Back to the Future!

Jackson and Catie visited Grandma and Grandpa Moe all by themselves in Eau Claire for six days! Grandma flew down to ATL and escorted the kids back to Eau Claire all alone! They spent a great week chalked-full of activities with Kim and Lorann.

Above, Catie is riding Ann's old Schwinn "girls" bike. Notice the mint condition of all the old bikes on the post. I wonder what they would go for on eBay?

Other activities during the week included a few trips to doggy daycare, a trip to the local zoo, the children's museum, a water park, and 4 trips to McDonalds!

Jackson loved the freedom of riding around the block all by himself on the vintage 1972 Schwinn Sting-Ray that every boy in America owned. It is strange looking at him riding the same bike that Stiv had as a kid.

The kids also visited a hobby farm. Catie loved their German Shepherd "Abby" who is pictured above. They got to pet 6 horses out in the field, but were not able to ride as they did not have their long pants. The kids played in a corn field, and the stalks were well over their heads. They were put to work doing chores, including feeding the dog, the chickens, and gathering eggs. They even got to bring home a dozen chicken eggs which made a tasty breakfast of scrambled eggs the next morning.

The kids spent two days at Luther Park Camp and shared a cabin with the grandparents. Jackson loved canoeing but needs a little work on his form.

It is not surprise that Catie's favorite place was the canteen where she could buy snacks and even stuffed animals!

There is nothing like a cold freezie on a hot summer day at camp in 1975....

Grandma is getting ready to read a goodnight story in their cabin.

The stuffed animals from the canteen are used for a "puppet show" to kill time during a long rain spell.


Another highlight of the trip was getting motorcycle rides from Grandpa. The kids loved the "super fast rides."

Meet the Pros!

All 3 Sports sponsored a meet and greet charity event for a few of the top pro triathletes in the world. Ann decided to attend with a few friends from Dynamo Multisport. It all started with a 3 mile fun run through Piedmont Park, followed by a Q & A session with the athletes, and then a BBQ dinner. They finished it off with a raffle with some awesome prizes, but unfortunately, came home empty handed.

Wait for me!!!

Heather Gollnick is a 5 time Ironman champion and mother of three, so minus the five Ironman titles and professional sponsorships, she has a lot in common with Ann... ha ha. Actually, Ann and Heather both graduated from Valparaiso University the same year and remembered each other from their college days.

The highlight of the evening was meeting Craig "Crowie" Alexander, the current Ironman World Champion and all around handsome dreamboat.

Here Ann and Abster are hamming it up with Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae - Ironman 70.3 World Champion and Ironman World Championship Marathon Record Holder. Rinny is arguably the second best female in the world today and is just a beautiful runner.

We look forward to cheering on all Ann's new friends at the World Championships on the Big Island this October.

The Chattanooga Meltdown!

The Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon was last weekend. It is a nice venue for families as there were several kid friendly activities within walking distance of the transition area. This is a regional qualifier for the age group national championships that take place in Tuscaloosa, AL this fall and was our "A" race for the year. Since Ann has already qualified, this was Stiv's opportunity to make the cut.

Stiv finished with a great swim and a solid bike and was right on qualifying pace as he started the run... this is where it all started to go terribly wrong. Unfortunately, he must have gone into the race dehydrated because after about a mile, his heart rate was through the roof and his body was overheating which lead to a huge bonk during the run, resulting in a whopping 1:02 10K (and a few minutes in the medical tent at the finish). BTW, Ann had another solid race and finished in 8th place... kick a man when he's down!!

The finish of the bike course has a nice picture of the giant hills that made up the bike course in the background.

The girls were scouting the course the night before the big race. It looks nice out, but it was actually in the mid-90's and humid.

After the kids did a nice job walking a couple miles to dinner, we could not get into Tony's Trattoria so we had to eat at this fancy restaurant next door. Abby had her best manners on display. Nothing like gourmet macaroni and cheese!


Jackson gives the bike exit the A-ok.

Abby loves Jackson's friend Matthew! Maybe this will be a prom picture a decade from now!

