vacation part 4 (the final edition)

Life has been technically challenging lately. My computer has been having issues and this week I am pretty sure lightening hit our house and damaged a lot of our electrical equipment.  Being without our everyday conveniences has proven to be a challenge to some degree.  But, with the help of a cellular connection, today I am hoping to bring you the rest of our vacation pictures because honestly,  I am ready to move on already.  So this might be a long post, but here is the rest of our vacation story.


VACATION...PART 4 (the final edition)


Saturday, August 20th was a very special day indeed.  Our little boy was celebrating his second birthday so we decided to head back to the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean and spend the morning playing in the sand and the water.


Being the photog momma that I am, I had an idea of getting his second year birthday photographs on the beach prior to playing.  HA..I must of been fooling myself because getting to a beach early meant it was puppy playtime (literally hundreds of dogs playing catch and swimming in the water), so of course my doggie loving little guy had to stop and see all the "good girls". And then he himself was ready to jump in the waters, in his clothes and all. No stopping him!

Thankfully, I was able to click at least one photo before he landed himself in the ocean.

Happy happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

After a morning of fun, sun and lots of time swimming in the ocean, we headed back to the hotel to pack up and make the three hour drive from Charleston to downtown Asheville, North Carolina.  Both kids took a nice long nap in the car which made for a very delightful and super fun evening celebrating once we arrived.  We found a pizza parlor for dinner and a bakery for a birthday cookie. Rylan was a very happy birthday boy!  He loved each and every time the happy birthday song was heard and enjoyed singing along as well. (Can I bottle up this cuteness forEVER??) 

We love you, our little 2 year old!

The next day we spent walking around downtown Asheville which is a place we all loved.  An artsy, eclectic and vibrant community with an importance placed on keeping local businesses alive and I have to say, the most aMAZING restaurants. After coffee, juice and scones at a little coffee shop we walked about, playing in parks and doing a little shopping.  Once we were hungry again (like I said..the f.o.o.d...yum) , we sat at a outside table at The Laughing Seed and ate divinely, sipping wine while the kids ate a veggie stir fry (kids menus can be healthy!).  Another perfectly wonderful afternoon.

Yes..that's a coffee shop in the two story bus!  So Cool!

Taking in the awesomeness of Asheville, we headed to Lexington, Kentucky to visit what else, but some horses!  The kids adore animals in general and have a special love for horses so we thought this would be super fun for them...and it was!  A quick visit to Keeneland, in which we walked the grounds and admired the land (there weren't any horses there at that time) and took a few adorable pictures of the kids. 

Ready to see some horses, we drove to Old Friends Horse Farm, a home for rescued retired thoroughbreds. I learned so much about horses, the racing community (didn't really care for it before and now I certainly don't!)  and found this place to be just amazing.  Who knew these horses were often abandoned or sold after their racing career?  Or sent to a slaughterhouse?? Not me.  My eyes were truly opened and I wish I had the funds to send to this farm.  The owner takes in these horses (by finding them abandoned or buying them to save their lives) and cares for them as his own.  Truly an amazing place and if you are ever near Lexington, pay a visit here and it will not disappoint.  

We were taken on a tour and "met" each of the horses and told of their story..and each one had their own life story. One of the horses featured in the movie Sea Biscuit lives here as well. We left here both humbled and in awe of the work and energy taking place to give these horses a wonderful rest of their lives.

On our way out of Kentucky, we made a quick stop at a local distillery where Scott ran inside for a tasting and the kids I played in their gardens.  Scott returned just in time to see our find and the kids were so excited to show Daddy. Yep..a childhood experience in itself..a caterpillar.

And with that..we wrapped up our vacation and headed back home.  After a full day in Kentucky, we knew we wouldn't get home until the wee hours of the early morning, but we were so ok with that!  We soaked up every minute of time that we had and used it to it's fullest. And although we definitely kept busy throughout the week, it was very relaxing as well.  Perhaps because we didn't have an agenda and did what we felt like at that moment?   The kids did extraordinarily well in the car, really surprising all of us. The trip was flawless and a very magical adventure. This may of been our first car trip vacation, but it certainly won't be the last!  Until next time...

Miss MC is a pretty good photographer!

Ten on Tuesday


1. We'll take a break from vacation photos for a TOT.  The Fall is always a busy time for us and this year it's no exception.  


2.  Today we had our first trip to the pumpkin farm and we went with Makenna's preschool.  Once again I realized she is growing up right before my eyes..her world outside of us is certainly a big part of her life and she loves spending time with her friends.






















3. 3. Mom has joined us in the Apple world and is having fun learning how to use her new iPad.  Congrats mom!  And now the kids can see Nana even more often with FaceTime, which they have already done several times.  I also love that she has some content on it just for the kids...Nana, you are one great grandma!


