How we spend our days...

I just pulled another all-nighter at work.

 I think I'm getting too old for this:)

But the drive home made up for it.

The sky was just starting to lighten, and the bright sliver of a moon was up there-

high in the middle of a deep blue.

I got to watch the day start in so much color it made me extremely happy...

(or maybe it was just lack of sleep?)

(How I wish I could have captured it with a good camera....

My picture(s) of course will not do it justice.....I DO need to invest in a REAL camera soon!)

Morning has to be my favorite time of day.

And this sky and its changing colors made up for my night of missed sleep.

Sort of.

Now....I need to try to sleep for an hour before I need to get up again.

My thoughts are slow and jumbled...but here is a quote my

sister-in-law shared with me the other day.

It's a good one to ponder:)

"How we spend our days is, after all,

how we spend our lives."

Wishing you all a wonderful day....

Paddle Weekend

This weekend 6 people decided to paddle down a stretch of the Red Deer River.

They loaded 2 canoes and one kayak into the back of a truck, everyone armed with a paddle (or 2), a lunch stuffed into a small cooler, and drinking water. (Of course everyone made sure to have extra....remember LAST year's (mis)Adventure ?)

Thankfully this excursion wasn't quite so adventurous as the last...

but it seemed a pretty fun day for the majority.

There was a lot to see, not only along the rivers edge but in the water as well.

Of course fish were spotted, (more so when the rain started),

along with Pelicans, Blue Herons, Eagles,  Hawks, and quite a few deer.

Probably the most fun these 6 had, besides maneuvering through a few

small rapids along the way,

were collecting items from along the banks.

As 2 of the people knew...who had already experienced

river storms before (see again past Adventure)....

great winds often sweep down along the river between the steep banks.

This wind can cause items to be pulled swiftly out of hands or out

from under a person who once was pleasantly drifting down the river

minding their own business.

Never before had these 6 seen such a collection of flotation devices.

Air mattresses and dingys...not to mention all the rubber tire tubes!

The beginning of the expedition began somewhat like this:

And as paddling went on, it looked like this:

And then like this:

And then:

Considering all these 6 had planned on doing was paddling -and not intending to find any loot,

 the day turned out quite okay.

They now have many flotation devices for more water adventure...and

of course, the entire family felt safer as the day worn on.

There was a lot to grab if anyone should capsize.

For the majority of the 40km river trek the weather was perfect,

and it wasn't until the last half hour that anyone got wet.

By the time they pulled all boats (and the river clean-up items) onto shore,

everyone looked as if they had been dunked.

No one minded though.

It was a perfect Paddle Day, and the next trip is going to be longer.

They're planning a overnight (or 2) adventure for later on this summer.

(Anyone else up for a River ride?)

Thoughts on Simple

I've been feeling a bit contemplative lately.

It's a state I find myself in every so often for some reason or other. 

Maybe this round of contemplation is because we're into a new season...

 things growing and blooming ~ being surrounded by change.

Maybe it's because I now lay out triathlete gear for my kids....

and wonder where the toys and diaper gear have gone.

Or maybe it's because that within 3 years,

I will have a child who was the same age I was when I got married.

~~~

This week, I went on a picnic....a summer thing to do on my Summer List.

 I met up with a super-dear friend and her kids.

Watching them made me realize how life gets so tangled as we age.

When young~ we hold on to wonder.

We feel amazement.

We have questions and don't even assume there are no answers.

We think but don't analyze.

Laughter is easy and comes often.

Life is simply.....

living.

And then there's a point where life is more than living.

We get caught up in webs of a sort of insanity and a crazy.

For some of us- it may be self-created.

Others- it may be inflicted by those around us.

But life changes.

And we feel like....

we're parked here.

And even if we want to go elsewhere, we seem to stay stuck in the same spot...

even during baseball season.

We seem to have to live at our own risk.

Pummeled by circumstances that just aren't so simple anymore.

~~~~

I'm finding out that in order to stay sane in this not-so-simple life,

I try to find the beauty in the simple.

