Keeping Up With Time - Summer Races and Camping

 If there's one thing I know for sure about time, it's that it runs faster than me!  I know the phrase is overused but that's because it is truth!  Time flies!  I can't believe I am in the last dying throes of summer break.  I am staring down the busy, crazy, school supply aisle and I see Fall on the other end. Really, where did time go and when will it stop flying past me, brazenly leaving me in it's dust as it scurries to the finish line?  Have you seen those shirts that say, "You've been chicked" or "you've been skirted" on the back?  They're meant to rub it in to men that they've been passed by a girl in a race.  Well, I feel like Time is flying past me and needs a shirt like that.  It would say something like, "You've been clocked!" or maybe, "You've been calendared!" Hmm ... I'm sure someone else could think of something a little more clever but you get the idea.  I feel like Time is rubbing it in my face that it's faster than me and I can't keep up. Nope. Time is chasing at the heels of September and I'm still back keeping a nice walking pace with June.  So, let's go with that, my race with June!

 I ran the North Olympic Discovery Marathon in Port Angeles.  I ran this race back in 2011 as my second marathon.  It was hot that year in a location that is supposed to be relatively cool compared to the rest of Western Washington.  I was disappointed in the finish time the heat dumped on me.  This year was supposed to be a redemption year.  Guess what?  It was hot, hotter than in 2011.  And my time?  It was slow, slower than in 2011.  It was a super well organized race and I love all the aid stations and volunteers.  Seriously, those folks rocked!  They had water and ice and spray stations galore but the heat was intolerable, already in the mid 70's at the start and near 90 by the time we finished.  I walked so much in this race.  Fortunately, I had a friend to keep me company and other friendly faces along the way to leap frog along with so it was at least fun, as far as camaraderie goes, even if it was a new Personal Worst. 

I look like I'm having a great time, right?  Like, heat?  What heat?  

Ah, a cool shower!

My husband ran this race, too.  He finished an hour ahead of me.  He tolerates heat so much better than me!

But don't let him fool you into thinking this was easy for him.  Here's his finish photo.  He looks ready to be DONE.  (He's gonna kill me when he finds out I posted this photo)

Here I am arriving at the finish, with my friend, Jen.  Don't we look happy and energetic? This race was a piece of cake! Ha.  We're such good actresses.  

In July we did our annual 4th of July race, The Yankee Doodle Dash.  Last year my dad did it for the first time, as did my friend Kristy.  This year I talked them both into doing it again and also managed to talk my daughter into doing the 5K with her grandpa.  It's a great way to start out the holiday with all it's good food.  Extra bonus was that this year, for the first time in quite awhile, it was actually somewhat cool out!  Hurray for the sun staying hidden!  My husband snagged himself a nice little PR.  Kristy and I ran together and got passed by a walker.  He was fast!  We were not Yes, we ran most of it (we took a few planned walk breaks) and he still was faster than us.  But we didn't care.  We enjoyed the course, Kristy took a photo of a house she liked, and we spent the time talking.  We all know, in a 10K, talking pace isn't racing pace and if you're taking photos of a house, you're not really interested in a PR.  Yep, I like running this race for fun.  Ha, I'm saying that about a lot of races lately but if racing can't be fun then why bother?  My husband would disagree.  He always runs with purpose and a goal to do his best.  No shame in that!  It's awesome! But me, sometimes I aim for a PR, or as close to one as possible, and other times, most of the time, I simply aim to run for the pure joy and experience of it!

My dad and daughter

Kristy and me at the finish of the 10K

My family - look at that!  We're all in jackets before the race start! 

