Mudpie Mommas

Anna and Caroline along with some of Anna's friends from school were registered for the LuvMud 2012 mud race at Shelby Farms. We figured out a way to work around the soccer game that afternoon and the girls were excited about it. Then, Amy (mom to two of Anna's friends) asked if I wanted to run the race with her. We definitely decided to do the race and then got to working on our costume idea. Amy had the grand idea of us wearing aprons and chef hats and I named us the Mudpie Mommas. It was such a fun race and would highly recommend it. I was such an over-achiever that I went out and ran 10 1/2 miles that morning for my long run of the day and THEN did the LUVMud race which is a 5k off road on the trails at Shelby Farms including obstacles along the way and a mud pit at the end. My legs were on fire during the race and sweet Amy kept encouraging me along. We had a great time, got really muddy and so did the kids and enjoyed the day. The weather could not have been better and we look forward to doing this race or the nighttime LUVGlow race next year!

the mudpie mommas are dressed and ready to race!

we are off....what have we gotten ourselves into??

on the slip and slide....a blast!!

amy and i in the mudpit at the end. love the mud on our teeth.

i had a blast!!

using the hoses to clean up....that water was so cold!!

sophie, lainie, katie, anna and caroline after the kids race

this is how caroline chose to clean up afterwards!!

Anna's triathlon

As if we needed something else to do the weekend of Gary's 24-hour bike race and Caroline's birthday, on Sunday we added the Memphis Thunder Kids' Triathlon. Anna has participated the past two years and seems to enjoy it. We try to have her practice a bit before the event, especially swimming since we are past going to the pool so regularly once school starts. She was nervous as usual, but did a great job. She was just a little slower than last year and that was on the bike portion but otherwise, improved on the swim and the run. We were very proud. Caroline is convinced she can do this next year but we told her she has to 1) be able to complete the swim without stopping (4 lengths of the pool) and 2)ditch the training wheels. We'll see how motivated she is by next summer to be ready.   These girls definitely have Gary's genetics with regard to athletics and sporting events. So proud that they get out there and get exercise.

looking good on the swim

running through transition #1

hanging in there on the bike

so glad she finished strong!

grampa was on hand to cheer and provide timing!

mimi and papa enjoyed their first kids tri!

so proud of anna finishing her third kids triathlon!

Happy 6th birthday Caroline!!

Sweet Caroline. Taking one for the team this year with regard to her birthday and celebrations! She turned 6 on Friday. Gary decorated her door and the staircase as we always do for the girls the night before their birthday. I drove and picked up doughnuts for her special breakfast that she ate on the birthday plate. She got to wear the birthday vest at school and have her name on the birthday flag at school. Mom was the secret reader in her class. Gary and I met her for lunch and brought yummy cookie cake to her class. Surprise pedicure for Anna and Caroline after school. Then, we set up for Gary's 24-hour ride that started the night of her birthday. The fun part is that she and Anna got to sleep in a tent by the river downtown for her birthday. The not so fun part is that we would have to delay her birthday party until October due to a crazy weekend, 2 weekends of fall break that followed the crazy weekend and other scheduling issues. Her party is at Sweet and Sassy on October 21st and she is thrilled! She has been such a good sport about the delay and we look forward to continuing the celebration. Thinking back that we started celebrating Labor Day weekend with Gary's mom in Minneapolis where she had a small family party at American Girl, this may be the longest birthday celebration in our family's history!! We love our 6 year old and look forward to seeing her continue to grow and develop more of her crazy personality each day. Happy birthday Caroline!

caroline is 6!

she loved the sign in the yard left by mimi and papa

favorite breakfast (love the holiday cup!)

fun decorations by daddy

birthday vest...had forever but still awesome!

caroline loved that her  name was here

after lunch with caroline

surprise pedicure for anna and caroline after school

St. Jude 24-hour ride

The time had come for Gary's 24-hour bike ride for St. Jude. All of the training, packing, anxiety and excitement was at its peak for the weekend. The first day landed on Caroline's birthday. Gary took the entire day off and spent the morning packing up the car. He was done by 9am and then spent a few hours wondering if he had everything he would need while doing the ride! I took the afternoon off and we met Caroline for birthday lunch at school. After lunch we packed up all of the girls' stuff as well as mine in my car and headed down to Riverside Drive to unload, set up the tent (yes the girls were planning to spend the night in the tent) and get everything set up. Gary was so ready to be at the start line. Lots of jitters and lots of smiles!!

Gary checked in, we set up the tent, unloaded enough food to feed the entire field of 200 riders, set up Gary's transition tent, our chairs,  and everything else that was in the car. I drove back home to pick up the girls and get them ready for the big night ahead. We arrived in plenty of time for the start. Could not believe when I looked at the clock that it said 24:00 remaining....it would be a long night!!!

Gary was amazing. The girls stayed up until around 10:30pm and then retired to the tent for the night. It turned a bit chilly, so they were excited to be in their warm sleeping bags and out of the wind and chilly air. I stayed up all night and fed and encouraged Gary. It was fun for me to see how well he was doing, support other riders I knew out there giving it their best and help Gary gauge the competition. Even though this was a ride for charity, Gary had a goal in mind and that was 325 miles and to win!! There were two other solo riders (1st and 2nd place from the prior year) hanging right in there with Gary. Until 7:30 am Gary never left the bike other than once. At 7:30 am Chick-fil-a had arrived for breakfast (the girls and I were thrilled!!) and Gary and the other two riders that were close (only 3 or 4 laps down) decided to take a 30 minute break. Gary changed clothes, ate a decent breakfast, cleaned up, heard lots of cheers and encouragement and then hopped back on the bike at 8am. The girls and I had to leave for a few hours for Anna's soccer pictures and soccer game. We returned right after lunch for the remainder of the 24-hour time period.

