Here is a rundown of the adventures of Spike the Elf in the Maurer household.
Day 1: Started out pretty simple. He just sat down in a high chair in our dining room that we used at Thanksgiving time(I know too lazy to carry it down to storage). For an obvious spot Spike was not noticed all day until the time of getting ready for bed. Simple and not too glamorous of an entrance.
Day 2: After sitting unnoticed all day in an uncomfortable spot he need a soak in a marshmallow bath. He was noticed right away as the kids tried to brush their teeth before school. They were fascinated by the magic marshmallows from the North Pole and took extra caution not to touch. Spike also wrote them a letter back on the paper that they hid the first night. Thank goodness someone overheard the kids talking strategy about hiding the paper to test Spike! This could have proved disasterous.
Day 3: Once again he was easily spotted as he accidentally trapped himself on the mantle of Christmas decorations. He somehow got wedged in this container and was trying to break free. It was pretty crazy when the kids were talking about Spike being stuck and he moved his arms while we were all around him. It really startled them all.
Day 4: Spike moved to the top of the fridge for our next day. He was spotted in record time despite being hard to notice. He was wearing these amazing glasses that turn Christmas lights into 3D shapes and patterns. These particular glasses make Christmas lights look like Snowmen. He was spotted and was in great viewing for the behavior of the kids who were not being the best! Spike took note and took copious notes.
Days 5 and 6: Spike became quite clever with this next challenge. In our dining room he set up a brainteaser. One his note behind the candle it stated that the kids had to move two toothpicks to create four equal squares. If they did this, then they would receive a prize. It took the kids two days of trying before they gave up. Needless to say no prize was given, but brain cells were lost during the thinking process. Spike moved on to another spot and gave them a chance to recover.
Days 7 and 8: Spike moved on to another hiding spot that he thought would be super obvious, but lo and behold he was stuck idle hiding in the Christmas tree for two full days before being discovered. Spike could not believe that he had to sit upside down for 48 hours. This was one that he thought for sure would be easy after the challenging brain teaser from the days before.
Day 9: Spike returned back to the giving spirit by creating a cool little setup. He asked the kids to plant some peppermint seeds and water with candy sprinkles for a tasty surprise to grow. He set three containers up for each of the kids. Addy and Ava were on this quick and ready to go. Now the kids have to excercise some patience waiting for the treat to grow. What will it be? Only Spike knows.......
Stay tuned for the prize and the rest of the events to unfold.
Today I woke up the trio early to get them ready for the Race For The Cure. They have grown used to sleeping in a little bit longer than 6:45. Amanda is in Chicago for the weekend with her friends having some time away from the daily grind and I decided to register the kids and let them experience the race atmosphere.
Ava ready to run...
In some ways this was nice to share this with the kids. However, I won't lie and tell you that placing the bib on my shirt and the timing chip did not make me flip my competitive switch. I would have liked to give this race a go to see where I am at in terms of pushing the limits. But, I had a great time with the kids.
It was great seeing so many people out supporting those who have battle cancer especially breast cancer. As I stated on FB this morning when you stop to think about everyone affected by cancer it is scary and alarming. Right now there are a lot of people in my life both in family, friends, and teaching circles that are battling cancer themselves or have a child battling cancer. It makes me stop to appreciate my health and give these fighters much credit for not giving up hope and staying strong. When I am sore from a long bike ride I really should not complain when I stop to think about how lucky I am.
Ready to Race!
This morning it became hot fast. LIVE UNCOMMON had a great turnout and the new shirts were SWEET!
When we finally got there we had quite a walk to the LIVE UNCOMMON area. I think that was about half the race. We hung out for a bit and then made our way to the start. We were way in the back which I am not used to. It took forever for us to get to the starting line. Ava was in no mood for the stroller as she was tired of looking at butts and wanted me to carry her so she could people watch(like her mamma).
Here is the view from where we were
After we finished we ate some cookies, popsicles, and of course found the jumpers for the kids. We met many people and I even met someone who is looking to jump in a and train with us in the mornings. I love these crowds and these people who are all about making themselves better in whatever pursuits they have.
So far I have survived The Solo Adventures of Hanging with Dad. Below is a slide show of pictures from the weekend so far. I will continue to add to this throughout the weekend. I can assure you that the best is yet to come.
