You know when you hit Fashion Island and see all of those darling pregnant girls walking around. They look like they have a large canteloupe in their shirt and they are just days away from delivery. Well, wishful thinking didn’t quite work out for me, because it already looks like I am smuggling a huge watermelon, and I still have seven weeks left! And they just happen to be the weeks the baby “really starts to grow”!
My doctor informed me, “this is one VERY healthy baby.” Brett, my sister-in-law, let me know I am the size she was as she entered the hospital. My mom has always warned me that pregnancy won’t be my “glory days.” And Skylar, my niece, just keeps telling me my stomach is getting fatter and fatter. When I tell her, it is a baby, she points out everyone else having babies whose stomach’s don’t look like mine.
At my last ultrasound, my baby was supposed to weigh up to 2 pounds, but he was already tipping the scales at over 3 pounds! When I was born, I weighed in at 9 lbs. 13 oz., and I had a brother who was 10lbs. 6 oz. I figure it is in the blood! But I figure if the baby turns out anything like yours truly…then Micah is one lucky guy!
Swim… Bike… Run
Every year Micah sets up a handful of sprint triathlons in and around Beacon Hill (his parent’s neighborhood.) The competitors use it to test their hydration methods, transition times and mostly to prepare for upcoming races. Micah has about 10 somewhat regulars, and a couple of people who are friends of friends who will show up.
It is a really fun event! They swim laps in the Beacon Hill pool, then take about a 12 mile bike ride around Marina Hills, and finally run just under a 5K. He somehow has conned me into setting up an aid station along the run portion, his mom takes the splits, and both of his parents set up a light breakfast afterwards. During that breakfast, all of the competitors sit around and talk about every single detail of the race.
Some of our stars in the race are the following:
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Kirk Lindahl – He always brings up the rear in style!
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Seth Ure – Without any practice at all, he didn’t come in last place…thanks to Kirk Lindahl!
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Bryan Thacker – The guy had never been on a road bike and did a good job!
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Steve Donahoo – Almost 50, and came out looking like a 19 year old!
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Chris Fetter – He has held the course record for over a year!
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Micah Denison – Best looking guy out there!
If anyone is interested in racing, let Micah know. We have a really good time, and it is only two hours out of a Saturday morning. And the very best part is…..Micah hands out Beacon Hill Tri shirts he custom designed to anyone who participates. Now that is something you can wear around town with pride!
A few weeks ago, Micah and I went to Las Vegas to see Seth and Brett’s brand new baby boy #5 — Grant! While we were out there, Seth wanted to go for a ride on his new bike, so he and Micah geared up for an extremely long ride up Charleston…which lead to Red Rock. Micah read in a bicycling magazine , that the Red Rock ride is one of the best in the U.S. Therefore, off they went.
The road was uphill for about ten miles, and I took Gabe, Spanky and KooKoo along as spectators. We packed a picnic and cheered for them all along the ride. Gabe grabbed a picnic blanket (which I didn’t inspect prior to leaving) out of a little kids picnic game. It wasn’t very big, but in the end did the trick!
We had a great time, and saw some amazing scenery along the ride. Micah was really impressed with Seth’s ride since he has had the bike since Christmas ‘06, but hadn’t been on it until this day. For the length and difficulty of the ride, Micah said Seth kept up and did amazingly well! The next day, when we asked Seth how he felt, he said great. He wasn’t soar or anything! Which brings me to one of the two traits Micah wants our boy to have from me. According to him, he wants our boy to have my eyebrows, and my family’s ability to not get lactic acid build up after long bouts of exercising. Other than that….he wants our boy to be his clone. He is one sweet guy, huh?!!!
There are some things that one should do once a year……once a week…..and even once a day. There are few things that one should only do once a lifetime, and going to the Orange County Swap Meet is one of them! But somehow, when I am asked to go, I always forget that the last time I went, I swore up and down I would never go back!
My two nephews, Jake and Cade earn “smiley dollars” when they are obedient, do their chores, do something extra nice, etc. Once they earn 20 smiley dollars, the reward is getting to pick wherever they want to go. This time around they picked the Swap Meet. They called to see if I wanted to go, and because I claim I am the world’s best aunt I obviously didn’t turn them down. So Calin and I ventured up the 405 to the 55 and met up with the Brockbanks.
We had a great time, and the kids felt the way I feel when I hit Neiman Marcus the second they start marking down their Theory clothes. They loved looking at everything, but when they found the boxes marked $1.00, they thought they had died and gone to Heaven! One of their purchases was a darling umbrella hat that shades you from the sun. The kids and I all wore them around as soon as the sun came out and never went away. I figure I will compromise my appearance any day for the peace of mind I get from staying out of the sun.
In the end, we had a great time, but I can honestly say, I NEVER need to go back!
Mitt Romney recently announced that he would be running for President. Tristen and I helped at a fundraiser in his honor a few months ago and heard him speak. He is a phenomenal speaker, and from what I know of him, he is an excellent candidate with high morals and great values. But to be perfectly honest, as much as I loved what he had to say, Tristen loved the food at the event even more! Trilby’s boss Hadi Magredechian put the event on, and we had a great time helping out!
I only have a little over two months left of this never ending-pregnancy! You should see me, I am huge! The doctor says the baby should weigh 2 lbs. and this kid is already 3 solid lbs.! Both the doctor and the ultrasould tech. say this is going to be one huge baby. I guess since I weighed in at 9 lbs. 13 oz. when I was born, it runs in the family. The lady also said that my baby has some of the biggest feet she has ever seen. They literally are as long as his shin in the pictures. Micah just wants to know if he is in either the running or swimming position. The good news is, I feel great BUT can’t wait until I have a waist again!
Because I don’t have any current pictures, I am putting the picture of the day Micah found out we were expecting. No, he doesn’t have red eye makeup on!
This year for Valentine’s Day, Micah and I went to La Fondue. It is a fondue restaurant (hence the name) located in San Juan Capistrano. We didn’t actually go on February 14th because we always think places are too jammed on the actual holiday.
The food was excellent! But I must say, four huge courses was a rediculous amount of food. We started with a delicious salad - Micah had the romaine, and I had the spinach. Then went on to “The Stinking Rose,” a cheese fondue with garlic. Then came the meats! We had to choose between probably fifteen different types of meats. We ended up with aged filet, chicken, ahi tuna, and per the waitresses suggestions, buffalo and wild boar. (The boar was great, but the buffalo left something to be desired.) After all of that, we chose a milk chocolate fondue for dessert. There were tons of things to dip into it, but our favorites were the rice krispies treats, cheesecake and cookies.
You could have literally rolled me out of there after the two and a half hours it took to eat, but Micah and I agreed it was one of our funnest Valentine’s days yet!
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