4.  Among some of that kid stuff is a 30 second video of a Brown Bear getting stuck on a bridge in California and being rescued to safety by a team of people.  I think Rylan has seen this video 80 times, and that's a conservative number!  "Bear..bear..", he saids often when he see's her phone, and now her iPad.  It's funny what kids find entertaining!


5. Scott and I are up to double digits in our daily mileage.  Last week I ran 29 miles, capping it with a 10 miler on Sunday.  And I made it!!  Actually it was a really good run (they all aren't!) and I am so proud of myself.  On Friday we have a 12 mile scheduled so let's hope that goes just as good.  Of course, Scott is going through the training with flying colors...old pro that he is!


6. After getting in our runs on Friday, we are all heading to Michigan for our annual Family weekend.  Woot! We are all so excited and can't wait to spend the long weekend together.  Brad, DeChantel, Scott and I are cycling in the Apple Cider Century on Sunday and we are hoping to do the full distance of 100 miles. It's always a great ride and full of so many laughs, stories and good times.


7. But before then I have to find time to do a million, zillion things this week.  The list is long and hopefully I'll get through it!  


8. This past weekend we spent Saturday riding the rails and playing tourist in Chicago.  We boarded the train in the morning, headed to downtown LaGrange for lunch and a little shopping and then took the train to downtown Chicago where we visited Millennium Park and the Bean.  We had an awesome day together..the kids loved the train rides (and we did too!) and made a mental note to do this more often.   The train made it very easy to get everywhere and the kids LOVED every minute of it!  At the end of the day, we picked up some sandwiches and ate dinner on the train ride home. A perfect day!

9. Do you like Banana Bread?  If so, this is a great recipe!  So good...
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/marbled-chocolate-banana-bread-10000000549763/


10. Truth be told...this was last week's TOT but my computer decided it needed a check up at the Apple Store so even though this was ready to go, I couldn't post it.  Pretend it's Tuesday, Sept. 20 and I'll be back tomorrow with an update.  ;)

VACATION...part 3

After 3 days spent on the coastal waters, we decided to take a day exploring Downtown Charleston. Although we spent a few of the evenings in town, there was still so much to see.  We walked all over, took in the beautiful city sights and the water... and of course stopped to say to many dogs (MC and Ry haven't met a dog they don't love!).

There were so many hidden treasures, like this water fountain that was also a cooling place for the kiddos (it was hot and humid).  No bathing suit?  No problem for MC!

And by the water, there was a walkway out to the coast with several wooden swings.  It was a welcome sight  and who doesn't like to swing like a child?!

Such an awesome day and one that was well spent.  What a great city...

But even better, was the company we were with. How we love to spend our days together...

VACATION..part 2

Once we settled into South Carolina, we had one mission and that was to spend lots of time at the beach!  There were many beach towns to explore and we decided on three of them, with a different one every day.  Seabrook Island was our first beach day and it was actually our favorite and returned there later in the week for Rylan's birthday.  However, Folly Beach and Isle of Palms were great also..each beach town with a slightly different feel.


After stopping for breakfast at a local coffee shop in Seabrook Island, we headed to the water. Rylan immediately was taken to the beach and initially loved chasing the sea gulls.

But after that initial excitement, the kids fell in love with the sand, the water, the waves.  Makenna took right to the ocean and to all of our surprise, so did Rylan.  He is quite the little fish and had no issue with swimming in the ocean.

Over the next several days, we did a lot of THIS...

I love how Scott and Rylan are in the background of these photos!

And when the sun got to us and we needed some sleep, we did just that.  And lucky Rylan had just the special place to land his tired little body. (lucky little boy!)

Beach Bums we were and Ahhhh..this is certainly the life. Lucky, lucky us.

Will be back next week for more vacation photos.. 

VACATION...part 1


After racing in Wauconda, we came home to shower and pack the car.  By late afternoon, we were headed on the road, with a destination for the night unknown for sure.  We were hoping to get as far as we could, but also realizing that we were up early and might be quite tired come nightfall.

The kids quickly fell asleep for a nap (this is what we saw looking out our rear view mirror!)

and missed the awesome views of this never-ending windmill farm

but we excitedly drove until we stopped several hours later for dinner at the one and only Steak and Shake.  Shake treats for everyone was actually quite a delight!

After dinner, we put the kids in pajamas and went back on the road.  We sang lots of songs, told some stories and had a great time.  The kids eventually settled into night sleep and Scott and I were starting to get tired around 11 pm or so.  McD's came to the rescue with hot java and apparently mine lacked the caffeine that Scott's had because I promptly fell asleep but Scott hit a new rhythm and got us all the way to Knoxville, Tennessee. Seriously..Knoxville???!!!  We rolled in the town after 1 am, found a hotel and slept for a few hours (shortest hotel stay evER!) until waking up and heading out at 9:30 am for another 2.5 hour drive to Asheville, North Carolina..just in time for lunch!