Cheer crew - my mom and son

July didn't have any big races because we had a nice long vacation/camping trip to Oregon in the middle of the month.  We had 10 days to visit my mother in law near Portland, camp along the Oregon Coast at Fort Stevens with day trips to Seaside, Cannon Beach and a zipline tour, camp along the Gorge and Columbia River, and finally end up at Mt. St. Helen's.  There was some beautiful scenery, a bit of shopping, lots of eating, some running, some more eating, some being eaten by mosquitoes (they were terrible at Fort Stevens which was a shame because it was full of beautiful running trails), some hiking and did I mention ziplining?  That was by far the best experience.  My husband and I did it in Hawaii and the kids have been super jealous ever since so we booked a tour with HighLife Adventures in Warrenton, OR.  They loved it.  We loved it.  The kids enjoyed the line across the lake and we all chose some form of water contact, my son chose the Super Soaker which meant they essentially let him drop completely in the lake like a rock being skipped across the surface. The rest of us chose more conservative contact, hands trailing for my daughter and myself and feet trailing for my husband. The best part was at the end though when we did the Zwing.  They attach you to a 20ft cord and have you jump off the high platform.  The long cord creates a swinging action all the way across the last, long, zipline.  It was so much fun.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  I am really a bit afraid of heights when it comes to walking along a steep ledge (hiking, for instance) where one misstep can send you catapulting down rocks and trees to a bloody and messy end.  Well, that's how my mind imagines it anyway, but tie me up to some cord and straps and tell me to jump off a high platform and I'm your woman!  One of these days I'm jumping from a plane.  A marathoner has to have something on her bucket list, right? 

My husband

Me

Jonah

Ariel

Me on the Zwing!

Wheee!!!!

 As I said, we also had fun camping in various locations and I will now enchant (bore?) you with some of the gorgeous and fun photos from our trip.

Fort Stevens had miles of paved trails to run or bike.  We got a 7 mile run in together with no loops or out and backs.

I made my husband take a running selfie with me for my Skirt Sports Ambassador responsibilities.  He was a good sport.

This is the Peter Iredale wreck  I love how this photo turned out.  It's hard to go wrong with beach photos.

We had the best view at our spot in Memaloose State Park.  Breathtaking!  

Our little home away from home.  This is Memaloose State Park.

Jonah can't resist the spread arm photo opp any more than I could.

Hiking with the family along the Old Railroad Trail near Mt. Hood, OR.

This was the friendliest squirrel!  He was so not afraid of us, even running up the steps of our camper to peer inside.  He wanted Chris's sunflower seeds.

Mt. St. Helen's.

I got a little trail run in at our campground.  

The campground trail was a maze of turns and I knew I'd get lost so I made arrows out of sticks at every turn to point me back in the right direction.

There you have it!  I'm getting closer to catching up with Time!  I've now blogged about June and July!  I'll add in some August fun soon and before I know it, I'll be into Fall!  Let's just hope Time hasn't rounded the corner to Christmas by then.  

Summer Birthday Cake Creation Crazy!

Ah, summer, with it's long relaxing days of nothing.  The kids are out of school and I find myself able to sleep in, enjoy a quiet cup of coffee, spend endless amounts of time writing and blogging, catching up on the books I've been meaning to read, enjoying a quiet and vigorous swim in the pool ... BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP..... What is that annoying sound?  Someone make it stop!  I find myself awakened to reality by the loud and obnoxious drone of my alarm clock.  Yep, that's what I always dream summer will be like but reality doesn't seem to line up with my imaginings.  Far from it!  Yes, the kids are out of school and sometimes I do get to sleep in.  Sometimes I even get a quiet cup of coffee before my son wakes up and begins his morning seminar on all things Xbox and YouTube.  But lately it seems I'm waking up at the same time I do when the school bus is en route, either because my body is betraying me and rising with the sun or because I know I have to rise before the sun to get my run in while the temperatures are tolerable. Plus, I know the earlier I rise the better chance I have of that quiet cup of coffee before the above mentioned seminar begins.  I do get a chance to read my books but it's only on our camping trips, which I love and adore and look forward to each summer but they're a lot of work!  It takes time to prep and pack for a camping trip.  Who has time to read then?  And as always, in the midst of our vacation trips I am always planning a summer birthday party for a child.  My daughter's birthday always lines up with the last week of school.  Always.  It's a chaotic whirlwind of school papers, books, concerts, award programs, birthday invites, cake and friends.  Oh yes, you can always throw Father's Day and my anniversary into the mix as well.  It's all fun and wonderful stuff but boy, am I one stressed out mom and wife by the end. Did I mention I'm also usually packing for a camping trip during the middle of it? And oftentimes a marathon as well.