Abby and the kids are big fans of cute baby Brennan... he is such a happy little guy.

This waterfall was part of the Tennessee Aquarium. The kids loved walking up and down the stairs and playing in the pool at the bottom. A great way to cool off after a long day at the race.

Catie has her shorts hiked up high trying not to get wet!

Even Abster got into the action...

We did not get any pictures after the race because Stiv was too busy in the Medical tent. So we had to pose for one later in the day.

Abby hoarded the cherry freezie to help cool herself off from the high temps. Below, the sisters hanging out in the fountain. Have you noticed that Catie has her goggles on in an awful lot of the pictures we post???

Independence Day

Abster decided that she wanted a new do for the 4th of July and settled on a festive water spout! She is obviously very proud of herself.

Our girls like to play "sleeping bag." You never know where these makeshift camps are going to appear in the house, but it is pretty funny listening to their conversations as they hang out in camp.

Swim season concluded the last week in June and the kids always love getting their trophies for participating. What happened to actually earning a trophy for extraordinary achievement or winning a championship? This world is getting too soft.... this marks the end of Stiv's editorial comments....

Both Catie and Jackson made great strides in their swimming this year, and we were very proud of both of them. In fact, Catie won a medal for most improved swimmer!


Jackson was much more reserved this year accepting his trophy than last...

We continued our tradition of going to the Chamblee fireworks this year. The park is easy access and is a great setup for young kids. We met the Shore family and the kids had a blast playing on the playground before the "BIG BANG" started.

Ice cream for dinner! We're voted greatest parents in the world....

Abby and Ariel are enjoying riding the train....

Somehow the girls have discovered the song "Maniac" from Flashdance. They like to wear Stiv's spinning headbands and run in place, singing "She's a maniac, maniac..."




We are going to enroll Abby in the gifted school for performing arts!

Swimming - Running - Lost

Your 2010 Leslie Beach Penguins... Jackson and Catie are on the far left...

We have been having some trouble with early evening thunderstorms ruining our swim meets. 2 out of 4 have been canceled due to thunder and rain... rats!


Catie was reunited with her old friend Samantha Feild at the last meet and had a ball waiting for the rain to stop.


We made our return to the annual Possum Trot this weekend. Jackson and Catie ran the 1 mile fun run while Ann pushed the Abster in the jogging stroller. While Jackson finished 3rd, Catie put in a good effort but only managed to bring up the end of the race. We have hired a private running coach to bring her up to speed! Just kidding...


We love Catie's never say die attitude and effort!

Catie and Dad held hands almost the whole run. They sure look happy to be finished. What's up with Stiv's hair? Looks like a major static electricity issue!!!

"Don't even think about trying a piece of my syrup soaked pancakes Dad!"


The local quack or chiropractor was offering free health screenings and a massage to the participants. After screening Jackson's neck with some kind of thermal imaging contraption, they decided that they could cure his migraines with adjustments and massage therapy...

Jackson was happy to receive his latest medal! Catie was real disappointed that she did not get one, but Jackson was very gracious by letting her wear it home.


Abster... maybe next year you will be old enough to run in the possum trot. She sure looks ready!

We have not had much opportunity to ride this year and decided to participate in a new Metric Century Ride southwest of Atlanta to lift our bike fitness... this was going to be a challenge. It was the inaugural event, which made us nervous because it is easy to get lost in these rides if the cue sheet or course markings are not clear. The ride went great for the first 45 miles, and then we started to fade a little. By mile 60, the never-ending long rolling hills were turning our legs to jello. No matter, we only had 4 miles to go. Oops, the course was not marked well, and we figured out that we were actually 25 miles out with little water left and the temp climbing above 90 degrees! Long story short, we were lucky enough to find a couple of local riders who could tell we were lost and had a pickup truck only 8 miles away. We jumped on the offer... or we still might be out riding somewhere. Talk about lucky!!!




Abby loves riding her trike and asks us every night to ride. This is an old video form April that we have been meaning to post.