My Girl Salem

This is my Child, my yes very spoiled dog Salem... she is a mix of a chocolate lab and husky. She has the personality of both. How amazingly true that your dog can be your best friend. Salem is one that has always been there for me. She knows when I am happy... she gets extra excited, if I'm sick or sad, she comes and cuddles with me.

She is a heck of alot of fun as she loves to do so many things you would not see most dogs do... such as ride on jetskis, goes tubing, kayaking, snowshoeing, boating... loves to swim and ride in cars.
We would like to say she comes everywhere with us, but this is where the Husky side of her comes in she is not always the best listener, and does not get along with other dogs very well. She is very protective of us, but is the most loving and friendliest dog you could ever meet. She loves people, especially the boys... and loves little kids. She will lick them forever! ;)
Her favorite place to go is to "grandma and grandpa's" house (my parents) to run free on the farm, dig for moles and get dirty. Also loves our lake cabin on Roosevelt, where she swims alot and runs around the woods and beach... and then plays with us on our toys. :)
This picture cracks me up... captured moment of her shaking... so freakish! haha
She quite the show off sometimes.... she knows she's FAST and will show that to you to what I call the "Happy Run", she will just randomly take off and run as fast as she can around in circles. Always makes me laugh!
She the dominate dog... she doesn't always get along with other dogs... but she warms up to them eventually. Then she can be pretty playful on her own terms... stubborn.

Salem loves to talk... anytime you say "Hellooooooooo" she will start hollowing or " I Love YOuuuuuuuuu" she loves to talk back... it quite incredible how smart they are! :)

She is the most emotional dog I've ever recall... she pouts and crys whenever we leave the house... she will not take a cookie or anything untill we come back home, I think it's kind of cute, but it gets me everytime that I feel bad. She is sensitive to loud crackle noises and banging... like firecrackers. She will shake for hours literally. Getting her to calm down is always impossible. :( sad. But she is a lover, and if you ever meet her, she is one who will make you smile! She is my best friend, and I'm proud of her. I have enjoyed bragging about her....and can definitely say she has got me wrapped around her little paw! :)

Training and Tri-Fusion

I have joined an awesome team Tri-Fusion that has fulfilled alot of what I have hoped for so far.  Like having people to workout with and meeting amazing people of so many different levels and personalities.  I am starting to really get comfortable with showing up to more workouts and learning more about my body and  what works for me. My goals to being a triathlete is to stay in shape, lose the rest of the weight that I have started to lose last summer, and be the athlete I have been all my life.  I want to be a healthy, fit mother when I have kids soon down the road and have something that works to my schedule of being a wife and having a busy work and outside life schedule...  it's flexible, and having Tri-Fusion is so many open door opportunities to keep me motivated and excited about my training and improving....

The BLT workouts have been my favorites so far....  I love the route and love that there are so many people who come out for this!  Even when it rains... I actually love riding in the rain! :)

I hate and love this picture... let me explain why I look so ridiculous!  I was acting like a seal... clapping my wetsuit together...I look ridiculous, I have to act ridiculous and yes I was making noise, but in my head... weird huh!  Of course Sheena, the photogenic girl acting all cool... that's our friend Sam, who did his first Triathlon ever at the Trailblazer... did awesome!!  
This was my first swim workout in a wetsuit... and my first time swimming all season... I did not know what I was up for, the water was still a little chilly, but I was loving the wetsuit! :)  Makes sense to me now!!! 
I have forgotten how much I love swimming... I was on a swim team with the Spokane Club for 6 years when I was in Elementary/Middle school years.  And getting back out there was like riding a bike.  Things came familiar and comfortable to me again... since then I have made it more a part of my workout like I should, and have made numerous drives out to the Northside OZ for late swims, and loving it more!  :)  

 

Trailblazer '08

My second triathlon EVER and the first of the season!  I got my nerves worked up pretty good with this race.  Well, I get nervous about absolutely anything, starting the race at 1:00pm was kinda hard for me... cause I had way too much time to think about it.  So feeling sick to my stomach, like I do when I get nervous about things, I could just not get my stuff together or stay focused at all.  To top it off, there were quite a few friends there to watch, and that gets me more nervous.  NERVOUS NERVOUS NERVOUS!  get it?  

