Training Update

Click here, then scroll down for my marathon training update:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/stx/rnrsa08/mfelker

Dixie Dude Ranch

My mother has reminded me that I have been remiss in my blogging duties. Funny - even though we live together, she still keeps me blogging! It makes me smile.

Last month we went to the Dixie Dude Ranch, courtesy of Cindy, my mother-in-law. For Thursday through Sunday, we had fun filled days of rest, horseback riding, and (best of all, in my opinion, no cooking!). There were loads of other kids for the boys to play with, a pool to entertain them during the heat, and no shortage of delicious homecooked food served family style in the quaint dining room. Each evening we were treated to awesome entertainment. My favorite was the trick roper you see in the photos. Not only was he very talented with a rope, but he was hysterical, too! I have a lot of photos to load, so I'll just stick them all at the end of this post.

Summer is nearly over for the kids and is totally over for me. I'll begin my new job for Northeast ISD tomorrow as we enter a week of teacher preparation. I'm really excited to be working with challenging kids again, and this time I'll have a team of 10 other members with whom I'll be working! It promises to be an interesting year!

As for my boys, Ridge will go into second grade at Specht again and now Holt will join him as he is entering Kindergarten. Aaron - HOORAY! - will begin a nursing school orientation/into. class for SAC's nursing school program in October. For now, he is working hard at a new job at a dialysis clinic. It's been a challenge for him - he usually has to be at work (a 45 minute dive away) by either 4:15 a.m. or 5:15 a.m. Crazy!

On the "farm" front, we are excited to report that our chickens are now in full production. Aaron and I finally culled the flock, killing and processing (i.e. plucking, gutting, and freezing) a total of 8 roosters over the course of two weekends. We have a great flock now of 9 hens and 2 beautiful roosters. On hen, the Americana breed, is faithfully laying us one green egg everyday. Between the other 7 Plymouth Rock hens we are getting between 5 and 7 eggs every day! I'll try and get some photos of the roosters and the green eggs sometime soon.

For now, here are some shots from the dude ranch. Remember, click them to make them bigger.

Imagination Rocks!

Searching for a new game to play inside in order to escape the heat of the day, Holt and Ridge devised this way to play marbles. I thought it was quite clever! They really get a lot of use out of their pieces of play silk.

Fundraising Update

Click the link below and scroll down the page to see my latest fundraising update.



http://pages.teamintraining.org/stx/rnrsa08/mfelker

Training Photo

Here's the lastest training photo from our six-mile run last Saturday. I'm going to have to practice posing better whenever I see the photographer. I promise I'm having way more fun than it looks! This Saturday will be 8 miles. I'm actually looking forward to it. We've been running at the Mission Park, which is a beautiful place to run. When the sun starts to rise over the mission, it looks just like a post card.

On a non-training note, we took the boys to Schlitterbahn today (a waterpark in nearby New Braunfels, for those out-of-town readers). It was the first time in over three years since we've been. Needless to say, the LOVED it. We even braved a few of the rides. Holt was okay with it so long as I kept ahold of his kiddie tube (they have handles). After the first few drops and splashes, he got over his initial fear. From that point on, his face was plastered with a huge grin and he kept telling me that this was FUN!!!

Training Update

Here's a photo from last week's marathon training practice. We did five miles. It was the furthest anyone in my little "group" shown here had ever run. Since we are doing intervals, I have to say it was the easiest five miles I've done. The group I'm in basically runs for four minutes then walks for one. We do this 4 - 1 thing the whole way. It was actually good, because we ended up running an average of an 11-minute mile. Usually when I've run five miles, I've been slower. I'm curious to see how much faster I am this week since we'll be running on a flatter course.

Ever since the first day of practice (we practice at 6 a.m. every Saturday), I found myself running with Veronica, the girl right in front of me. She's in her early twenties and is a high school teacher. Next to me is Carla, who thought she would only run the half-marathon, but Veronica and I changed her mind. The gentleman in the photo is Tom. He's a hoot. He told us last week that he had some major health issues, so he lost 50 pounds, ditched his blood pressure medication, and exercises like crazy. In addition to running, he does a Boot Camp exercise program several times weekly. Apparently, after turning 65 this year, he decided he should run a marathon. We have a great time running together and I'm looking forward to meeting even more folks!

Imaginary Friends

When Ridge was about three years old, we went on a camping trip out to a cabin in Juneau. The hike back to the road after two days of camping was a bit tedious for our little boy. There was some snow on the ground, and Aaron had moved ahead of us carrying Holt in the backpack (we were a little worried because Holt had bitten his lip pretty badly while at the cabin and we wondered if stitches would be required. They weren't and he was fine). So, this left Ridge and myself poking our way back through the woods. At some point during this long walk (3 miles), Sally was born. This imaginary friend of Ridge's lasted on and off for a few months, never really manifesting to the full extent that some imaginary friends do. I think he always knew she as fake.

Today, Sally came back to visit. For some reason, Ridge decided to playfully re-incarnate her. Now, of course, he knows he's kidding, and so does Holt. I think. Sometimes I'm not sure exactly what Holt thinks. But, I'm pretty certain that Holt knows that Sally isn't real.

However, now Sally seems to have an evil twist. Ridge has learned how to manipulate his little brother using a figment of their imaginations.

"Sally," says Ridge, "Do you think that spot on Holt's leg where he is bleeding is gross?"

"Yeah," responds my seven-year-old, "I think so, too."

How sweet.

Coming up the stairs after we got home:

Holt: Where's Sally Ridge?
Ridge: She went to Joelle's house to play [a neighbor].
Holt: NO! That's not fair! I don't want she to go to Joelle's house!
Ridge: Yeah, well, that's where she is.
Holt: (screams and cries) NO! Make her come back! I want her to be here!!

Me: (thinking) Is this really what it looks like? My five-year-old is tantruming over the behavior of an imaginary friend? Wow. They don't write about this in the parenting books AT ALL. Not a word.

I've been reading this series of books called "Parenting with Love and Logic". They left out the chapter on how to use love and logic with a non-existent entity. Maybe I should write a letter to the authors, eh? I've tried to convince Holt to just create his own imaginary friend, but he's stuck on Sally, for some odd reason. Go figure.