Tough Mudder May 2013

Bright and early, on a chilly Saturday morning, a group of us made the drive up to Mt. St. Louis to compete in the Tough Mudder competition. What a great way to spend a Saturday, I tell ya! Jumping in mud, running up and down the mountains, swimming through murky water, getting electrocuted. All doing this in 13 degree weather. I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday, can you?!

It's easy for me to say I enjoyed it so much because I didn't actually do it. Oh, don't get me wrong. I did climb up and down those mountains 6 times. But that's about it. You see, someone had to be the photographer, so I kindly signed up for that. I thought that was quite generous of me. Especially because I didn't just take pictures, I could cheer on our team through every obstacle. I know, I know. Such a team player am I.

Our team, Horse Marine (? ask Jay about that one), consisted of 9 friends and family members It was a great group and the team did very well together!

We had to be there 2 hours before our start time, which was 8:40 in the morning. I never knew how many crazy people were out there until I saw the number of buses lined up to take the masses of insane people to the mountain. We counted about 75 buses altogether:

After a 20 minute delay, off the team went. One of the first things they had to do was climb the mountain. I thankfully could take the chairlift. What?? Don't scoff at me!!I needed to get to the top first in order to take pictures for my team, you see! What good is it to say I'll take pictures and then not be at the top waiting for the team??

That was the first obstacle. Doesn't look too hard, but what the picture doesn't quite capture is that those walls are leaning back. From the amount of grunts and groans I heard as I was perched high above in the chairlift definitely indicated that it was somewhat difficult. But the team did it with ease!

After running back down the mountain, the next obstacle was definitely mind over matter: jumping into a tank full of ice water. Did I mention the high for the day was going to be 13 degrees? It was only about 8 degrees when we got there. I would think jumping into ice water on a hot day would be harder on your body than at 8 degrees. I mean, really, not much temperature difference, would it be? You'd have to ask one of the team members......

Once completed, up the mountain everyone went again to complete the monkey bars, crawl under barbed wire as well as crawl through water with electric wires hanging down:

I then missed about 3 or 4 obstacles as I found a tent to warm up in. I needed my finger that snapped the pictures to thaw out. I know the team didn't mind. I think they were too numb to notice I wasn't there. (Before you think I am callous....I better clarify. The real reason I missed those obstacles was because there wasn't any room for spectators. We had to wait until they were done that loop).

Off to jump from a platform into muddy water and then climb over muddy hills:

And then back down the mountain. The part that was still covered in snow!!

And then back up! 6 times by the time it was all said and done! This was quite the challenge.

Most of the obstacles required a lot of teamwork. Hoisting each other up, lifting, dragging, pulling, whatever it took to get all your members up and over:

This one was "fun", a vertical slide that at the last moment went horizantal, which left you landing in a pool of muddy water:

This following one was, I think, the hardest one for mind over matter. You had to lay on your back and swim backwards under this grate, with most of your head submerged, for about 100 feet. I had a hard time watching this one:

More mud!! More tunnels!!

The second last obstacle: the halfpipe, where you had to run and leap for the edge to pull yourself up. It's where you really hope your team members are strong to get you over!



After just over 4 hours, 18 kilometers and 22 grueling, mud-filled, water-drenched, mind battling obstacles, the team was done! And it couldn't have come at a better time....I was getting pretty hoarse from cheering and my finger was cramping from clicking.

In all seriousness though, what a feat for all those who competed. It definitely is quite rewarding to be able to say you've conquered Tough Mudder. 

Cheers to Horse Marine!!!! 

Move Over, David Beckham!

We have a little soccer star on our hands! A few weeks ago, we signed Keziah up for Intro to Soccer, held by Reach Forth. It's just up the road and seeing as she won't have any bubbles in her head this summer, we figured we will go and enjoy the opportunity to learn to kick a ball around.

We picked up her uniform and she put it on right away that night to practice some of her moves.

We were quite impressed with how well she could hoof this thing!

A few days later, the soccer season started for her. Each session is about an hour and 15 minutes long, where they practice kicking into the net as well as to their partners. Then the last little bit, they attempted a game. If you have need a good chuckle, all you have to do is watch little kids try to play soccer. It has got to be one of the most funniest sights!!

When she wasn't taking water breaks....

...or comparing shinpads with her teammates,

she was out there running hard. The tongue helps :o)

But then, it all got too much for her, with the coach yelling "this way!!!" and the parents yelling "Kick the ball!!" and with kids shoving, pushing and kicking, as well as the fact that it was almost 8 at night (well past her bedtime - I even let her sleep 2 hours that afternoon!!). As soon as I saw this, I knew what was coming:

Yup. The tears:

After sitting with me for awhile, her little friend came by and took her by the hand to play again. Isn't that just adorable???!