Oh gosh, what's the big deal...it's like another workout, just relax and do it.... time came for all of us to get on the truck to head over to the start point... I did not think I had it all together, but here we go.  Megan and I hoped on the truck and suffered our wetsuits on.  Ugh... so HOT!!! :)

The swim was tough for me... I did not have any energy ( i know my nutrition was off, and most likely dehydrated)  I felt heavy and my lung capacity was small...I could not breathe at all... but I tried to just relax... breathed slowly out and reached long on every stroke and kept going.  I ended up kicking Megan in the head... she got mad at me, cause I stopped to see if she was ok.  I got kicked in my first Tri, and it hurt so bad, so I just wanted to make sure I didn't kill her... :)  As I got closer to the ramp out... I started to see so many familiar faces, like my mom and my neighbor, and great friends cheering me on... and instead of it making me nervous, it gave me a great boost of energy... so I got out, with Tim and Andy giving me a hand up the ramp, Thank YOU! and kicked it into gear for the bike....
In transition, I had a hard time getting anything on... I was to much in a rush.  This will only be an improvement I will have to learn over time in races... 
The bike was good for me... I do this route as my normal training, so I had a good feel for it, and this day I was a lot faster in pace then I have ever been.  I passed a lot of people, except this one guy who kinda drove me crazy.... he would pass me and then slow down, I would pass him keeping the same speed most of the way, then he would pass me again and slow down.... geez, ok, I'd pass him again and this went on for about the last 5 miles of the course... I guess I can say it was somewhat entertaining, I could only laugh everytime it happened....

turned that last corner though and decided for fun to just smoke him, and I did!!! ;)

Getting in for the next transition... I had major cramps in the legs...( I know it's because of dehydration, but I just HATE water!   bad I know! but I'm working on it )  so getting my shoes on and off, without flexing my calves was causing my transition to be slower then ever.... oh well.  Got it all on and ran the first stretch of the course like I had a stick up my butt, cause my calves were so tight and pulsing like a heartbeat, I round the corner and stretch a good 30 seconds, so I didn't suffer and injure the rest of the race.
I get halfway through the course of the run and my pace was picking up to normal, I got to Sheena who was in front of me and gave her a good surprising pinch in the butt and finished strong...
My goal was 1:15:00, I got 1:14:27 YES!!!... with nothing to really compare it to, I was pretty happy... now I just have to get my nutrition figured out so I don't feel so yucky before a race and learn to love WATER!! :)  So suggestions and tools muchly appreciated!  

This was my first real race with some of the Tri-Fusion club members... it was fun to see so many people there and enjoying this race.  I look forward to racing with them more often!  Thanks for all the cheering and helping me up the ramps! (Tim and Andy!!)  Your faces being spread out throughout the event was exciting... made me nervous, but it's so AWESOME to be a part of a great supporting club!  

Thanks to so many great friends to travel out and watch the race and my mom, who has had a real hard time understanding what a Triathlon is, she has always enjoyed watching me compete in sports... she really enjoyed being able to do this again... so that was a special moment for the both of us.  Thanks to my hubby, Tyler for taking the time and energy to take pictures and support me through this day!  Loves!  

NEXT race.... Valley Girl... the first Triathlon I've ever done... I have big goals for this one!  :)

River Ruckus 2008

RIVER RUCKUS 1rst ANNUAL '08

YES!  I did it again... put together the 1rst annual rafting trip, that I never thought I would do again... but all it took was one person to be all excited about it, and here you go... I managed to get another 25 friends, mostly the same group from last year, with a few new faces.  The only thing that stressed me out was being sure that we had a place to stay, since Carson (my brother- in law and guide) place was not available, and I was sad... cause this place was SWEET!  It was right next to a beautiful river in Prechastin that connected to the Wenatchee river.  But finally got a hold of my other brother in-law, Cody... which spoiled again was right next to the raging Wenatchee river, and had a great flat lawn for all of us to pitch our tents. 

So we get there Friday night, just in time to scope out, set-up before the rain and sunset hit.  Everyone else arrived, got settled... then we lounged out by the fire the rest of the night. The morning came... I could not tell you how happy I was, the sky was blue and the sun was shining bright...but hell...nothing worst then waking up sweaty hot, we couldn't crack any windows that night because it was raining.  So waking up a little earlier then I wanted too, a few others poking there heads out for some fresh air...and of course Sheena, who I should just start calling Rooster, was already up the butt crack of dawn and off on a little jog.  Sam, our friend cooked some great breakfast for everyone, sat around and watched Cody and a group of men figure out how to run a Slack line about 300 ft and about 20 ft off the water... to be able to walk across on!  Yeah!   That was a fun thing to watch... get a group of men together on a crazy project like this was quite entertaining!  It never got done... they got the safety line across by Pat kayaking over, but as hard as that was... they couldn't manage getting the slack line over... oh well, I wouldn't doubt it will be there next year, watch the whole thing again. :)

Meantime, Carson shows up to get the boats blown up and cars loaded to get to take out and put in.  Everyone got their stuff together and off we go!!!

