Hello out there....

I have not posted anything since the beginning of the school year... I guess that tells you how busy we have been at the Kiemsteadt house! My goal for the summer is to be a lot better about keeping up with this blog. Surely I will have some free time for writing?! I have to ask myself why I am updating this blog now, of all times... and I can't really answer that except that I would rather be doing this than packing...

Just a quick update on what is going on with our family at the moment...

First of all, we are moving out of our house that we have lived in for the past 9 years. When we moved into this house, we had one baby and thought we would never fill up such a "big" house. Well, we definitley managed to fill it up... and then some. So we are moving on to something a little more spacious for our family of five plus a crazy dog. We are excited and sad at the same time. We love our neighborhood and our neighbors are the greatest; it will be so hard to leave everything that we know and love. We actually aren't going too far - only about 10 minutes from our current house, but for some reason it feels like we are moving to a different state! Our new house will be complete in August, so we will be living at Cindy's (Clint's mom) lakehouse for a few months this summer. If you are need of some summer fun in the sun, please visit us on Lake Travis this summer!

The kids have been busy with sports this spring... Kennedy played volleyball and both boys played baseball. They all had great seasons, and I have to say that I am especially proud of Graham's progress. He is really starting to come out of that silly phase and is starting to really try. He looks just like Clint when he swings his bat... so cute! Luke loved playing ball - it was his first time on a "team," and he felt like such a big guy in his uniform. And Kennedy is doing great with volleyball. I am glad that she has an opportunity to play now, as this is one of the sports I hear she will have to try out for in middle school... and I know she really loves it and will want to play in school.

The other "stuff" is not so good or exciting news. My mom's ALS has progressed to the point that she can no longer walk or stand on her own. She needs a lot of assistance at this point, and we have been searching for full time care. She currently has someone helping her all day during the week... we are still in need of night time and weekend care, so if you know of that perfect person, please let us know! Also, my sister-in-law, Chrise, is having a tough time in her fight against cancer. She and Drew are the best things that have ever happened to my brother, and it makes me so sad and angry that they are dealing with this. When I tell people about our family and all that is going on, I know I must sound like I am making this stuff up for attention or something. I don't understand how so many truly awful things can happen to one family. ALS... Cancer... pretty much the two things you never want your doctor to tell you that you have. I know there are many, many people who have it worse... I know that, but it doesn't make it okay. It is just not right when you have to see your mom and sister-in-law suffering like this. It sucks, and there are no other words for it. Truly.

Alrighty, I must go pay attention to Luke, wash clothes, and pack our house up. Sounds fun, right?! I promise to be back soon! We do have some fun things planned for this summer, so hopefully I won't be too depressing all the time. :-)

Fall Sports...

Kennedy and her friends before the Round Rock Dragon football game

Graham got the flag!! Yay!

Graham (#20) playing defense!

Kennedy is READY!

The Pink Ladies

Fall sports are in full swing for the kiddos! Kennedy had her first volleyball game of the season this morning, and her team, The Pink Ladies, won the match 3-2. Kenendy also had an opportunity to cheer at the Round Rock Dragon football game last night... and I think she actually liked it! We may have a cheerleader in our future afterall... maybe, but maybe I shouldn't push my luck with that! :-)
Graham's flag football team also played this morning, and they won as well. He is on the Dolphins, and they have an amazing little quarterback. Super fun to watch! Luke is not playing anything yet... it is hard enough to be two places at one time, so we are going to wait on trying to be three places at once until we absolutely have to! And of course, my running season has been in full swing for a while. The first race of the official fall marathon season is tomorrow morning... it is a marathon relay, and I am doing a 10K portion of it. Fun times!

Happy Birthday to LUKE!

Luke says, "I am FOUR!!!"

Luke's 4th Birthday Party at Pump It Up!

Logan, Laurel and Luke!

Well, I am way late in writing about Luke's birthday... but I am starting to realize that sometimes late will just have to do. Better than never, right?!

I can't believe our baby turned four on August 12th. When he is not being a complete momma's boy, he is one tough little dude and can definitely hold his own in our house. If there is a scuffle between Luke and Graham, most of the time Luke comes out on top... unless he is bleeding! He already has many battle scars to prove it. Sounds awful, but I am realizing in a family with more than one boy, this is just going to happen. They are like puppies! I have been told that moms of boys are "special people." I get it now... but honestly I don't think I am that kind of special! I have a whole lot of respect for my friends who have three... or more... boys. I am just not cut out for all of that ruckus!
Luke had his fourth birthday party at Pump it Up, and was happy to see a lot of his friends from the neighborhood and school at the party. It was a frog themed party, and I thought it turned out pretty cute... but being the cool little guy that he is, Luke still wants to have a rock 'n roll birthday party. We're working on that one...