And off she went to finish up the game. She was very tired but talked about it a lot the next couple of days.

But you know what? She wasn't the only one in tears. So was I (becoming a mom has made me such an emotional basketcase sometimes). For 10 years I would go to my little students' soccer games. For 10 years I cheered on that little one, all the while with a small stab of pain in my heart. For 10 years I sat with the soccer moms, the ones that got to take my students home after the game. For 10 years I cheered like a madman, feeling so happy that a student of mine wanted me to come to his/her game, only to leave with empty arms and no child chattering away to me in the back of the car on the way home.

For 10 years, I never dreamed that one day *I* would be joining the ranks; that *I* would have my own child play soccer. Not my student - even though I saw them as mine, but my own little one, one that I get to take home with me! And here I am today, with her little uniform, including the humongous socks with the heels covering her calves, in my washing machine; with her little cleats resting in the back hall; with her sweaty shinpads on my counter (yuck!).

And so, there I sat, watching her run around, trying hard to hold back the tears. Tears of "I can't believe this is real"; tears of happiness, bliss, joy and ever gratefulness. Daily thanking God for the experiences we get to enjoy through this treasured blessing who is growing up way too fast!!!

May Learnings

As the month closes, I always think "Hmmm, I don't think we learned a whole lot this month. This post will be short."

And then I go through my pictures and see that there sure isn't a shortage of pictures or learnings that has happened. This month, we'll start with Opa.

Opa learned that he is probably safer on that side of the fence when there are 4 grandchildren excited to see him!

Lincoln has finally learned that crusts are meant to be eaten. It took him about 3 weeks, but every lunchtime, he came face to face with his mean ol' mother. And so he has gone from this:

to this:

to at last a "thumbs up"!

His mother is learning that her son is going to challenge her on many things that her daughter did not.

Keziah learned to make a number "2" and was quite pleased!

I learned that putting potatoes in a cupboard and forgetting about them will result in this:

Baked potato, anyone?

Keziah learned that you don't need to see a friend every week in order for that friend to be special. No, special friends are those that pick up where you left off:

We have learned that this fence has earned every cent so far:

I was reminded for a few days how much fun older kids can be, as well as to never help a child who says they don't know how to play. HA!!!!

I learned that Keziah's favourite animal is a zebra. That makes total sense now, as to why she was so upset when I threw out her black and white striped shirt. Thankfully a friend came to the rescue and let her borrow this dress:

I also learned that although this girl is going on 4, she still needs her naps every afternoon desperately. If not, this is the scene at supper:

Lincoln has learned to help himself when hungry:

I learned how to make quinoa!! Now hopefully next month I'll learn how to say it :o)

Lincoln learned that daddy has the coolest toys ever:

Keziah learned that being part of a sticker chain letter is exciting! I learned it's a lot of work, especially when she received two different chain letters in one day!

Lincoln is learning to eat on his own using a spoon. I am learning to look away and not groan (he looks neat here......I haven't dared to start him with yogurt yet :o)

Believe it or not, Lincoln has learned this month to stand up in the middle of the room. You would think he would have this skill already, but no. Before, he always got up by using something to pull himself up. As you can imagine, he would be stuck in the middle of the driveway if he fell down on his butt. He would try to crawl to one of the cars to lean on to get himself up, but that always left a bit of skin on the driveway.

I learned that if you want to have Shrimp Linguine, it is important to thaw the shrimp. Not strawberries.

(please tell me you can see how I got mixed up......they look similar, don't they??)

A few lessons for all of us with this one: I learned to try to relax and not go into heart failure; Keziah learned to encourage from the top and Lincoln? Well, he learned he can now climb up the playground and go flying down the slide all by himself (this is high, people. To give you an idea, I cannot lift him up and place him on the top of the slide. It is too high for me):



Keziah learned that the best way to wake up is to be woken up by her bestest brother:

And although you can see we have learned so much this month, there is one thing that stands out the most. I have learned, through the tragedy of another, to never take my husband for granted. I have learned to enjoy every single moment we have together and not to waste time and energy on arguing over the little things. I have been reminded that I do not know my day or moment for when the Lord will call me home. The question is, am I ready? Am I that maiden with her lantern full of oil, waiting for the Bridegroom or am I that foolish maiden that goes about her day not putting God first, not alert and eager for Christ to come back? (see Matthew 25: 1-13). Shamefully, I know this answer, which leaves me crying out for forgiveness and to rest in His grace.

So yes, again, lots of things have been learned and are busy being learned. It was another full month. We praise God for caring for us and giving us what we need each and every day.