Country Bumpkins Do New York City

While we were at the Ironman, I get a text from my USANA Headquarters mentor saying we could go to the Dr. Oz show on Sept. 20. The entire audience is USANA associates and all of the tapings will be highlighting USANA products. I was just starting to think things were slowing down, but how do you pass up an opportunity like that?!

My business partner, Stefanie, and I were able to go. We were there for just 24 short hours. 

Flying over Chicago is always so cool. I haven't flown east in a long time!

It was the first day of our new program, so we stuck to shakes for dinner =) We were also geeking out over a movie that takes place in NYC on the way. haha

We got there late and had a sketchy walk to our hotel. Then we decided we were going to go to the Today show before Dr. Oz at 8:30. That was pretty sweet! Felt so surreal.

Then we realized the walk to ABC Studios was super long, so we headed that direction. We accidently walked by Times Square

And down Broadway and past Central Park. All things we thought we were going to explore later that day. We finally got to the Dr. Oz show.

The studio is pretty cool!

We had a great time and got to see a lot of great segments taped. However, the taping didn't end until 4, and we needed to be at the airport by 5...so we didn't get to explore at all. That's okay! I'll come back next year for my 30th birthday ;)

We flew out of LaGuardia during a super gorgeous sunset! I'm thankful for this opportunity and ready to go back to my family and get settled into life now ;)

Ironman #2 in the books!

When Ryan did his first Ironman 2 years ago, we knew it wasn't going to be the last. He says he's on the every-other-year plan. Just a little recap - 5 months before that fire Ironman race, he broke his ankle on a -40 degree day at work, had reconstructive surgery, thought he wouldn't be able to do the race, made a remarkably speedy recovery, then crashed his bike after the first mile of the Ironman, thought he wouldn't be able to finish, Trek mechanics fixed his wheel, he helped a guy out with a medical emergency on the run, and then finished around 14 hours. What a roller coaster!

Well, this time around, he broke his shoulder in March =( Which turned out to be an even longer recovery. Biking and swimming were pretty painful/uncomfortable, and since there were so many fun things to do around our new house all summer long, training took the very back seat. Sept. 11 came around, and here's how it went.

The guest room was taken over by tri-gear!

This is where it's all gonna go down tomorrow.

We went out to eat with Dan and Kate Haskell and then drove the course and drove up the dreaded Barlow Hill. It's incredible. Actually the entire course is one insane hill after another. Wow.

The next morning came REAL quick! We did actually get some decent sleep though. Better than many previous triathlons. We got a great parking spot and then walked up to the special needs area to drop off their bags and get some coffee.

The boys got marked and we went down to get a spot on the lake just as the sun was peeking up.

Ryan was cool as a cucumber. I was starting to get a little antsy!

Yay! His family made it for the start!!

The gun goes off and the long, amazing day (full of lots of prayer) begins!

I was estimating about 30min for Ryan's swim, so was shocked when I found out I missed him go through. That's because he went through at 23min! Say whaaaaaat?!!? The guy crushed it!

On to the bike. We stopped at the 30 mile mark and I ran up the hill. I knew he'd be coming any minute. Sure enough, he was biking by while I was running up. I yelled to him "YOU CRUSHED THE SWIM!!" To which he responded, "I'm having a good day!" It's so fun cheering for someone who is having a great time =)

Next stop was around mile 45. It was a really busy intersection that cops were trying to manage, but it seemed so dangerous. Sure enough, we're looking and looking and then we hear a crash and see a bike go flying. A car pulled out in front of a biker coming down the hill and he ran right into it. My stomach sank. I just started praying for whoever it was, and desperately hoping it wasn't Ryan. This was right after Barlow hill, so I had all these things planned to say to Ryan about how he got over the worst part, blah blah blah, and when I did see him (just minutes after the crash) I just yelled "I'm so happy to see you!!" with tears in my eyes. He probably thought I was nuts because he hadn't noticed there was a crash (no ambulance yet). Turns out, the guy who did crash ended up hurting his ankle but no major injuries to my knowledge, so thank goodness for that! 