Gary ended up stopping around 4:30pm with 90 minutes remaining. He rode over 21 hours and ended up with over 350 miles!! He won by 15 laps and was so very proud and humbled by the experience.  He was beat up physically and mentally but had such joy knowing that he had accomplished his goal, raised quite a bit of money for St. Jude and had fun pushing his body to the limits throughout the ride.

Gary kept a blog during his training and you can read his final blog entry here. http://givethanksride.com/ It give you a little bit of flavor for his pride and enthusiasm for the event. We were all wiped out that night. Gary was in bed by 8:30pm and the girls were not far behind. I stayed up to finish watching the Auburn/LSU game that ended up being a good game...we came up short by 2 points, but good nonetheless.

Congratulations to my husband. Amazing accomplishment!!

ready to get the show on the road!!

about 1am.....needing a red bull!

break for breakfast....notice my three layers!!! it was chilly!!

gary finished after over 21+ hours and 353 miles!!

1st place solo division!!!

Unglued

I have started a new Bible study with a few women on Lysa TerKeurst's new book entitled "Unglued".  It is perfect for me at this time in my life. Figuring out how to respond in stressful situations, working with kids that don't always cooperate and the curveballs that life in general throws my way.  Lysa definitely keeps it real in every book of hers I have read. She has been to Hope to speak and her story is very encouraging.  She is the founder and head of Proverbs 31 ministries.  Love also that her husband owns a Chick fil a in Charlotte. Maybe Gary and I can figure out which one and visit it when we head that way in November for a Panthers game. Looking forward to reading, learning and fellowshiping with women that are having the same struggles keeping it all together as me!

Delta Fair

So glad we went to the Delta Fair on the second weekend this year rather than Labor Day, purely for the fact that it was 20 degrees cooler! We still got warm, but really enjoyed the low 80's rather than scorching triple digits. We joined the Campbell family again and the kids enjoyed the rides and the food. Great to walk around, people watch, ride a few rides, catch up with the Campbells and enjoy the weather. No people watching pics this time, but did capture a few images from the day.

caroline and caleb.....those rode lots of rides and had a good time with each other!! the lines were not long since we got there when they opened. only crazy mouse was long. bo and i braved that line with the kids and it was worth it. they loved it!

the kids on the ferris wheel....zack does not like heights, so he skipped out on this one.

love the spelling for a snow cone??? caroline had a blue one....can you tell by her lips in the picture above?

Happy 60th birthday Harding

Harding Academy celebrate their 60th anniversary on Friday with a party theme of "Party like it's 1952". This was such fun for the girls. They were allowed to all dress up like the 1950's and have sock hop, balloon release and of course birthday cake. Such fun and thanks to friends for letting me borrow just about everything for their costumes!!

fun costumes!!

caroline LOVED her outfit

can't be all serious!!

Labor Day in Minneapolis!!

We decided to meet Gary's mom in Minneapolis for Labor Day weekend. It would be a fun getaway for the Zyrieks and a way to see Gary's mom. It is just one flight for both of us and there are plenty of fun things to do there. Mary goes there pretty often for conferences, the post-polio clinic and of course to get her hair cut (wish I had made an appointment with her hair person because I am WAY overdue for a hair cut since my stylist moved to Poland for her husband's job....only person to cut my hair for the past 8 or 9 years and only one to cut the girls' hair!!!!).

We arrived on Friday night. No issues with the flight. The girls were so excited and were literally running around the airport anxious to see Gammy. Mary arrived a day before us and attending a conference, so she had us all check into the hotel already which was great. We stayed in a hotel near the airport and the Mall of America. That made it very convenient for Saturday's activity!!

On Saturday we spent all day at the Mall of America. This place is like any regular shopping mall but on major entertainment steroids!! It has an entire amusement park with a Nickelodeon theme INSIDE the mall. We did that for a lot of the day. Actual roller coasters, some even went upside down! The girls had a blast. I rode the rides with the girls. Gary rode a few, but not many. I think he is getting a weak stomach in his 40's!! : ) At noon we had reservations for lunch at the American Girl store. It was right by the amusement park area so it worked out well. We arranged in advance to have a birthday celebration for Caroline. We ordered her first American Girl doll and had it wrapped and waiting at the table. We had a great lunch with birthday hats for the girls and their dolls along with cake and ice cream for dessert. Caroline was thrilled!! She named her doll Katie and was so very excited. It was fun to celebrate with Gary's mom and do something fun for her out of town/early birthday.

We lasted most of the day at the mall, never really entering any stores. We rested back at the hotel, grabbed some dinner and watched Auburn lose their first football game of the season. It could be a LONG season.

Sunday we spent the day at the Children's Museum after a great breakfast at a truly local and eccentric place. Great place located in St. Paul with plenty of fun activities for the kids to enjoy. We had dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe back at the Mall of America and then let the kids swim at the pool.

Gary's mom left on Monday morning and we had most of the day to spend before our flight home. We decided to spend the time at the Science Museum located in St. Paul. We really enjoyed it and wished we had a little more time. Great place for learning and it was very interactive.

Flew home on Monday afternoon. Home in time for dinner (picked up at Chick fil a because we had ABSOLUTELY no dinner food at home) and even got the suitcases unpacked and laundry rolling. Really nice weekend in a new place for us. Tired, but worth it!

ready for the first roller coaster of the day!

gammy with gary and the girls

crazy upside down ride anna and i rode together at nickelodeon  universe at the mall of america

caroline at AG store for her birthday lunch!

fun times at the AG store

Minnesota Children's Museum

the girls reading from the teleprompter for a fun newscast

taking a break for snacks

great riverboat/mississippi river portion of the science museum

exhibit about size and proportions and ratios at the science museum