Race Day

We headed off to our 2nd annual Possum Trot this morning at 6am. The kids and Brown Eyes participated in the 1 mile tot trot. Abby seemed to enjoy the wind in her face from the speed of the stroller being pushed by Mommy during the race.


Jackson and Catie preparing for the arduous 1 mile run. Note Catie's high tech running outfit.

After a difficult race, the kids basked in the euphoria of a tough athletic endeavor. It's always a treat to get the T shirt after finishing a race!

At the medal ceremony, Jackson is awarded his first place for 6 & under by the giant possum. His winning time was 10:04.

To the victor go the spoils!! Jackson enjoying his post-race massage.

Check out my hardware!!

Dork party of 1 and the Abster...

The girls...

Catie started taking ballet classes. She loves it!! We thought that we would never get her outfit on her, as she usually prefers to wear T shirts and shorts.

Here's little Abby in her saucer... one of her favorite activities.

Stinky Zoo

We headed to the Yellow River Game Ranch this morning, otherwise known as the "Stinky Zoo." Jackson and Catie enjoyed all of the animals.

The kids both loved feeding and petting the bunnies.

These were the pesty deer that followed us through much of the park.

The kids loved the horse ride at the end of the morning.

Cheese!!

This is Jackson's kindergarten class picture that we just found and thought we'd post.

Buzz cut and Catie's Swim Lesson

You could call Jackson "Grandpa's Mini-me." Here, Grandpa is touching up Jackson's buzz cut.

Almost done...

Here's Catie looking on as Grandpa buzzes the hair.

Catie is taking swimming lessons at the Wilson's pool with Coach Dutch. Here she is, practicing her bubbles with Daddy. That's Luke and Jimmy in the background.

Climbing out of the pool after the lesson...

Jackson finally is not afraid to jump off from the hot tub into the pool. Seeing the younger boys jump off seemed to motivate Jackson to try it. Below, Catie is all done and ready to go eat the Munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts!

Macon Rock N Roll Man Triathlon

Here we are in Macon for another triathlon. We had a nice group participate in the race. Overall, there were over 500 people participating in the half-ironman and about 200 in the sprint. Besides Steve and I, my brother John and his girlfriend Ann, as well as our friend Donovan competed. John did the half-ironman, and the rest of us the sprint. The McGee family (Lesley, Conner, and Matthew) was there routing Donovan on. It took an army of supporters to watch the 3 kids!! Thanks to Grandma, Grandpa, and Lesley for watching the kids.

Ann and Ann pre-race. This is Ann Hattamer's first triathlon, except she looked like a professional with all of her first-rate gear from John. She did awesome, finishing 4th in her age group. Way to go Ann!!

Well, Steve is moving kind of slow in the transition from the swim to the bike... His second open water swim went much better than the first (no panic attacks in the middle of the lake!).

Here goes Ann off on the bike...

I know a forced smile when I see one!!

Coming in to the finish line... Ann finished 8th overall and 2nd in her age-group.

Two triathlons down, three to go!!

This is Catie after no parental supervision for 2 hours while we were doing the race!! No offense to our helpers.

Jackson's first swim meet

The Leslie Beach Swim Club squared off against Twin Lakes Swim Club Tuesday night, under cloudy skies and threatened rain. This was Jackson's first swim meet... He swam in the 100 yard freestyle relay, 25 free, and 25 back. Above, Jackson ready to "dive in" for the 25 yd free.

Notice the Stien focus and intensity.

Getting ready for the 25 yd backstroke...

Jackson out in the lead... he won his heat in the backstroke!!

Summer is here...

We had a fun Memorial Day over at the Wilson's pool. Catie and Abby joined us while Jackson spent the night up in Hiawassee with Grandpa and Grandma Stien. I think Jackson is missing Catie. He called for her 4 or 5 times today to give her the update of his activities.

Catie and Luke had fun playing and swimming, and especially eating hot dogs and ice cream!

Abby, dry at last!

Thank you Luke for having me over...