So I guess there's this new game out there called blog tag. I was tagged and I have to write 6 random facts about myself. So, here goes:
1. I am a HUGE Bronco fan! It started because of my family, but as I have gotten older, I have truly become a fan of football in general. I enjoy learning about what is going on in the league and different players and teams... and it is really fun and exciting to get into each season... even when my home team isn't doing their best.
2. I had a home birth when I delivered Noah, and it was AMAZING! The experience was crazy... we had a birthing tub in our bedroom, and we in the privacy of our own home without pressure. We were able to have Noah smoothly and easily. Our friends and family waited for us downstairs, and we got to go straight to our own bed that night!
3. I met my husband when I was 16 years old, started dating him when I was 17, and married him when I was 18!
4. We have had people living with us, or we were living with people for half of our marriage! 2 years out of 4...
5. I was born and raised in Colorado Springs... the same house! I was in the same city for 22 out of my 23 years.
6. I am a big Harry Potter fan! I check up on a fan news website on a daily basis to see what news comes from the Harry Potter world!
That's it! 6 random facts. I tag Rachel Havel, Lea Hartman, Amanda Crooks, Katie Bauch, Mindy Vaupel, and Annie Easterling!
I didn't know if I had enough to say about this subject to write an entire post, but since I don't have much else to talk about, I figured I would.
The Ironman Triathlon was in Kona this past weekend. It was pretty crazy during the week leading up to it because we had all kinds of advertising signs everywhere... mainly Ford and Gatorade banners up and down the streets where the athlete's would be running/biking. We also had WAY more people in town! The traffic was unbelievable! We had so many competitors training all week long as well, so there were cyclists everywhere! It was interesting to watch them training, and we knew it was going to be a crazy day in Kona the day of the competition.
We woke up to the sound of a helicopter, and were scared to even think about leaving our condo. We got online to see what part of the competition they were in. The first few swimmers had completed their swim at that point and were beginning their bike journey. It was pretty cool to watch a big group of people get out of the ocean, run to find their bikes, hydrate a bit, and head on their way.
The Triathlon starts with a swim just over 2 miles, then they begin a 112 mile bike ride, and the finish the race with a 26 mile run! The best can complete it in just under 9 hours!
We knew that the athlete's would be running along Alii Drive, so they were going to run right in front of our condo. I walked down in the afternoon the catch a glimpse of the athlete's running by and it was pretty crazy. At that point, they were still near the beginning on their run if they were heading South and almost finished if they were heading North. The majority of runners were still running south when I went to watch.
One man caught me off guard... he was almost to the water section (where volunteers hand out water as they are running) and he stopped and started dry heaving! I think he would have barfed everywhere if there was food in his stomach. But I just watched in awe. I felt sick just thinking about how exhausted he must have felt at that moment... and to think about how much he still had left to go made me feel even worse! A few seconds later, he got it under control and began again while people in the sidelines cheered him on. It was so sticking HOT outside. I wasn't even moving... just standing there sweating. I couldn't imagine how dehydrated and hot they must be!
I started to think... why in the world would anyone put themselves through so much physical pain?! I know it is about achieving a goal of some kind, and doing something huge, but geez... this is obviously not good for the body at all! I was glad I got to see it, but more than anything I just felt bad for the people... they looked miserable. I guess at that point they might look that way. I didn't see their faces near the finish line, I bet they didn't look so bad then! :)
We have two pretty funny stories from this weekend that I would like to share.
The first is actually crazy and down right stupid if you ask me. I honestly don't know how it got as crazy as it did, but one minute I think I am going to just enjoy an evening sweet, and the next thing I know I have a disaster on my hands... and my arms, legs and feet!
A popular snack or dessert item in Hawaii is shaved ice... or also know as a sno-cone. I wanted to have one before we move back to Colorado and this weekend we decided we would indulge in this tasty treat! I have seen them before and they looked simple enough to me. So it began... we enter the store and learn that in order to use a debit card we have to spend a minimum of $8. So I decided to buy our friends shaved ice as well so that I can make that minimum balance. We also had to order the large because the medium and small were too cheap. (Looking back I could have just paid for the large and had them make me a small... oh well). So the process began... and before I knew it, I was way in over my head.
As it got larger and larger I was thinking "How in the world am I going to eat all this?" Then I asked... "Has anyone ever finished one of these?" Her response "No, not that I have seen." Alright so I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it. She finally got all the ice on and began putting syrup on... unbelievable amounts of syrup into this thing. When she finally completed it, she almost dropped it herself!
So we had to figure out our plan... Ben would carry Noah and Michael so that Rachel and I could each carry our abnormally large shaved ice. As we made our way out of the store, passers by are in awe! Commenting things like... "Oh my GOSH!" and "That is unbelievable." Yes, by that time I was super embarrassed... what was I thinking. It literally weighed about 7 lbs. I felt like I was holding a bowling ball. We walked a short distance and before I knew it, the syrup was starting to spill over the edges... melting rapidly over onto my hands and down my arms... then splashing onto my legs and running down my feet. Ugh... I hadn't even started trying to eat it yet!
We made our way to a little coffee shop where Ben was getting his dessert from and it was there that I realized this was a hopeless effort. There was no way I was going to be able to eat ANY of it successfully. I tried to hold onto the top and pour out the extra syrup, but it was just slushy. It continued to melt and slosh all over the place... destroying the coffee shops clean tiled floors. A lady in the coffee shop brought us a plastic plate/bowl so that we could catch the spills and so on, but again this didn't work either. I finally decided that I would save as much as I could and throw the rest away. I successfully got some saved, but it was all slush now... too much syrup to actually enjoy the icy part. After only a few moments, I just threw the rest of it away... $8 down the drain and a heck of a mess to clean up.
Do I dare try another one?
Next event... this was actually pretty fun. We took a trip to a beach! We had to use our 4 wheel drive because the road was pretty nasty. I couldn't believe how many people actually drive it just for the beach. Well, it is mainly for the surfers... Tom and Ben wanted to surf and it is one of the better spots to go in Kona. The time there was enjoyable, but the best part was the actual drive! Not for me... but for Noah! He was loving it! Every time we went over some crazy bumps that would throw his carseat around... he would laugh and laugh! He was cracking up... it was a thrill for him. I was so excited to see how happy it made him. Then I realized... daddy has a partner anytime he wants to go 4 wheeling. Noah would for sure be there... super excited.
I got some video of it... sorry for the shaking, I couldn't help it, but at least you get to see what Noah thought of it. I hope you all enjoy!
