Another photo

Here I am with the boys at mile #2. Unfortunately, I'm still too busy to type up the whole story. Stay tuned, though.

We Finished!

More to come later. Too tired right now :D

Quick Post of Ridge's Race

Just a quickie to share some photos from today's kids' run. This event was done in conjunction with the Rock -n- Roll Marathon happening tomorrow and mimicked the real thing down to the staggered start! Very cute! The race was not timed and all the participants got medals. Many kids, including Ridge, had participated in a "training" plan wherein the spent 10 weeks running a little bit at a time (during PE class). This race represented the 26th mile for their own "marathon". Very fun! Ridge had a blast!

Photos of Bootanical Garden Fest and another Kid-ism

A fourth-grade student with whom I'm working, who shall of course remain nameless, has been studying the brain during Science. He has a tendency to be VERY literal, despite having an outrageously high IQ. While reading his handout on the parts of the brain and their jobs, he periodically called out with questions such as, "what is the hypothalamus? What are hormones?" I, being the good teacher that I am, encouraged him to keep reading to find the answers. Then it happened....

"What's puberty?"

Gulp. Gasp. Choke. Think, Michelle! Think quickly!

"Well, it's when your body goes from being a boy to a man."

"Oh."
Long Pause, then, said in a somewhat quiet voice to himself, "Geez! That must be AWFUL!"

Someone later pointed out to me that I probably gave him a mental image of puberty being sort of like the Hulk's transformation. Wimpy man to bulging green creature...could be scary for sure...but not as scary as puberty!
We went to the Botanical Garden for the Halloween Festival (Bootanical..get it?). They currently have an installation of some fantastic, giant insect sculptures made of wood. Check 'em out:

Driving Mr. Holt

Hmmm...maybe I should have titled this one, "Driving Mommy". Hard to pick out good titles, you know? Sometimes that's the worst part about writing a blog entry.

So, last weekend, while Ridge was at Japanese school, Holt and I ran errands. One of these involved the traditonal pre-marathon trip to Goodwill. What in the world does Goodwill have to do with running 26.2 miles, you say? Glad you asked! It is not unusual for the temperature on the morning of a race to be something less than comfortable when one is only clothed in running shorts and a sleeveless top. Rather than shiver uncomforablely (though you'd think that 30,000 people would generate a lot of heat), a person has three choices: (1) wear whatever you usual wear on a cold-weather run and then have to keep track of it for hours on end, (2) wear a trashbag (cheap, but unattractive), or, my favorite, (3) buy some cheap running pants and a hoodie at Goodwill. These inexpensive clothes can then be ditched just before the race begins. Race organizers then, as advertised, pick up the dropped clothing and donate it to homeless people. Sort of a full circle, if you ask me.

As the cashier rang up my whopping $3.22, I handed the car keys to Holt. In the past, I've made jokes about driving the car, but usually the boys just roll their eyes at me. Ridge will actually become actively annoyed when I do that. But today was different:

Me: Holt, would you mind driving, please?
Holt: Of course. I always drive. You always sit in the back. (said with a TOTALLY straight face)
Cashier: (straight face) Oh, do you drive often?
Holt: Sure, all the time.
Cashier: Well, make sure you buckle up.
Holt: of course! (grinned)

I thought I would die laughing!

Pathetic

Wow. What does it say about me as a blogger that I had to try about twenty times to log on because I forgot my username and password? Eeek! I don't even know if anyone looks at this thing anymore. I mean, who in their right mind would keep checking a blog that hasn't had a new post since JUNE?

Well, hopefully I'll stop being a slacker and write more. After all, it's the best way to keep track of what the boys do and say - I'm waaaay too lazy to keep an actual journal. In fact, if I write anything by hand for more than a few mintues without stopping, my hand cramps. Again - pathetic.

So - kid quote of the day:

Ridge: "Daddy, what's it like when a booger burns? Does it burn green??"

Response from Anah (Aaron's mother) via text ('cause you know I had to share this nugget with everyone in my address book): "It shrivels. It's mostly mucous" and "It does emit smoke!!"

I can never be accused of having a dull life.

Thanks, Anah! He loved the answer!

Finished!

Hooray! I finished my second marathon today! It was a blast and I really enjoyed every minute of it. Well, almost - the hill at mile 26 was not my friend. I finally gave up on caring about my time - best move ever! In fact, since I had been sick and wondered how I would feel, I didn't even wear my watch. So, I just ran a comfortable pace and really enjoyed the views. I'll have a few funny stories to share afterwards. I've decided to have a positive outlook on my race time - it's simple a new PR (personal record - that's running slang - makes me look cool, don't you think?). It's just that this PR is for my SLOWEST time ever - five and half hours. I don't care though, because I really had fun and it was a gorgeous day. We're off to meet a friend and ride the ferry. Must keep moving some so I don't sieze up - my quads are super mad at me right now!