9/12/2010 Cedar Point Amusement Park

On Sunday, we spent the day at Cedar Point Amusement Park while Matthew was competing in his triathlon. Our friends Travis, Kara, and Emme came along to support Matthew as well as help me with the kids. I am so grateful for all of their help! It's not easy chasing 2 toddlers around an amusement park all day! Not to mention that since I am pregnant, I wasn't allowed to ride anything except the carousel. Luckily my kids were able to ride with Travis and Kara and we all had a busy, wonderful, fun-filled day.

Gavin just looked so adorable in his little bed at the hotel.

Daddy's race has begun and we are just hanging out on the beach watching the swimmers. Alexa and Emme had fun playing in the sand and water. They got really dirty. Alexa even found a dead, rotten fish that had washed ashore and she picked it up and brought it to show me. Gross!

The kids were looking cute in their sunglasses.

Alexa and Gavin loved every ride. Emme wasn't too sure about the rides at first, but once she saw Alexa and Gavin do it, she rode the next one and loved it!

Travis, Kara, and Emme

What a beautiful family!

Alexa loves the horses on the carousel.

Does he look happy or what?

Airplane ride

The bumper boat ride

There was a splash fountain area for the kids. They had a blast even though the water was really cold. They were so funny running around and dancing that a small crowd gathered just to watch them play. I got a kick out of watching them all cracking up!

Gavin liked to step on the water as it shot out.

He's so cold but doesn't want to stop!

Now they are warming up.

He's looking sleepy. We really wore the kids out!

They've only met each other twice, but they are already best buddies.

Walking through the park holding hands

Camp Snoopy!

I bought the kids tee-shirts that say "My Daddy's a Triathlete." It's a good thing that I waited until just before Matthew finished to put them on because they wouldn't have been white otherwise!

Train ride

Submarine ride

Alexa's looking cute in her tee-shirt supporting Daddy.

9/12/2010 Rev3 Ironman Distance Race

On Sunday, September 12th, Matthew competed in his first Ironman distance triathlon at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The triathlon consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and then a full marathon- 26.2 mile run. Matthew did awesome! I was so proud to cheer him on and glad to be able to support him as much as possible.

This picture was taken just before the start of the triathlon. It was a chilly morning and Matthew wasn't looking forward to swimming in the cold water.

All the athletes anxiously awaiting the start

And they are off!

That's Matthew in the middle coming out of the water.

Alexa is waving and cheering for Daddy.

Matthew just finished the swim and is running up the bank towards the transition area where he will get on his bicycle.

We waited by the entrance to the transition area so we could cheer for Daddy. Gavin gave him a high-five! Our friends Travis, Kara, and Emme were also here to support Matthew (and to help me out with the kids). Travis is holding Alexa so that she could see Daddy and Kara is helping take photos.

Matthew is in the changing tent taking off his wet suit and putting on all of his biking gear.

Matthew ran out of the tent and grabbed his bike. Now he's got 112 miles to ride before running his marathon!

On his way out of the transition area

The finish line was inside of Cedar Point Amusement Park. They were tracking the competitor in first place on the big screen. It was also very helpful that there were computers available to family and friends so we could search athletes to see their stats. Since each athlete wore a time chip on their ankle, they were easily tracked throughout the course.

That is Matthew in the middle. He just dismounted his bike and is handing it over to a race volunteer so he can rush out to start his run.

Grabbing his bag that contains his running gear

This is Matthew at the halfway point in the marathon. Only 13.1 miles left!

He finished! Way to go!

And he's still smiling!

We love you, Matthew, and we are so proud of you and your accomplishment!

Here are Matthew's official results:

Place: 137 of 270 overall

16 of 30 division (30-34 year Male)

Swim: 1:32:43

Bike: 6:11:26

Run: 4:43:32

Total: 12:44:12

The start of the triathlon

The halfway point in the marathon

We were all waiting near the finish line for Matthew. Alexa grabbed his hand and they ran across the finish line together. It was so cute to see her little legs running as fast as she could!

8/27/2010 Ice Cream!

During our vacation in August, Daddy had a class reunion lunch at Spaghetti Works in the Old Market. It's been 5 years since he graduated PT school at Creighton. After lunch, we took the kids to our old favorite ice cream shop~ Ted and Wally's.

We let Alexa pick out her own cone. I asked her what flavor of ice cream she wanted. After looking at all the choices, she replied, "Buzz ice cream!" I guess the green mint chocolate chip reminded her of Buzz Lightyear for some reason. She loved her Buzz cone!

Gavin enjoyed chocolate ice cream and we let him hold his own cone as well. It could have ended in disaster, but he did really well and didn't even get too sticky!

Yum!

Alexa and Gavin with Aunt Kara

9/05/2010

Alexa and her favorite dog, Gabbi