My Iron Man

My husband is a rock star. Maybe a little crazy, but still a rock star. After a full Spring and Summer of sprint triathlons, he had the grand finale in Augusta....The Ironman 70.3

This race was 6 1/2 hours or swimming, biking, and running. We are SO proud of his determination to finish, even when most would quit. Once he set his mind to it, there was no stopping him. Now he may end up with crappy knees like me, but at least he did it!

We had a large cheering section with Nicci and kids, Beau's parents Tim & Diane, and my parents Donna & Greg (with dogs in tow). I only got to see him on the run, but it was exciting everytime! I had to steal some of Nicci's pictures to share. Wade was going on very little sleep and had a Stage 5 (out of 5) meltdown in the hot sun.....but we were there to see daddy come across the finish line!!! YEAH DADDY!!!

Pasta Dinner the night before the race

Cousin cuddling in the hotel

Ellis helping me read Wade his favorite book.

The swim, 1.2 miles, in the Savannah River. Beau's out there somewhere

Look! It's Lance Armstrong!

Mile 1...stopping to say hello (already completed a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. ouch.)

Rowan & Ellis help cheer Beau on!!

Dede treats to keep the kids entertained while we waited. Notice Wade's "Ironman" shirt!

Mile 4Water break
Family photo Mile 7THE BIG FINISH!!

Wyatt the Soccer Superstar

WYATT, Wade's favorite Atlanta boy cousin had his first soccer game!!! We had to be there to cheer him on to victory. Wyatt is a complete sportsaholic and loves anything involving competition, running, balls, and winning. He was in heaven.

Wyatt's team, the Sonics, played the Cookie Monsters. It just so happened that the Crawfords' son Mason was on the opposing team. We had to shun them on the other side of the field ;) Mason was not so sure about the whole soccer scene, but his little brother Buie would've taken his place!

It went just how you would expect.....herd of children chasing a ball with parents/grandparents on the sidelines cheering/laughing/pushing the scared ones back in the game. Completely and utterly hilarious. My side hurt I was laughing so hard. I am that dork of a mom that can't wait for it to be Wade out there.
(the Sonic team cheer)

(Wyatt, so determined to run with the herd)

(he wasn't always after the ball, just running)

(everyone running AROUND Mason who wants nothing to do with this whole soccer business)

(Lauren, Wyatt's personal cheerleader)

(good sports always give high fives at the end of the game!)

(Daddy Nathan and his little superstar athlete)

(Wade wanted a piece of the action and stole a ball. He learned a lot from just watching 1 game!. This is his "cheese" face. I think it makes him look like the Joker)

(doing a hybrid kick/swat move)

(he's confusing "touchdown" with scoring a goal)

Artists in the making

Kim and I ventured out for a special girls' night. We skipped drinks and dinner and went for something much more fun and creative. We went to a painting class! It's a cute little shop run by a talented and sweet artist named Megan. Check it out: Just for Giggles.

We were the only ones there that night, so we got a semi-private lesson. How fun is that?? And then we took home our "artwork" at the end of the night.

A Monday with Milla

A few weeks ago, I spent a few hours with Megan and Milla Crim. It's not really possible to visit newborns with Wade so I had to strategically do it while he was at school (and then napping at Nonna's!). It worked perfectly.

Megan and I were able to catch up, and then while she ran some errands I was able to hang with sweet Milla and take some pics. She's 5 weeks in these pictures. Isn't she precious???

BOO and BUBBLES

While the rest of Atlanta was flooding, Wade wanted to know why he couldn't go outside. He was tired of being stuck inside. Since our local park was LITERALLY being swept away....we compromised and played on the porch.
"BOO".
"BOO" again. He was hiding behind the brick wall and jumped out to scare me :)

Imitating blowing bubbles

Too Much of a Good Thing

DROUGHT. That's all we heard about a few summers ago. We stopped watering lawns, took psycho short showers, and "chose" when to flush the toilet (we were trying to do our part!). Lake Lanier was drying up and every newscast was about lack of water and how we can't support the urban sprawl of Atlanta. FLOOD. Fast forward to this week and see the difference. A drenching storm SAT over Atlanta for days dumping 18 inches in one night, cars and even mobile homes were swept away by flash flooding. It's being called a "300 year" storm, the worst in recorded history. It was a scary situation, but we were SO lucky to not have any damage ourselves. I was digging around in the river that used to be a backyard clearing drains and trying to divert water from entering the basement, but we were spared. So many families weren't so lucky and unfortuntely don't have flood insurance. Reading so many tragic stories....my stomach is sick and my heart breaks for them.