I started writing this post on August 22nd.... today is September 2nd!! Ugh! Lots more posts coming soon! :-)

Destin '09

We had a great time with my parents in Destin last week. Of course, we spent lots of time playing on the beach. The kids all loved going out into the waves and "surfing" in on their boogie boards. I was nervous when the waves were so big, but Clint went out with them and made sure everyone was safe. Luke, who is not a huge fan of the beach, ended up having a lot of fun with the big Tonka dump truck that we got him. Graham spent a lot of time skimboarding, and was really starting to get the hang of it. I think Kennedy was most excited that she found a shark's tooth, but she also really loved boogie boarding and helping me build sandcastles (that were quickly knocked down by her brothers!). Destin beaches are just so beautiful!

Besides hanging out on the beach, we spent some time being tourists as well. On one of the rainy days, we visited the aquarium in Destin. The kids loved it, but it was kind of a sad little aquarium compared to others that we have visited. That night, we all saw Ice Age 3, which was very cute! One day, we visited Panama City Beach and went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum. Graham absolutely loves doing this kind of thing (who knew that my "wild" child would love museums!?)! We also ate dinner at a neat pirate ship restaurant which was fun. We drove through some of the smaller beach communities, like Seaside, Grayton, and Blue Mountain Beach - all very cute spots. Our favorite restaurant of the trip was The Red Bar in Grayton... great atmosphere and very good food.

Clint, Graham, Kennedy and I went parasailing, which was very cool. Clint and I parasailed about 15 years ago, but I am pretty sure that they go MUCH higher now. We were crazy high, and the kids were not scared at all. Kennedy got to drive the boat when another couple was up in the air, which was neat for her. Unfortunatley, Luke was too little to go, so he stayed with Nana and Popppa (of course, they got him some new toys since he missed out on the action)...

We went on a Dolphin Cruise through the Destin Harbors and then out into the Gulf. It was awesome to see the dolphins swimming out in their natural habitat. The kids also got to take turns driving the boat. They had a lot of fun... My mom and I were both a little sea sick and ready to get back to the dock!

I wanted to get some good family pictures on the beach, but that is always easier said than done. I didn't do a good job of coordinating our outfits when I was packing, and the kids never want to cooperate for pictures, but we did end up getting a few decent ones. It is just too beautiful to miss out on photos! If you would like to see all of our pictures from the trip, click HERE!

I was sad to leave Florida and come back to reality... But it is good to be home! The kids were spoiled on our trip and expect something fun and exciting everyday now... I am counting down the days until school starts! :-)

Fun in Florida!

We are having a fun time in Florida! Here are a few pictures from our first day here!

Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3

Malinda, Amy, Rebecca and Alicia

Breaking out the champagne!

After six months of talking about it, reading about it, training for it, and obsessing over it... I finally did it! I truly enjoyed the journey, and after putting in all the time and hard work in training, finishing the race was just the icing on the cake. I don't think I really knew why I signed up for this race in the first place, except that it sounded awesome and it was one more cool thing to "check off my list." Of course it turned out to be so much more than that, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to experience this with some of my very best friends, Malinda, Rebecca and Alicia. I am also very grateful to have such an unselfish and supportive husband who really made this all possible in so many ways.
I really didn't have any goals for this race except to finish. I had heard the horror stories about this particular 70.3 - the hills, the heat, and the wind were all supposed to be a challenge. So I decided that simply finishing would be great especially since this was my first half ironman. If I did it under 7 hours, I would be very happy and I felt that was a pretty reasonable expectation. Here's how it all unfolded...

We arrived in Lubbock on Friday, two days before the race. I went to the Expo and packet pick-up and was shaking in my sneakers! :-) Everyone looked so fit and much more capable than me! I figured the rest of the "average" people would show up on Saturday... but the next day, I only saw even more super cool triathletes.
It was extremely hot on Saturday, with temperatures right around 100 degrees. My training buddies and I drove the course, and I was breaking a sweat riding in the car with the air conditioner on. The hills looked pretty intimidating, and it was just incredibly hot outside. We saw several more seriously fit athletes out there riding portions of the course, and I was starting to really think that this race was out of my league! I had no idea how I would get through that course in the heat, but Malinda kept reminding me to trust my training... so that is what I tried to do!
As we were driving out to the race at 4:30 in the morning, we noticed lightening in the distance and the wind was really picking up. I was pretty sure that they would have to postpone the race, if not cancel it. When we pulled up to the parking lot, I looked around and no one else seemed remotely concerned or even seemed to notice the lightening. The good thing is that it was a lot cooler than the day before, but I was so ready to back out. I don't do lightening... and I don't have too much experience riding in the rain especially down curvy hills going in and out of canyons. I was freaking out just a little bit. Malinda and I both agreed that if the lightening continued, we would have to find another race on another day. I was secretly hoping that it would continue!

As I was setting my things up in transition, I realized that there was no backing out. The professional wave started, and I looked down at the lake and saw how choppy the water was due to the wind. At least it was cool, probably about 70 degrees at that point with strong wind gusts. My age group was the second to last to start, and I was getting more nervous waiting. At that point, I just wanted to get started. Before I knew it, we were running into the water...

