Ironman World Championship 70.3

ripper

brown legs / red hands / pink claws / blue wings

it never got its claws...



why sit around and wait to get them? there are too many places to explore, things to see, battles to fight

ripper -- it can blink, it can sit, it can fight, it can fly -- but it can't rip :)

the journey back

Three days later, we were back at our campsite with my niece, Jin and Marc's friend, Corey.
The children were bursting with excitement, joy, and delight:

cheers of excitement to rope swing once again

of joy in hunting for more (smelly) treasures

and of delight to get on the swing that was so talked about

While Marc and Corey were setting up to sail, they were talking about how they can make it back in less than twenty minutes with favorable winds.
The drive was a little over ten miles; and with the after-work rush, drawbridges, and about a dozen traffic lights -- it would also take about twenty minutes to get back by land.
That takes about the same time...so why not race?

VAN VS BOAT-- the start line

Bring it on!
"""Team Van spotted the white sail with the blue and red stripe from every bridge they crossed, the children screamed and squealed each time. And with a little over a mile to go, driving down Ocean Blvd., they saw the sail again!"""

the finish line -- Team Van won!

Team Boat arrived cold and wet a few minutes later.

The celebration of the great race and of Miracle (Marc's boat) getting back home went on until sundown. Victory dances and victory cries were seen and heard until it was time to go home for supper and homework.

marc's boat race

and the time we spent a chilly night by his boat, the bay, and rope swings




while Maku and I played by the dock, Snow kept busy working on her project collecting competitors' autographs

Maku wanted to start a project of his own, and came up with this:

photographing his little men doing all sorts of things

in all sorts of places. --these are the same guys stationed to pick up beans

after some hot cocoa it was time to head back to camp...

Snow set up a kitchen pantry above our heads. where she stacked canned oysters, granola bars, crackers, and a jar of peanut butter, all of which fell on my face in the middle of the night.

we were lulled to sleep by the whistling of the wind, the clanging of boat bells, and the sound of the surf. i'd like to think my little ones slept with thoughts of sailors and of pirates, of lost islands and buried treasure; and that this was one night in their childhood that they will always recall in great detail.

we woke up to the bestest, brightest sunrise

low tide treasures

and boats dressed warmly :D

Marc was in the race for a few seconds maybe minutes, it was too windy for his boat. Hopefully it'll be calmer weather next year.

after breakfast we said goodbye to his boat with a promise to return the next day to bring her back home

i just can't let another year pass without a halloween post

my friend Gisel's nails looking all halloweeny :)

picking out pumpkins and hugging them too

we carved our jack o lantern with two new friends, Marc and Jin's dog Cassy. they are not in this picture but they were there ;)

Maku was a ninja again but a few inches taller this time around

Snow was a doll or something ;)

now that this post is out of the way, I'll try to update here more often...miss you all :)