When it's there I grab it and hold on.

I absorb moments of quiet and just breathe.

I've been trying to laugh when I can- and even try when I seem unable.

I am trying to find the beauty in all things simple.

Ironically,  we knew how to do all this from the beginning.

Maybe it's a matter of re-learning.

Or maybe we just have to uncover what is still there.

Give, Live Simply, Laugh Often, Love Deeply

Once upon a time...we all knew how to do this.

~~~~~

Wishing you all Happy, Simple Weekend.

Oh C~A~N~A~D~A.........

Happy Birthday

CANADA

July 1st

2010

Summer Berry

My Strawberries have arrived.

After all our work...we have fruit.

I happen to think strawberries are one of the

nicest things about summer.

~~~

Strawberries have an awful lot of potential.

They can be so many things....

strawberry shortcake, strawberry pie, strawberry salad, strawberry jam, strawberry yogurt, strawberries and cream, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry smoothies, strawberry muffins, strawberry mousse, strawberry tea, strawberry custard....

and of course, just a simple little strawberry on its own has great potential.

~~~~~~~~~~

[More information on The Strawberry

can be found here: strawberry blog  ]

final results

We did it!

After all the months of planning and training, our Triathlon has come and gone.

It has been a crazy 2 days of racing, and as each day began at 4 am...we all are pretty tired.

 I did have to show a few pictures...so bare with me on the "photo album" to follow:)

Before the race we had to get Body Markings.

Ben and Corben are still "wearing" theirs.

They told me permanent marker doesn't come off in the shower.

I don't know how hard they tried to wash the numbers off:)

My 3 are in that gong-show somewhere.

Everyone had to find their appropriate Heat for the swim.

There were hundreds of kids, and with 4 to a Heat, it made for quite the show.

Ben is in the yellow swim cap;)

I finally found him sitting in the middle of it all.

He was in Heat 24, so his wait was about a half hour.

I kept wondering what was going through all their minds:)

Ben, running from the pool after his swim to the Transition Area.

Corben- getting ready to bike after his swim.

Molly- going out on her bike after her 500m swim.

She then had 10km to go.....

Her 1st lap...5km left to go!

Ben- coming in to the finish after

100m Swim

5km Bike

1km Run

BEN~ FINISH LINE!

Corben- heading off on his last leg of the race.

Swim- 150m

Bike- 5km

Run- 2km

CORBEN~ FINISH LINE

Molly on her last segment of the race...

Swim 500m

Bike 10km

Run 4km

MOLLY~ FINISH LINE!

All 3 finished and were still smiling at the end.

They're talking of doing it again next year:)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SUNDAY....

was race day for the "older" people.

Adam and I left at 5am and got to the race location, unloaded our bikes, got our body markings (which HAVE come off already:),  and then waited.

I kept thinking it was crazy for Adam to race today. He had spent all of Saturday in Calgary at a Rowing Regatta....had raced a couple times there, had hardly slept and hadn't eaten because it was so hot the day before.

Not only that, a week before the Triathlon, the organizer called me and mentioned he had been put in too young of a group, and would now be bumped up to race with the adults. That meant that the distances he had been training for were all wrong. He had much farther to go in each part of the race.

But nothing seemed to bother him.

Of course. He's 15.

I didn't get to see him race as I was out there too, but everyone told me he was grinning through the whole thing.

He's coming back in from his 20km bike here, after swimming 750m- something he had only done once before.

Then he was on to the 5km run...

....and sprinted through the FINISH LINE!

He was still smiling at the end.

Then there was my Team:

My sister doing the Swim....

and then running to transition to tag me for the Bike.

Me heading out on the bike....

and coming back in.

Our runner:

And our FINISH!:

Mel  ~  Jodie  ~   Me

We placed 2nd in all female teams.

(My sister placed 1st overall in the Swim~ WAY TO GO SIS!)

~~

Phew! If you made it through that album- YOU deserve a medal!

It was a great, tiring, nerve-wracking, fun-filled weekend.

And yes- we will all do it again.

The End...

(until next time.)