All in all I bet we walked close to 3 miles between walking to and from the car, the one mile race(Ava was in no mood for 2 more miles), and just walking around. Addy came home and crashed for a 3 hour power nap. Ava slept about 2 hours and during that time I sanded the deck. Aiden lost a tooth.
For lunch Ava decided to put ravioli in her hair(pictures coming soon to the album) and I am trying to pick up the house a little bit before Amanda comes home.
Here is the slide show of the weekend so far. More will be added throughout the weekend.
Trying to rest as much as possible the rest of the day. I have a 13 mile run to get in tomorrow night and then a recovery week in my half Ironman training leading up to the QC Tri and then things get crazy as I cram in a major week of training in four days before I leave to party and dance the night away with the Dave Matthews Band for three days. By the way, I have a ticket available if anyone is interested in one wild weekend where anything can happen. One ticket is open and one spot in the Tailgate Beast Van.
Alright, back to meeting the demands of my girls.......
Last night I took my kids outside to try out Geocaching. Geocaching is simply using a GPS enabled device or a compass to locate hidden treasures and locations that others have created. I wanted to test out the Geocaching.com app as we are exploring geocaching with my 4th grade ELP group. While we wait for more GPS devices I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.
I tried to explain to Aiden what we were going to do. My explanation did not work out well as he was not the least bit interested. Aiden and I had to make errand run and while I was waiting for him I tested out our location to see if anything was nearby and lo and behold there was a spot about .3 of a mile away. I gave him my phone and told him to navigate me to the spot. We drove to the Family Museum and got out and began to use the app to track down the treasure. This treasure was called Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This was one of several clues in the series. After wandering and wandering we finally made the discovery. Aiden was so excited. I knew by the look in his eyes that he was hooked. We took one of the treasures and replaced it with another treasure from my car,hid the contents, made sure nobody was looking, and took off home.
When we got home Aiden instantly went to work making his own little treasure to hide. In the meantime I found that there were two more pretty close to our house. I loaded Ava in the stroller and Addy got ready and we headed out exploring.
Aiden brought his treasure in case he found a good spot to hide it.
They were in heaven looking for the treasures. Over an hour later we had tracked down two more treasures and walked easily 1.5 miles if not more. It was awesome to see them so excited and getting exercise at the same time.
She was one proud girl tracking this one down.
Tonight we hope to hide his treasure and get it loaded up on the geocaching.com website. We are also going to explore Duck Creek for me treasures.
The nerds have found a new way to waste time together. Time to get ready to explore.
Here are some pictures from our travels. SPOILER ALERT! A few of these might give away certain hiding spots so if you are interested in finding these then don't look through the photos.
This morning I was loading up the kids, getting things around, turning off lights, etc.(all the basic things that happen in a 7 minute window in the morning). I always keep Ava in her highchair so she does not wander off to mysterious places. While loading up my school gear in my car I came back to Ava looking like disaster. Not only disaster, but she somehow placed some of her breakfast with pure precision on her nose. I think it was placed so accurately she did not even notice.
Nothing special to this post, but just had to share as it cracked me up. Crazy hair(it never does anything but stand up all over the place), breakfast all over her outfit(not sure one bite made it to her mouth), and one piece stuck ever so perfectly on her nose.
To be young and carefree again! She was just content that someone was smiling and looking at her. It is the simple things in life.
Good times as a family. Among all the crazy moments in our lives we must always remember to take time to just enjoy family. Never lose sight of family and loved ones among the goals of GETTING IT DONE!
Below are some photos from the BIX 7 race held last weekend. The ones with the proof emblem are from the official photos taken on race day and the others were taken by me when the kids ran the Jr. Bix the night before. Enjoy!
Aiden(age 6) and Addyson(age 4)
Me with Aiden after his race. I have never been so proud of anything or anyone as I was watching him run with all his heart during his 1/2 mile run.
Big boy chowing down waiting for Addyson to run her little race.
Addyson is going to be our athlete. She cried their entire Moonlight Chase, but she tore this race up and was very proud of her medal.
This picture made the QC Times and Aiden is behind the kid in the tie dye shirt on the right.
Here I am pre-race as I was just getting ready for my warm up run.
Notice the change in expression as this is me after the race. I was dead and did not have enough energy to even smile.
Heading on home and my legs were going on me quickly
My stupid arm position that my wife always makes fun of. I finally see it after all this time.
