Weiner Dog Racing

The city of Southlake hosts an Octoberfest festival every year. We just learned about it this year, but evidently it has been going on for some time. The highlight of the German themed festival are the weiner dog races and costume contest. Gavin and I decided that this sounded like too much fun to pass up. With Miranda away shopping with friends, we ventured out on our own in search of some fast hotdogs.

Gavin was a good little trooper. He just rode along looking at all the pups and saying dog!, or hi/bye doggie.

I was expecting to see a few dogs here an there, but there were literally hundreds of these little guys. They were everywhere. Some had on little costumes, and a few were so overweight that it looked like their bellies were dragging on the ground.

Some dogs were lucky enough to ride in carts...

Some of the costume contest contestants. Barbie riding a unicorn I guess? Clowns

The crowd gathered 30 minutes prior to the start of the weiner dog races. We decided to not stand in the hot sun waiting for the start. Gavin and I walked around looking at all the vendors, dogs and people. We took a few breaks in the shade to eat a snack and then kept walking.

The crowd swelled when it came time for the races to start. It was easily 10-12 people deep around the "track". With G in the stroller and me flying solo today we weren't able to see any of the costume contest or the races. From the play by play over the loudspeaders we heard some funny episodes...dogs running the wrong way, dogs laying down, dogs stopping halfway and running backward, etc.

After a couple hours we decided to head back home for some lunch and a nap for G. It was tempting to eat some sausage on a stick and funnel cake, but we were able to deny the temptation. Maybe next year we will be able to see some actual racing.

September 13-19th

It seems the days and weeks fly by. Of course our work and school schedule seems to help that passage of time. I wish things could slow down just a bit.

I laugh that we only seem to take pictures of Gavin eating. He does so much more. But, he's still when he eats. I swear the rest of the time he runs. Lots of people comment that I've lost weight. And, I have lost a little versus where I was prepregnancy because I constantly chase him. When he slows down a bit, I'll have to be extremely conscious of what I eat else I pack on the pounds.

I think this was Tuesday night (but it might have been Wednesday). It was whichever evening Dave paddled. Gavin had a cupcake and blueberries for dessert. While he was eating (or should I say crumbling) his cupcake, I was making dinner for Dave and me so it would be ready when Dave got home. Since I was making tacos, I didn't notice the crumbly mess soon enough. Thank goodness for Mason's super cleaning powers.

Thursday I picked G up at school, drove to Lake Grapevine to meet Dave and a friend. Dave brought Gavin home. The friend and I walked. On our drive to the lake, Gavin and I talked about the corn growing in the field at Hall's Pumpkin Patch, about the big gasoline tanker we saw on the road, and about all the other cars. When Gavin saw Dave's truck, he started saying, "Dada. Dada." Once Dave got in the car to head home with Gavin, G said about two words and looked tired. When Dave touched his body to get him from the car seat, he discovered that Gavin had a fever. I can't understand how it hit him that quickly. Dave stayed home with him Friday morning since he was already planning to be home to meet a tile installer for a quote and an insurance adjustor to look at our roof. (We're getting a new one due to severe hail damage and leaks in our dining room and laundry room.) I came home at lunch and spent the afternoon with Gavin.

We're still not really sure what caused the fever. Perhaps he needed a mental health day. I've got to show him the intro in Ferris Bueller's Day Off so that he learns that fever is not a good ailment to fake. :)

Friday afternoon while I was home with him, we played cars. He tried to stack four or five high. So, I got the Legos out, and we played with them. We played football. Gavin giggled each time I threw the ball toward him. Then he went running after it. He enjoyed throwing it back to me. A few times, he was dead on with his throw, so I actually caught the ball. We also read books. He absolutely loves to read. I hope his love for books continues. One day this week, we had a small Babies R Us/Toys R Us sale book with toys in the mail. He has spent hours looking at the toys, saying, "baby" and "car" and doing a lot of pointing. I remember looking at the Sears Wishbook and JCPenney Wishbook for hours when I was much older than Gavin, but he has had every bit as much fun looking at this sale paper this week.


