg, Ks 66053
913-503-9965
www.willowbrook.com

Emporia Visit

I had a fabulous time in Emporia yesterday, and here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

Happy Hudson

Isaiah and Marshall's game of Straw Wars

Look at those faces!  Pure joy!

If you find 20 extra minutes of footage on your camera, Beth and Peter, here's why:



Jacob can BOOGIE!!



Party favor sword fights by Andy and Jessica

Dinner with the Gilligans at Ad Astra in Strong City -- that is some GOOD FOOD.  Emporia people:  head over to Strong City for some delicous reubens, pita pizzas, quesadillas, brats, homemade mac and cheese, and burgers.  The best meal I've had in awhile.

Saturday Fun with Jacob & Mya

Saturday we took a little ride to Emporia.....to play with our little Emporia pals.......Jacob and Mya!!
Of course, Honor and Doug hosted the gathering.  Beth rested at home......foot up following toe surgery.

We had fun with the kids……we picked up some sandwich stuff at Aldi’s when we got into Emporia.  Served ham & cheese on oat bread with blueberries, strawberries, and bananas on the side.  Honor had some watermelon ready to go as well.  We played some lawn darts (no sharp parts) on the playground across the street from Horizon; Honor and Marshall won.  The warm sunshine forced us to  retreat  to the cool of the apartment for a rousing card game designed to elevate the “yuck” factor of any six year old. Questions like “would you rather drink 8 cups of aquarium water or lick the bottom of a dumpster?”  stimulate the imagination.  As the questionee ponders a response the rest of the participants secretly vote on which choice will be made.  By the time we had gone a few rounds Jacob was emceeing the thing and he can read really well…..We left the cards at the apartment but Jacob had graduated to the point that he could think of his own yucky pairs of choices.….such as “would you like to have your arm and leg cut off  or be a turtle and have your shell cut off??”   He is hilarious.  Mya took it all in…she is so good natured; always smiling!! She toddles along happy as a lark.

Honor seemed pretty spry….(she won at lawn darts) keeping up with the activities, etc.  We stopped at Beth’s when Honor returned the kids…Beth looked good but will need a few more days off to recover.  Honor is staying overnight to help meals and baths etc go smoothly.  Doug is at home in his castle with the air conditioning turned to the  ice cold setting….just the way he likes it.  All in all they seemed content and healthy.

Farmers Market

This week I discovered a Wednesday afternoon farmers market half a block away from my house.  My friend Kelly and I walked down to it, purchased some tasty veggies and jam, as well as some baklava, which we then enjoyed with some chai lattes at a nearby local coffee shop. 

Wichita just keeps impressing me!  On the agenda for tomorrow evening:  a free outdoor concert at WSU--the Ulrich Museum's Art for your Ears summer concert series.  Yay!  I love summer time!

Weekend Fun in KC

We headed to Longview Lake for Andy's triathlon on Sunday.  He was the first one in his age group to finish the 500 meter swim.

Then he was off on a 20 km bike ride.

And then a 5 km run.  Look he's smiling (above)!

And a strong finish at the end.

Mom, Dad, and I met up with Sharon, Margaret, and John in Liberty for the buffet at Taj Mahal.  Mmmm, Indian food is so good!!

And below is my folks' home with its new siding and windows!

Arrrgghh!  My cap and goggles are too tight!