This year was her 16th so, hey, no added extra pressure as she repeatedly reminded me it was the BIG SWEET 16, "MOM! IT HAS TO BE SPECIAL!"  (All caps are on purpose because this is how she said it to me)
We planned a fun event for her at an Escape Room where she and her friends had 60 minutes to escape a moving train before being thrown off a cliff.  We miss them all.  They needed about another 5 minutes to figure out the escape.  I sure am happy the train was really just a series of rooms tucked safe in a building.  No children lost!  We ended the night back at our house where I was able to light the candles on the requested cake.  Yes, those who know me know I go overboard on the kids cakes.  It's become a tradition for them to ask for some outlandish theme/design and me to come up with it in cake form.  I love it.  They love it.  I call it my twice a year creative outlet.  Anymore than twice a year would kill me. Friends have asked.  I always say no. My husband has grown less and less fond of this tradition as he says he loses me for a week at at time when I'm in cake baking mode.  I'm not a professional so it can take me at least 3 days to make a cake and I'm always, yes always, a teeny tiny (that's a huge understatement) bit stressed out over the whole ordeal.  I start out happy and content and confident.  And then an almost disaster will hit. Every time.  A cake tier topples over.  My cake splits in half.  (I'm not the best baker/cake tier putter upper) My fondant cracks and breaks.  I freak out, cry a little, agonize, and then I pull myself together and so far, always manage to make it work.  This year, for my daughter, it meant tossing an entire tier and creating a bunch of rocks to hide where my cake was sagging.  I did say I'm not an expert, right?  Cake shows would beat me up for a sagging cake.  Good thing I only have to make a bunch of teens and Facebook happy.
 

Here's my daughter's cake.  I think it turned out pretty good for this non-professional.

This was taken before I added the candied gems/stars but it's a better shot of the panther.

Birthday party completed we were able to head out for our camping trip, after which both our kids immediately left for church youth camp.  Upon their return we had a few days to prep before we left on vacation.  Upon our return I had three days to now make my son's birthday cake.  Guess what?  He was having a big birthday year also.  "MOM, IT'S MY 13TH!  IT HAS TO BE AWESOME!"  (Again, all caps are there on purpose!) I figured his would be simpler because, hey, no cake stacking.  The hard stuff was all going to be made out of rice crispy treats and simply set on top.  It was simpler and went together much easier until 45 minutes before people were due to arrive when his microphone began sinking into the cake and the computer monitor toppled over.  Panic arrived just as promised but after a few moments of standing in front of the cake, frozen with lack of a plan, I figured out a fix for the issue.  I quickly made some headphones to place around the monitor, effectively covering up the now seriously disturbed frosting and added a bunch more support sticks to the monitor.  It worked!  He and his friends were highly impressed and once again, I breathed a sigh of relief.  Until they cut into it.  That's always hard.  Then I hold my breath again.  Oh, one minor error.  The boys pointed out to me I put the keyboard on upside down.  Arg!  Yep, there's the space bar, at the top.  I told them I was just trying to test them.

That crazy smiling white ball thing is supposed to be his microphone.  This is a replica of his computer set up.  BuzzRatchet Gaming is his YouTube Channel.  

There you have it! One part of my crazy summer schedule.  It's a part I'm always excited to start and just as excited to finish.  It's a lot of work and stress but I love that I'm able to be home in the summer (for the most part) to create cakes like these.  I know it's a blessing and I know one day I'll miss it. I'd like to say that's what future grandkids are for but I'm sort of hoping my kids will want to create crazy cakes for their kiddos.  If not, grandma will be waiting in the wings.  As long as they live close to me!  Not sure I can fit one of these into a UPS box  Maybe a cake that looks like pig slop would ship okay?