Saturday, Gavin woke us at 5am. So, we were at Kroger by 8, back home by 9, out for a walk and ready for a nap at 10:30. Gavin slept from 10:30-2:30. Unheard of. He woke up in the best mood. We mowed the yard and played outside before dinner. Gavin had to give my corn a try. He ate a good bit. I've got to remember that--like I'll forget a food he actually eats.

Work continues to supply me with endless challenges and entertainment from Monday's conversation with a mom whose daughter's shirt needed a bit more fabric (and the mom's threat to alert the media that we were discriminating against her daughter for having "large boobs") to a father and son saying he was bullied into a fight the following Friday but it wasn't important enough to tell anyone about on Friday to a masked Speedo wearing streaker at the football game Friday night I never have a dull moment at work. And if by chance, it does get a bit boring, there's always a building of 2400 teenagers just waiting to do something. I need to write a book. But where would I find the time?

Colorado River 100 Race Pictures

Looking back on the race, I now realize that there are some things that I was really worked up about that I shouldn't have worried about at all. I lost lots of sleep the night before because of my cracked paddle. I was worried that some other boats at the start would hit me and cause me to dump right at the starting line. I was worried that it would take me 20+hours to finish the race. I was worried that I would cramp up if I pushed too hard (that had happened twice before during training). Eh - all that worrying over pretty much nothing. The paddle held up, I got off the start slow but was upright, I finished in 16 1/2 hours, and had plenty of water because I was going faster than I normally do when training. Thank again to Scott for being a great team captain and photographer during the race.

It was a dark start at 7:00am. I am locked and loaded ready to get this thing started.
At the start you had to be "standing on land". I.E. you had to be straddling your boat on a sand bar that was in the river. When the horn goes off, you get in and start paddling hoping that someone doesn't hit you from the side flipping you out.
Lots of boats in my class - adventure solo. I think that there ended up being 100 in this class....by far the largest.
And we are off. I chose to be a little less aggressive at the start to ensure that I didn't flip and could ease into a good pace. I knew that I wasn't going to win the division, so I decided to not kill myself at the start.This is the competitive class lining up at the starting line. Some of these guys are super fast...the top two paddlers finished in 12 1/2 hours!!!
The competitive class start! Money and bragging rights are on the line for these guys, so they push pretty hard.
Scott found some nice scenery around central Texas during his driving between checkpoints. He told me that he saw a cool tree at once point which I just brushed off. But it really was a very cool old tree.
An emergency staff member on a stand up paddle board directing traffic at checkpoint #1.
Pulling into Plum Park checkpoint #2 sporting my sheik look...
Heading to LaGrange checkpoint #3.
It was a fun race, and I will definitely be back next year. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating. If I can cut a half hour off my pace, then I should make the top 5-6 in my class next year. Something to shoot for... :)

Keepin It Clean

Miranda picked up a broom for Gavin while she was shopping for birthday gifts for a birthday party this past weekend. It was a clean sweep...Not alot of cleaning was done, but Gavin had a good time none the less.

Our Fun Filled Saturday

For the first Saturday in a long time, Dave wasn't paddling. Georgia Tech was playing Kansas, so we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game since it wasn't televised on ESPN GamePlan. Gavin was very good while we watched the game. He ate chips and french fries. Once we figured out to take the crispy part off of the chicken tenders, he ate some chicken.

He was even able to charm the waitress into giving him a red balloon--well, Daddy was nice enough to ask if G could have one. As we were getting ready to leave, we let Gavin run around with his balloon. Thankfully, Gavin stayed awake on the way home. He got a fresh diaper and went down for a nap. He didn't wake up until 3. We got dressed and headed to Keller Pointe for Ethan's second birthday party.

Daddy and Gavin played in the pool for about an hour. I loved the fact that the indoor pool didn't require sunscreen.
Scott was keeping an eye on both his daughter Sara and their friend Bayden.

Scott gives Bayden a toss into the water.

Gavin had fun splashing water along the edge of the pool.

I tried to get him to smile for me, but there was just too much going on.

After swimming, we dried off and headed into the party room for pizza, ice cream, and cake. Later, one very tired little boy came home. We let him play a bit before a nice bath and bedtime.