We get to the put in and my boat consist of Cody, our guide, Tyler my husband and a few friends Toby, Marissa, Sheena and Gene (who I did not know, came out of nowhere).  About 15minutes down the river, one of the first real rapids, we hit a good hole, got knocked around a bit... I turned around and there was no one there!  Cody, Gene and Sheena had gotten knocked out... I look off to the side and there is Cody with wide eyes reaching for the boat, so the Hero I was, I reached out the end of my paddle and pulled him in... I look off to the distance and there is Sheena way behind about 200ft just floating the rapids, our safety kayaker Pat went for rescue, now Gene on the other hand managed to the front of the boat...Tyler pulled him in.  We get Sheena in the boat a while down, who still had her paddle...but lost her buff and what she calls her fast glassed...but she had her paddle - Good girl!  :)  After a few breaths and laughs, Marissa looked down and Sheena had ripped a good chunk off her Toe and was bleeding.  The rest of the trip down rocked... the water was so high, the holes were huge and smiling faces were shining all around.  Good times!

Vano's boat...

We get to the take out at a park in Cashmere... set up a Volley ball net and played for hours, having some drinks, eating food and laughing lots!  It was so much fun and such a blessing to have a life where you can play so hard and have so much fun with so many great people!  I'm grateful!

Well, time flies... we all get hungry and decide to pack up and go back to camp site for some grub.  I had made some of my delicious basil burgers...which consist of basil, light garlic, soy sauce, honey and put some fresh corn salsa on top... oh you just don't even know.  Brought enough to share for 18 people... they were gone, Others brought steak and brats...etc.  We know how to BBQ while camping!  Another night of hanging out, as it starts to rain... in our group were a few Air Force survivor instructors who were all about setting up... one brings an old parachute that was layed above the fire pit, and kept everyone dry.  So we sat around the fire, grubbed on food and enjoyed the company greatly.  The night went on, a new group of people came in and snagged some to go out on the town... as tired that I was, I went to bed.  (Is this old talk?)  Last thoughts of what tomorrow was going to look like, I crashed hard. :)

My sweet niece Bradyn & I

Wake up to another great morning, of the sun shining and hella hot!  Vano and Sam were already up making some breakfast with some leftovers from last night; eggs, steak, cheese etc.  How great they were providing for everyone.  I love these guys!  

The men still pondering over the dilema of getting the slack line across... and others wondering what was going on that day, along with myself, with this new group that Carson had invited to raft that day, I had to split up the group and have some go play volleyball and those who really wanted to raft again take the leftover spots on the boats.  It is always hard when people can't make up their minds on what they wanted to do...going back and forth with to many in the boats and then ended up bribing people to come, cause we needed more in the boat!  Ah Geez!  Well I went again, this time in Vano's boat ( who reminds me of Jack Black) Fun guy and a great guide.  He was more spontaneous, as most of the ride we were spinning the boats over the rapids... actually got dizzy!  :)  So Fun though... ended up loosing a camera in the water... someone had thrown it and the other person didn't know what was going on and *bloop* in the water.  It's water proof, so if anyone wants to go scubadiving for it, i can show you the big hole it's under!  haha!

On another note, Carson boat again the same rapid as yesterday that Cody, Gene and Sheena fell out of, well we turned around and saw Carson stading on the bottom of the boat alone, looking for the rest of the crew...as of when they flipped all ended up under the boat....  So Carson grabs and end flips it over and the whole crew was holding on, we paddled near to look for floating paddles and helped the crew load up.  Oh man, were people freaked!  Apparently story stands that they did not have enough power paddling to get over a hole, swept them back and flipped!  SCARY!  but all enjoys the rest of the ride...good thing!

The ride ends again to the park, where we meet with the rest of the crew, playing yet more volleyball!  I love outdoor volleyball!  Vano and Sharifa treat us with like 20 boxes of pizza for everyone... and hung out again till the weather turned and half of the party start to pack and head back for home.  The other half, like me... got packed up and headed to Carson Cabin/House to stay for the night with about 25 other people!  The girls got their 5 minute shower... and enjoyed yet another night hanging out by the fire, some playing drinking games and others heading to bed.  Slept on the floor that night and woke up to Carson's dog Bella, literally chewing on her foot about 6 inches from my face...gross!

Got packed up and went and watched Pat kayak the little river!  He rocks...I wish I can whitewater kayak!  but I think for now I'll stick with the flatwater...:) I choose to keep myself alive a little longer! but it's sure is a rush!

Then we decided to go for a hike into some old tunnels!  This tunnel was so dark and the little headlamps we had spread out... i bumped, scraped and freaked!  But it was cool!  Except for these rats or whatever they were...running along out heads in pitch black.  And with me not having any light to see anything everything thing I felt touch me made me jump!  And of course we get to the end, Dead end! as the only way back was to go back through the tunnel...SWEET!  ; /

So fun times it was... it came down to getting home before it got to late, and off we were.  Get home and two of our friend AJ and Beth pretty much unload everything for us and makes some nachos to eat and watched DVR shows of the OFFICE (haha good stuff!) while we waited for their rides to come pick them up.

So, will I put together this trip again... you bet!  In all the craziness and hassles...it's all worth it, cause all the love, smiles, memories outweighs it all.  Thanks everyone for such a good life! 

               My hot husband Tyler - the photographer!