Trip Log

The kids are I are on a fun trip without Matt. We miss you, Matt, but we're having a great time. Enjoy these pictures. Some of them might make you miss us, but some might make you enjoy your "quiet time" a little more :)

The plane ride was great, except we sat in the back by the toilets. Stinky! You'd think people could just hold it. Our flight left on time - 10:55pm. The flight was 4:45 and the kids slept as good as can be expected. I think the kids all inherited the inability to sleep vertically from me. Tali is small enough to lay flat across her seat with her feet on my lap. She slept very comfortably and only kicked me about eleventy-billion times. Liz tried as hard as she could to get comfortable, but she fidgeted a lot. Josh finally found a way to fit his whole body in his seat. I read a whole RunnersWorld magazine since I'll be running a lot the next 2 weeks - I left my bike at home. I lay my head on the tray table for a while, but I think I got about 45 minutes of sleep in 3 or 4 increments. Makes for a lovely morning! But, overall, it was a very easy flight. On the 2nd flight (Denver to SLC) all the "motion" finally got to Liz and she had to use a barf bag. We love PukaLiz.

One funny story . . . on the first flight, Liz and Tali were both sound asleep and I had actually dozed off when Tali suddenly started kicking me really hard. Liz had fidgeted herself right on top of Tali. I woke up to what looked like Liz smothering Tali with her blanket and Tali kicking and fighting for her life. Even at 2 or 4am (whatever it was), I had to laugh. I moved Liz and they both went back to sleep.

I've finally reached the point where the older kids are big enough to push Tali and pull the little bags while I pull the big ones. World travel, here we come!

Tali and her Great-Grandma Bird in Nana & Papa's backyard.

More Nana's & Papa's backyard.

Liz, Tali & Kaylee touching the sting rays while Josh says, "No thanks, I'll just watch." (He joined in later when he got confirmation that the stingers had been clipped off.

Liz touching a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. When she was little I made a point to not get freaked by spiders in front of her so she wouldn't be a spider/reptile weenie like me. Apparently it worked. She'll touch anything.

What we've been up to

Lounging in the backyard

Gardening

Hiking (McHugh Trail)

Sleep-Hiking?

Bummin' around (It gets hot in the kitchen!)

Mighty Bikes

Watching Mighty Bikes

More of what we've been up to

A girly sleepover

Seward Sea Life Center

- The girls and I went to the Sea-Life Center while Josh hiked up Mt. Marathon with Matt. All Liz and Tali wanted to do there was look out the back window and watch the trainers feeding the seals and cleaning the pools.

The Petting Zoo

(No, she's not kicking him.)

Mt. Marathon Photos

Compliments of Kevin Heck

Tiffanie's Mt. Marathon

My story begins diferently than Matt's. Ever since I moved to Alaska, I've heard crazy stories of people getting all beat up on Mount Marathon. You Tube has tons of videos. It's a crazy race. It starts starts about 1/2 mile away from the base of the mountain, in downtown Seward. From there you can take any route to the top you want. At the top you go around a big boulder where they record your bib number and then you can take any route down you want. Your choices range from steep to very steep to insanely steep.

I was not planning on doing it. I had never climbed Mt. Marathon until one week ago. That's where all my trouble started. It was so fun that all my fears of the mountain disappeared. First, it was beautiful. We saw a black bear way off in the distance. Then we saw a family of ptarmigans running around. And at the very top we saw mountain goats across the ridge. The babies were playing on the cliffs causing tiny rock slides while the adults lay in the grass. Funny, huh! Second, it was not scary. There are so many different trails that you can avoid the insanely steep sections. On the way down, if you run with reckless abandon, you might fall, but that can happen anywhere, right? So, all week I told Matt how fun it was and how I might do the race someday.

That brings us to the evening of July 3rd, 2009. We were at the pre-race safety meeting. We put Josh's name in a drawing for Mini Mt. Marathon. It takes a specific route (a safe one) and goes halfway up the mountain and back down. Alas, his name did not get chosen.

Then they started the auction. Every year they auction off 10 men's and 10 women's spots. They usually go for over $500 and up to $1500. Matt said, "If I can get you in for under $300, I'm doing it." I just rolled my eyes. Matt bidded and bidded until it got up to about $320, then stopped. Two other ladies continued for a minute. Tali was watching intently. She stood up, sauntered in front of Matt, suddenly snatched the bidding paddle with a ninja-like move that only 3 year-olds can do, and raised it high in the air. Everyone laughed! The auctioneer looked for the thumbs-up to see if we really meant it. Of course we didn't . . . I mean, why is Matt nodding his head? . . . Apparently we did mean it. And that's how I got into Mt. Marathon the night before for $380. The good news? As long as I finish the race every year I never have to do the lottery again. Okay, so that's not really good news.

Was it worth it? Maybe. You know how when you finish something really hard you say you'll never do it again? And then slowly you start changing your mind? (If you have more than one kid, you know what I'm talking about.) Maybe when I'm able to walk down the stairs without wincing (probably in about two more days) then I might think about doing it again next year.

You know, I can't resist. Yeah, it was fun.

Mt. Marathon

We had a big weekend! Not only was it the Fourth of July, it was the Third of Tali! Tali turned three on the 4th, and we spent the weekend in Seward.

Every Fourth of July, a big celebration is held in Seward, AK over the 4th. It's one of our favorite places to go, along with a thousand other people :) Every year all the campsites are full and hotels are reserved a year in advance.

The two main attractions of the celebration are the midnight firewords, and a race called Mount Marathon. It is the second-oldest running race in the U.S. (The oldest is the Boston Marathon.) The whole race is about 3.5 miles long and ascends (and then descends) 3022 ft. FYI - that's steep!

The race is virtualy impossible to get into because it's so popular. Matt and I both entered the lottery this year, but neither of us made it in. Then Matt applied for a "special invite" reserved for people who show promise of placing in the top 20 and he got in! I didn't go any further than the lottery. I was actually pretty releived that I didn't make it in :) ...more to come on that.

So, Matt has been training for this race for about two months. At some point during his training, he decided he was shooting for top 10, which is pretty lofty for a first-time Mt. Marathoner. His friend, Jerry, said it would be nearly impossible. And that's the day the wager was born. They talked about bets involving shaved heads, rat tails, mustaches, and even $. Butt Matt needed something that would give him daily motivation to really train hard. So, they chose another very popular running race, to be held in September, where the loser of the bet will pay up.

The loser of the bet has to lead out the first mile of the race, in direct view of TV cameras and newspaper camera lenses . . . in a Speedo, running shoes, and nothing else.

The last few weeks, everytime he leaves for a workout, I chant "Speedo, speedo . . ."

Top 10 was a lofty goal, and I bet you want to know if he made it . . .

Matt finished 10th!

He doesn't have to wear a Speedo, but Jerry does.

Anchorage Daily News pictures: http://www.adn.com/front/v-gallery/story/853827.html?/1521/gallery/853474.html

Anchorage Daily News stories: http://www.adn.com/front/story/853827.html

KTUU report: http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?s=10644964