Half Marathon

Well, so far Allison and I are on track in our half marathon training. We did our first long run last weekend (1 hour) and ran 1:08 today. We both ran twice during the week as well. So far, so good!

Lucy

Lucy is heaps of fun these days. She is a total daddy's girl and LOVES her time with Vaughan. She is attempting to say more words like "hi" and "up please" (sounds like Uh bbbb). She says "du du" for any bird and "uff uff" for dog or other dog like animals. She can say daddy and momma clearly and mimics lots of words and sounds. Today she mimic baby for her little doll, etc.

She loves spending time with her cousins Ethan and Gabe as well as Allison's children Soren and Ruby. It's fun to watch her with other kids. They don't really play together but they seem to keep busy trying to be as a busy as the kid next to them! Lucy enjoys trying to do whatever Gabe is up to! (Gabe is thee and half.)

Lucy has been sleeping better at night. She generally goes to bed at 7:30pm now and sleeps until somewhere between 5:30am and 7:00am. She still wakes up one time at night, normally at 3am. She is just about weaned and we only do one feed, in the middle of the night. We walk Lucy to sleep most nights in the pram.

We went to the gym this past Saturday for the first time in about 5 weeks. Lucy was sick one weekend and then asleep all the other weekends! Her mid day nap is now at around 11:30am. She has fun on the tramp, slides and balancing on things.

Half Marathon

Fall running weather is upon us so Allison and I are going to do a half-marathon on June 22nd. It is called the Capital Harbour City Marathon and it winds itself around the bays in Wellingtion. We are 9 weeks out and did our first long run today (one hour). My goal is to finish without walking or injury, no real time goals. Up to now I have been running 2-3 times a week at no more than 45 minutes at a time. Running is great thought, I can do it with Lucy and I get the most bang for my buck fitness wise. We have a great running pram which keeps Lucy warm and dry not matter what the weather.

The Mayor deserves Re-election

Well, our grass is growing great guns and Vaughan has finished the letter box, stunning work!

The Grass is Always Greener...

when it is growing in your yard! All Vaughan's hard work has paid off and our lawn is coming through! We planted at just the right time as there has been heaps of rain lately. Yeehaw!

New Duds!

Lucy in her new outfit from Auntie Hope! (photo taken today, 16 April 2008!)

The Mayor Builds our Mailbox

Vaughan has built our mailbox! So, in addition to being a grass grower, fence builder, IT geek, Ironman triathlete, my husband and all around great dad, he is now a brickie! Various neighbors (mostly WIVES) including the neighborhood kids stopped by all weekend to admire his work and check out the box. I've dubbed him the Major of Riverstone.

Our neighbor has given us a cool piece of granite to put on top of the bricks. SEND LETTERS AND PACKAGES NOW! : )

Photos of Lucy

Cleaning up
Drawing
Future Ironman

Toy Library

New Zealand has this great network of Toy Libraries. We joined for $16 and now we can check out 4 toys at a time for two weeks at an average of $2 a toy! We picked up this rocking horse, a piano, pram and grocery basket for Lucy last weekend. She loves the new toys and when she is bored with them we take them back. Win Win!

Little Britain

Do they have Little Britain on TV in the States? If not, it's a shame. It is HILARIOUS. My favorite skit is "computer says no." Check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBAibOQchD0

Lucy's Perch

Lucy often watches what the world (and her father) is up to. She enjoys climbing up on our ottoman and taking it all in.

Belly Button

Lucy showing me where her Belly Botton is!

We came, we saw, we did the DU

Lucy helping me get my stuff ready at 5:45am on race day.
Allison in line for the Port-o-Loo - what ELSE do you do on race day?
Before the race...gawd I look like a geek!
The family!
Mike and Ruby!


Allison and I successfully completed the SPARC Real Women's Duathlon on 6 April. It was heaps of fun although I barely made it to the start.

I intended to ride my road bike which Vaughan rides in and out of work but on Friday night the frame (top tube) on the bike cracked while Vaughan was riding it. So, no bike for the race. Luckily Mike, who is ALL about bikes, had some spare wheels to loan us for my fixed gear bike. The rear tire he loaned me can be used as either a fixed gear (you can't stop peddling) or a single speed and so I chose the single speed side. I hadn't riden a bike in about 6 months but all turned out well and it felt good to be on the bike again. So, got the bike sorted out Saturday am and dropped it off and signed up for the race on Saturday afternoon. It seems like a lot of hassle for a small little race but it was worth it as it was good fun and good motivation to keep running and riding.

I reckon there were about 600 women who participated. The weather was wet and more wet but it stopped raining for the race and there was no wind - shocking! Allison and did the first run together and keep in sight of one another on the bike and second run. I think we both finished in the top 50. : ) Our goal was to go under one hour for a 3.5km run, 10km bike, 1.5km run and we both went right around 50 minutes. Not bad for new mommas!

We both did 10 star jumps (jumping jacks) for a women's underwear company and both received free clothing! Allison's husband Mike and her two children, Soren and Ruby as well as Vaughan and Lucy arrived to cheer us on.

Looking forward to our next race! : )

Fall Back

Time change alert. We have set our clocks back an hour to New Zealand Standard time. So, there is now a 5 hour time difference between here and the West Coast of the US but it is the day before there, or if you want to make it more difficult, a 19 hour time difference.

An example for those who are time challenged:

Noon on Sunday here is 5pm on Saturday there. : )

Another Lovely Sunrise in Upper Hutt

Landscaping Update

Vaughan spent last weekend digging holes under our footpaths so we can run lights alongside the path. He finally got there using a builders pole, shovel and water blaster!

Got Milk?

This is a photo of my friend Hope and her two sons, Nash and Henry. It was taken at the Portland Zoo when we visited Portland last August. It cracks me up everytime I see it. "Got Milk" is the milk industries campaign in the US to get people to drink milk!