And, then Mama and Daddy were able to watch college football. Oh college football Saturdays, how I have missed you. I can't wait to spend my entire Saturday next week with you.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

While my parents were here, my mom celebrated her birthday. I baked a coconut cake, which we cut into Saturday afternoon. Gavin was happy to smile with Grandma and to share her cake.
Actually, I think Gavin ate more cake than Grandma.
Not long after finishing the cake, I had to head out to Frisco for the first football game of the season. Dave took advantage of having a babysitter and went out to watch the Cowboys preseason game with some friends. Grandma got to spend the evening with Gavin--I hope there couldn't have been a better gift. (At least all the grandmas I work with tell me that they just want one-on-one time with their grandkids. I think that holds true for this grandma, too.)

Neches Wilderness Canoe Race

Ah, first place....there aren't many times in my life where I finished first in something. So, my finishing first in my class in my first kayak race was lots of fun. I finished first in the men's solo kayak division in 4 hours and 30 minutes over the 22 mile course. They don't call it the toughest little canoe race in Texas for nothing. I jumped over and under probably a hundred downed trees, slalomed around obstructions, portaged over and around obstuctions to come in first in my class. For my super human effort, I was awarded a goldish medal. The guys in the unlimited canoe/kayak class still kicked my butt...those guys are really fast.

Happy Grandparents Day!

Happy Grandparents Day to both Grandma's, GrandBob and Granddaddy! I didn't even know there was such a thing until Miranda told me about it the other day. Never the less, we are very grateful to have four loving grandparents that are so good to Gavin.

Carbon Fiber Goodness

To go along with my racing kayak, I needed a racing paddle. "Wing" blade kayak paddles are pretty much the standard. Onno paddles were recommended to me by several people. So I called Pat at Onno to order a new paddle. He said it would be four weeks before he could start building it...it ended up being nine weeks before I had my paddle in hand. The guy does good work (or so I thought), but is really slow.

Then it happened. The night before my race at 9:00pm in the hotel room I noticed it....a crack in my brand new paddle. My heart literally skipped a beat. I lost more than a few hours of sleep that night worrying about weather it would hold up at all and what was I doing to do if it broke in the middle of the race. Luckily I had my old paddle as a backup and was able to tape it down to the back of the kayak just in case. But after a 100 miles, the carbon fiber paddle was still going strong. The crack may have gotten slightly bigger during the race, but not much. Now comes the fun part of fighting with Pat at Onno to fix it under warranty

2010 Colorado River 100

My first long distance kayak race has come and gone. I feel really good that I accomplished some goals and also was much faster than I anticipated. But it is also a bit of a letdown because I really don't have a goal to train for anymore to keep me motivated to work out.

I learned quite a few things during the 16 hours and 31 minutes that I was paddling. Here are just a few thoughts that I still remember:

-When you find a 3/4" crack in your brand new $400 carbon fiber paddle the night before the race, you will loose quite a bit of sleep worrying about it.

-Guys in 10' plastic sit on top kayaks think that they actually have a chance to win the race and MUST get a spot in the front of the starting group.

-Those same guys realize after 50 yards that they have no chance.

-Having to stop too many times for bathroom breaks is a much better alternative to cramping from dehydration.

-I can paddle about 50 miles in about 8 hours and 15 minutes. The top paddlers in the competitive class (and in the world) can do it in 6 hours and 15 minutes....they be fast.

-Scott Cleland is an awesome friend and team captain that kept me hydrated and nourished.

-92 degrees and sunny is a walk in the park compared to 105 degrees and sunny. The out of state paddlers didn't quite share my feelings on this point....

-After non stop paddling while eating Cliff bars for 10 hours, your stomach won't thank you. Hammer gel goes down easy though.

-I can paddle over a large log with a ripping current in the middle of the night and not flip. The California guy who was following me can't say that however....

-Never trust someone who has been "befriending" you for the last 30 miles because they have no bow light. He said that he would let me finish first when we got to the end because I helped him all night long. But he quickly crossed the finish ahead of me when we got there....

-To finish in 25th place overall out of 250 boats, and 10 place in my class out of 95+ boats takes about 7 months of very hard training for a rookie.

-You are more capable than you think you are.

-You never know what you can accomplish until you try.

-My wife is a saint for watching Gavin so much this summer while I was training.

-A month off sounds good.

Pictures are coming soon....stay tuned