Camp Pendelton Triathlon- UNREAL

So let me start from the beginning. A few months ago my brother-in-law Dave decided to do a triathlon thanks to the convincing of his Dad. It would be a guys weekend with his Dad, brother, and brother-in-laws from Canada. This got Doug and Joe thinking about getting in on the action. I was all for it because that way we could go to CA. I didn't think we would get to go over the summer because we had just been there in April. Doug was pumped which got me thinking, "Hmmmm maybe I'll give it a try." I tried to recruit a few of my sisters but even with all of my convincing and trickery I was still told, "NO!!". I knew I could count on my best girl Suzanne. I gave her a call and she thought I was crazy but was totally in. She signed us up right away so there was NO chance of turning back. She even printed out a training schedule, which we followed for maybe a half of a day- oops. Fast forward a few months and the day was one sleep away as I would explain to Jaden. The night before, I got a phone call from Suzanne. She had had a CRAZY week at work, lost her purse, and cell phone. She didn't have a wet suit, bike or bike helmet at 9PM the night before. This wouldn't stop her. We were able to scrounge up all the necessary items at about 10PM. Now it was time to get some sleep because leaving at 5AM would come early!

Early, early, early at the race. Excited but NERVOUS!! We would be doing a 500 yard swim, 18 mile bike, and a 5K. Difficult for 2 girls that didn't do much training.
The boys- Chuck, Tom, Dave, Joe, Jeff, and Doug- before the race.
Suzanne and I.
The transition area.
It was crazy how many people we ran into that we knew. I guess we had pretty good odds since there were over 1200 people racing. I'm just glad Suzanne and I didn't end at 1199 or 1200.
Our fans even got up early to cheer us on and man, did I need it!
Doug
Joe
Jeff
Chuck
Dave
Tom
Me- The bike about killed me.
I have NO idea what my problem was but everyone was passing me, even 2 girls on a beach cruiser- no joke. Seeing everyone as I started my run helped motivate me sooo much. I was able to end on a pretty good run time. Lesson learned, train, train, train!!
The boys
Suzanne and I were so proud of ourselves. All we wanted to do was finish and we did. It has motivated both of us to get into shape. Suzanne has even signed up for another triathlon in October. Way to go!
Can we call ourselves triathletes now?? I think so :)
Such an awesome thing to experience together. Doug even ran with me the last 2 miles. He pushed me through it. I love that he supports me and loves me so much.
Thinking back my favorite part was the swim. We got to watch as all the guys entered the water and we even got to see most of them finish before it was our turn to go. Waiting on the sand for mine and Suzanne's turn was crazy. At one point I felt like I was going to throw up, but once I hit the water it was incredible. The atmosphere and excitement was contagious. The part that surprised me the most was the difficulty I had on the bike. Suzanne flew by me and she didn't even train on the bike. I rode once before and thought it would be easy, boy was I wrong! I had the worst time ever. The run was hard after having done the other 2 events, but once I got going the desire to finish pushed me through. I will for sure do another one and hopefully hit the pavement quite a bit more on my bike. It's ADDICTING!!

P.S. Next post, Matthew and Brooke's Wedding. It will have to be done tomorrow since it's about 1 AM. What am I thinking??

Thanks A LOT Girl's Weekend!!

I was introduced to these. . .

and I have eaten the entire PARTY SIZED bag (including greasy crumbs). Sorry for the backwards pic. My fingers were too greasy to use my camera- fatty for sure!!

I guess I should update since I have been home for a week or so. Things have been nutty from CA to my brother's wedding in Utah. Can you say NO schedule for my kiddos for the last 2 months. I know, totally normal for me.


When I was in CA I was able to get together with my girlfriends from BYU for a Girl's Weekend (thanks Mom and Dad for watching my kiddos). Thanks to Melissa, we (Melissa G.- CA, Chelsea- Portland, Allison- AZ, Megan- CO, Mehrsa- NY, Melissa R.- CA , Brecken- CO, and Me- CO) stayed at a great beach house in Venice and hit the streets of Santa Monica,
relaxed at the beach,
ate a yummy dinner at the Getty,
had the best photographer ever- Miss Chelsea and her babe,
and ended the weekend tired from staying up way too late with a full tummy of In-N-Out!
Love you girlies and we sure missed those that couldn't make it. Next year for sure!!
While I was with the girlies Doug was able to race in the Copper Triangle again with his buddies. Yeah, that's an 80 mile bike race in the mountains. Armstrong who!!!

The finish line.
I wish I could have been there. He did AMAZING!! I think we'll be in France next year racing against Lance- we wish!!
Back in CA, the best Aunt ever had a Pirate sleepover for Jaden, Carter, and Audrey. She really does spoil them.
I don't know how she had the energy but the next day we met her at the water park at the hotel for some fun in the sun.
Bradli loved everything about Castaway Cove.
Brady was a fan too.
Jaden and Carter loved the slides.
The kiddos tired after a fun fun day!!
I was even able to get together with my friend Whitney. She moved to Hong Kong a few years ago and we happened to both be back home in CA at the same time. We had to hit the Montage. Jaden loved being with his buddy Scotty.
Now that my sister moved back to CA we get to take advantage of all the fun things in Ladera like the unbelievable water park.

We are all obsessed with Cara's beach cruiser. We couldn't get enough of it. I don't think Lisa will ever give it back. You soooo need to ride it to the grocery store. Do it, do it!!

Doug in on the action.
I want this!! It even has a bell.
One of the best things was being able to spend time with my Grandma and cousins. We had to hit CPK together.
Kissing 2nd cousins.
This kills me.
Should I be worried that Jaden has the "2 handed grab kiss" down??
He's one affectionate little guy!

I love this picture.
It looks like Doug and Bradli are having a very intense conversation- too cute.
Getting ready to do a little snorkeling.
The best was watching them try to walk in their fins. I about peed my pants, or swim suit bottoms :)
This was a great day because it was a NO TIME OUT day. You have to be thankful for the little things. All the kids had so much fun making their shell and rock house.
How cute is this little guy!
Jaden wanted so bad to get this wet suit. Knowing him he would then sleep in it and wear it to Costco (like he did his snorkeling fins- no joke)
We were even there for Lisa's 30 something b-day. We chowed on some Baja Fish Tacos and then,
tried to swim it all off- yeah right!
Bradli LOVES the water. She's a little dare devil just like her brother.
Carter getting his snorkel on.
A little chicken fight never hurt anyone.
CJ and Eli hitting the H2O!
Miss Ida in all her glory.
Leaving this always hurts, but we will back. . .
P.S. The next 2 events deserve their own post!