Downtown Asheville is know for being an artists community with an abundance of Local love from it's restaurants to its shops.   We will come to find that we absolutely loved this area and our first stop at Early Girl Eatery was nothing but amazing!  We sat down and the kids were treated with a bucket of toys (Brilliant!!!, seriously..so very cool!) and the menu was drool worthy.  All local, organic, simple items that indeed tasted as they sounded. Wow..what a treat!

After lunch we walked around the downtown area for a bit.  Knowing that we were coming back to this area at the end of our trip, we surveyed all of the town's offerings.

Back on the road we went, with our final destination, Charleston, South Carolina. Checking into the "S" hotel (MC dibbed the Sheraton as the "S" hotel :)), we headed for a quick bite to eat and landed back in our room for a good nights sleep.

All was well in our world and our vacation was off to a wonderful start!

TEN ON TUESDAY

1. Yesterday we came home from Madison where we saw this fella dig hard to a strong and glorious finish at IronMan Wisconsin.  We all are in awe of Alex's determination, athleticism and achievements.  Congrats my friend, and it was so fun to be part of your Big Day!

2. These cutie patties were rockstars the entire day, rooting him on from 5:30 am until 8pm.  I am sure they helped him going for a mile or two.

3.  These hugs helped a whole bunch too..I am sure of it!  At mile 19 of the marathon,  these were very welcomed arms.

Congratulations Alex..you are one amazing Ironman. (and your collection of pictures are soon on their way!)

4. Guess which Case signed up for this 70.3 mile Race??  I'll give you a hint, it's certainly not me!!!
http://rev3tri.com/wisconsin/news/  WOOT!!

5. I made this Banana Bread last week!  YUM!!  The only changes I made was to use wheat flour and apple sauce instead of butter and it was really good!  I would definitely recommend it.

6. My son is really enjoying taking his pants and diaper off and running through the house with a bare bottom, chanting in a deep voice..."pee pee...pee pee".  Boys...  There is no doubt that there is a big difference between boys and girls...

7. Speaking of Rylan..he has gone from a big dislike of wearing socks to a strong desire to wear them all the time.  But it MUST be a mismatched pair.  Silly boy.

8.  Did you get your living social deal of the day to Whole Foods?  Looks like it was a very popular deal!!

9. The half marathon is 7.5 weeks away. After a very hard 9.5 mile run last week, I hope I am doing the right thing. To say I am a bit nervous is to say the truth.  Hopefully this weeks long run is better!

10. Enjoy your week and take time to enjoy life!

 These two certainly know how to do that each and every day!

The start of it all.

It was August 14, 2011...4 am, around about, and the alarms began.  The wake up calls echoed through our bedroom and the day began.

Scott and I jumped out of bed eagerly (after a press of the snooze button), got dressed in our race gear and headed downstairs to get ready for our big day, another RACE day!  A banana and dry cheerios for me..peanut butter toast for him.  Mom arrived and we tiptoed into the kids rooms and carried them into their carseats.  They immediately awoke, as they always do, and were happy and excited for the day to begin.  No crabbiness here..that happens later in the afternoon :).

Despite the darkness and the early hour, the kids stayed awake and enjoyed the hour in a half ride to Bang's Lake in Wauconda.  The weather was perfect..high 60's/low 70's, sunny and low humidity.  After such a hot summer, this was such a welcomed relief. Once we arrived and put our bikes and stuff in Transition Area, we stopped to take a few pictures before Scott took the shuttle to the lake and I lined up for the Duathlon start.

Soon the gun went off for my Run start.  5K Run (3.1 miles), followed by 19K Bike (about 12 miles) then another 5K Run.  Before I knew it (ha ha), I was coming home, thrilled to have beat my goal time by 7 minutes!  Woot woot.  My official time 1:50:02.

Scott also ROCKED the course.  Man, he's so good!
1.5K Swim..check.
38K Bike...check.
10K Run...check.

2011 Bangs Lake Multisport Festival

2011 BANGS LAKE MULTISPORT FESTIVAL
OLYMPIC

247

Olympic

Corral

Wave 10

Change

Scott Case

MALE / 39

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Your Time:

2 hr 33 min 57 sec

Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run
32 min 54 sec	03 min 41 sec	1 hr 08 min 10 sec	00 min 00 sec	00 min 00 sec

Overall	Age Group	Sex
97	19 of 50	85 of 250

And then the celebrating started.  

Thanks for the Winner signs Makenna Claire.  You, Rylan and Nana are our Number 1,2,3 Supporters and we love you all so much!  

We soon packed up our stinky selfs, our bikes and gear and headed home for a nice shower and a packing of the car.

Just hours after racing..we began our road trip, Vacation 2011 with a final destination of Charleston, South Carolina.

More to come...