The swim was a lot tougher than I anticipated. I kept getting kicked and hit over the head, which was really more annoying than anything. The choppiness was not fun, and I swallowed several mouth fulls of water... I am sure I looked like I was half drowning, but I got through it. It was like I was either swimming with a tight group and fighting for a spot or I was lost and swimming way off course. I never could really find my own space and my own rhythm. I was hoping to finish the 1.2 mile swim in about 40 minutes, but it took me 47:30 . When I got out of the water, the wetsuit strippers had me on the ground and out of my wetsuit very quickly. I was glad they were there to help because I was feeling a bit disoriented and forgetting what I needed to do next. There were not very many bikes left in transition by the time I got there which was a little discouraging... but off I went on my bike. (Transition 1: 3:22)
The ride was what I was most worried about for this race, but it actually turned out pretty good. I even had fun riding in the rain and through the hills. There were two big hills right out of transition that everyone had told me about. They were tough because my heart rate was already up from swimming, but I got through them just fine and headed out to the flat roads. The wind was either pushing me along or blowing right in my face depending which direction I was going. I tried to take advantage of the wind at my back but I was definitely worried about pushing too hard too soon. There were some pretty steep and curvy hills that we had to go up and then come back down, which looked scary to me when we drove the course the day before... but I got through this and felt pretty decent doing it. However, I was very relieved when I was finished with this "technical" section of the course. I felt like I did a good job staying hydrated and taking in calories. I knew that all of the long rides that I had done in training really paid off. I was by no means fast, but I felt good, and that is how it should be!
I know this is way too much information and I hope I do not offend anyone... but I have to include this because it is something that I never thought I would do and I kind of feel like I am a "real triathlete" because I did it... I peed on my bike! I always heard that triathletes just pee on the bike because they don't want to take the time to stop, but since I wasn't going to win this thing, I wasn't worried about stopping. However, there were no port-o-potties on the bike course and it is illegal to stop and go in the bushes... So after about an hour of convincing my body that it would be okay to just go ahead and pee on the bike, I finally did it. At first, my body would only allow itself only a little relief and the dam would close up. But soon enough I couldn't stop peeing. I think I went for an hour straight. I definitely was not dehydrated! It was so bad and I was laughing at myself because other people would ride up behind me and I didn't even care at all... that really cracked me up, although I felt pretty gross doing it. Anyway, after 3:41:41, I finally finished the bike portion and it was time to put on my running shoes. (Transition 2: 3:06)
I have always thought that for what I lack on the bike, I make up for in the run. It's not that I think I am fast, but in the shorter races that I have done, I have been able to make up some ground on the run... and that was the plan for this race. But as it turned out, this was not my day for a strong finish. It started out okay, as I felt good coming off of the bike and I was pretty confident that I would finish in under 7 hours at that point... but after I made it out of the park, my left knee started hurting so badly. I am not sure why this happened, as I have not had any knee issues or anything during training. So I ended up doing an uncontrolled run/walk sort of thing for the entire run, which is never fun. I was having terrible stomach cramps and bloating in addition to my knee pain, and although the pain was probably physically tolerable, it turned mental real fast and I soon talked myself out of any hope for finishing in under 7 hours. I kept saying to myself, "slow and steady finishes the race!" This is the only regret that I have... I should have pushed through the pain and ran like I know I can. Like Malinda has been telling me, "If it were easy, everyone would do it!" Run time 2:29:08 (ugh!) Total race time: 7:04:49.
It was so nice to see Rebecca at the finish line and to just be DONE. I felt an immediate sense of relief and accomplishment. But more than anything, I could not wait to get back to the hotel to take a shower (did I mention that I urinated all over myself on the bike?!? Gross!). I was pretty tired, but okay overall. It was a wonderful experience, but as of today, I am not sure that I will do this distance again, never mind a full ironman. BUT, the thing with triathlon is that it is so addicting. It is hard not to want another shot at it, and I find myself thinking, if I would have swam 10 minutes faster and done my run 30 minutes faster like I know I am capable of doing, then I would have finished in X amount of time. I think that is part of what makes people want to keep going back.
For some reason, Graham really wants me to do a full ironman, and he is saying that he is going to do it with me. So if I ever do the full ironman, I think I will wait to experience it with him. THAT would be really cool. For now, the next big race on my calendar is the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25th. I love looking forward to the next big journey!

Gone Fishin'

Clint took the kids fishing last night, and they had such a good time. They haven't gone fishing in a quite a while because it seemed like they got bored very quickly last time. Well, this time, they didn't want to go home. Graham kept repeating to himself, "fishing is all about patience." And he was very patient!

They didn't catch anything, except for some sticks and weeds! But they are already talking about going again tonight, so maybe someone will get lucky!

I am not such a big fan of fishing, but it was fun to be out there with the kids. My favorite part of the evening was when a grandpa, who was sitting on a bench watching us, said to Clint and me... "You have a great family. Such nice and cute kids." He will never know how much that meant to me... it really made my day. Seems like as the kids get older, we don't get nearly as many compliments from strangers as when the kids were cute little babies or toddlers. Usually, I am worried that at least one of the kids is annoying everyone around... it was very nice to hear something positive about my little world.