This picture captures how tired I am. I left it all out on the course and the results were worth it.
The finish line FINALLY! It is amazing how the brain and legs realize this line and instantly shut down.
One more shot of finishing. I needed water so bad and yet it felt like it was miles away.
People ask me for photos of Ava. People ask me what I do with my time in the summer.
I put two and two together added my other kids because they are just as important as Ava and decided to come up with the Summer 2011 Photo Project.
Each day or every couple days I will add photos to this gallery for you to enjoy. From this point on I will keep a link over in the sidebar. I will not post each time I add a photo. I will add some descriptions to the photos.
It would be cool if we had a collective group posting a pic or two each day. If you would be interested in doing that then simply email me and I can create a group on Flickr so we can all be connected.
Here is a updated batch of photos of summer so far. Descriptions will be up later when I have time.
Can you believe this is my 1000th post? I cannot believe I have wasted your time with so many useless things. Actually I hope you have been able to find something useful or entertaining over the course of these last few years. This blog has emerged and evolved many times, but throughout it all is has kept the essence of who I am: Nerdiness and enjoying life while pushing myself to achieve new goals and achievements. Thank you for reading my posts if you are a follower or reader. I appreciate it very much. As much as this blog is for myself it is nice to be able to share things with others with similar thoughts and ideas.
What better timing than to share something special with all of you for my 1000th post. I was worried that I would not have anything worthwhile when I got to this point. Actually I never thought this blog would last this long. I have the perfect thing to share for my 1000th post. My new daughter, Ava.
On a side note, I am announcing the winner of the 40 book giveaway tomorrow and starting a new giveaway also. Be on the lookout.
I am also starting up my new training plan for my summer races. This will all be unveiled later in the week.
Now, time for Ava
You know it was coming.
Addyson and Ava my two crazy daughters!!
A video about Ava. This is just a little video showcasing some more photos and videos of Ava. You know there is going to be many more. It is just who I am. The nerd in me cannot resist making videos.
Ava is already a deep thinker.....or she cannot stand my coffee breath
Of course I had to share in my reading interests to Ava
Ava and I having a moment together
My favorite quote of the week comes from my daughter when she told me this about Ava:
"Her hair is as soft as ice cream." How awesome is that? Words cannot describe any better way especially when it comes from your own kids.
Here is the video. I might have to use one of these pictures as my new avatar for all my online stuff. I love being a father even if it costs me my sleep.
It has been nice not being plugged in to the internet as much as I usually am.
I have been enjoying my time with my family.
Ava is the newest addition.
Aiden and Addyson are adapting well.
Our first night home went great.
Last night we were up all night. Ava decided to be mad at the world from 10:00 to about 2 in the morning. I had to crash as I was up at 4:30 that morning. Poor Amanda stayed up for a while longer to calm Ava(she had a few naps in during the day which is why she stayed up).
Ava and Amanda are crashed right now as I try to get caught up in all my work.
Yes, I am tired. My eyes are bloodshot, but that is part of having a new baby.
I have many pictures to share, but in the meantime I will share some images of her from Bella Baby Photography for now.
While painting this weekend, Amanda laid on the bed with Addy to play Dora. Here is the extent of the conversation that ensued that about made me pee my pants and spill paint.
Addy: Momma you want to play Dora with me?
Amanda: Sure
Addy: Mom, you can be baby Dora?
Amanda: Alright, who are you?
Addy: I am princess Dora
Amanda: What does princess Dora do?
Addy: Momma, did you fart?
Amanda: No
Addy: Is that your breath then?
Amanda: No, Addy
End of play as Amanda and I died laughing
Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up. If only I had this on video so you could hear the serious tone of the questioning.
The question still eludes as to what the smell actually was. We will blame it on our dogs.
Day 1: Started out pretty simple. He just sat down in a high chair in our dining room that we used at Thanksgiving time(I know too lazy to carry it down to storage). For an obvious spot Spike was not noticed all day until the time of getting ready for bed. Simple and not too glamorous of an entrance.
Day 3: Once again he was easily spotted as he accidentally trapped himself on the mantle of Christmas decorations. He somehow got wedged in this container and was trying to break free. It was pretty crazy when the kids were talking about Spike being stuck and he moved his arms while we were all around him. It really startled them all.
