2010 Danskin Seattle Triathlon

Well, Melissa won't blog about this, so I will (it's me, Jason)! It will not be nearly as eloquent as something written by Melissa but this deserves to be blogged! Melissa completed her third triathlon and second Danskin Seattle last weekend! She's been training hard again with the Kitsap Tri-Babes, a dedicated group of +/-250 like-minded women for months to gear up for this years big event. Last weekend she braved the mid-nineties heat and completed the 1/2 mile lake swim, 12 mile bike and 3.2 mile run in 1:45:25. She finished in the top 25% of over 3,331 finishers! I believe there were around 4,000 women who started (it's the largest all-women triathlon in the world) but only 3,331 finishers as some ultimately gave up due to heat, extremely choppy Lake Washington water or the realization that it was an all around bad idea. She even had to deal with a chain that fell off on the middle of the I-90 bridge. We could not be any more proud of her! She rocks and everyone had a blast cheering her on!


Getting ready for the swim in the transition area.


She's the one in the blue hat.

Again, she's the one in the blue hat.

Jake really wanted that medal! He was so excited to see his Mom cross the finish line.


Payton had a blast and fell asleep. Grandpa Joe got a great workout for his 60th birthday lugging Payton around in the backpack.

Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for taking care of the kids and bringing them over to watch!

Beach Baby

We've spent many a day at the beach this summer. It's one of Payton's favorite places.

Summer Camp

We ventured out on our first family camping trip to Lake Cushman.

Really camping. Like in a tent.

We had a great time roasting hot dogs on sticks over the fire (smores came later. Unfortunately we were all to busy eating them to take any pictures of the much anticipated event),

hiking to the lake,

and having the best time hanging out together for three uninterrupted days. Perfect.

Seriously?

Lake Cushman is gorgeous. And it has the perfect kids beach. And the perfect kids beach was deserted after dinner on quite possibly the perfect summer evening. Do the stars ever really align? They did on this night!

Mt. Rainier

Jake's been talking about going to Mt. Rainier for quite a while. After much reassurance that even though it is a volcano, it will not erupt. And after establishing an escape plan just in case, we decided to go for a combined birthday trip for him and anniversary trip for Jason and I. We had an absolute blast. We were able to hike about a mile or so up the trail that leads to Base Camp and play on the snow fields. It was incredibly beautiful against the crystal blue sky. Very picturesque.