Princess Evelyn

Evelyn had the ultimate honor last week, to be a flower girl for my cousin(s) Luke (and now Stacy).

Evie and I drove to Chicago first thing in the morning so she could practice her walk and to get her hair done. She never lets us put anything in her hair so we had to bribe and threaten her to make sure her fancy hair stayed that way. Bribe #1: don't touch you hair. Reward #1: sucker.

I often call Evie "Evarrelli," joking that she's a princess just like Cindarelli. With her white dress on she looked like a princess and got along great with Stacy.

Bribe #2: Smile and look at the camera during pictures. Reward #2...and 3...and 4: Sucker(s)


Evie and Max practiced many times to walk together, slowly, down the aisle.
Bribe #3: Walk properly down the aisle. Reward #5: another sucker
Well when it came time to perform they pulled an audible. Evie decided to hold Max's hand instead of throw flowers. It was still really cute and they did well. They walked slowly and stayed together. They both veered right almost forcing Evie into the pews and they didn't quite make it to the front. But it was great!
After the wedding Evie enjoyed bubbles, dancing, and pop. It was an awesome day for her, one that she'll remember for a long time.

June Happenings

The boys' mobility is increasing by the day. Jack had his first mischievous moment. We turned our heads for a few minutes while the boys were playing only to return to Jack decorating himself with desitin.

Evie enjoyed swimming lessons and now bravely puts her face underwater.
Their combined weight is over 70 lbs, but daddy can still pull off "3 kids." Picking up all 3 by myself is a little dicey...but Evie loves it.
I spent a day at Sleeping Bear dunes for my cousin Luke's bachelor party. The dune we climbed was huge.

Then we did some sand jumping, which is a great rush.

Pickerel Lake Triathlon 2011

It was the 7th annual Pickerel Lake Triathlon this weekend, and it was another great success. Warm, dry, (humid) weather. Strong turnout. No bicycle mishaps. Great Race.

The 2005 winner Dan Rupke made his first appearance since the inaugural year. He couldn't defend is previous title but finished with a similar time, good for 2nd. Also, our first non-cottage participant joined. Chris from down the road heard about out group and asked to join. He didn't have the benefit of preparation and had to borrow a woman's mountain bike but still had an impressive race and finished 3rd.
The swim was a bit of a challenge. There was a little wind chop for the middle part of the race that threw me out of rhythm for a few minutes. The high school swimmers once again dominated.





The biking conditions were ideal. We had a ton of rain in the previous week so the dirt roads were firm. About 1 mile of the pavement was redone since last year so it was quite smooth.

I felt awesome on the bike. I overtook the fast swimmers and was in first by about 1 minute coming off the bike. Before I stopped biking I knew I had no chance for a good run. My energy was sapped, but I pushed hard to make sure I had the best overall bike time.

The run was brutal. I had a weird queezy/completely spent feeling that made me almost stop and purge a few times. I was easily passed by Paul, Dan, and Chris during the run and finished 4th.

My time was very similar to last year but clearly not at the same level as my 3 winning years.

Paul was by far the most trained person again this year. His burning desire to beat my record time pushed him to new training levels. Sadly (for him), he came up short again. My record will stand for at least one more year.

The rest of the weekend was filled with amazing summer weather, sparklers, children, family, and fun.

Evie was already a pyro, so the sparklers were right up her ally. She liked them so much that she voluntarily smiled for the camera.


Grandpa enjoyed his new rocking chair and his youngest grandsons.
The boys enjoyed themselves most of the weekend.