Then we went to ~80 mill mark and we cheered for Dan and Ryan. He said his legs were starting to cramp. We waited 10 minutes for my brother in law, Nate, and didn't see him. Turns out he had passed Ryan and we totally missed him! Shucks! We were able to see him them all at the next stop, and then it was time to head in for the transition!

We met my parents and the kids at the helix. The kids are such troopers. They love watching daddy race, and they do a great job cheering him on.

Only 26.2 miles left! Almost done? haha. We got to see Nate, Dan & Ryan at the 6,12,14,18 & finish.

And I saw a friend from college, Liz! (We ran track together).

He was getting tired, cramping, and had about 13 miles to go. You can do it, babe!!

We saw Nate at mile 24 and Adley was done. Time to go to bed. 

So at mile 18, Ryan was really struggling. He knew he'd finish, but he just didn't have anything left. Then his good buddy from the firehouse, Ben, came running up behind him. They were able to run the last 8 miles together. That was SO great! His pace increased by several minutes/mile and they ran thru the finish together. This is right before they turn the curve to the finish.

Ryan Glendenning, you are an Ironman!!!! Wooooooooo!!! 

Parker whispered to me, "I kinda have some tears in my eyes." Then when we saw Ryan, he just lost it! He was crying so hard. He was so proud of his daddy. How incredibly special is that? This kid has such a wonderful heart. He was so glad to give his Daddy a hug. 

The next 2 hours was a whirlwind of finding everyone, looking for Nate (long story), loading bikes/equipment and getting back to our apartment we were staying at. We all slept reallllly good.

We got home around 1pm the next day. It was such a beautiful day. We just laid a blanket in the shake and we all just chilled out for the entire afternoon. 

And I hung this beautiful cow flag on our front porch! haha

Great job Ryan, Nate, Dan and all the AHFD Firemen! Incredible!

Another First Day Of School

The 2nd day I brought Parker back to Byron, I had to walk him to what would have been his classroom so he could walk with his class. He was peeking in through the window watching the teacher finish up a book, and I started to feel the guilt! Here we were running errands that morning, while every other 5 year old on the planet was having a blast at Kindergarten! What was I thinking? Then I picked him up, and he asked to stay for Library time. We drove home, and I went upstairs and cried. Were we doing the right thing? Should I let him go the entire afternoon to Byron? Why was it again that we chose homeschool? Luckily Ryan was home and I was able to talk through it all with him, and came right back to the current plan and reasoning we had in the beginning. I was feeling much better, and then we started to put up the whiteboard, which made homeschool start to feel real.

At first I was thinking we should always start school at home the same day Byron starts, but then again, one of the perks of homeschool is not having to start so early =) The day after Labor day came and Parker Prep and Adley's Alphabet were about to begin!

Ryan did such an awesome job with this room! He did everything I asked him to do, and he is so supportive of classical homeschool. <3 nbsp="" p="">

Tuesday morning, here we go! 

We dug right in and haven't looked back since. 

If the school year is any type of reflection of this first day, we are going to have a great year!

So just a smidge about classical ed and why we're drawn to it. 

1 - My first real teaching job was teaching Kindergarten at a classical school in Naperville. I really feel like God placed me there for a reason. I had never heard of classical education, but when the first thing that caught my attention was that they teach younger students a lot through song and chant. 

2 - They learn everything as a reflection of God and His creation. So, in all subjects, you look for God, and therefore grow your understanding of Him and become more in awe of how great He is!

3 - All subjects are taught in chronological order. Bible, History, Science, Music, Art - it all goes together! When you realize how they work together, you have a better understanding of it all. You understand why these things are happening in history during this time in the Bible, and why the scientists are discovering this, and artists are painting this scene and music sounds like this...etc.

4 - The reading and writing curriculums take the philosophy of learning from the best - the classics. Kids start by listening to great quality literature, so they can then learn how to write similarly. They also practice their handwriting by copying pieces of scripture, poems, historical literature, so they can see how a proper sentence/paragraph is structured. Then, when they start writing themselves, there is (hopefully) much less correcting and re-learning. 

There are many more reasons why we are drawn to this style of education, and this just happens to be what WE feel like we are called to do. So, that's why we're doing it. I have nothing against other types of education and want to make it clear that I support whatever other family's decide is best for their kids. =)