Race Day

I'm finally getting around to catching up on some of the posts I wanted to write while I was waiting for my AC adapter. By the way, I should share here how much I've been enjoying blogging lately. I am totally not the scrapbooking type (nothing against the scrapbooking type), nor do I journal or keep baby books - so this has been a great way for me to chronicle our day to day life. I'm totally thinking about putting it into book form as I've seen other bloggers do. I think it's such a great idea and a really convenient way for me to get all my pictures off my computer and onto paper.

Anyhow, moving on...

I have gone up to the mountain with Justin on race day for 4 years now. I think he has been in the race a total of 5 or 6 times but did other legs of it. This year we got up at 4:30 in the morning, I made some quick breakfast burritos and got dressed. Justin poured us up some big old travel mugs full of coffee and then we got the kids up, left them in their pajamas and headed up to the mountain. The kids slept part of the way up so they were a little more rested by the time the race started at 8:30.

This year we had a beautiful race day - sunny and clear. Aside from the very first ski year, we generally get rainy and cloudy. Last year my little brother came up with us to help with the kids but it was so rainy and miserable that we had to stay in the lodge the whole time. This year I actually had to start un-layering the kids it was getting so warm.

The Ski to Sea race includes 7 different legs performed by 8 team members. The race starts at Mt. Baker with a cross country ski leg. The CC skier then passes off to the downhill skier who climbs a thousand foot vertical ridge for about 25 minutes and skis down for a grand total of 5 minutes. The skier then hands off to the runner who runs down the mountain. He/she passes off to a road biker who passes off to two canoers (canoists?). They then pass off to a mountain biker who passes off to a kayaker who finally ends the race in Bellingham Bay. It's great fun and a huge Whatcom County tradition - 400 teams race (Justin's team came in 37th this year!). The teams are put together into different divisions and all different sorts of people participate - men, women, professional, recreational, young and old alike. The event includes a kiddies parade, a grand parade, a junior race, the main race and ends with a festival with food, crafts etc. in south Bellingham. If you don't know Bellingham - it is the home of Western Washington University and home to a lot of outdoorsy hippie types. While I don't always fit in perfectly with either of those crowds - the combination usually makes for a lot of fun events and activities to participate in throughout the year. It's such a great area to live in. Beautiful and green most of the time and close to the water and mountains as well as Seattle and Vancouver when you need a little city fix. I love it.

This year was no exception to fun. Justin and I always jokingly chat about how many kids we'll have to have before it gets too difficult for me (I get to manage everyone while Justin is racing)... I hope we never end the tradition. In fact, maybe one day we'll have our own team!

Cookie Monster was in the lodge giving away
Baker's Breakfast Cookies.
(which I happily eat every morning with my coffee)


The fam.
Adia's face evidence of the 5 am wake-up.


The smooth ridge going up to the right is the ridge the skiers climb. If you click on the picture you can see the single file track going up and right.


Justin and the cross country skier right after Justin's race.


The poster!


You can get an idea of the number of racers.
400 cross country skiers, 400 downhillers, 400 runners + spectators and officials all at the mountain at once.


The only semi down side to the race... waiting until 11 for them to open the road down from the mountain. We left at 5 am - got home at 1 pm. Fortunately, both my kids are good car nappers.
(can you spot our van?)

Home School Moms are Bad A@$

An ongoing e-mail correspondence between Amy and I tonight while making plans to go to the home school association book sale tomorrow...

Cutzi: Awesome. I'll see ya there. Maybe if we get there early we can get all the best deals. Plus, I can use my Jazzercise kick-boxing moves if I have to....

Amy: Nice. You know those homeschooling moms can be bada@$. Better work out tonight. We probably need checkbooks/cash.

Cutzi: Make sure and wear your leathers....

For the Record, He's Swiss

Two days before the Ski to Sea Parade this year we still didn't have a driver for our van containing the sound equipment (music). I had asked around to some of my instructors and class managers to see if any of their husbands might be interested in doing it - to no avail. I had even begun calling some of our church's college students who are home for the summer to see if they wanted to earn a little extra cash. Still no luck. I was getting desperate.

I'm not going to lie - when I mentioned my plight to our friend Hans that same day I was hoping either he or his brother who was visiting from Switzerland might offer to help us out. Hans did offer one of his 5 sons, the oldest of which is probably no more than 12, with the assurance that they drive tractors around the farm....

Needless to say, I was absolutely relieved when Hans called me the next day and said his brother Adrienne (forgive my mis-spelling) would do it. I mean, really, who wouldn't want to spend their American vacation driving a van through a parade with a bunch of Jazzercise ladies boogyin' it up behind them? A vacation highlight for sure.

So I bought Adrienne a Starbuck's card and a six pack of micro brew - Justin showed him how to start the generator and he was good to go. I adhered to a strict "Don't ask, don't tell" policy when it came to the question of whether or not he was even legal to drive in the U.S. After all, it was only a straight line down the center of a road... with hundreds of mothers and children on the sidelines... but that's beside the point. I even managed to make a fool out of myself while trying to make small talk with him before the parade started. Nothin' new.

Justin and I had an ongoing scenario occurring throughout the course of the weekend. We'd see a friend who'd say, "Hey! We saw you in the parade! You were great!" And Justin would then proceed to tell the story of our "Swedish" driver. It would go something like this:

Justin: Yah, so our Swedish friend...

Cutzi: Swiss.

Justin: Swiss friend... yada yada

And again:

Justin: Yah, so our friend's brother is visiting from Sweden....

Cutzi: Switzerland.

Justin: From Switzerland... yada yada



And in the end...

Food for Thought

Have you checked out any of the blogs over there on my little list recently? If you haven't, I would highly suggest checking in with this guy from time to time. He's hilarious, for one thing. He has 8 kids, or wait - is it 9? Anyhow, with 8 or 9 kids running around there's bound to be something fun going on. His most recent post includes some great thoughts to challenge your thinking. I'm going to listen to the whole broadcast sometime today.

And while you're there you might as well just head right on over to his wife's web site too. I'm going there today in fact. I need a plan.

Things I Wish I Would Never Forget

Like Steele's little voice when I got him up from his nap just now. He takes his naps down in one of the basement beds since he seems to sleep longer there. He rarely comes up on his own - he usually yells from downstairs until I go get him.

Steele (as cheerful and matter-of-fact as could be): I was crying Maaaamaaaa! I have to go pee pees in the toy-wet!

And then I went pee pees in my pants.

Keeping Perspective

1 Timothy 4:8

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Well At Least I'm Not the Only One

Steele: Did you weh gockswuh today mama?

Me: What?

Steele: Did you weh gockswuh today?

Me: I'm sorry honey, I can't understand what you're saying. What?

Steele: I don't know either.