House disaster

Unfortunately, our house is in a major state of disarray. Our dishwasher had a leak so we had to rip out our cabinets and flooring. We now have a fancy temporary plastic sink for the near future. We obviously also have to hand wash all of our dishes which is a quick way to realize how much you appreciate a dishwasher.

Happy Birthday Julie

Julie made it around the sun one more time. The kids and I took her out for a nice dinner downtown Naperville to celebrate.

Julie’s birthday also means that Halloween is right around the corner. We are getting ready for the festivities by decorating the house and getting costumes sorted for the kids. Luckily Carter is easy because he is doing the same thing for the 5th year in a row, he will be a pizza. Emery took a little more effort but finally landed on a cheerleader. We couldn’t leave Charly out so she got a matching cheerleader outfit too!

You can’t do October without a pumpkin patch. Emery and I did the annual visit to Johansen Farms with Emery’s Girl Scout troop. The biggest part of the night was the chick house where it was cuteness overload.

 

Naperville Triathlon 2023

I completed my 7th running of the Naperville Sprint Triathlon this weekend. It was a nice way to follow up the 70.3 Ironman I did earlier this year. Going from 5.5 hours to just over 1 hour makes for a fun time. The weather was also really cool which helped make it even more enjoyable. It seemed like there were more people than in 2021 and like always there was a lot of great energy. In past years I usually only knew one or two people but this year there were some fellow F3 friends that did it with me. For some of them, it was their first time which always makes me remember my first race all the way back in 2009!

 

2023 2021 2017 2015 2012 2010 2009
Overall Place 61 71 147 158 270 263 602
Age Group M 40-44 M 40-44 M 35-39 30-34 30-34 30-34 25-29
Group Place 11 11 26 25 44 35 48
Swim 6:22 5:51 5:25 7:02 7:40 6:58 6:18
Transition 1 2:29 2:35 2:44 3:12 2:57 2:34 3:29
Bike 36:19 35:29 37:10 39:33 38:09 38:58 46:52
Transition 2 1:30 1:23 1:21 1:21 2:02 1:32 1:54
Run 24:51 24:27 25:16 25:23 28:00 26:47 28:09
Total Time 1:11:29 1:09:43 1:11:54 1:16:28 1:18:47 1:16:47 1:26:41

 

Schools coming

We’re getting down to the end of summer, only a few more weeks to go. We are also in a no-sports break so trying to relax before the craziness of school begins.

I finally convinced Carter to go out to the mountain bike trails with me. We hit some big hills right out of the gate and he says “this is just like a roller coaster with no safety equipment!”

 

Davenport trip

Julie got the weekend to relax at home while I took the kids to Davenport to hang with the Wassmer family. It was the first the kids have been back since the great Wassmer migration. The weather was pretty nice so we gathered part of the Zaehringer clan and went tubing in the Mequoketa River. It was a nice relaxing leisurely float down the semi-green river.

Throughout the weekend Charly met 3 new friends and actually didn’t attack them! Ali didn’t do very well with other dogs so we’re glad to see our new child has good manners.

Before we headed home, Emery got to ride a horse! Charly’s breeder had a horse at Red Roof Stable and invited us over for a ride. Emery rode it around the pin a few times and used the new skills she picked up at horseback riding camp the week before.

Ironman Des Moines 70.3

Last weekend I crossed the finish line again at my second 1/2 Ironman in Des Moines. We lucked out because the weather turned out awesome. There was a chance of rain but it was dry and 70F degrees. The great weather and a bit easier course helped me cut almost 30 minutes off my last Ironman in Maddison.  I’m extremely happy with the results and glad to be finished so I can relax for the rest of the summer.

2021 2023
Swim 32:52:00 33:38:00
T1 4:13 3:11
Bike 3:01:29 2:53:16
T2 4:03 4:57
Run 2:32:59 2:11:58
Full Course 6:15:35 5:46:58

School is out!

We made it to the end of the year, let the summer fun begin. Both Carter and Emery had great years but were ready for the downtime. They won’t get much downtime because they both have a ton of camps to keep them busy. The kids won’t miss school but I will miss my bus stop buddies. Many mornings, I got out of the house and walked with Carter to the bus stop. It gave me an excuse to get some fresh air, walk the dog, and have some coffee with two other dads looking to do the same thing.

While my kids are celebrating the end of their school year, my nephew Braxton is celebrating the end of his high school. He is all grown up and is now off to college. We took a trip back to Davenport to celebrate the occasion with him. It had been a long time since the extended family had gotten together so it was really nice to see everyone and catch up.